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Registration Guide, Fall 2008

Welcome to the academic section of the Macalester College Registration Guide!  As its name implies, it is intended to guide you through this first registration.  Once you actually arrive on campus, you’ll have many personal guides: your faculty adviser, instructors of your other classes, upperclass students, even other first year students, as well as the staff in the Registrar’s Office and Academic Programs Office.  Until then, this guide should help you with building your class schedule for your first semester at Mac. 

When you arrive on campus, you’ll get a copy of the newest version of the Mac catalog.  Hang onto it!  It is the official word on graduation requirements, departmental policies, and a host of other things having to do with getting your BA degree from Macalester. 

We encourage you to read this on-line material carefully.  After reading it, you should be ready to make a First Year Course selection and decide on a class schedule for your first semester.  If you don’t have the answers you need, you can call us!  For help with First Year Courses, call Academic Programs at 651-696-6036.  For help with the rest of your courses, call the Registrar’s Office at 651-696-6200.  If you’re calling between 7:45 and 5:00 Central Daylight Time, Monday through Thursday, or between 7:45 and 12:30 CDT, Fridays, you should connect with a real person who will try to help you.  At other times of day or night, you may leave a voice mail message at that number, and one of those same real people will call you back the next business day.  You may also ask questions via e-mail: registrar@macalester.edu or go to the Registrar’s web page at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar. 

Faculty members are available to answer questions about their department and the courses being offered.  See the names and contact information listed under each academic department. 

We will begin processing registrations on June 18th.  Any forms received after that date will be processed on a first come, first served basis.

Please read the following sections of this page, designed to help you understand the entire registration process:

Working Towards a Macalester Degree
First Year Courses
Credit Hours
Distribution Requirements
Other Required Courses
Second Language Proficiency
Major Concentration
Advanced Placement (AP)/ International Baccalaureate (IB)
Placement Exams
Registration Instructions
What Happens Next
First Year Course Graduation Requirement
Final Steps
Phone Numbers
Information Links

Having chosen a liberal arts education, you know the value of participating in a variety of intellectual activities.  We hope the choices for your first semester sound exciting and intellectually challenging.  As you work towards your degree, you will be attempting to strike a balance between broad exploration of a number of fields and a deeper immersion in one area.  Likewise, for this first semester we encourage you to try something new to you as well as to choose something familiar that you would like to continue studying. 

The word we would like to emphasize is balance.  As you choose your first semester courses you should aim for a balanced work load, taking into consideration relative amounts of reading, writing, and lab work; a balance among courses in your intended major, if you know it, and distribution requirements and electives; and a balanced array of extracurricular activities, which you will learn about after you arrive.  We suggest that you begin your exploration by selecting the course you will take for your First Year Course requirement – the only requirement you absolutely must satisfy in your first semester!

First Year Courses

All first year students must, in their first semester, take one course designated as a First Year Course.  The courses that meet this requirement are described later in this section.  Enrollment in these courses is limited to 16 first year students.  In addition to providing you with a “model” academic experience – small class, chance for discussion and personal interaction with the teacher and other students, etc. – the requirement is designed to assist you with your adjustment to Macalester.  Therefore, the instructor of the course will also be your academic adviser.  These courses carry the same credit as other courses and will be one of your four courses taken in your first semester.  Your preferences for your First Year Course will take priority in the rest of your registration. 

Credit Hours

To complete 128 semester hours (the minimum number needed to graduate) in four years, you would need 32 semester hours per academic year.  The majority of Macalester’s courses are 4 semester hours.  The typical academic year includes 16 semester hours in the fall and 16 semester hours in the spring.  To be a full-time student, you must register for at least 12 semester hours.  You may take up to 18 semester hours without being charged additional tuition. 

Music activities don’t count in your course load, and don’t count for credit unless taken in combinations and/or sequences described in the catalog.  You may register for as many activities as you think your schedule can accommodate.  You may select PE activities now as part of your registration, but you’ll register for music lessons and ensembles through the music department when you arrive on campus.

