Registration: Policies and Procedures

Registration Policies

Registration: Fall and Spring registration is open through the first five days of the semester (the first week of classes). In addition, accepted students may register at one of two Summer Stampede early orientation sessions in June and July or Student Impact in August. Returning students typically preregister near the end of each semester for the following semester. Students who decide not to attend a term for which they have registered must drop their classes for that term to avoid having grades of “F” recorded for those classes. Registration for all other terms is through the first two class days of the term.

Late Registration: Late registration for students not currently enrolled is open through the first five days of the semester (the first week of classes). A late fee and approval by the registrar are required. (See “Special Fees ” section.) Registration is not permitted after the second day of any term other than fall or spring. Exact dates may be found at www.harding.edu/registrar/dates.html.

Academic Advising: Faculty members serve as academic advisers and should approve all course schedules. Students are assigned to faculty in their majors or preprofessional fields. Students who have not declared a major are assigned to the Academic Advising office in the Center for Student Success, where they will be assisted with advising until a major is chosen and an adviser assigned.

Degree Evaluation Requirements: Following the completion of 50 hours and prior to the completion of 60 hours, baccalaureate students are required to submit an official declaration of major and projected degree plan to the Office of the Registrar. The official declaration and plan must include the signature of the student, adviser and registrar. Students who have completed 60 or more hours must have completed this process to be eligible to register for the next semester; otherwise, a hold is placed on the registration account until the document is received. The document will guide student course selection for future registrations.

Graduation Evaluation Requirements: When students apply for graduation, which should occur the semester before the intended graduation date (Graduation Policies and Procedures) , the student should meet with the adviser to complete and sign the graduation audit. Signatures of the student, adviser, chair and registrar should be obtained, and the student should submit the signed graduation audit and the application for graduation to the Office of the Registrar no later than 110 completed hours. The signed graduation audit will be used by the Registrar as a checklist to assist with the verification of the student’s graduation requirements. Lack of knowledge or incorrect interpretation of University policies and regulations does not remove the student from the obligation to satisfy all requirements for a degree.  Oral advice which differs from the catalog should be submitted in writing to the Registrar by the appropriate administrative officer(s) for review and approval. The student bears the ultimate responsibility for completing a degree program.

Information on how to generate a degree evaluation may be found at www.harding.edu/registrar/forms.html.

Drop/Add: During the first five days of classes in the fall and spring semesters, students may make changes to their schedules with no fee charged. After the first five days of classes, no class may be added. In order to drop a class, a student must obtain the instructor’s signature on a drop form, pay the drop fee, and submit the drop form to the registrar (see “Special Fees ” section).

The grade for any course not completed and not officially dropped will be an “F” and will count in the student’s GPA. Courses dropped by the 11th class day for fall and spring semesters do not appear on the transcript. Classes dropped after the 11th class day are assigned a grade of “W” (withdrew); the grade point average is not affected. The last day to drop a class is Wednesday of the 14th week for fall and spring terms; Thursday of the second week for two-week terms; Wednesday of the fourth week for four-week terms; Tuesday of the sixth week for six-week terms; and Monday of the eighth week for eight-week terms; Friday of the tenth week of an eleven week term; Thursday of the 11th week of a twelve week term.

Course Policies

Attendance: Class attendance policies are determined by individual faculty members within University, college and department guidelines. The University’s expectation is for students to attend all classes, and admission to the University obligates the student to observe these policies. If a student has excessive absences, University policy permits the teacher to assign a grade of “WF” for the course. A grade of “WF” may affect the student’s status regarding University policies. If a student believes that unfair treatment was received from a teacher the student can follow the Academic Grievance Procedure.

Dual enrolled students are required to meet the same attendance policy as other students.

Auditing: Students may register for courses on a non-credit basis. Since class seats are reserved for students enrolled for credit, students will not be allowed to enroll for audit until the first week of classes. Once a student enrolls for either credit or audit the status of the enrollment cannot be changed. In an audited course, no grade will be assigned. The fee for auditing a course is one-half tuition.  All students sitting in a class must be enrolled for credit or audit.

Bible Class Enrollment : Students who enroll in more than 8 hours in a semester or in Summer School (excluding Intersession) are required to take a Bible class that meets at least three hours a week.

