Chapter 2: Interaction with the Registrar's Office

Degree Application

A Degree Application must be submitted to the Registrar's Office to be eligible to participate in Commencement Ceremonies and prior to the award of a degree from the College of Saint Benedict or Saint John's University. An email for completing the Degree Application will be sent in the spring semester to all CSB/SJU Juniors who will have completed approximately 88 credits by the end of that semester.

Each student will be instructed to review DegreeWorks to confirm their progress towards graduation.  During the month of October, each student who has completed a Degree Application will be reminded to review DegreeWorks before meeting with their advisor prior to registration for their final semester.  Students who have deficiencies in major/minor requirements should consult with the department chair for resolution of these deficiencies. For example, a student may have completed an alternative course that is not a standard option for the major/minor. The student would then initiate a substitution form to be approved by the department chair.  Once the substitution is approved, the Registrar's Office will update the student's DegreeWorks record accordingly.

Course Offerings
Late November through early January, the chair meets with the academic dean and registrar to determine course offerings for the upcoming academic year. Chairs need to bring staffing grids with course and faculty information to the meeting. (Appendix 2) The main focus of the meeting is to discuss the upcoming fall registration that will occur in April. Spring semester course offerings will also be reviewed at that time. In late June or early July, the chair will get a draft of the spring semester schedule to review their course offerings and make corrections. Spring semester registration that will occur in late October and early November.

In January, the Registrar's Office sends out a preliminary draft listing of the department's course offerings from the previous corresponding semester. The chair should use the staffing grid, provided to the academic dean, to update the actual draft listings of courses for the Registrar's Office. The draft listing that is turned in to the Registrar's Office must be updated to include all sections of courses to be offered: instructor name, day, time, and room preferences. Room assignments do not roll from semester to semester, so specific preferences must be listed. As a general guide, try to have at least 25% of the department classes scheduled in the first and last periods of the day combined. Single section offerings should not be offered in the last class slot of a day if it is at all possible. No classes should be scheduled during the 4:15-6:15 p.m. time slot; evening classes begin no earlier than 6:15 p.m., however some labs and studio section may end within this period.

Once the chair sends back the preliminary draft to the Registrar's Office, the information will be updated on the computer database and a final draft will be sent back to the chairs for review/revision. These course offerings are then compiled into a class schedule for the upcoming registration period. All course offerings are listed on Banner Web Self Service under Faculty Services - View Course Enrollment Information.

During the registration period, chairs should watch the course enrollment in their department and notify the academic dean and the registrar of any concerns or potential problems. Approximately half way through the registration period, the registrar will meet with the academic dean to review course enrollment and determine if any adjustments (cancellations, additions) are necessary.

Evaluation of Transfer Credits

Students transferring credits from another institution must have an official transcript sent to the Registrar's Office. The Registrar's Office transfer evaluator will evaluate the transcripts and determine which courses will be accepted by CSB/SJU elective credits and common curriculum requirements. Students will discuss with the department chair if any of their courses can be used toward their major or minor requirements. A substitution form will need to be initiated by the student to be approved by the department chair for any major or minor requirements completed through transfer courses.

Currently enrolled students may take summer or other supplemental course work at other institutions. Students should complete a substitution form and forward it to the appropriate department chair of their major or minor for review prior to enrolling in the course. If the student subsequently enrolls in and completes a course at another institution she/he must provide the Registrar's Office with an official transcript. Once the transcript is received and it is determined that a grade of "C" or higher was earned in the approved course, the transfer credits will be entered on their CSB/SJU transcript.

All courses must be completed at an accredited institution which CSB/SJU recognizes. Prior approval is always recommended for current students taking courses elsewhere. As well, transfer student credits will only be accepted from accredited institutions.

Independent Learning Projects

Students are allowed to register for Independent Learning Projects (ILP's) which fall into two categories:

Independent Studies - a project planned independently with a faculty moderator involving a minimum of three meetings during the term.

Individually Studied Course - fulfilling the requirements of a course by studying individually because of circumstances which prevent the attendance at the regular class.

Under both categories, an Independent Learning Project form must be completed and turned in to the Registrar's Office. The form must include the signatures of the faculty moderator and chair. The form must outline the program content, procedure, and basis of evaluation. The academic credit must be equivalent to the hours of study required of the student. As a rule, a credit hour is equivalent to 25-30 clock hours by the students, thus, a four credit ILP would show evidence of 100-120 hours of work.

