Registration

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Students who attend a course for which they are not officially registered will not receive credit or grades for their work. The registration of all students is conducted under the direction of the registrar, according to the schedule of classes for the College year. The official registration records are compiled and administered in the Office of the Registrar. All full-time undergraduate and graduate students are registered at specific times and dates as listed in the official calendars. The registrar publishes, in advance of each registration, specific instructions regarding procedures. Students who fail to register by the registration deadline may be required to pay a late-registration fee. Courses with low enrollments are subject to cancellation. Not all courses listed in the course description section of the Catalogs are offered each semester.

All graduate students (full- and part-time) must report to their advisors for scheduling purposes and approval of registration.

Springfield College maintains a five-day add period and a ten-day drop period at the start of each semester. Late registration will be permitted only in an emergency, and a fee may be assessed in such cases. The approval of the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education and Research must be secured for late registration.

No graduate student will be placed in a supervised fieldwork or student teaching experience until admitted to graduate standing and candidacy for a degree. Students will not be eligible to register for a course by arrangement, Guided Individual Study (RSCH 618), Thesis (RSCH 625-635), or Dissertation (RSCH 735) until the above condition has been met.* Before a graduate student may add or drop a course, approval of the major advisor must be obtained.

*On the recommendation of the department and upon approval by the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education and Research, exceptions to this regulation may be made for students pursuing approved certification programs.

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Springfield College maintains a five-day add period and a ten-day drop period each semester (excluding summer). During the first five days of each semester, students may request additions to their schedule of courses. Students must complete a Change-of-Schedule Form to complete schedule additions. The form may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. All Change-of-Schedule Forms must be signed by the student’s advisor before they are brought to the registrar for processing. After the five-day add period, students may not make additions to their academic schedules. Students are urged to refer to the Academic Schedule each semester for more specific information.

During the first ten days of the semester, students may drop a course for which they have registered. An approved Change-of-Schedule Form must be signed by the student’s advisor. Students are encouraged to refer to the College’s publication of “Fiscal Facts” for additional information.

After the ten-day drop period, students may, with the approval of their advisor and course instructor, withdraw (receive a grade of “W”) from a course anytime up to a point at which eighty percent of the course is completed (twelve weeks in a fifteen-week semester). Exceptions to the withdrawal deadline can be made only by the Registrar. A “W” grade submitted for a student by the course instructor is recorded as a grade of “F.”

Springfield College will maintain student confidentiality rights and protect access to information as provided by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as the Buckley Amendment. Except as provided by law, information from a student’s records will not be released without the prior written consent of the student. This legislation also provides for the College to release information without consent including, without limitation, the following:

1. Directory information may be provided unless a student has filed a written request to withhold this information. Students, whether they reside on or off campus, must advise the Office of the Registrar in writing no later than September 15 of each academic year if they wish to restrict the release of this information. Springfield College considers the following information as “directory information”: name; local and home address and phone number; name and address of parents or spouse; dates of attendance at the College and field of study; semester hours earned; degrees earned; honors received; weight, height, and age of members of athletic teams; and participation in organizations and activities recognized by the College.
   
   
2. Information may be shared with and by Springfield College faculty and staff who have a legitimate educational interest in the student.
   
   
3. Information may be shared with parents of students who are dependent upon them as defined in the IRS code.

In addition, any requests that come from officials of other institutions in which the student might be applying for transfer; government agencies and officials who provide proper identification; officers of the court; financial aid personnel to support a student’s application for aid; as well as appropriate parties in health or safety emergencies will have access to information in the student’s records. Students may also be asked to sign a written waiver granting permission for the release of information from the school records.

Students retain the right to review the contents of their educational records. In order to do so, a formal written request must be made through the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education and Research. In such cases, a meeting will be established within forty-five days of the request to permit the student to review materials. A photocopy charge may be assessed if the student wishes to have copies made of materials in their file. Springfield College will comply with a written request initiated by the student to supply information in their behalf. Such requests must be signed and dated and include the specific records or information to be disclosed, the purpose for the disclosure and the individual(s) to whom the information should be released. Details concerning the Buckley Amendment are available through the Office of the Registrar.

