Academic Policies and Procedures - All Campuses

Other Policies and Procedures

Attendance

Requirements for attendance are established by individual instructors consistent with faculty policies for excused absences for field trips and for participation in athletics, forensics, musical performances, and the like. Students are expected to be prompt and regular in attendance at all scheduled class meetings.

Independent Study

Independent study allows students to explore academic areas of special interest not ordinarily provided by the existing curriculum. Independent study is carried out under the guidance of a qualified member of the faculty and must have the approval of the department from which the course is taken, as well as of the Curriculum Committee. Independent study normally is available to junior and senior students. (Students enrolled through DCE must have completed 10 credits at Linfield.) Students should have a GPA of at least 2.75 and have satisfied the necessary prerequisites for the proposed course of study. In unusual cases, students who do not meet these criteria may be permitted to undertake independent study, providing that the appropriate department head submits a letter that in the judgment of the Curriculum Committee adequately justifies the proposed study. In general, no more than 20 semester credits of independent study may count toward graduation. Although independent study is conducted under the supervision of a faculty member, it is possible to arrange to do the work off campus, provided adequate reasons are given and satisfactory arrangements are made for faculty supervision of the work.

Students desiring to enroll in a course of independent study must obtain an independent study petition from the Registrar/ Registration Office. This petition must be signed by the supervising instructor and the department head and submitted to the Curriculum Committee during the first five class days of each semester or by the end of the second day of a term. When approved by the committee, a copy of the petition will be returned to the faculty supervisor and the department head.

Since the approval of the Curriculum Committee is granted primarily on the merit of the petition, a special effort should be made to describe in detail the nature and content of the subject as well as the rationale for undertaking the study. It is the student’s responsibility to demonstrate that the proposed course is fully equivalent to a regular course in terms of time investment and quality of effort.