Policies and Procedures

Regularly enrolled Arts and Science students who want to audit a course in any of Vanderbilt’s undergraduate schools must complete the request form, which is then routed to the instructor for approval. Students do not receive credit for an audited course and no permanent record is kept of the audit. Regularly enrolled students may audit one class each semester.

Students are expected to attend all scheduled meetings of classes in which they are enrolled; they have an obligation to contribute to the academic performance of all students by full participation in the work of each class. At the beginning of the semester, instructors explain the policy regarding absences in each of their classes, and thereafter they report to the A&S Office of Academic Services the name of any student whose achievement in a course is being adversely affected by excessive absences.

The faculty of the College of Arts and Science recognizes that occasions arise during the academic year that merit the excused absence of a student from a scheduled class or laboratory during which an examination, quiz, or other graded exercise is given. Examples include participation in sponsored university activities (e.g., debate team, varsity sports), observance of officially designated religious holidays, serious personal problems (e.g., serious illness, death of a family member), and matters relating to the student’s academic training (e.g., graduate or professional school interviews).

Dean’s Notifications

In circumstances involving greater urgency—when, for example, a student (1) has a serious illness, injury, or medical condition or treatment, or (2) is involved in a personal matter necessitating supportive measures to restore or preserve access to the university’s educational programs and activities, and (3) the situation is not reasonably likely to resolve immediately, then the Office of Academic Services might send out a Dean’s Notification on the student’s behalf. In such cases, an appropriate university official working directly with the student—including, but not limited to, staff from Student Care Coordination (SCC), the University Counseling Center (UCC), the Student Health Center (SHC), Residential Experience, Project Safe, and the Title IX Office—must determine if the situation qualifies for a Dean’s Notification. Upon making that determination, the official will notify SCC or the Title IX Office, as appropriate, to coordinate with the student’s academic dean to formally request that instructors provide flexibility with coursework and/or absence policies. Alternatively, a student may directly request a Dean’s Notification from the appropriate academic dean who will apply the same analysis and make a determination. In doing so, the academic dean may consult with SCC. It is the instructor’s prerogative to determine what, if any, adjustments are appropriate. It is the student’s responsibility to speak individually with each professor to discuss what, if any, adjustments are possible.

Dean’s Notifications are not reasonable accommodations as issued by Student Access, nor should they be used in lieu of a leave of absence. Dean’s Notifications generally expire two weeks after notice is sent by the academic dean to instructors. Flexibility for longer than two weeks should be evaluated by the appropriate academic dean in consultation with campus partners to determine if accommodations or a leave of absence is more appropriate. Supportive measures issued by the Title IX Office may be extended beyond the initial two-week period on a case-by-case basis.

Normal Course Load

Each semester, regular tuition is charged on the basis of a normal course load of 12 to 18 semester hours. No more than 18 or fewer than 12 credit hours may be taken in any one semester without authorization of the Administrative Committee or an assistant dean in the Office of Academic Services.

A student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours to be classified as a full-time student.

There is an extra charge for more than 18 credit hours at the current hourly rate. First-year students may not take more than 18 credit hours in a semester.

Students permitted to take fewer than 12 credit hours are placed on probation, unless their light load is necessary because of outside employment or illness.

During the summer session, there is no minimum course load. Summer loads exceeding 14 credit hours must be authorized by an assistant dean in the Office of Academic Services.

Credit hours are semester hours; e.g., a three-hour course carries credit of 3 semester hours. One semester credit hour represents at least three hours of academic work per week, on average, for one semester. Academic work includes, but is not necessarily limited to, lectures, laboratory work, homework, research, class readings, independent study, internships, practica, studio work, recitals, practicing, rehearsing, and recitations. Some Vanderbilt courses may have requirements that exceed this definition.

Overload

If a student wishes to take more than 18 credit hours in a semester, they must complete the request form, which will be reviewed by the Office of Academic Services. There is an extra charge for more than 18 credit hours at the current hourly rate. First-year students may not take more than 18 credit hours in a semester.

Underload

Students requesting an underload must complete the request form.

Please note the following:

• No fewer than 12 credit hours may be taken in any one semester without authorization of the A&S Administrative Committee or an assistant dean in the Office of Academic Services. Students permitted to take fewer than 12 credit hours are placed on probation, unless their light load is necessary because of outside employment or illness.
• A course may not be dropped without authorization of the Administrative Committee or an assistant dean if the student is left with a course load of fewer than 12 credit hours on a regularly graded basis.
• Graduating seniors in their final semester may get permission to register for fewer than 12 hours. Such students must complete the request form, which will be reviewed by the A&S Office of Academic Services.

Students requesting an underload for medical reasons should first contact the Office of Student Care Coordination.

Students wishing to take a leave of absence must request permission from the A&S Office of Academic Services.