Distribution Requirements

One of the most important aspects of a liberal arts degree is the breadth of study required.  The distribution requirements are designed to ensure that students take some courses in each of the four academic divisions of the College during their four years.  It’s a good idea to complete these distribution requirements early in your academic program, but you don’t have to complete them in your first semester!  The divisions and departments in each are listed below:

Social Sciences (8 semester hours required): Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology

Natural Sciences and Mathematics (8 semester hours required): Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics and Astronomy

Humanities (12 semester hours required in the Humanities and Fine Arts together with at least 4 hours in Humanities): Classics, English, French and Francophone Studies, German and Russian Studies, Hispanic Studies, History, Humanities and Media and Cultural Studies, Japanese, Philosophy, Religious Studies

Fine Arts (12 semester hours required in the Humanities and Fine Arts together, with at least 4 hours in Fine Arts): Art, Theater and Dance, Music

Not all courses in each department will meet general distribution requirements.  There is a special notation in each department’s pages of the Catalog with the heading “General Distribution Requirements” that has a specific statement about which courses will satisfy this requirement.

Credits earned through Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate will not apply towards the distribution requirements. 

There are also limits to the number of semester hours you may count towards graduation in a single discipline (60) or division (96).  This is also to ensure that you have breadth in your studies.

Other Required Courses

Internationalism and U.S. Multiculturalism Requirement (one course each): A rich campus life, language acquisition, study away, and interaction with diverse students and faculty all contribute to students’ intellectual and experiential grasp of difference and of their own place in relation to the “other” and the world.  In this context, the Internationalism and U.S. Multiculturalism graduate requirements are designed to prepare students to contribute as members of a thoughtful and principled citizenry in a global society.  These courses provide specific knowledge about the complexity of internationalism and multiculturalism abroad, in the U.S., and in the rich campus and local communities in which Macalester participates.  While internationalism and multiculturalism are distinguished as two components of the College mission, in reality they are intertwined.  Peoples divided by national boundaries may, for example, be more homogenous culturally and linguistically than peoples within a nation like the United States.  Systems of power and privilege that help create and maintain hierarchical relations among people operate within the U.S. and other nations, among nations and between the U.S. and the rest of the world.  All lives are shaped by historical dynamics and contemporary structures that operate on transnational, international, and global levels.  Macalester’s two-part requirement recognizes not only the conceptual interconnectedness of internationalism and multiculturalism, but also the need for students to engage with complexities of difference within the community where they live and work, as well as within an international and global context.  In learning about other peoples, cultures and global systems one dislodges presuppositions about others and, crucially, about one’s individual and collective self. 

Writing Requirement (one course, taken after the first year course and prior to the senior year): Macalester seeks to ensure that all students receive instruction in writing that gives attention to writing as a process (writing is rewriting), and that provides students individually with feedback on the mechanics and substance of their writing.  While First Year Courses assist students in making a transition to college writing along with myriad aspects of college study, each student is required to take at least one additional course with a W designation, in which they will hone their writing skills and go through a process of evaluation and rewriting.

Writing instruction at Macalester aims at ensuring that students learn:

1. How to plan, draft, and revise a college-level paper.
2. How to construct an argument.
3. How to organize an essay.
4. How to use argumentation and evidence to support claims.
5. How to adapt the style, vocabulary, and tone of a piece of writing to its anticipated audience and context.
6. How to cite evidence using a standard citation style, such as MLA, APA, CMS or CBE.
7. The importance of clarity, proper grammar, usage, and style in academic writing.

Quantitative Thinking requirement (one, two, or three courses—a single Q3 course satisfies the requirement, or a Q2 with any other Q2 or Q1 course, or three Q1 courses): Quantitative thinking (QT) skills are an essential component of a liberal education.  Critical thinking incorporates both qualitative and quantitative evidence and evaluation.  In some fields quantitative approaches play a central role, while qualitative thinking dominates in others.  Despite these differences in emphasis, critical thinking skills learned in one area often carry over and reinforce those learned in other areas.  It is for this reason that the breadth of experience associated with a liberal arts education prepares students effectively to be active participants and leaders in government, civil society, business, and academia.

