Every student is required to register in a program of study at the beginning of each semester. Registration is for one semester only and carries with it no right for continuance in the college. The extension of the privilege of reenrollment to any other semester is always at the option of the officers of the college.
The 18-credit limit for registration shall be exclusive of sport studies, recreation and athletics activity courses and those other activity courses for which the 16-credit limitation applies (see Credit Restrictions). Applied music courses are not considered activity courses. Permission to register for more than 18 academic credits after the preregistration period may be granted by the Board of Review upon written petition by the student provided that:
- The student has both cumulative and previous semester Whitman grade-point averages of at least 3.500.
- The student’s advisor signs the petition indicating his or her approval of the student’s overload.
- The student submits the petition with attached signatures from all of his or her current semester Whitman professors, confirming, as of week nine or later, that they have met course deadlines consistently (if a student is abroad, on leave, or registering in the semester in which the overload will occur, they shall instead need signatures from all of the professors currently on campus from the student’s last completed semester courses at Whitman).
Requests for more than 18 academic credits that do not meet the above criteria will be granted by the Board of Review only in truly exceptional circumstances in which there is exigent need to take an academic overload (such as the need to graduate).
The instructor of a class may have a student without an authorized absence removed from the class roster if the student fails to attend the class in the first calendar week that it meets. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor of an authorized absence. The instructor must notify the student and the Registrar of the intent to remove the student from the class roster at least 24 hours before they are removed from the class roster.
Registration procedures and regulations are described in detail by the Registrar’s Office prior to each semester’s registration.