Faculty FAQs

Most departments have an administrative assistant with access to PeopleSoft Campus, the basis of our student records and registration system. A department admin with this access can:

• Add a student to a closed course over the stated course capacity (with the instructor’s permission)
• Add a student to a class by overriding a prerequisite or co-requisite (usually as permitted by the DUS)
• Register a student for independent study hours
• Drop a student from a class or from a waitlist
• Pull and view class rosters, including class waitlists
• Change a student position number on a waitlist

The A&S Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) can assist in registration functions governing time conflicts, audits, overloads, and courses taken on a pass/fail basis. Here is a rough breakdown of OUE’s areas of responsibility: 

• Students, degree audits, and advising: Pavneet Aulakh (pavneet.s.aulakh@vanderbilt.edu)
• Students, OUE policies and forms, and Administrative Committee: Lydia Abell (lydia.k.abell@vanderbilt.edu)
• Scheduling, curriculum, and classrooms: Racquel Goff (racquel.goff@vanderbilt.edu)
• Departmental honors, internships for credit (which need to be approved): Alissa Hare (alissa.a.hare@vanderbilt.edu)

A: View the process students must follow to request a special course load.

A: View the process students must follow to audit a class.

A: View the process students must follow to enroll in a class Pass/Fail.

A: View the process students must follow to declare a major and declare a minor.

A: Temporary grades are placeholders that are assigned under defined circumstances and are not replacements for failing grades. Missing work must be completed by the deadline specified by the instructor (usually before the end of the second week of classes in the next regular term but no later than the end of the following semester) after which the permanent grade is recorded (either the newly assigned or default grade). The default grade is calculated by assigning zero points for work not submitted. Temporary grades are not calculated in the GPA, but a student who receives a temporary grade is ineligible for the Dean's List. An undergraduate student cannot graduate with any temporary grades on their record.

The following temporary grades are available:

I: Incomplete

To be assigned only if the following conditions apply:

1. An extenuating circumstance has emerged after the course withdrawal deadline.
2. The student is up to date on all work prior to the extenuating circumstance.
3. The student successfully completed at least 60% of the assigned work throughout the semester.
4. The student requests the incomplete before the end of classes.
5. The student has been attending a significant majority of the classes.

M: Missed Final Examination or Final Evaluation

To be assigned only if the following conditions apply:

1. The student misses only the final examination or final evaluation and promptly informs the instructor as to the extenuating circumstances for missing the final exam/evaluation. In the absence of prompt notification of extenuating circumstances, a grade of zero for the final exam/evaluation is recorded.
2. The student could pass the course if the final examination is successfully completed. (The grade of F is given if the student could not pass the course even with the final examination.)