Many policy debates, scientific discussions, political issues, and personal and organizational decisions involve judgments about claims based upon quantitative evidence.  To evaluate these claims, the individual must have basic familiarity with such concepts as counting, measurement, estimation, and data analysis.  Equally important is the capacity to ask and answer questions in a manner appropriate to these quantitative tools and to understand when the use of quantitative tools is or is not appropriate.  The purpose of the QT requirement is to ensure that students have the opportunity to develop such skills.  Students should learn approaches to collecting, interpreting, and presenting information about the world based on numerical, logical, and statistical skills.  These topics arise in a wide range of areas, and we invite faculty from a range of disciplines to teach courses that contribute to QT.

A list of the courses approved to meet the general education requirements in Internationalism, Multiculturalism, Quantitative Thinking and Writing can be found at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/GenEdReq.html.

Second Language Proficiency

All students must demonstrate proficiency in a second language – other than the student’s native tongue – equivalent to four (4) semesters of college-level study in a single language.  This proficiency extends to all skill areas:  reading, writing, speaking, and listening.  Languages taught at Macalester include Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Most students coming to Macalester have studied another language in high school, and can meet this graduation requirement by continuing to study that language until they attain the required level of proficiency.  For example, a student who has previously studied French may need to take two more semesters of the language at Macalester.  Students who have previously studied another language may also submit test scores from either the SAT II exam with listening, the Advanced Placement exam or the International Baccalaureate exam to determine whether they have partially or fully met this requirement.  Students may also opt to study a new language not available in high school, such as Russian, Japanese, Latin, or Portuguese. 

Students Whose Native Language is Not English

Satisfaction of the language requirement does not happen automatically for students whose native language is not English.  Such students will need to provide objective evidence of their current language proficiency in their native language in all four skills listed above.  The most common means of demonstrating this proficiency is a transcript from high school that indicates that the language of instruction in the student’s secondary school was a language other than English or that the student took courses in his or her native language during high school.  If you know that your transcript will not provide an indication of your proficiency in your native language, you should consider requesting a letter from a school official attesting to your level of proficiency.  If English is not your native language, please contact the Academic Programs Office to request a transcript review or to submit alternate documentation of your proficiency. 

Finding Your Place in the Language Curriculum:  What level of a foreign language course should you take?

Languages other than French, German, or Spanish
           
When you fill out the registration form, place yourself in the course you feel is appropriate given your experience, course work and ability.  Then, during orientation you should consult with the individual language departments to assess if this is the best course for you.  You may change courses within the first several days of class if the department feels another course would be more appropriate to your success. 

French, German, or Spanish Placement

If you have taken the SAT-II language test, with listening, see the tables below for course placement based on scores.  AP and IB score information can be found on the Registrar’s web page at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar.

We offer a web-based placement test, offered through a program called “WebCape” at Brigham Young University.  If you wish to take the placement test, it will be offered to you at no charge.  The test will help you to decide which course to take.  It will not allow you to be exempted from the language requirement.

To take the online test follow these steps:

1. On the web, go to http://webcape.byuhtrsc.org?acct=macalester.
2. Enter the password given below.

Password: highland (all lower case)

1. Select the appropriate language.
2. Follow the instructions on screen. (For your ID number, use your student ID number, if known.  If not, use 5551.)

The test takes approximately 15-20 minutes.  At the end of the test you will be taken back to the main screen where it will show your score.  Please refer to the tables below to determine which language course to register for INSTEAD OF the tables on the screen at the end of the table. 
           
The purpose of this test is to help you decide what level of language course to register for with a degree of confidence that you will complete the course successfully.  We require that you take this test closed-book, with no assistance from others.