Bible class attendance is compulsory regardless of the grade being earned. The required Bible class cannot be dropped. A student who has excessive absences in Bible will be placed on Bible Attendance Probation, will lose the privilege of priority registration, and will be required to sign a Bible attendance contract in the Office of the Provost prior to registering for the next semester. (Students who have already registered will not be able to register during the next priority registration.) A student who has excessive absences in Bible in more than one semester will be suspended from the University at least a minimum of one term.

Bible Class Exemptions: Students are exempt from Bible once they pass eight semesters of Bible and have fulfilled the Bible graduation requirement . Students have a one semester exemption from Bible if they have passed two Bible courses at HUG or HIZ or are participating in supervised teaching or field study. Post baccalaureate students who have met the graduation requirement are not required to take additional hours of Bible.

Bible Course Substitutes for Specific Majors: The following courses are Bible substitutes only for specific majors and may be taken once to meet the Bible enrollment requirement by those who have already satisfied the 8-hour Liberal Arts requirement in textual Bible: BUS 435 , COMM 401 , NURS 413  and PHS 410 .

Classification:

Concurrent Enrollment: Upon enrollment at Harding University, students are generally expected to do their coursework at Harding. However, if a student wishes to take a course at another accredited college or university during a semester that he or she is enrolled at Harding - known as concurrent enrollment - the student must petition to receive credit prior to enrolling in the course. Concurrent enrollment includes such courses as resident courses, online courses or correspondence courses. The Concurrent Enrollment Request form is on the Student tab in Pipeline. The student should also consult with his/her adviser.

While living in University housing, no freshman or sophomore student may be concurrently enrolled at another university through online, correspondence or on-site courses.

Hours of credit taken concurrently at another institution will be included in determining the maximum load permitted for fall and spring semesters, and the application of the policies regarding Bible class enrollment, attending chapel or living on campus. The hours will be added to the semester in which the course begins.

Courses from other institutions taken concurrently will not count as hours enrolled for financial aid eligibility.

Course Numbering: Normally, courses numbered 100-199 are for freshmen; 200-299 for sophomores; 300-399 for juniors; and 400-499 for seniors.

Courses numbered 250-299 completed at Harding by second-semester sophomores, juniors and seniors count as upper-level credit. First-semester sophomores may receive upper-level credit in these courses provided they are preceded by a year of freshman credit in the same subject. All 300 and 400 courses are upper-level.

Courses numbered 300 or above are not open to freshmen. Courses numbered 300-399 are primarily for juniors and seniors, but sophomores may enroll in these courses with the consent of the instructor and the department chair or dean. Courses numbered 400-449 are open only to juniors and seniors; courses numbered 450-499 are open only to seniors.

Course Offerings: All courses are offered as indicated, with sufficient enrollment. The university reserves the right to cancel any class that is deemed to have insufficient enrollment.

Examinations: Students are expected to take all scheduled examinations. Course policies for making up examinations will apply. If the student misses an examination because of illness confirmed by the school nurse or a family physician, participation in a school-sponsored activity, or other cause sanctioned by the provost, they may make up that examination. Procedures for making up examinations differ from teacher to teacher, and these are subject to the approval of the provost. Teachers are under no obligation to give make-up examinations for unexcused absences.

Final Examinations: Final examinations in lecture classes may not be taken before final examination week (labs, kinesiology activity and 600-level and above classes are exceptions). Exams may be changed within that week, subject to the approval of the teacher. The change of exam form may be found on the homepage of Pipeline in the Quick Links menu. A change of examination fee, listed in the Special Fees  section, is charged except for confirmed illness and official school representation.

Full/Part time Status: Students enrolled in 12 or more hours per semester are classified as full-time students. Those enrolled in fewer than 12 hours per semester are classified as part-time students. However, part-time students who enroll in more than 8 hours per semester are subject to Bible-course and chapel-attendance policies.

Graduate Credit: Students who are within 9 hours of the baccalaureate degree may enroll for graduate courses if approved in advance by the director of graduate studies or dean. Credit in graduate courses cannot be applied toward meeting baccalaureate degree requirements. Graduate hours cannot be used in determining financial aid.

