Academic Advising FAQ

• 120 credits are required for graduation, of which 60 must be completed at Goucher College.
• The minimum grade point average (GPA) to remain in good standing is 2.0.
• Completion of a major — students are required to declare a major by the second semester of their sophomore year.
• Completion of all Goucher Commons Requirements (applies to students who entered Goucher Fall 2017 and after) or Liberal Education Requirements (applies to students who entered Goucher prior to Fall 2017).
• See the Academic Catalogue for more detailed information.

Students can track their academic progress with DegreeWorks which they can access through their myGoucher accounts. Students should plan how to complete their academic requirements during their first year and again once they declare a major. The plan should outline the courses a student needs to take to complete their degree. This needs careful consideration and planning because there are some courses that are only offered once every four semesters. Students' academic advisors can help develop this plan. Academic plans may shift; it can be thought of as a guide to help the student navigate through the college and major requirements.

A major is a course of study that a student selects. He or she is required to complete all the requirements for the major to graduate.

• Departmental (traditional) major — The student follows a program outlined by a particular department for at least 30 credit hours, of which a least nine credit hours should be at the 300 level.
• Double major — The student fulfills the requirements for majors in two departments.
• Individualized interdisciplinary major — This major requires an application process. The student works with a primary faculty sponsor and members of different departments beginning in the fall semester of sophomore year to create a major composed of 48 or more credit hours. Courses should focus on methods and content from three or more disciplines and exhibit breadth and depth of analysis.  

 

Please check back for updated procedures regarding declaring a major or minor.

Students must be granted writing proficiency by the faculty in the Writing Program. Please note that a college writing course taken in another institution will not fulfill this requirement. To find out more information, see the Writing Program website.

• Visit the Academic Catalog for more information about how to complete the Foreign Language and Culture Requirement.
• Note: Students who have a documented learning disability that may prevent them from successfully gaining the foreign language proficiency should visit Accessibility Services for more information.

Some courses require that students have a certain standing in the college, or that they have taken a required course or have achieved college writing proficiency. This information is found at the end of the course description in the Academic Catalogue.

An elective is a course that is not one that is required for a major. It will count toward the student's credit total, however.

A transcript is a document that indicates all the courses and grades a student has received throughout his or her course of study at the college.

• In the majority of instances, a student will take a class for credit. The credit allotted to each class is listed in brackets after the course title in the academic catalogue. The credit load usually indicates the number of contact hours for the class — a three-credit course meets for three hours per week. Students are expected to do 2-3 hours of work outside the classroom for each credit hour, so a three-credit class would assume students have 6-9 hours of independent work doing research, writing papers, completing homework, reading relevant material, etc.
• First-year, first-semester students are limited to a maximum of 16 credits. Thereafter, students with a GPA above 3.0 may take up to 18 credits per semester. Those with a GPA below a 3.0 are restricted to taking a maximum of 16 credits per semester.

• Students have the option of taking a class pass/fail, bearing these criteria in mind:
  • They may not use this option in any course required for their major.
  • They may only use this option for two classes per year.
  • They may change to pass/no pass and/or back to a letter grade through the end of the 10th week of the semester.
  • Taking a class for pass/no pass will mean that the grade will not be counted in a student's GPA. To receive the passing grade, he or she must achieve the equivalent of a C- or above.
• Audits are rare, and students must receive special permission from the instructor to receive an audit for the class. Taking a class for audit will not affect a student's GPA.

• The registrar is in charge of all the academic materials and handles all transcripts, grading, college requirements, etc.
• Students go to Student Administrative Services (SAS), located in the Dorsey Center, to ask any questions about their transcripts, a missing grade, or transfer credits, as well as to hand in all paperwork for registration or changing of classes.

All of a student's academic information can be obtained through MyGoucher, including his or her schedule, transcript, academic plan, and grades.

Once a student has met with his or her academic advisor and has discussed the academic plan and courses he or she would like to take, the academic advisor will authorize registration. Students receive notification regarding a date and time that they may register through MyGoucher. No student without authorization will be able to register.

• If a student wants to change a course on his or her schedule, he or she may be able to add and/or drop classes up until the first day of classes. Once classes start, there is roughly a period of two weeks at the start of each semester and a time when some classes, previously closed, will open. For the exact dates to add and drop classes, refer to the academic calendar.
• Students may e-mail the professor prior to class starting and ask if they would be willing to grant them permission to join the class. If a student must wait until the class meets for the first time, they should prepare by printing out an Add/Drop form and take it to that class. Professors may allow new students into the class because another student does not show up for class, a space has opened on the roster, or the professor is willing to take more than the assigned number of students. Once the student has gotten the professor's signature, they must get their advisor's signature and take the completed form to the Registrar's Office (Student Administrative Services) located in the Dorsey Center.
• Note: If a student is unable to see their advisor, they can e-mail a request and ask permission to add or drop the class. Attaching the e-mail response to the form will be acceptable.

• The first step a student should always do is talk to the professor to see what can be done to help.
• Students should also try to use the services offered by the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) to see and the Writing Center.
• They may also opt to take the class pass/no pass (if this course is not a course required for the major.)
• The last resort is to withdraw from this course. This may be done through the end of the 10th week of classes. Note that this will reduce the number of credits a student is taking and, therefore, may affect his or her full-time status as a student. Student athletes need to be aware that going below full-time status will ban them from playing for the team, and all students who live on campus who go below full-time status must request special permission to remain on campus from the director of Residential Life. What is an academic warning?

Academic warning is when a student with a satisfactory cumulative grade point average receives two or more failing grades or earns a semester GPA below 2.0. The warning indicates that he or she is in danger, and a letter from the associate dean for undergraduate studies will identify resources that will support improvement.

When a student's GPA drops below a 2.0 but remains above a 1.6-1.8 (depending upon class level of the student), they will be placed on academic probation, which means they can continue at the college but may not hold an elected office in any college organization, compete in any varsity sport, or register for more than 16 credits. In addition, while a student is on academic probation, they must meet conditions that are articulated in a letter from the associate dean for undergraduate studies.

When a student fails to earn a cumulative GPA below that required to remain at Goucher or fails to meet the conditions of academic probation, her or she may be subject to academic suspension. There is a sliding scale ranging from 1.6 to 1.8 depending upon the class level of the student.