First-year students may not register for an ILP. Students are allowed 1-4 credits of ILP per semester. A total of 16 credits of ILP may be applied towards graduation requirements except where the academic dean approves a higher amount. Lower division ILP's are registered under the course number 271, and upper division ILP's are numbered 371. In order to qualify for upper division credit, the student must have completed 12 credits in that department prior to the term of the ILP. An ILP may not fulfill a common curriculum requirement unless approved by the dean's designee.

Individualized Major

Students wishing to individualize a major should obtain the Proposal for Individualizing a Traditional Major from the Registrar's Office. The student then works with the chair of the home department for the individualized major to complete the proposal. The individualized major must include a rationale explaining why an individualized program of study is necessary. After the chair signs the proposal it must be forwarded to the dean's designee for approval. The Dean's Office will send an approved individualized major to the registrar for recording. The individualized major form will be used by the degree auditor to insure that the student has completed the major requirements for graduation.

Internships

Students are allowed to earn academic credit during their junior or senior year for internship experiences. Students can register during the fall, spring, or summer terms for internship experiences. For fall and spring semesters, the credit range is normally 1-16 credits. Some departments have a lower maximum limit. For summer, students are allowed to register for 1-12 credits. All internships, which take place during the summer, must be registered under the summer term, rather than under either the previous spring semester or the following fall semester. All students who plan to enroll in an internship for credit are required to attend a pre-internship seminar the semester prior to their internship. The Application for Internship form must be completed and turned in to the Registrar's Office by the first day of the term. The form must contain the signatures of the faculty moderator, Chair, on-site supervisor, and the internship program coordinator. The form must also include the learning goals, objectives, and means of evaluation for the internship. See the Internship web page for more information.

Registrar's Office Annual Report

Historical information is contained in the Registrar's Office Annual Report. Hard copies of the annual reports can be accessed for the past twenty years in the Registrar's Office. The Annual Report for the past academic year is sent out electronically to all chairs in August. This report includes degrees earned, department affiliation, 10th day enrollment statistics, enrollment by ethnic, religion, etc.

Information can also be accessed electronically via the Online Department Reports: http://www.csbsju.edu/registrar.htm - select Online Department Reports. Sign in with username and password. You will have the option to select data under lists, labels and tallies. The data available includes advisee lists, data on students who graduated, students in the major/minor and class rosters, etc. In addition, chairs may generate standard reports to provide data for Program Review.

Acceptance to the Major

During the spring semester, students with sophomore standing receive an email from the Registrar's Office instructing them to complete the Major Acceptance Form. Chairs use the Major Acceptance Form to indicate that a student has been accepted, conditionally accepted, or rejected to the major. If a student is conditionally accepted, the chair must indicate the conditions the student must fulfill before he/she can be fully accepted to the major. The chair may also specify a date by which the conditions must be satisfied. The name of the student's department advisor should be noted in the appropriate box. If the student does not already have a major advisor, the chair should assign one.

If students have been conditionally accepted to the major, the Registrar's Office will contact the department chair after the semester ends for any updates to the student's status. At that time the chair must determine whether the conditions required or if the student should remain conditionally accepted or rejected.

Students who have not been accepted to the major by the time of registration for spring semester of their junior year will have a hold placed on their registration. Academic Advising will contact the student requiring them to get a chair's signature signifying that the student is a candidate for acceptance to the major. Academic Advising will remove the current semester's registration hold upon receipt of the form. Students must have an updated Acceptance to the Major form signed by the chair or a registration hold will be applied in subsequent semesters.

Banner Web Self Service

Faculty may access student and course information via Banner Web Self Service. Chairs have access to course information via Banner Web Self Service and the Online Department Reports. Chairs have access to student information for all students via Banner Web Self Service.

Course enrollment information is listed by term, and by course. Online grading is available on Banner Web Self Service. Class rosters can also be viewed for individual sections of courses via the Online Department Reports. Student information includes unofficial transcripts on track reports, student class schedules, student addresses and registration holds.

Majors and minor degree requirements are now available at the bottom of the student's ontrack reports.

Contact the Registrar's Office for further information or instructions regarding Banner Web Self Service and Online Department Reports.

Last Updated: September 2013