There is no point in cheating on this test, as placement in the wrong course will only lead to difficulty in successfully completing that course. 

The tables below provide you with guidance in interpreting the results of the test, by language.  Find the range of scores that contains the score you received in the left-hand column and go across the row to the middle column, which lists the appropriate course to register for.
           

French

German

*For German placement, you must visit the department office during orientation to confirm your placement in German 204.

Spanish

Language Requirement Exemption

Students may be exempted from the language requirement based on AP test scores or the SAT-II with Listening test scores.  These must be officially submitted to the college through the testing service.  The following table provides information on the minimum scores for exemption:

            We advise you to do the following:

1. When you complete your registration form, select the language course that you feel is appropriate for you based on your placement test score, experience, course work and ability.  Then check with your professor during the first few days of class, look ahead in your course materials, and honestly gauge your skill in relation to the level you registered for.  If you are in a course that is too easy or too difficult, consult with the professor.  Other levels of the language will likely be offered at a time that fits your schedule.  You may change courses (preferably within the first week, so you are not far behind in the new class) if you or your professor feel another course (either higher or lower) would be more appropriate to your success. 
   
   
2. If your cut-off score is close to the next lower course, as distinct from in the middle of the range, consider registering for the low course initially.  College courses are different from high school course, and the requirements of the curriculum might be more demanding than you are used to.  You may change courses (preferably within the first few days) if you and/or your professor feel another course (either higher or lower) would be more appropriate to your success.

Major Concentration

The requirement of a major concentration is to ensure appropriate depth of study within an area.  Most (but not all) departments offer majors.  Most majors require between 32 and 44 semester hours (usually 8 to 11 courses), and may require supporting courses from other departments.  In some departments, introductory courses must be taken in the first year in order to complete the major in four years.

You’re not required to declare a major until the second semester of your sophomore year, but you’re welcome to do so earlier, if it helps you plan your path to graduation.  You may choose from three options to meet this requirement: a departmental major (such as Anthropology or French), an established interdepartmental major (such as International Studies), or an individually designed interdepartmental major (IDIM).  These are described in depth in the Catalog.

Advanced Placement (AP) / International Baccalaureate (IB)
College Board Advanced Placement Examinations (AP)

Students who have taken the College Board Advanced Placement Examinations may be eligible for advanced placement and appropriate credit.  Scores of 3, 4 or 5 may result in credit or exemption. Academic departments have determined which scores result in credit or exemption for their subject.  Some departments require the student to discuss their scores with the department chair before a credit determination is made. Refer to the AP section on the Registrar’s web page for specifics.  http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/APIBInfo.html
First year students who wish to have their AP scores considered should have them sent directly to Macalester College by the College Board. You may visit the AP Exams website at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/exgrd_rep.html or call 888-225-5427 to request your scores be sent directly to Macalester College – use 6390 for the college code.
No more than the equivalent of twenty (20) Macalester credit hours may be earned from a college or university prior to matriculation at Macalester.  Summer session college credits, Minnesota Post-Secondary Education Options Program credits, International Baccalaureate credits, and AP Program credits are included under this limitation.  (The only exception to this limitation applies to students who have achieved the equivalent of twenty-four (24) Macalester credit hours solely through College Board AP Examinations.)
Credit earned through AP Exams cannot be used to meet the college’s general distribution requirements, and grades are not factored into the grade point average.
Questions about AP policies should be addressed directly to the Registrar’s Office.

