O. General Course Policies

O. General Course Policies

Add/Drop

The last day for adding a course is seven school days after classes have begun. The last day to drop a course without it appearing on the transcript is four weeks. Courses may be dropped until midterm with a notation of withdrew passing (WP) or withdrew failing (WF) on the transcript. These dates are listed on the GSSM Academic Calendar.

Auditing

Students can audit a class, with prior approval of the instructor and consent of the Senior Vice President for Residential, without receiving a grade or credit, provided there is space available. Specific requirements about completing homework, projects, tests, etc. are at the discretion of the teacher.

Tests and Assignments

Tests requiring the entire class period should be announced to the class in advance of the test date. No student is required to take more than three full-period tests on any day. Short (less than 20 minutes) quizzes may be given without prior notification. Major paper assignments and due dates should also be announced in class well in advance of the due date.

Faculty members should assign only a minimum amount of homework over a long weekend or after a major school event (all-day trip, convocation, prom, etc.). If at all possible, these assignments should be made well in advance of the weekend or event. No assignments should be made over vacation breaks, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter, or spring break.

No quizzes or tests should be given on the first class after a long weekend or vacation break.

Course Instructors and Course Times

Students cannot select instructors or course times. It is important to learn how to learn in all situations and from a variety of teaching styles. Learning from our diverse and talented instructors will prepare you for learning in the college setting and beyond. In order to provide the best educational experience, we try to have a similar number of students in each class). Since a number of our courses are taught in one semester and since we allow students to add and drop courses at the beginning of semesters, we sometimes need to rebalance classes for instructors at the beginning of each semester and sometimes after a few weeks into a semester.

Course Placement

Every effort is made to place juniors in courses that are at the correct level based on their previous academic experience. Occasionally, a student may be misplaced. In such cases, the Senior Vice President for Residential, in consultation with the subject teacher and faculty advisor, may shift a student to a different level course. The deadlines and recording rules noted above are waived in these unusual circumstances.

Grade Reporting

Grades are given to students and sent home to parents after the mid-term of each semester and after semester exams. Instructors are encouraged to provide feedback, especially for juniors, throughout the year. At any time, students can ask their instructors about their grades; however, we encourage students to take responsibility for knowing what their grades are in courses by recording them and referring to the syllabi for their courses.