Registration, Changes, Advice

  • A comprehensive advising and guidance program at the College recognizes the need for supportive counseling in all  matters related to a college education. Thus, advising takes place in a variety of settings, with more or less formality depending on the circumstances, and at all stages of progress throughout a college career.

    New students are assigned a faculty advisor at the outset who assists with overall program planning, course selection, registration, career choices, and any academic difficulties or personal problems as they may arise. First-year students are taught by their advisor in a First-Year Studies seminar during the fall term. These first-year advisors serve in an advisory capacity for the entire first year. During the sophomore year, students may retain their first-year advisor or choose another faculty advisor.

    Students must select a major field of study by the end of the sophomore year, and, accordingly, choose an advisor from the faculty members in the relevant department or interdisciplinary major. Faculty advisors in the major assist students in drawing up a program of courses in their major field and other academic areas, and provide necessary guidance throughout students’ undergraduate careers.

Registration in Courses

Full-Time Status

A full-time course load at Lake Forest College is 3 to 4.5 courses per semester

Enrolled students are allowed to pre-register each spring for the next academic year. Students who have pre-registered by the end of spring term will be given first priority in courses for the coming year. First-year students have an opportunity to register for fall semester during the summer preceding their entrance to the College. The spring registration plans are formally completed during designated registration periods in the fall. Prior to the spring semester, additional days are scheduled for confirming or changing registration plans for that semester. Once the semester begins students must officially confirm their registration, according to the instructions of the Registrar’s Office; failure to do so may result in a cancellation of registration. A fee is charged for late registration.

  • Course Changes

    During a designated registration period, a student must make any changes in registration using the online registration system provided on my.lakeforest and have those changes approved by an advisor, also on my.lakeforest. If this procedure is not followed when a student wishes to drop one course in favor of another, a failing grade of F will be recorded for the course in which the student is officially registered, and the student will not receive credit for the other course.

    Since the normal course load is defined as 3 to 4.5 course credits per semester, a full-time student is permitted to reduce his or her registration to fewer than 3 course credits during a semester-in-progress only with prior written approval of his or her faculty advisor and the Dean of Students. Within the first two weeks of the semester, a course withdrawal is regarded simply as a permissible change of registration. Only the courses in which the student remains registered will appear on the transcript.

    In a regular semester course (15-weeks), the last day for approved withdrawal from a course with an automatic W will be the last day of the ninth week of classes (unless a Medical Withdrawal has been authorized). After the end of the ninth week, withdrawal results in either a W or a WF, depending upon the instructor’s evaluation of the student’s progress in the course in question at the time of the withdrawal. A student may not withdraw from a course after the last day of classes (that is, during the reading or examination periods or thereafter). 

Grades

Students shall be evaluated by their instructors solely on the basis of their academic performance, not on their opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards.

The academic record of every student is reviewed by the Academic Appeals Board of the faculty, the Dean of the Faculty, and the Dean of Students at the end of each term: As a result of such reviews, students may be placed on academic probation by the Dean of Students or the Academic Appeals Board as a warning that they are in danger of academic suspension. Students are placed on academic probation whenever their cumulative GPA falls below 2.0.

Student Academic Appeals: Lake Forest College has established procedures that individual students may use when they wish to make an academic appeal or when they believe that a grade has been assigned by an instructor in a prejudiced or capricious manner.