Academic Policy FAQ

Advance Registration for the spring semester occurs in November, and registration for the fall semester occurs in April. The dates for each semester are listed on the Academic Calendar.

The week preceding Advance Registration is called Advising Week. During this week, you must meet with your academic advisor to discuss courses for the upcoming semester as well as your plans for future semesters. Your advisor will also assist you in developing a list of alternate courses in case some of your first choices are no longer available when you register the following week. During this meeting, your academic advisor will remove your advising hold so you can register for classes.

There are many holds placed by different offices. Some of the common ones include Student Accounts, the Health Center, the Office of Study Away, the Quantitative Literacy Center, and the Women and Gender Resource Action Center. Each of these offices sends out notices when the holds are placed, and it is your responsibility to contact them for instructions on clearing the hold.

You can view your holds by logging into TCOnline and reviewing them in your Student Center. The hold will list the appropriate office to contact for additional information.

Add/Drop starts shortly after Advance Registration ends, and continues through the first six class days of the next semester.

For a full semester or Q1 course, the last day to drop a class is the 6th day of classes. Other sessions have different deadlines that are listed in the Academic Calendar.

Students may withdraw from a full semester or Q1 course through the mid-term of the semester. Other sessions have different deadlines that are listed in the Academic Calendar.

No. Withdrawing after the mid-term is only permitted under extraordinary circumstances, and failing a course is not considered an extraordinary circumstance.

You will need to submit a petition to the Academic Affairs Committee to request any schedule changes (late add, late drop, late withdrawal).  The petition form is available online or in the Registrar’s Office.

Beginning Fall 2023, the credits for each course will count towards full-time standing for each semester. The past practice of in-progress units has ended. However, some departments will record an incomplete for the first semester of senior thesis until the completion of the second semester.

In general, students may only earn credit once. If you are repeating a course you failed the first time, you have not earned credit yet, so you may retake the course. The grades from both attempts will appear on your record and will be calculated in your GPA.

However, if you earned a D- or higher the first time, you have already earned credit for the course, so you will not earn any credit the second time you take the course. Therefore, in order to be considered full-time, you must be enrolled in four credits in addition to the repeated course. The grades from both attempts will appear on your record and will be calculated in your GPA. Also, if the repeated course takes you above 5.75 credits, you may be subject to a tuition surcharge, even though you will not be earning credit for the second enrollment.

There are a few, such as Music Lessons, Independent Studies, Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, Music Ensembles, Theater and Dance Performance courses, and special topics courses (when a different topic is offered). However Physical Education courses may NOT be repeated for credit. Please consult the Bulletin or academic department if you have questions.

Beginning Fall 2023, the credits for each course will count towards full-time standing for each semester. However, some departments will record an incomplete for the first semester until the completion of the second semester.

You will need to petition the Academic Affairs Committee for an Incomplete. These are only granted in very limited situations and the request must be submitted by the last day of classes. Please see the Bulletin or contact the Dean of Students Office for more information.

NGR stands for “no grade received.” This may be entered by a faculty member when coursework for a student is missing, or administratively when the faculty member hasn’t entered a grade by the grading deadline. If you see this grade on your record, contact your instructor immediately for more information. NGR grades convert to F approximately fifteen days after the end of each semester.

Use TCOnline to make this change to a course. The deadline to make this change is the last day of the add/drop period.

Once the add/drop period has ended you must submit a form to do so to the Registrar’s Office. The deadline to make this change is the last day of classes (NOT the last day of exams).

If you earned a C- or higher, you will receive a Pass (P). If you earned any form of a D, you will receive a Low Pass (LP). If you failed the course, you will receive a Fail (F).

Pass and Low Pass have no impact on your GPA, although you will earn the credit for the course. Fail will act as a regular F in calculating your GPA, and you will not earn any credit for the course.

This option may be used only for elective credits. These courses may not be used to fulfill proficiency, general education, distribution, major, or minor requirements.

You may select the Pass/Low Pass/Fail option for only one course per semester, and for a maximum of four courses during your time at Trinity. If you select to take a course Pass/Low Pass/Fail and change it back to a letter grade at the end of a semester, this still counts as one of your four courses.