Consequences of Part-time Status

Completing fewer than 12 credit hours in a semester may result in the following consequences.

Vanderbilt consequences:

• All A&S students will be placed on probation for the following semester if they drop below 12 credit hours, except in the case of:
  • approval for medical underload by an associate dean, or
  • second-semester seniors approved to take fewer than 12 credit hours.

Spring semester probations end at the end of the semester; probations for fall semesters begin the summer preceding the fall semester. See the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Catalog for details and further consequences of probationary status, especially of multiple probations. Notations about probation and being removed from probation will show only on internal records (e.g., in YES), not on your official transcript.

• Your financial aid may be affected. If you receive federal aid and/or Tennessee HOPE scholarship support, you should not drop below 12 credit hours without consulting a Vanderbilt financial aid adviser. Other sources of financial aid may also be affected.
• You will not be permitted to do summer work elsewhere or to earn any other type of transfer credit while on probation.
• You cannot participate in study abroad while on probation.
• You will most likely be ineligible for Greek rush. Check with the Office of Greek Life.
• You may be ineligible to be an officer in a student organization.
• You may be ineligible to represent the university in external affairs.
• NCAA athletic eligibility may be compromised.
• You will not be eligible for the Dean's List, even if your underload has been approved by the A&S Office of Academic Services.

Consequences external to Vanderbilt:

• Health insurance may require full-time status; this is a common problem. Be particularly concerned about whether insurance will carry through the summer. You should be covered, even on probation, if you buy your health insurance through Vanderbilt.
• Car insurance may require full-time status.
• Immigration status may be in jeopardy.
• If you later apply to medical or law schools and are asked if you ever took a light load or if you were on probation, you will have to answer "yes."
• You may be required to start paying back student loans sooner than you expected.

To determine the appropriate level of a course to take, you need to consider various factors, including prior study, test credit, and your intended course of study.

Some factors that affect placement:

• Prerequisites: Some classes require you to have satisfied certain prerequisites to be eligible to take a higher-level class. Under "Requirements" on the class detail page in YES you can see if the class has any mandatory prerequisites. AP, IB, and other test credit can satisfy prerequisites.
• Some upper-level classes have no prerequisites but may not be appropriate for a first-year student, whereas some classes may have high course numbers but are fine for first-year students to take. Check with your Pre-Major Adviser if you're interested in an upper-level class to discuss whether it's likely to be a good fit for you.
• Some majors require students to start with particular sequences of classes in order to be on track to complete the major in four years. Make sure to speak with your pre-major adviser about any majors or minors you're considering to determine if there are classes you need to prioritize in your first semester.

Calculus

For questions about Calculus placement, visit the Department of Mathematics website.

Foreign Language Placement

For questions about Computer Science placement, visit the School of Engineering website.

To determine the appropriate level for a foreign language course, you may take a placement exam to assess your proficiency. Placement exams are available for:

• French
• German
• Spanish

Once you receive your placement score, visit the French, German, or Spanish department website to interpret which course level you should take.

For all other languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Portuguese, and Russian, among others, it is generally recommended that you take 1101 if you have no experience with that language. If you have studied the language before, consult with the director of undergraduate studies in the relevant department.

Visit the Vanderbilt Center for Languages for more information about language study at Vanderbilt and the wide range of options available to students.

Tennessee Language Center

Students who entered Vanderbilt before Fall 2025 and are taking AXLE may demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language via testing through the Tennessee Language Center. Please note that this option is NOT available to students entering in Fall 2025 and later and are taking the College Core. (Latin and classical Greek are exceptions; proficiency tests for those two languages are administered through the Department of Classical Studies.)

To demonstrate proficiency for AXLE, students must score 4 or higher on both the spoken and written ALTA tests administered by TLC. Students who demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language to the level of a second-semester language acquisition course taught at Vanderbilt are not required to take any further language instruction but must still complete three courses in the International Cultures category in AXLE.

Please contact the relevant department website to determine how to interpret your ALTA test score.

A student may withdraw from a course by following the process outlined below:

• Complete the Course Withdrawal form found on the Student Landing page in YES. Course Withdrawal forms can be submitted once the change period (Add/Drop) has ended.
• The submitted form routes to the student’s adviser, as well as any other relevant parties who may need to approve the enrollment action.
• Upon final approval, withdrawals are processed by the A&S Office of Academic Services or by the Office of the University Registrar.

The full process is detailed in the University Registrar's User Guide. Remember that you can drop a class any time during Open Enrollment. Such changes made during Open Enrollment will not appear on your transcript.

Under certain conditions, students may be awarded course credit by departmental examination. (This procedure is distinct from the awarding of credit through Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams taken prior to a student's first enrollment.)