International Students: International students are required to take HIST 101  or HIST 102  and POLS 205  to fulfill University requirements. The liberal arts global literacy requirement is waived for all international students. Important information may also be found in the International Student Handbook.

Leveling Work: Leveling work may be needed in order to meet the prerequisites for more advanced courses or to remediate under-prepared students. For example, students whose ACT English subscore is 18 and below or whose SAT verbal score is 440 and below must enroll in ENG 100  before taking ENG 111 . ENG 100  is then considered to be leveling work. Remedial courses used for leveling do not count toward graduation; other leveling work may decrease the number of elective and/or increase the number of hours in a degree.

Majors and Minors: Every degree program requires a major, which should be chosen as early as possible. Majors typically include 30 to 60 hours, although some are larger. Majors with fewer than 48 hours typically require a minor of 18 hours from another field. Within these majors 18 hours must be upper-level, and 6 hours of the minor must be upper-level.

Broad-area majors consist of 48 or more hours, 24 of which must be upper-level. A minor is not required.

Within the major department, only 12 hours beyond the minimum hours required for the major may count toward the 128 required for graduation.

While minors typically consist of 18 hours, a few require more. Hours in the minor may be reduced by courses in Liberal Arts and Bible, which also count toward the minor. Thus, while the degree programs in this Catalog stipulate 18 hours, this number varies. A course used in a student’s major cannot be used in the minor.

Majors - Double: Students pursuing two majors in a single department, where a common core of course requirements exists, must, in addition to completing the requirements for both majors, complete 15 hours beyond the major with the most required hours. No minor is required for double majors.

Students earning two baccalaureate degrees at the same graduation must earn at least 160 hours. Two identical degrees (for example, two B.A.s or two B.B.A.s) may not be awarded at the same commencement.

Majors - Special: Students who choose a vocation for which there is no cataloged major in many cases may arrange a program of study through the provost and appropriate department chair.

Maximum Credit Load: The normal course load is 16 hours per semester. Many first-semester freshmen, however, should limit loads to 14 or 15 hours. The maximum load for a freshman is 18 hours. Sophomores whose cumulative grade point average is 3.0 or who have earned a 3.0 the previous semester may carry up to 19 hours of credit. Juniors and seniors whose cumulative grade point average is 3.0 or who have earned a 3.0 the previous semester may carry up to 20 hours of credit. A senior in the last two semesters prior to graduation may be permitted to enroll in up to 21 hours in order to graduate without extending their enrollment another term. Under no circumstances may a student enroll in more than 21 hours of credit, including hours earned through concurrent enrollment. Dually enrolled students are limited to no more than 8 hours.

The summer maximum academic course load is three semester hours for Intersession and six hours for each session of summer school, for a possible maximum of 15 credit hours.  A student must meet the grade point average standards in order to enroll in more than 15 hours. An additional hour may be earned if the course is offered as either an eight week or extended term class.

Eligible students must complete the required Overload Request form found on the Student tab in Pipeline in order to enroll in more than 18 hours in the fall or spring terms. 

Post-Baccalaureate Students: Students who have completed one bachelor’s degree will be considered post baccalaureates until admitted into a graduate program. Students enrolling at Harding to obtain a second bachelor’s degree are required to meet all graduation requirements, including the 8-hour textual Bible requirement. They are required to take a Bible course that meets at least three hours a week in semesters in which they are enrolled for more than 8 hours unless the graduation requirement for Bible has been met. Cumulative hours must total at least 160 hours.

Remedial Courses: Students, who are under-prepared, based on standardized test scores, may be required to enroll in remedial courses. The Advance Program  and ESL Program  offer remedial courses to prepare students for entry into college-level courses, and do not count toward graduation or total hours completed.

Repeat Courses: A student may repeat any course previously taken. The highest grade will be counted in the GPA. Students may not raise their grade point average by repeating a course and then withdrawing. The previous grade will remain on the transcript.

Summer School Enrollment at Another Institution: Any undergraduate summer school course that a current student plans to take at another accredited college or university and then transfer to Harding must be pre-approved by the registrar before the student enrolls in the course. The maximum credit load policy will be enforced. The required forms are found on the Student tab in Pipeline.

