General Course Policies
If a student has a complaint about an instructor or course, the student should speak first to the instructor. Continuing education students should then speak to the center director. If the student is not satisfied or cannot resolve the issue at that level, then he or she should speak to the program coordinator/department chair. If the student is still not satisfied, then he or she should speak to the school dean or program director (day students) or the executive director of Continuing Education.
If the student wishes to pursue the matter further, he or she should speak to the vice president for Academic Affairs, who will review the matter and make a final decision.
Students who want to change their majors must obtain the Change of Major form from the Registrar's Office. The completed and approved form must be received by the Office of the Registrar before the change will become effective.
When students change from an associate degree program to a bachelor’s degree program, the courses he or she has completed will be deemed as part of the bachelor’s degree program.
Students who wish to take courses at other colleges or universities and transfer the credits to Southern New Hampshire University must receive approval from the registrar prior to enrolling at the other institutions. It will be necessary to furnish descriptions of the courses prior to taking them. After completing the course, the student must arrange to have an official transcript of the course grade sent to the Registrar’s Office. Failure to obtain prior approval to take a course at another institution may lead to Southern New Hampshire University not granting transfer credit for that course. Only courses in which the student received a grade of “C-” (with a 2.0 average for all courses transferred from the same institution) or better will be accepted as transfer credit. The grade-point average of a course taken at another institution is not computed as part of the student’s grade-point average. Southern New Hampshire University does not accept as transfer credit co-ops, capstones, internships and student teaching taken at other institutions.
Southern New Hampshire University awards credit for some formal course work taken in non-accredited, postsecondary educational settings. These settings include postsecondary vocational and technical training, in-service training courses in the workplace, military service training programs and career-related workshops and seminars.
In many cases, this type of training has been evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE) and criteria for awarding university credit is available in the various ACE guides in the Registrar’s Office. Where there is no ACE criteria, Southern New Hampshire University may have to conduct an independent review of the training for the purpose of granting transfer credit.
Students wishing to have their non-accredited, postsecondary course work evaluated should submit a letter requesting this evaluation, along with official transcripts or some original form of verification of successful completion of these courses, to the university registrar. Students will be notified by the registrar if the experience warrants credit and, if so, the number of credits awarded and the requirements they satisfy.
Southern New Hampshire University accepts the results of nationally accredited testing programs or institutionally developed examinations to satisfy the prerequisites of certain courses or degree requirements. Before deciding on a testing program, the student should review his or her worksheet with an advisor, center director or the registrar to determine if testing is a practical alternative.
Course-by-arrangement is a Southern New Hampshire University course appearing in the university catalog and required in the student’s academic program of study, yet extraordinary circumstances prevent the student from enrolling in the course when it is normally offered. Course-by-arrangement is available to Southern New Hampshire University undergraduates, in both the day and continuing education divisions, who are unable to obtain a required course during the normal registration and scheduling process.
Continuing education students must review the master course schedules of area centers to verify that the required course is not being offered.
Students must identify a Southern New Hampshire University full-time or adjunct faculty member consenting to
teach and grade the work. The faculty member must be approved to teach the requested course.
Course-by-arrangement applications require:
• a letter of extenuating circumstance justifying the offering of a course-by-arrangement.
• a regular, weekly meeting schedule be established to ensure proper supervision of the student’s progress in the course.
• a syllabus stating course objectives and evaluation process.
• a defined time frame (semester, terms).
A Southern New Hampshire University student may take an independent study course in any subject area.
Conditions:
• The course content is not offered in any regularly scheduled Southern New Hampshire University course.
• A full-time Southern New Hampshire University faculty member in the department of the course subject area agrees to supervise the student and grade the student’s work, or a Southern New Hampshire University adjunct instructor, approved by the appropriate program coordinator/department chair and the school dean, agrees to supervise the student and grade the student’s work.
• All independent study courses will be at the 400 level.
• An independent study course has a value of no more than three credits.
• The study is approved by the student’s advisor, program coordinator and the school dean.
Each student’s academic progress is tracked on a worksheet. This document shows the degree requirements for the major according to the year the student entered or changed majors. All the courses listed must be sucessfully completed to qualify for a degree. Students should follow the course sequence on their worksheets.
Students who want to change their majors must obtain the appropriate form online or from SAS. The completed and approved form must be received by the Office of the Registrar before the change will become effective.
When students change from an associate degree program to a bachelor’s degree program, the courses he or she has completed will be deemed as part of the bachelor’s degree program.
The courses required for a specific degree are in the university catalog and are listed on students’ worksheets. Any change in program course requirements must be approved by the student’s program coordinator/department chair and school dean. A form for this purpose may be obtained online or from SAS. The completed and approved form must be received by the Office of the Registrar before the change will become effective.
No changes to the B.A./B.S. core course requirements are allowed.
Students who wish to change their schedules must do so during the add/drop period beginning with registration and ending at the end of the fifth class day. Forms are obtained online or from Student Administrative Services and the academic advising office. The change is official when the form is signed by the student’s advisor and each instructor involved and processed by the Office of the Registrar. Students who miss the first two sessions of a class may be dropped by that instructor without prior notice.
Nonattendance in class does not constitute a drop or a withdrawal. An instructor, however, may drop students who miss the first two sessions of the class. The Office of the Registrar is notified of students dropped by an instructor. Unless students are dropped by an instructor or officially drop or withdraw from a class, they must receive a grade; nonattendance results in a failing grade.