Students wanting to earn credit by departmental examination should consult the College of Arts and Science's Office of Academic Services concerning procedures and to start the approval process. Students must obtain the approval of the chair of the department that is to give the examination and the instructor designated by the chair.

To be eligible, students must be carrying a minimum of 12 hours and be in good standing.

Students may earn up to 18 hours of credit by any combination of credit through advanced placement examinations and credit by departmental examination.

Students may earn up to 8 hours of credit by examination in any one department.

Students may attempt to obtain credit by examination no more than twice in one semester, no more than once in one course in one semester, and no more than twice in one course. Students may not repeat a course for grade replacement under the credit by examination procedures.

The credit hours and the grade are awarded on the basis of the grade earned on the examination, subject to the policy of the department awarding credit. Students have the option of refusing to accept the credit hours and grade after learning the results of the examination.

Students enrolled in at least 12 hours are not charged extra tuition for hours earned through credit by examination, so long as the amount of credit falls within the allowable limits of an 18-hour tuition load, including no-credit courses and courses dropped after the change period. Students in this category must pay a $50 fee for the cost of constructing, administering, and grading the examination. Since this cost has already been incurred, students who refuse the credit hours and grade are charged the $50 fee nevertheless.

Full-time students with a tuition load exceeding 18 hours and students taking fewer than 12 hours pay tuition at the regular rate with no additional fee.

A qualified Vanderbilt University senior undergraduate may enroll in courses approved for graduate credit (those numbered 5000 and higher) and receive credit that, upon the student’s admission to the Vanderbilt Graduate School, may be applicable toward a graduate degree. Vanderbilt cannot guarantee that another graduate school will grant credit for such courses.

The principles governing this option are as follows:

1. Work taken under this option is limited to those courses approved for graduate credit (those numbered 5000 and higher) and listed as such in the Graduate School Catalog, excluding thesis and dissertation research courses and similar individual research and readings courses. Courses approved for professional credit (i.e., many courses in the Divinity School, Law School, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and Owen Graduate School of Management) may not be taken as part of this option.
2. The student must, at the time of registration, have a 3.00 grade point average in all prior work to be counted toward the bachelor’s degree, or a 3.00 grade point average in all prior work to be counted toward the undergraduate major, or a 3.00 grade point average in the preceding two semesters.
3. The total course load, including both graduate and undergraduate courses, must not exceed 15 credit hours in any semester.
4. No undergraduate student may enroll in more than one graduate course in any semester.

To submit a request to take a graduate course, students must complete this form. The form is then routed to the A&S Office of Academic Services for approval and processing.

Independent study courses are intended primarily for students in their junior and senior years. Students may not take an independent study course that duplicates a regular course being offered in the same semester. Juniors or seniors who wish to take independent study courses must follow the following procedure:

• Students should initiate the independent study enrollment process in YES by clicking on the Individual Study link on the student landing page.
• Students must be registered in the independent study before the end of the change period.

The process is detailed in the University Registrar's user guide. Students with questions should contact the A&S Office of Academic Services at arts-sci-records@vanderbilt.edu.

Undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Science, Blair School of Music, School of Engineering, and Peabody College may request a transfer between the schools. Students are eligible for intra-university transfer after having been enrolled on a full-time basis at Vanderbilt for two semesters. Students who transferred to Vanderbilt from another institution are eligible for intra-university transfer after having completed at least one full semester at Vanderbilt and having achieved sophomore standing. To be eligible for transfer, students must meet the requirements of the school they wish to enter.

Students seeking transfer between schools within the university must meet the following requirements:

• A student who has been in residence for two regular semesters must have a minimum of 24 hours and a cumulative grade point average of 1.800.
• A student who has been in residence for three regular semesters must have a minimum of 39 hours and a cumulative grade point average of 1.850.
• A student who has been in residence for four regular semesters must have a minimum of 54 hours and a cumulative grade point average of 1.900.
• A student who has been in residence for five regular semesters must have a minimum of 69 hours and a cumulative grade point average of 1.950.

Individual schools and/or majors may impose additional restrictions beyond the minimum requirements listed above. Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit, if accepted by Vanderbilt, can be used to meet these requirements.

Students apply through the Office of the University Registrar. The process is detailed in the University Registrar's user guide. Note the application deadline posted on the Registrar’s website.

A student desiring a medical or personal leave of absence should obtain instructions from the A&S Office of Academic Services. All students who have completed one regular (fall/spring) semester at Vanderbilt are eligible, provided they have not been dropped by the university and are not dropped at the end of the semester during which application is made. Students may take a leave no more than twice and for no more than a total of four semesters during their career in the College of Arts & Science.

Leaves are approved for a single semester or for the academic year. Applications should be completed before the end of the fall semester for a leave of absence during the spring semester, and before August 15 for a leave of absence during the fall semester (or for the academic year). If the leave is approved, the student must keep the Office of the University Registrar informed of any change of address while on leave.