Transfer Students: Students who transfer from a regionally accredited institution within the United States will have credits evaluated on a course-by-course basis, and approved courses will be transferred as equivalents to Harding courses or as elective credit. To assist in understanding transfer credit, students may visit the site www.harding.edu/registrar and click on Course Equivalency. Follow the instructions in locating the transfer institution and accepted credit from that school. For colleges not in this database, contact the registrar for information.

Students whose credits were accepted as elective may submit a course description for each course to the registrar for review. In some areas of study, the course description may be submitted to the chair of the department for review.

Students who transfer from a non-regionally accredited institution within the United States will have credits evaluated based upon course descriptions and in some cases may be required to have credit validated by the chair of the department of the course in question. Validation of a course may require an examination by the student.

Transfer credit counts as upper-level credit only if the course has junior-senior status at the institution where taken. All work transferred from a junior college is considered lower-level except for 300-level courses taken in an approved third-year program.

A transfer student is required to have at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA on all previous course work attempted at previous institutions. Students admitted with less than a 2.0 cumulative GPA will be placed on academic warning or probation, which may result in academic suspension if the student does not complete the semester at Harding with a 2.00 GPA.

Students certifying to teach must still meet all Arkansas certification requirements. In some instances upper-level courses may substitute for lower-level courses for students who did not graduate with an associate degree.

Transfer-Associate Degree: Students who have graduated with an A.A. or A.S. degree from a junior or community college before enrolling at Harding may satisfy Harding’s Liberal Arts requirements if the following courses have been completed:
     Bible (textual) - 8 hours; Speech - 3 hours; art, music or theatre appreciation - 3 hours; Natural science - 6 hours; Mathematics - 3 hours; Social science (must include 6 hours of American and/or world history) - 12 hours; Kinesiology activity - 3 hours; and English composition and literature - 9 hours. (This policy is under revision during the 2014-2015 academic year.)

Students certifying to teach must still meet all Arkansas certification requirements. In some instances upper-level courses may substitute for lower-level courses for transfer students who did not graduate with an associates degree.

Transfers - International Students: International students or any student who transfers from an institution from outside of the United States should submit an official transcript, including certified English translated copies. Students should be aware that these documents may be submitted to a third-party credential service by Harding for an official evaluation. This process may take up to three months. The student will be charged for this service. Courses completed at an overseas college will be evaluated on an individual basis and course descriptions will be required. Students should be aware that some courses may require validation by examination. Important information may also be found in the International Student Handbook.

Withdrawal Procedures

Procedures for Withdrawal from the University

Occasionally students find they must withdraw completely from the University. The following are steps for withdrawing from the University for students living in University housing and/or enrolled in classes on the Searcy campus:

1. The student should go to the Office of Student Life to complete paperwork and the required exit interview.
2. The student is then required to visit with the Office of Financial Services for an exit interview.
3. The student will submit the completed and signed withdrawal form to the Registrar’s Office.

If a student is also a residence hall student, he/she will need:

1. A Drop From Housing form from the Office of Student Life and the withdrawal form. The Drop From Housing form must be signed by a Student Life dean.
2. The student will then take the Drop From Housing form to the Office of Residence Life to have it signed.
3. Next, he/she will need to take the form to the residence life coordinator, who will fill it out along with a room inventory form when the student turns in his/her room key to the residence life coordinator.
4. Finally, the residence life coordinator will take this form to the Business Office, where the student will be officially removed from the residence hall.

The following are steps for withdrawing from the University for students who are enrolled in a class not on the Searcy campus or only in online courses:

1. The student may fax a written withdrawal notice to the Office of Student life at (501)279-4059; or email the notice to studentlife@harding.edu; or mail the written notice to the Office of Student Life, Box 12252, Searcy, AR  72149-2292. The student must provide their name, student ID number, home address, telephone number, semester of withdrawal, brief statement of the reason for withdrawal and signature.
2. The Student Life Office will notify the Office of Financial Services, Business Office and Registrar’s Office of the withdrawal.

A student will not be considered officially withdrawn until the registrar has received notification and completed the drop for all classes. Students who do not complete an official withdrawal may receive a failing grade from each course. Students should follow the deadline as listed in the academic information section of the current catalog.