No. Courses such as Physical Education or Exploratory Internships do not count towards the one credit limit for the semester, or for the four total courses you are allowed.

If you are on academic probation you may not elect to take a course Pass/Low Pass/Fail.

Contact the Department Chair, Program Chair, or Minor Coordinator to discuss your intended major or minor. After this discussion complete the online declaration form (available in the Forms section of the Registrar’s Office web site) and submit it online. The Chair/Coordinator will approve the form and assign you an advisor. Once the Chair approves the form it will be submitted to the Registrar’s Office for processing.

You may declare a major at any time once you arrive at Trinity, but you must declare at least one major by the Friday after Spring Break of your sophomore year.  Students who transfer in as Juniors must submit their form by the start of their second semester on campus.  IDP students must declare a major before the end of the semester in which they will complete 24 credits.  You may change your major or add a second major at any time through the first semester of your senior year.  To change or declare a major after that point, contact the Registrar’s Office for special instructions.  The exception is the deadline to declare a major in Economics or Political Science. All Economics or Political Science majors (even as a second major) must be declared by the same deadline as required for your first major. No late declarations will be accepted by the departments.

If you miss the deadline to declare a major, a registration hold will be placed on your record and you will not be able to register for the next semester until you have declared a major.

You may declare a minor through the first semester of your senior year. To declare a minor after that point, contact the Registrar’s Office for special instructions.

The instructions for creating a self-designed major or an interdisciplinary minor, as well as links to the forms, may be found online.  All self-designed majors and minors must be approved by the Curriculum Committee, and must be approved prior to the start of your junior year.

Most majors and minors require a minimum grade of C- for a course to count toward fulfillment of requirements, although some departments require higher grades in certain courses. See the Bulletin and/or your academic advisor for further details.

No. Courses used in a major or minor must be taken for a letter grade.

Yes. If you have a five course minor, you may count two courses from your major toward your minor, and if you have a six course minor, you may count three courses from your major toward your minor.

This depends on the majors. Please see the Bulletin and/or your academic advisor for further details.

Each major and minor requires a separate declaration, so you will need to complete a second declaration form and obtain all required approvals.

You will need to complete a major or minor declaration form, check the box indicating you want to drop that major or minor, and obtain the required approvals, after which the form will be submitted to the Registrar’s Office.

You need to complete a degree application and submit it to the Registrar’s Office.  This application requires your advisor’s approval to verify that you and your advisor have reviewed all outstanding requirements and they will be completed by the end of the spring semester.  This online form is available in the Forms section of the Registrar’s Office web site.

Degree applications are due by the Friday of advising week for the spring semester of your senior year. Since you are required to meet with your advisor during advising week, it is recommended that you take the application with you to that meeting.

Any senior who has not submitted a degree application by the deadline will have a registration hold placed on their record. This hold will not be lifted until the completed application (including advisor signature) has been submitted.

No. Only one signature is required.

If you will be graduating in May, you will need to meet the Advising Week deadline to have your records updated and enroll with the Senior class. If you will be completing your requirements one semester early, you will submit your degree application with your original class year, but indicate the December completion on the form.

No. However, you do need to notify the Registrar’s Office ahead of the deadline that your expected graduation date has changed so that a hold is not placed on your record.

You will submit your application at the start of the summer, or during the fall semester, as appropriate.

Yes. Please contact the Registrar’s Office for approval. You must be within two credits of fulfilling degree requirements and submit a plan of completion to the Registrar’s Office. This plan will include a transfer credit application, if the required coursework will not be taken at Trinity.

No. You must choose to earn either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts, because you are completing only one overall degree.

No more than 1.0 credit (four courses) may count toward your degree. Note that only students admitted prior to Fall 2021 may enroll in PHED courses, and receive credit for those courses. Students admitted in Fall 2021 and after may take Physical Education activity courses as WELL non graded courses. These courses can be used to fulfill the Mind, Body and Spirit category of the Wellness requirements.