Students may obtain student-issued, unofficial copies of their academic transcripts for the duration of study at Springfield College. Applications for these transcripts are made in writing to the Office of the Registrar.

A $4-$6 fee is charged for transcripts requested to be officially sent to a third party. Official transcript requests must include name and address of the official to whom the information is to be mailed, along with a student’s signature as permission to release a record.

Official transcripts, bearing the College seal, are sent by the registrar directly to the receiver and may not be transmitted by the applicant. Ordinarily, transcript requests will be processed and mailed within ten days of the written request.

Currently enrolled students; non-enrolled students; students who have been separated, dismissed, suspended, expelled, disciplined, withdrawn, or were on a leave of absence may not obtain an official transcript, access to registration for courses, selection of a residence hall room, and/or a diploma if their accounts are not paid in full, as and when due.

To withdraw from Springfield College, a student must meet with the School Dean and the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education and Research for an exit interview, at which time the various steps of the withdrawal process will be reviewed. The purpose of the interview is for the student to have an opportunity to review options and bring closure to the experience at the College. At that time, an effective date will be determined. This date will be used in processing any possible refunds. Students who are withdrawing from the College must return the Student Identification Card that was issued to them. Withdrawals will not be processed unless the Student Identification Card is returned.

Matriculated graduate and post-graduate students at Springfield College are expected to be registered each semester until they graduate, unless they file an official leave of absence with the Graduate Office during their program of study. Those students who are eligible to enroll for classes, but are not registered for the current semester or summer term and are working on the completion of a thesis, dissertation, or coursework are required to register for continuous registration status. This status allows students to maintain certain use of campus facilities including but not limited to off-campus access to library resources. Students are expected to complete the Authorization for Continued Registration form for each term (including summer) in which a student wishes to maintain this enrollment status. There will be a $100 fee for this status.

Springfield College endeavors to promote research in four areas: institutional research, research related to the College’s objectives and programs, individual and new research, and service research.

The Associate Vice President for Graduate Education and Research, in consultation with the Graduate Council, administers a General Research Fund that is designed to stimulate faculty research and to lead to larger studies that may receive further assistance from private or public sources. Support has been given to a wide variety of investigations. A student research fund, administered by the Graduate Office, is also available to provide financial assistance to graduate students who are conducting research studies.

The College Counseling Center, the East Campus, and the Babson Library offer campus opportunities for conducting research related to student interests and areas of study. Within the community, research is conducted in collaboration with agencies and schools. The Allied Health Sciences Building offers well-equipped laboratories for physiology, physiology of exercise, motor learning, biomechanics, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

Other study and training projects financed or sponsored by federal and state governments, private industry, the YMCA, other social organizations, and philanthropic foundations are conducted from time to time making the College campus a lively place for students to enlarge their interests and to participate under supervision in many enriching experiences.

Computers on Campus
Computers are increasingly a necessary tool for instruction throughout the curriculum. Their use extends beyond simple word processing and includes a wide variety of applications which include spreadsheets, E-mail, group discussion databases, presentation programs, Internet research, library search services, and other specialized programs required within individual courses. The Information and Technology Services department (ITS) maintains a student public access computer lab and several training and instructional computer labs in the basement of Babson Library. All computer labs are connected to the campus data network and most provide printing services.

All labs run Windows 2000 operating systems; Apple OS is not supported by the college. The campus software package includes Microsoft Office and Microsoft Internet Explorer Internet access. All Springfield College students are given an individual E-mail account. Each campus residence room is equipped with a live data network outlet for each student.

For specifics on computing on campus, see the computing resources page at http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/dept.nsf/its.

A full service computer store is located in the basement of the Administration building and is open daily to serve students, faculty and staff for computer sales and service. For anyone wishing to purchase a computer system, printer or peripherals, The computer store offers competitive prices and outstanding service. Computer systems are equipped with a data network card, loaded with all the college software and fully configured for the college network and comes with an on campus warranty. For students choosing to bring their own computer to campus, The computer store provides “Certification” services which includes installation of a data network card, software, and network configuration. The computer store may be reached at 413-748-3860 or via E-mail: sccs@spfldcol.edu

Please refer to the appropriate section below

• The Master’s Degree
• The Doctoral Degree
  

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