GENERAL EDUCATION EQUIVALENCE TO TRANSFER COURSES
Transfer students may count certain courses transferred from their previous college or university to fulfill Wesleyan’s General Education Expectations. The process involves matching each course that has been transferred with an equivalent course in the Wesleyan curriculum that fulfills a General Education Expectation.
Below are the steps you should follow in preparation for course selection and registration. Please make sure to check the Orientation Schedule or your portfolio for important information regarding locations and times of meetings listed below.
____ Refer to WesMaps for a complete, up-to-date listing of course offerings. WesMaps is an online course catalogue that includes course descriptions, instructor and scheduling information, cross-listings, General Education designations, prerequisites, enrollment limits and preferences, readings, modes of assessment, additional requirements, etc.
____ Click on the Pre-Registration link (after 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 19) in your electronic portfolio (portfolio) to create a plan of study with several different course options. You will be prompted to submit “Permission of Instructor” and “Pre-requisite Override” requests, if necessary, when completing your plan.
____ Attend “The Nuts and Bolts” academic advising session for transfer students with the class deans and dean for student academic resources on Thursday, August 28.
____ At “The Nuts and Bolts” meeting, make an appointment for Friday, August 30 to meet with your class dean. Also make sure to have an appointment with your faculty advisor some time between noon and 5 p.m. to get your course plan approved. Juniors who do not yet have a major advisor will meet with Dean David Phillips. Twelve College Exchange students also will meet with Dean David Phillips and Visiting International students will meet with their faculty advisor.
____ Attend the Academic Forum on Thursday, August 28 to meet professors and learn about majors from all departments and programs.
____ Check your portfolio on Friday, August 29 around 7 p.m., for the results of the scheduling program—your course enrollment for the semester. Note your Adjustment time for Saturday, August 30.
____ Use the link to Current Classes and Schedule in your portfolio to review your course schedule, grading mode and credits. You are responsible for its accuracy!
____ On Friday, August 29 at 8:30 a.m., the Enroll Me button will be activated in your portfolio. You are required to enroll in the University no later than Monday, September 1 at 5 p.m., so click the Enroll Me button from any computer in the Wesleyan on-campus network well before then. Failure to do so means you are not enrolled in the University and cannot participate in the drop/add period.
____ Classes begin on Monday, September 1. During the drop/add period (September 1 – September 12), you may drop from or add courses to your schedule or change the grading mode of a course (when this option is available). To drop or add a course, click on the “Drop/Add” link under the “Course Registration” option in your portfolio. Course cross-listing changes cannot be made after the drop/add period. Grading mode changes can be made up to September 26, but not thereafter.
____ After the drop/add period, you may withdraw from a course with signatures from your instructor, faculty advisor, and class dean. A “W” (withdrawal) will be recorded on your transcript. The last day to withdraw from first quarter classes is October 10. The last day to withdraw from full semester and second quarter classes is November 25.
Important General Information
Advanced Placement. Up to 2.00 AP credits may be counted toward your Wesleyan degree, depending on the score received on the AP exam and on individual Wesleyan departmental regulations, such as the completion of a specific Wesleyan course with a minimum grade. See your class dean for particular requirements. AP credit does not act as an automatic prerequisite in the course registration process. Read more about pre-matriculant credits.
Sequence (Two-semester) Courses. Sequence courses require the successful completion of both semesters to receive credit for either course. Sequence courses are identified in their WesMaps listing with the text “Required Sequence” beneath the course title. If you fail the first semester of a sequence course, you may not continue in the second semester without the instructor's permission. An “F” will be recorded on your transcript regardless of whether you continue the course. If you fail the second semester of a sequence course, you lose course credit for both semesters. Students on Twelve College Exchange for one semester should avoid enrolling in sequence courses they cannot complete and for which they will not receive credit. To learn more, see sequence courses.
Faculty Advisor. Transfer students entering with sophomore standing are assigned a faculty advisor who will meet with them during the Planning period of pre-registration. Junior transfer students who declare a major will be assigned a faculty advisor by the major department. Dean David Phillips serves as the faculty advisor for Twelve College Exchange students. See the Faculty/Student Handbook for more information.