For students matriculated prior to Fall 2021, a maximum of 2.0 exploratory internships (four experiences) may count toward the credits required for your degree. You may earn additional credits for academic internships that are offered by some departments, depending on courses offered and program requirements.

For students matriculating in Fall 2021, a maximum of 2.0 internship credits may be counted toward the degree.

No more than 2.0 teaching assistantship credits may count toward the credits required for your degree.

Yes. No more than 4.0 credits in applied music, 3.0 credits in techniques and applications of Theater and Dance, and 2.0 credits in THDN 109 may count toward the credits required for your degree. See the Bulletin for additional information.

Students matriculating in Fall 2021 are subject to the curriculum requirements of the new Trinity + Curriculum. Information about the Trinity + curriculum can be found here.

Beginning Fall 1969, the unit of measurement became the course credit. A typical course meets 2 or 3 times a week for a total of 150 minutes for 1 course credit. A science laboratory course meets 2 or 3 times a week (150 minutes) for lecture, plus 3 hours a week for laboratory, for 1.25 course credits. A Physical Education course meets for one half semester for 0.25 course credit. Through Spring 2017, the conversion for 1 course credit was 4 semester hours. Effective May 31, 2017, the conversion for 1 undergraduate course credit is 3.5 semester hours.​ The conversion for 1 graduate course credit remains 4 semester hours.

Students must earn 18.0 credits in residence or in certain Trinity-sponsored programs (e.g., Trinity’s Rome Campus) to be eligible for a Bachelor’s degree.

For students matriculating prior to Fall 2021, a maximum of 18 course credits taken at other institutions prior to matriculation at Trinity may be transferred to Trinity.

For students matriculating in Fall 2021 or subsequently and a maximum of 17.5 credits (including a maximum of 1.5 co-curricular credits) taken at other institutions prior to matriculation at Trinity may be transferred to Trinity.

Have the school where you took the course send an official transcript directly to the Registrar’s Office. Depending on the course, you will be contacted if additional information is needed.

Students need to obtain approval for courses prior to enrolling.  Complete an Application for Transfer Credit, have it signed by your academic advisor (and department/program chair if it is for major or minor credit), attach a course description, and submit it to the Registrar’s Office for review.  Then, after you have completed the course, have the school send an official transcript directly to the Registrar’s Office.  Please consult the Student Handbook for additional information about policies and procedures.

A maximum of 9.0 credits will be accepted from these exams. These credits also count towards the maximum number of transfer credits you are allowed. Visit the AP/IB Credit page for details.

Some AP and IB exams have been evaluated to be equivalent to specific courses, and a department may allow those credits to fulfill major or minor requirements. See the Bulletin or contact the department for additional information.

If you take the equivalent course, the AP credit will be removed from your record.

No.  AP and IB credits may not be used to meet these requirements, other than the second language foundational requirement.

For more information about Transfer Credit Policies, click here.

To be eligible for the Faculty Honors list in any semester, a student must: a) achieve a semester grade point average of at least 3.667 with no individual letter grade below B-; b) complete a minimum of 4 course credits and receive letter grades for at least 4 course credits in courses taught or supervised by Trinity College faculty (or 3 graded course credits concurrent with pursuing the first semester of a 2-credit senior thesis); c) have no courses for the semester under consideration in which the final grade is pending; and d) have no disciplinary notation for academic dishonesty on the transcript.

An IDP student who is enrolled part time for both semesters of an academic year shall be eligible for the honors list if, at the end of the academic year, the student has satisfied the above requirements by a combination of the two semesters.

Students pursuing a two credit, two semester thesis must earn letter grades in three credits (instead of four) during the first semester of the thesis (and meet the same grade and GPA criteria). The final thesis grade and credits will be used to determine eligibility for the second semester. Students enrolled in a two semester, one credit thesis must still earn four additional credits during the first semester of the thesis.

