ACADEMIC INFORMATION

1. COL ACADEMIC REGULATIONS – . It is important that you familiarize yourself with these rules, as they will govern the structure of your education here.
2. COL ADVISORS – COL students are assigned an adviser when they are admitted to the major. However any changes in academic plans, COL courses substitutions, leaves of absence, withdrawal from COL, must be discussed with and approved by Director.
3. COL COMMUNICATIONS – All students of the College of Letters are assigned COL mailboxes (in the lower part of the C-400 foyer.) The boxes of the three classes follow in sequence, and the order within a class is alphabetical by surname. All official COL notices and memoranda, as well as personal messages, are placed in these boxes, and your tutors may return your essays directly to them, so make it a habit to check them whenever you come into the College of Letters. Please also inform the COL Secretary of your address and telephone number as soon as possible, and keep her informed of any changes that may occur.
4. COL CREDITS – All courses for major credit in the COL are CR/U; letters grades are neither given nor accepted for major course credit in the College of Letters, nor is it possible to change letter grades retroactively – don’t even ask. The Junior Comprehensive Examination, however, offers an option of graded mode (High Honors, Honors, Creditable, or Re-examine) or ungraded (Pass, Fail). You may elect either a graded or an ungraded mode for the assessment of your study abroad, since such courses, although required by the major, are not counted for major course credit. However, (a) you must take all of the foreign study in the same grading mode; and (b) it is not possible to change the grading mode elected later than ten days after the beginning of classes in the foreign study program.
5. COL STUDENT EVALUATIONS – Tutors of courses for COL major credit are required to write detailed evaluations of the students’ work at the end of the semester, and these evaluations are kept in the student’s folder and can be discussed with the student upon request. Students receive copies of each evaluation. However, these course evaluations are not intended for outside use, and are not sent out with transcripts. Instead, you may request from the Director of the COL a letter summarizing the content of your course evaluations, to be send out in support of graduate school and job applications, etc. Such letters are not automatically supplied: you must request one from the Director, and allow sufficient time for its preparation if you want it sent out to meet particular deadlines.
6. GENERAL EDUCATION EXPECTATIONS – The same expectations apply to members of the COL as to other Wesleyan students. Please see the attached memo for information as to what expectations are satisfied by the COL curriculum. Because COL students normally are required to study abroad in the spring of their sophomore year, they are allowed until the end of the first semester of their junior year, if necessary, to complete Stage I expectations.
7. COL HOUSE TAX – Several years ago, COL students and faculty voted unanimously to institute a house tax of $10.00 per semester for both students and faculty members, to defray the expenses of bi-weekly social hours, receptions, class parties, and the coffee, tea, and cocoa that are always available in the COL Library on weekdays. For students, this tax is charged directly to your billing from North College each semester. It has proved to be a relatively easy and inexpensive way to sustain an enjoyable modest social life in the COL, but if you are opposed to it, you can be exempted from the tax by notifying the COL Administrative Assistant. If you make that decision, though, don’t freeload on the refreshments funded by your peers.
8. COL LIBRARY – The COL Library is intended for the use of COL students and faculty only. You are welcome to take books out as long as you sign and date the library card and leave it with the COL Secretary. When you bring books back, do not return them to the shelf. Give them to the Secretary who will cross your name off the card and return book and card to the proper place. Please return books within a month after borrowing them or request an extension. All books must be returned by the end of the semester in which they were borrowed.
9. COL SUBSTITUTION COURSES AND FORMS – If you wish to substitute a course not listed in the COL’s curriculum for COL major credit, the course must first be approved by the Director of the COL who generally favors courses closely related to the COL curriculum. You must then obtain the appropriate form (available in the COL office) and secure the instructor’s signature indicating her or his consent to the stipulations there noted (primarily, to give you a grade of CR or U, irrespective of whether that is a generally available option for this course, and to provide you with a detailed written evaluation of your work at the end of the semester). The completed and signed form must be returned to the COL Secretary or Administrative Assistant within two weeks after the start of classes, if the course is to be listed on your transcript as a COL major credit. If the form is not received within that period, it will be listed as an ordinary university course and will not receive COL major credit.
10. THE COL TRANSCRIPT – is a separate entity from the Wesleyan academic record. It includes everything shown on your University transcript as well as your COL courses. It is the transcript used by COL students when they graduate and apply for jobs or advanced study. This transcript is recorded, regularly updated, and printed in the College of Letters, and is a part of each COL student’s file. Copies of the transcript are sent to the office of the Registrar in North College, and when an official copy of the transcript is required for outside use, it must be requested from the Registrar’s office. A summary description of the COL program of study is sent out with every transcript. COL students may have access to their COL file transcript whenever they wish during office hours.