Add-Drop Instructions--Spring 2013

Spring 2013 Add/Drop Period: January 21 - February 1

POLICY CHANGE: If a lab is fully enrolled the day before classes start and you do not attend the first lab, an instructor MAY DROP YOU FROM THE LAB AND COURSE EVEN IF THE COURSE AND OTHER LABS ARE NOT FULL. To re-enroll in the course and/or switch a lab, you will need BOTH the instructor and lab instructor signatures on your add/drop card.

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 Friday, 25 January 2013, a late fee of $20 will be billed to his/her account.

Students who have already registered for courses may adjust their course 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 only receive grades for courses that are officially added to their schedules. 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 Friday, 1 February 2013.

Deadline for dropping a course: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 1 February 2013 (except for new students). New students (those whose first semester at Bowdoin is the Spring 2013 semester) have until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 1 March 2013, 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 Friday, 1 March 2013.
    • 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.)
  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.)

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 meeting of all courses. (Classes begin on Monday, 21 January 2013.) When a course was "Closed until add/drop" after Phase I registration or was officially 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.