JANUARY TERM POLICIES

Revised March 13, 2008 

Requirement

Students entering Loras College with less than 15 credits are required to successfully complete at least two (2) Loras College January term courses as part of the graduation requirements.  At least one of the January terms must be completed before the student has completed 56 credits.   

Students entering Loras College with more than 15 transfer credits but fewer than 40 transfer credits are required to complete at least two (2) January terms.

Students entering Loras College with 40.0 or more transfer credits are required to complete at least one (1) January term.

January Term students are subject to the Loras College academic, financial, and non-academic rules and regulations.

Eligibility
Participation in the January Term is generally limited to Loras College students who are enrolled in a degree program. Applicants for a January term study abroad program must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5.

Students who are attending another college who wish to enroll in a January term course must receive permission from the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs to participate.  As part of this process, the student must submit an official transcript from the student’s home institution.

Non-Loras students participating in a January term course will be charged the current part-time student tuition rate and all fees associated with the course.

Academic dismissal begins at the end of the fall semester and takes precedence over any earlier plans to participate in January term. Dismissed students who are enrolled in a Loras College January term class will have their registration cancelled and tuition and fees refunded.

Students who complete degree requirements in a January term will not officially be considered a graduate of the College until the end of the spring term.

Attendance
Students enrolled in a January Term course are expected to attend each class meeting and participate fully in the January term experience.  Students who do not attend class or who are not actively involved in the course may be administratively dropped from the class by the instructor at any time.  Students who are administratively dropped after the second day will receive a grade of “F” and will forfeit all tuition and fees for the course.

Grading
A letter grade will be issued for each January term course.  The Pass/Fail grade is not a grading option for January term courses.

If a grade of Incomplete is given, the work must be made up by midterm of the following spring semester.  If the student misses critical experiences of the course due to circumstances beyond his/her control, the student will receive a grade of “W” (withdraw) for the experience.

A January term class may not be audited.

Insurance Coverage
All students participating in off-campus trips sponsored by Loras College during the January term are required to have accident and health insurance coverage.  The cost of this coverage is included in the study abroad course fee.

Release Agreements
All students participating in an off-campus program are required to submit a Release Agreement to the Center for Experiential Learning.  This agreement will attest that the parent/guardian has knowledge of the proposed absence from campus and that parents and the student hold the College free of liability for injury or damage incurred while the student is off campus.  Release Agreement forms may be picked up from the Center for Experiential Learning. The form needs to be returned to the Center for Experiential Learning Office by October 30.

Schedule Changes
The last day to drop a January term class and receive a “W” (withdraw) grade is 4:30 p.m. on the second day of the term.  Anyone dropping a January term class after the second day will receive a grade of “F” (fail).  Students wishing to drop a January term course must do so in person in the Registrar’s Office, Room 135 Keane Hall, or by an email sent to the Registrar’s Office (registrar@loras.edu) by 4:30 p.m. on the second day of the term.

A student who drops a January term class by 4:30 p.m. on the second day of class will generally receive a refund of 25% of any special fees associated with the dropped course.  If the course fees, however, have been used by the College to pay non-refundable course expenses, then the course fees will not be refunded.  There will be no refunds issued after the second day of the January term.

The January term travel courses have separate policies for schedule changes and refunds. Consult the Director of Study Abroad for details 563-588-7026, http://inside.loras.edu/sites/cel/default.aspx.

Tuition and Fees
Although there is no additional tuition charged to a full-time traditional Loras College student, many January term courses have additional charges for field trips, films, speakers, or supplies. Off-campus courses will require additional charges for housing, meals, and transportation. These costs are indicated in the January Term course descriptions. The fees are subject to change, so the student is advised to check with the instructor regarding these costs prior to registration. Students will not qualify for participation in a January term trip, if they have an outstanding balance from a previous term.

Fee Payment Schedule
A January term course will be displayed in InfoQuest for Students and on the academic transcript as a separate term.  Students taking a January term course must be registered for at least 12 credits in the spring semester immediately following the January term.  Anyone not registered as a full time student for the spring term will be administratively dropped from the January term course.

A student’s full-time load for the spring semester is the sum of credits registered in the January term plus the credits registered in the spring term. Below are several examples to clarify the student load issue:

• If a student is registered for 3 credits in the January term and 15 credits in the spring term the student’s total load is 18 credits.  This student will be charged the standard tuition rate because the total credits registered does not exceed 18. 
  
• If a student is registered for 3 credits in the January term and 18 credits in the spring term the student’s total load is 21 credits. This student will be charged the standard tuition rate plus an additional $440.00 per credit ($1320.00) for each credit above 18.

•  A student must be registered for at least 12 credits in the spring term to be eligible to take a January term course.  A student cannot register for 3 credits in the January term and only 9 credits in the spring term. 

A student who is completing a January term course as the final course to complete degree requirements and is therefore not enrolled in the spring term will be charged tuition based on the current part-time student tuition rate.

Program Evaluation
Students will be asked to complete a course evaluation at the end of the term.