Major Declaration. Students at Wesleyan may not declare their major until second-semester of their sophomore year. Junior transfers need to declare a major upon arrival to campus because declared majors get priority admission into certain courses during pre-registration. Junior transfers who are not accepted into a major during the orientation period must declare a major during the fall semester, prior to pre-registration for the spring. Check out majors to learn more about transfer students and majors.
Auditing Courses. You may attend a class as an auditor with the instructor's permission. You will be added to the instructor's grade sheet and the course will be listed on your transcript as audited without credit (AU). For more information, see auditing courses.
Course Credit Load. The typical Wesleyan course carries 1.00 credit and the normal course load is 4.00 credits per semester. Students must register for a minimum of 3.00 credits each semester. Students who earn 2.00 or fewer credits in a semester will be placed on Strict Probation as will students who are below the cumulative credit minimum. Incompletes with provisional failing grades and the first half of sequence courses are not considered earned credit for purposes of promotion to the next semester or semester credit. See semester course load and review and promotion for more information.
Drop/Add Period. The drop/add period takes place during the first two weeks of the semester, from September 1 – September 12 (5 p.m.). To drop or add a course during the drop/add period, click on the “Drop/Add” link under the “Course Registration” section in your e-portfolio. A course dropped during this period will be deleted from your transcript. After the drop/add period, you may withdraw from a course with signatures from the instructor, your faculty advisor, and your class dean. A “W” (withdrawal) will be recorded on your transcript.
Grades. At Wesleyan, the grades of “E,” “F” and “U” are failing grades. A student who earns failing grades in two courses (.75-1.50 credit courses) in a single semester will be Required to Resign from the University. Two “D’s” are considered the equivalent of an “F” for purposes of academic review. To learn more about this, see grades and review and promotion.
Grading Mode. Many courses offer a grading mode option where students can choose to be evaluated by a letter grade (A-F) or Credit/Unsatisfactory (CR/U). When that option is available, students enter their choice through the drop/add system in their portfolio. Changes in grading mode can be made only through September 26, so make sure to check your schedule for accuracy. See grading mode changes.
Graduation Credits and Residency Requirements. To graduate, you must earn at least 16.00 Wesleyan credits and 32.00 credits in total (with no oversubscription, see below). Students entering as sophomore transfers must complete at least five semesters in residence at Wesleyan; students entering as mid-year sophomores or junior transfers must complete at least four semesters in residence. See degree requirements for more information.
Incompletes. All course work must be completed and submitted to the instructor by the last day of classes, except for exams scheduled during exam week, take-home final exams or final papers, which may not be scheduled or be due prior to the first day of exam week. Students who cannot meet this deadline may request an Incomplete from the instructor. If the Incomplete is granted, the deadline to submit all work is extended to the first day of classes of the subsequent semester, unless an earlier deadline is stipulated by the instructor or the Deans’ Office. To learn more, click on Incomplete policy.
General Education Expectations. Transfer students may apply credits earned at another institution prior to their matriculation at Wesleyan to the General Education Expectations by submitting a Transfer Credit Evaluation Form for General Education Equivalency. General Education Expectations must be fulfilled to be eligible for Phi Beta Kappa, University Honors, or Honors in some departments. Some majors require fulfillment of one or both stages either for entrance to or completion of the major. See General Education Expectations for more information.
Oversubscription. Students may count no more than 16.00 credits from any one department towards the degree. Credits beyond this limit will still be included on your transcript and in your credit total and grade point average, so it is important to keep tabs on useable graduation credits. Your Credit Analysis in the Academic Career bucket in your portfolio is the tool by which to do this. Go to degree requirements to learn more about oversubscription and the areas that are subject to credit limitations, such as PHED, tutorials, pre-matriculant credits, etc.
Transfer Credits and Majors. Acceptance of a transfer course for credit toward the Wesleyan degree does not necessarily mean it will count towards fulfilling your major requirements. You must get permission from your major department to count your transfer courses toward the major.
Tutorials. Sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to participate in individual tutorials during the semester with a faculty member. All tutorial forms must be submitted and approved electronically by the end of the drop/add period.
Withdrawing from a Course. You may withdraw from a first-quarter course through October 10 and a full-credit and/or second-quarter course through November 25, and by March 6 for a third-quarter course and by April 29 for a fourth quarter and/or full-credit course. A “W” will be recorded on your transcript. See course withdrawals for more information.