Course and Registration Policies
Add/Drop Procedures
Students can use MaineStreet to add courses to their Fall 2008 schedules through September 9, 2008, and to drop courses through September 16, 2008. Students sign into MaineStreet using their maine.edu email login and password. Class schedules and other important academic informaton can also be found in MaineStreet.
Students who choose to add and drop courses using the paper-based system must obtain the signature of their advisors on an add-drop form which can be obtained from and must be returned to the First Stop or the Registrar's Office by the indicated dates.
Add/Drop Deadlines
Adding Courses
No student may add a course after the start of the fourth class hour of that class without the written approval of the instructor and their advisor (last day to add a course: September 9, 2008).
Late Course Adds
Students wishing to add a semester-long course after the end of the third week (after September 23rd) must complete a Late Course Add Form and obtain the written approval of the instructor, advisor and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Students must indicate the compelling reasons for adding a course this long after the add deadline. The student and the instructor must also indicate on the form the manner in which the student will make up the work missed at the beginning of the semester.
A Late Course Add Form must also be used by any student wishing to add a course which meets during a session shorter than a full term, if 20% of the session has already passed.
A Late Course Add Form is not required for Directed or Independent Studies, Co-ops or Internships.
Dropping Courses
Students who are not withdrawing from school completely may reduce their course load without any financial penalty through the first two weeks of the semester (last date to drop a course: September 16th). Dropping a course during this period will leave no record of course registration on the student's record.
After the drop period has passed, students may withdraw from a course using the Course Withdrawal form. See Withdrawal Procedures and Deadlines.
Incomplete Grades
An Incomplete is a temporary grade indicating that specific arrangements have been made with the instructor to complete work by a later date not to exceed 210 days. An "I" which is not removed by the prearranged date is replaced with by the grade specified on the Incomplete Grade Contract. If no grade is specified, the Incomplete is turned to an "F."
Students who wish to arrange to take an Incomplete for the semester should consult with the faculty member teaching the course. If the instructor agrees that an Incomplete is appropriate, both the student and instructor need to sign an Incomplete Grade Contract which specifies the following:
- the reason for the Incomplete
- the work to be completed by the student
- the date by which the student will complete the work
- the grade the student will receive if the work is not completed.
The Registrar's Office waits until 210 days after the end of the semester in which the Incomplete was given, then changes any remaining Incomplete grades to the grade specified on the Incomplete Grade Contract. If no grade is specified, the Incomplete is turned to an F.
Repeating Courses
When a student repeats a course, the initial grade remains on the transcript, but only the latest grade is used for computing the grade point average.
Credit earned for all previously completed attempts of the course will be lost.
When a student completes the exact equivalent of a UMM course at another institution (while registered at that institution) with an acceptable grade, the effect of the original grade on the student's GPA will be cancelled. However, the grade the student earned at the other institution will not replace the original grade in the calculation of the GPA, in accordance with standard transfer credit policy.
Pass/Fail Policy
Courses are graded on an A-F basis unless otherwise noted in the course description.
When a course is graded on a Pass/Fail basis, the grade of P will be considered to be equivalent to a C- or better. A grade of LP (Low Pass) may also be assigned, and considered the equivalent of a D+, D or D-. A grade of F earned in a course graded on a pass/fail basis will not affect the grade point average.
When a course may be taken pass/fail at the option of the student, the student must declare his/her option in writing before the end of the second week of classes by submitting the Declaration of Grade Option form to the Registrar's Office, or to the instructor, who will in turn submit the student's form to the Registrar's Office.
Once made, this decision cannot be changed.
Auditing a Course
A student may audit a course for informational instruction only. A student who audits does not receive academic credit for work done.
A student may register for any course on an audit basis by obtaining the approval of the course instructor on a Course Audit Request form. Students auditing a course pay full price for tuition and fees.
A course registration may only be changed to or from audit status during the first week of the semester. Instructor permission is required.
Full-time students may not use the audit registration as a basis for exceeding the usual credit maximum of 18 semester hours. Audit registration also may not be used as a means of achieving full-time status.
Audit registrations will appear as such on the permanent record of the student. The University, therefore, reserves the right to monitor the attendance of the auditing student.
Prerequisites
Many courses have prerequisites, or courses that need to be completed prior to the course in question. Students should check the Course Descriptions to identify course prerequisites.
The prerequisite rules assume that you will pass the courses in which you are currently enrolled. If you later fail a course which is a prerequisite for a later course, your registration may be dropped for failure to meet the required prerequisite(s).
Problems?
If you think the prerequisite rules are missing some important information about your file, or don't seem to recognize the course you've taken as a prerequisite, call or email the Registrar's Office (207-255-1223 or ummreg@maine.edu) and we will check into the situation.
If you don't have the needed prerequisite(s), but DO have the instructor's permission, ask the professor to sign an add/drop form and bring to the Registrar's Offie for processing. You will also need to include your RAN number or your advisor's signature on the form.