Add-Drop Instructions--Fall 2011

Any student who has not yet registered for courses should do so immediately upon returning to campus by using an add/drop card (available in the lobby outside the Office of the Registrar on the first floor of Moulton Union). If a student's initial course registration is received after 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 7 September 2011, a late fee of $20 will be billed to his/her account.

Students who have already registered for courses may adjust their schedules by participating in the add/drop registration process.

The Office of the Registrar will begin processing add/drop cards on the first day of classes.

NOTE: Students receive grades only for courses that have been officially added to their schedules. Also, a student risks receiving a failing grade for a course s/he stops attending unless an add/drop card is submitted to the Office of the Registrar to remove the course from his/her schedule. Official schedules appear in Bearings.

Deadline for adding a course:  5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 14 September 2011.

Deadline for dropping a course: 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 14 September 2011 (unless you are a new student). New students (those whose first semester at Bowdoin is the Fall 2011 semester) have until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, 13 October 2011, to drop a course.

Complete your add/drop card by following these steps:

  1. Write your Bowdoin ID number, last name, and first name in the spaces provided in the upper right corner.
  2. Indicate in the proper location(s) on the card the course(s) that you want to add and/or the course(s) that you want to drop. Check to be sure that the meeting times of your courses do not conflict with one another by checking in Bearings or checking the Schedule of Course Offerings.
    • For each course you want to add or drop, write the department, course number, section letter (if there is one--indicated by an uppercase letter), and lab number (if there is one). Write in the course title.
    • If you wish to take the course with the Credit/D/Fail grading option, put a check mark on the appropriate line. Read the Credit/D/Fail policy information carefully to ensure you understand the circumstances under which you may or may not take a course Credit/D/F. You may change the grading option on a course through the sixth week of classes--until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, 13 October 2011.
    • If the course has labs, get the lab instructor's signature.
    • The instructor of the course must sign for each course that is added. If you wish to register for an independent study or honors project, you must have the signature of the project director on your add/drop card. (An instructor signature is not required to drop a course.)
    • If you are switching labs, you need only the lab instructor's signature.
  3. After you have completed your add/drop card, you must meet with and have your advisor sign your card. (You do not need your advisor's signature if you are only switching a lab or course section, or changing the grading option on a course.) A first-year student who wishes to drop a course after September 14 but before October 13 will also need the signature of the First-Year Dean if dropping the course will bring the student's total course load below 4.0 credits.

Unlike the Phase I and II course registration periods (during which an instructor's signature will only override a course prerequisite), an instructor's signature during add/drop registration will override course prerequisites, course restrictions, time conflicts, and enrollment limits.

Students must attend the first class meetings of all courses. (Classes begin on Thursday, 1 September 2011.) When a course was "Closed until add/drop" after Phase I registration or was full before the first class meeting, instructors have the option of dropping students who do not attend the first class meeting in order to accommodate students from a waiting list.

A few days after you have submitted an add/drop card to the Office of the Registrar, log into Bearings and confirm that your schedule looks as it should.

If you have any questions, call x3521, email registrar@bowdoin.edu, or stop by the Office of the Registrar in the Moulton Union. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.