International Baccalaureate Examinations

Students whose scores on Higher Level Examinations of the International Baccalaureate Program are 5, 6, or 7 may receive the equivalent of four or eight semester hours of credit for each such examination.  Credit is determined by the appropriate academic department on an individual basis.  No credit is awarded for the Subsidiary Examinations. Refer to the IB section of the Registrar's web page for specifics. http://www.macalester.edu/registrar/APIBInfo.html
No more than the equivalent of twenty (20) Macalester credit hours may be earned from at a college or university prior to matriculation at Macalester.  Summer session college credits, Minnesota Post-Secondary Education Options Program credits, International Baccalaureate credits, and Advanced Placement Program credits are included under this limitation.  (The only exception to this limitation applies to students who have achieved the equivalent of twenty-four (24) Macalester credit hours solely through College Board Advanced Placement Examinations.)
Credit earned through International Baccalaureate Exams cannot be used to meet the college's general distribution requirements, and all grades are posted on the student's record as 'pass' (S).
Questions about these policies should be addressed directly to the Registrar's Office.

PLACEMENT EXAMS

Placement exams are offered in several departments. Placement exams for Classical Languages (Latin, Greek, Herbrew, and Arabic) are conducted though personal interviews with professors in the department. If you would like to take a placement exam, please contact the following professors for scheduling and specific details:

For Latin or Greek  Beth Severy-Hoven
For Hebrew  Nanette Coldman
For Arabic  Antoine Mefleh

The chemistry placement exam will be offered Saturday August 23, 2008 at 10AM in Olin-Rice 250. The placement exam is for students who with to take Chemistry 115 at ANY point in their academic career and for students who have taken a full year of advanced high school chemistry and wish to skip Chemistry 111 and enroll directly into Chemistry 112 at ANY time during their academic career. The placement exam is also for students who have NOT scored a 4 or 5 on the AP Chemistry Exam or at least a 5 in one of the IB Chemistry Exams (Standard or Higher Level). If you have any further questions, please contact Rob Rossi.

A placement exam, much like the chemistry placement exam, will be given at somepoint during the orientation weekend. Details regarding the exam will be given at a later date.

Choosing a First year Course

STEP 1………Read through all the course descriptions.
STEP 2………Think about whether you like the sound of the residential component (see section
                        entitled “First Year Course Graduation Requirement”.
STEP 3………Select the four courses that suit your interests and learning style.  We’ll do our
                        best to place you in your top choice, BUT you should be prepared to be in any one of the four courses you list.
STEP 4………List your four First Year Course choices in the first four lines of the registration
                        form.

Planning the Rest of Your Schedule

STEP 1………Read the departmental information found in this section of the orientation website.  Questions about courses?  Call                          the phone numbers listed there.
STEP 2………Look at the Fall Class Schedule on the Registrar’s web page at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar to see what                  courses are available. Course decriptions can be found in the on-line catalog at                  http://www.macalester.edu/academic/catalog/ap5.html. Note the times and days classes meet.
STEP 3………Make a list of the courses that you might want to take.
STEP 4………Be sure to add labs for courses that require them – labs are listed after the course in the schedule (e.g., FREN X L).
STEP 5………Map out a few sample schedules
STEP 6………Think about it.
STEP 7………Change your mind if you want to.
STEP 8………Decide on the courses you’d like best.
STEP 9………Make a list of lots of alternative courses.
STEP10………Fill in the rest of the registration form and submit it by June 18.

Putting It All Together

STEP 1………Print out and complete the Consent to Release Academic Information form and mail it to Academic Programs Office,                  Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105.
STEP 2………Fill in Address Information Form and submit it electronically.
STEP 3………Remember, processing begins on June 18.

If you are unable to submit your forms on-line, please print them out, fill them in and mail them to:

                        Academic Programs Office
                        Macalester College
                        1600 Grand Avenue
                        St. Paul, MN 55105

As we cannot be responsible for forms that are sent but for whatever reason do not actually arrive at Macalester, it is in your best interest to confirm that your forms have been received.  We are happy to check on this for you.  Please call either the Academic Programs Office at 651-696-6036 or the Registrar’s Office at 651-696-6200, or contact us via e-mail, registrar@macalester.edu, if you wish to confirm that your forms have been received.

We also suggest that you keep a copy of your registration form or a list of the courses you selected in case we don’t receive it and you need to resubmit it.