Contact arts-sci-records@vanderbilt.edu to request a leave of absence.

Medical Leave of Absence

A student who takes a medical leave of absence after the mid-semester course withdrawal deadline is expected to be on leave for the following regular semester, as well. A student who plans to return from medical leave must submit appropriate documentation to the Office of Academic Services and the Office of Student Care Coordination.

Contact mloa@vanderbilt.edu to request a medical leave of absence.

Students may elect to take a limited number of courses on a pass/fail (P/F) basis. To enroll for a course on a pass/fail basis, students must have achieved at least sophomore standing and must not be on academic probation. A minimum 12 graded credit hours is required.

A graduating senior who has permission to take fewer than 12 credit hours on a graded basis may take one course on a P/F basis in addition to the courses required for graduation. If the student does not graduate at the end of that semester, the P grade is automatically converted to the grade actually earned.

No more than 18 credit hours graded P may be counted toward the degree, and no more than one course per term may be taken P/F.

The P/F option does not apply to courses in the following categories:

• Courses counted toward AXLE or College Core requirements.
• Courses in the major field(s), other courses that may be counted toward the major(s), or courses required for the major(s).
• For students with an individually designed interdisciplinary major, courses listed in the student’s plan of study.
• For students planning an optional minor, courses in the minor field or those eligible to count toward an interdisciplinary minor.
• Courses eligible to count toward the major or minor, regardless of whether the student has already satisfied major or minor requirements.
• Courses that have been specifically excluded from the P/F option.
• Courses taken previously.

Students may elect grading on a pass/fail basis or change from pass/fail to graded status until the deadline date for withdrawing from a course that is published in the Academic Calendar. Pass/fail rules, requirements, and deadlines are not petitionable.

Grading

Those electing the pass/fail option must meet all course requirements (e.g. reports, papers, examinations, attendance, etc.) and are graded in the normal way. Instructors are not informed of the names of students enrolled on a pass/fail basis. At the end of the semester, a regular grade is submitted for the student enrolled under the P/F option. Any grade of D– or above is converted in the Student Records System to a P, while an F will be recorded if a student enrolled under this option fails the course. The P grade is not counted in the grade point average nor used in the determination of honors. The grade of F earned under the pass/fail option is included in the calculation of the grade point average.

The grade for a class will be converted from P to the recorded letter grade if a student later declares a major or minor toward which that class counts. The recorded letter grade will be included in both the overall and the major or minor grade point average.

Process

Complete the change of course request form. The form will be routed to the appropriate office for review and approval.

All requests to take a course on a pass/fail basis must be received no later than the published deadline for the semester; please consult the Academic Calendar for all deadlines.

Repeating Courses for Replacement Credit

Most courses offered in the College of Arts and Science may be repeated for replacement credit, with the exception of CORE 1010 and CORE 1020. If a student fails a course, they may retake the course to earn credit with a passing grade. Failed courses may be repeated until passed. If a course was previously passed, no new credit is earned. If a course previously passed is repeated and failed, credit originally earned for it is lost.

Students are cautioned that while repeating for grade replacement a course previously passed may improve their cumulative grade point average, it may also lead to a problem in meeting minimum credit hours requirements for class standing because no new credit is earned.

Furthermore, all grades earned at Vanderbilt are shown on the transcript. Under conditions explained below, the most recent grade in a course replaces the previous grade in determining credit, computing the grade point average, and verifying the completion of degree requirements and progress toward the degree.

The policy of grade replacement applies when all of the conditions below are met:

• Failed courses may be repeated until passed; passed courses may be repeated only once.
• Only the same course (same department and course number) is eligible.
• The course is repeated on a regularly graded basis. This limitation applies even if the course was originally taken on a P/F basis.
• The course is not an independent study or directed study course.
• A non-W course is taken as repeat credit for a Writing version of the same course that was previously passed. The student loses credit for the writing requirement.
• A W course is taken as repeat credit for a non-Writing version of the same course that was previously passed. The student earns credit for the writing requirement.

Courses taken in the College of Arts and Science may not be repeated elsewhere for grade replacement.

Repeating Courses for Additional Credit

Certain courses (e.g., ensemble, performance instruction, independent study, and special topics) are designated as repeatable as they contain evolving or iteratively new content. These courses may be taken multiple times for additional credit. The total number of credit hours that may be earned will be specified by the course description and decided by the program of study.

Overlapping Course Content

It is the responsibility of the student to avoid duplication in whole or in part of the content of any course counting toward the degree. In some instances, enrollment in a course similar to one already completed but with a different course number will result in the award of no credit for the second course and will have no effect on the grade point average. These are designated in the departmental course listings.