You must earn letter grades for a minimum of four credits to qualify for faculty honors. For example, if you complete five credits with one credit graded P and four additional graded credits, you will be eligible for faculty honors if you earn the appropriate semester GPA. But, if you complete 4.5 credits with one credit graded P and only 3.5 additional graded credits, you will not be eligible. This is true whether the course is only graded Pass/Fail or if you elect to take a course Pass/Low Pass/Fail.

Latin honors are awarded based on your final GPA.  Cum laude is awarded to students earning 3.667 – 3.799, magna cum laude is awarded to students earning 3.800 – 3.899, and summa cum laude is awarded to students earning 3.900 and higher.  For information about departmental honors and honor societies, please consult the department/program or the Bulletin.

Students who meet the three standards below are considered to be in good academic standing, a designation indicating that the student has no current academic difficulties:

1. a minimum cumulative GPA appropriate to semester since matriculation (see chart below);
2. adequate progress towards degree completion as defined by the minimum number of credits accumulated since matriculation (see chart below);
3. full-time enrollment (defined as attempting 4 or more course credits), unless authorized to drop below by an approved accommodation request or petition for reduced course load. Full-time enrollment is reviewed – and standing adjusted accordingly – following the end of Add/Drop in the fall and spring semesters.

The chart below describes the minimum number of earned credits and cumulative GPA required per semester to maintain degree progress and good academic standing at the college:

Any student who has met any of the following conditions:

1). not maintained good academic standing as defined above, or

2).  earned more than one unsatisfactory grade (D+, D, D-, LP , U or F) during a single semester will have an Academic Probation status placed on their record.

Maybe. You need to attempt 4.0 course credits in each semester and maintain adequate degree progress which is defined above. Enrollments in J-Term and Summer Session, credit from advanced placement exams, and transfer credit will be considered in evaluating your degree progress.

Any student who receives a status of Academic Probation will:

• have a notation added to their advising transcript noting Academic Probation to the term during which academic probation was earned,
• have a probationary semester in the subsequent fall or spring after academic probation was earned,
• have all the actions associated with Academic Outreach and Academic Warning (listed below),
• be required to meet with a Dean from the Office of Student and Community Life,
• be required to remain enrolled throughout the period of probation except in cases of validated emergency or serious illness, and
• be required to complete all course work by the last day of examinations with no access to incompletes.

Yes. Students may be placed on Academic Probation (or Required Withdrawal) based on their grades, grade point average, or if they fail to complete at least 2/3 of credits attempted during the summer session (in lieu of full time standing for the fall and spring semesters).

Students will be placed on Required Withdrawal if they incur Academic Probation two semesters in a row or three times if not in succession.

Students who meet the conditions for academic probation in two consecutive terms of enrollment or in any three terms of enrollment, will be required to withdraw from the College for one semester or one year unless waived by the AAC.

Students required to withdraw for any of the reasons stated above are eligible to apply for readmission after a separation of one semester or a full academic year.

See the Academic Standing page for more information.

Students can receive a status of Required Withdrawal for one semester or one year. That said, to return to Trinity from Required Withdrawal requires submission of a petition to the Academic Affairs Committee, and approval is not automatic.

See the Academic Standing page for more information.

Any student who has met the following conditions: 1) accruing a semester GPA of 2.0 or below, 2) a single unsatisfactory grade (D, LP, U or F); or 3) the completion during the fall and spring term of a minimum of two-thirds of the credits attempted (for IDP students) will Academic Outreach status placed on their record.

Any student who receives a status of Academic Outreach will:

• have a notation added to their advising transcript noting Academic Outreach,
• have a registration hold placed on their account,
• be required to meet with their academic adviser, and
• for students on financial aid, a financial aid eligibility letter will be issued reminding the student of the academic requirements needed for the upcoming semester to maintain their aid.

Any student who has met the conditions for academic outreach (listed above) for two consecutive semesters, or three semesters total, will have an Academic Warning status placed on their record.

Any student who receives a status of Academic Warning will:

• have a notation added to their student’s advising transcript noting Academic Warning,
• have all the actions associated with Academic Outreach (listed above), and
• will be required to meet with a representative from the Office of Student and Community Life for additional review of on-campus resources.