Academic Credits and Calendar
The unit of credit at Hesston College is the semester hour. One credit hour requires a minimum of one hour of class and two hours of out-of-class student work per week over a 16-week semester or its equivalent. A student enrolled in 12 or more hours per semester is considered full time. A student may take up to 17 hours under the regular tuition plan.
The academic year consists of a 16-week fall semester and a 16-week spring semester, each with two 8-week sub-terms. Additionally, the fall semester is followed by a short winter term of online/travel courses, and the spring semester is followed by a short summer term of online/travel/limited on campus courses. Winter and summer term courses as well as hybrid and online vary in length or course structure but credit hours must meet the semester standard.
The final week of fall and spring terms is set aside for final examinations. The first day is a reading day on which no classes are held. During the next three days, classes are assigned a two-hour period for exams. Students who have more than three exams on one day may appeal to the registrar to reschedule the extra exams with no additional fee. The exam schedule is published on the website and with the course offerings at the beginning of the year.
Midterm and final exams are not administered early except under extenuating circumstances. The consent of the academic dean and course instructor is required and a fee is charged.
Academic Advising
Each student is assigned to a faculty member for academic advising. Assignments are based primarily on the student’s area of study. Advisors guide students in understanding higher education expectations and requirements. Advisors assist students with course selection, schedule changes, questions related to transferring to other institutions upon graduation and other areas of concern. Students may initiate a change in advisor assignment by contacting the academic dean or the registrar.
Registration
New and continuing students register in the spring and summer for both semesters of the coming year. Students may then add or drop courses with their advisor’s approval according to the following schedule. Students attending in-person classes must be enrolled prior to the second week of classes. No new students will be allowed to enroll after the last day of the first week of classes. Students must be attending in-person by the second week of class or they will be dropped from the class.
Adding courses: For semester term courses, students may add courses the first week of the term with advisor’s consent and through the second week of the term with advisor’s and instructor’s consents. For sub-term (8-week) courses, students may add with advisor’s consent during the first week of the sub-term. For summer and winter term courses, instructor’s and advisor’s consent is required to add after the course starts. For limited date (weekend, travel, etc.) courses, students may add the course up until the course starts with the instructor’s and advisor’s consent. For aviation flight courses, a student may add a course up to the 60% point of the term/sub-term if there is a reasonable chance of completing the course during the term/sub-term. Instructor, advisor and registrar approval is required if adding past the standard add period.
Dropping courses: Courses dropped within the first two weeks of a fall or spring semester term, within the first week of a sub-term, or within the time noted on the course syllabus for winter or summer term, or weekend courses do not appear on the student’s permanent record.
Aviation flight courses have an extended drop period. A student may drop a flight course at any point up to the 60 percent withdrawal date if the course has not been started. If the course has been started, the student may withdraw according to the standard procedure below. If a course is not started by the 60 percent withdrawal date, the student will be administratively withdrawn.
Withdrawing from courses: After the drop period and until the course is 60 percent complete, a course from which a student withdraws remains on the record with a grade of W (not calculated into the GPA). Formal withdrawal from a course is not permitted after it is 60 percent complete, unless permission is granted by the office of academics for health/medical or other unusual reasons. See Student Financial Policies in the Tuition and Fees chapter of this catalog to learn the implications of registration changes on tuition and fees.
Withdrawal from School Procedures
A student considering withdrawing from Hesston College should contact the academic dean. A form will be available online to request official withdrawal from the school. (See also the policies on registration changes and fee refunds.)
Medical Withdrawal
Students at Hesston College may request a medical withdrawal from the college due to medical conditions or circumstances which impair significantly their ability to function in class and/or for other college-sanctioned activities. To request a medical withdrawal, the student must submit documentation of the medical condition or circumstance from a qualified medical or other duly licensed professional. A medical withdrawal is a complete withdrawal from all classes. No partial withdrawals will be granted. For further information, see the Student Handbook.
Administrative Course Withdrawal
Students are expected to attend all classes, complete and submit assignments on time and behave in a manner appropriate for a college classroom. A student who repeatedly fails to complete assignments, disrupts class and/or is chronically absent from class sessions for a course may be administratively withdrawn from the course by the academic dean upon the request of the professor for the course, and in consultation with the academic advisor, the financial aid office and, if necessary, the director of international admissions. This action may occur at any point during the term. The student will be notified prior to such action.
Students missing 20 percent or more of the scheduled meetings of a course, regardless of the number of excused/unexcused absences, may be subject to administrative course withdrawal. The grade assigned will be a W prior to the withdrawal deadline or a F after the withdrawal deadline. Instructors are responsible for documenting individual attendance records online, warning students with excessive absences and communicating actions with the academic dean. Instructors still have discretion to allow a minimal number of unexcused absences and to adjust letter grades according to their own policies.
Repeat Courses
When a student repeats a course not marked as repeatable, both grades appear on the transcript. The hours are counted only once and only the latter grade is computed in the grade point average. A course may only be repeated once (for a total of two attempts) to achieve a passing grade. Repeatable courses may be taken multiple times with hours and grades counting in the GPA each time up to the max allowed per course.
Auditing Courses
A student may elect to audit certain courses. No grade is given, no credit is earned and special audit fees apply. Courses not available for audit include physical education skill classes, Class Voice, Class Piano, private lessons and other classes requiring group performance and/or considerable individualized or private instruction. The decision to audit rather than earn credit must be made within the first two weeks of fall or spring term, the first week of a sub term and within the first two days of a summer term.
Senior citizens (age 60 and older) may choose to attend a class by auditing the course at a lower audit fee and should apply as an auditing community student.
Student Classification
Students are classified at the beginning of each semester as follows: freshman – 0 to 23 hours completed; sophomore – 24 to 59 hours; junior – 60 to 89 hours; senior – 90 or more hours.
Catalog 2023-24