What Happens Next

We will begin processing forms on June 18, placing students whose forms are in on or before that day.  We’ll do our best to get you into the courses that are your top choices, but there may be instances where demand exceeds available spaces.

If your registration forms arrive after June 18, they’ll be processed on a first come, first serve basis, but we cannot guarantee placement in a top choice for late forms.

You should know that we will NOT put you in four courses from one division.

In late July we will write to let you know the First Year Course in which you have been placed. Placement in your First Year Course is FINAL.  No changes will be made so please be sure that you are happy with all four of your First Year Course choices.  In August, we’ll be working on scheduling the rest of your courses.  You will receive a copy of your complete schedule during Orientation, when you meet with your adviser.  Please be advised that if you see your course schedule on 1600 Grand at any time during the summer, it is NOT final.  Changes may be made to your other three courses prior to your arrival at Macalester.

The courses you choose now will most likely be what you actually take in the fall.  Some changes may be necessary (because of results of placement test, for example) and those can be accomplished with your adviser’s help during Orientation.  There is also a drop/add period at the beginning of each semester during which you can change your schedule.

FIRST YEAR COURSE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT
(Courses that Meet the First Year Course Graduation Requirement)

First Year Course Graduation Requirement

Following are the course descriptions for the 31 courses which you can take to satisfy your First Year Course requirement. All First Year Courses are limited to 16 students, and the teacher becomes the academic adviser for the students in that class. These courses are offered for credit in a particular department and, therefore, may be used for distribution requirements or major requirements. All First Year Courses earn 4 credit hours. Writing instruction is a critical component of the First Year Courses regardless of the specific topic of the course. Many of the courses will have a student writing assistant available to help students with their written work.

You should choose a First Year Course based on your interest in the material to be covered in the course; it is not essential that you choose a course from a department in which you may eventually major.

The role of your academic adviser during your first year at Macalester is primarily to assist you with your adjustment to college and to help you identify your personal and career goals. Advisers help you to integrate your academic and social interests and help you learn what is expected of you at Macalester. In you First Year Course it is our hope that you and the other students will develop a sense of community. One student commented that “the First Year Course is a wonderful idea. My first year would have been a lot more difficult without it.” Another said: “The course formed a base point for me. I made some of my best friends there.”

One way in which this goal of developing a sense of community is enhanced is through the living arrangements planned for some of the courses. Next to some courses you will see the symbol . This symbol indicates that the students in that class will be housed together on a particular floor in a residence hall. In most cases students will have a roommate who is also in the class.

Macalester’s residence halls include both co-ed and single-sex floors. At the end of the course description for each of these residential courses is a statement describing the type of residence hall in which the students placed in that course will live. All residential courses will be housed on combustion-free floors, which means that there can be no smoking and no burning of any substance including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, incense, and scented candles or the use of halogen lamps.

Please note that if you select a residential course, your placement in that course will override information you provided on your housing preference card regarding your preferred living arrangement. For example, if you indicate on your housing card that you prefer a co-ed environment, yet you select a first year course located on single-sex floors, your placement in this first year course will override your earlier statement about preferring co-ed floors. We will still refer to your housing preference card when matching you with a roommate.

Each student must be enrolled in one of these First Year Courses. You will choose your other three courses for your first semester from the Fall Semester 2008 Class Schedule at http://www.macalester.edu/registrar.

FINAL STEPS

1.         Read all the material contained in this section.
2.         Fill in your 4 First Year Course choices in the first 4 lines of the Registration Form.       
3.         Fill in your other course choices in the rest of the lines of the Registration Form. 
4.         Hit the SUBMIT button.
5.         Complete the Address Information form and hit the SUBMIT button. 
6.         Complete the Consent to Release Academic Information form, print out a hard copy of
            the form and mail the form to Registrar’s Office, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105. 

We are happy to answer your questions and look forward to meeting you in August!

Macalester College Mission and Statement of Purpose

Macalester College · 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105  USA · 651-696-6000
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