Transfer Student Registration Guide
TRANSFER STUDENT REGISTRATION GUIDE FALL 2009
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 classes, other students, and 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.
In July, the latest version of the Mac catalog will be available on-line. Be sure to check it out! 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.
READ THIS ON-LINE MATERIAL CAREFULLY!!
After reading it, you should be ready to make informed decisions about which courses to take your first semester. If you don’t have the answers you need, feel free to contact us.
- For questions about majors, minors and concentrations, contact the faculty members listed in the departmental section of this guide.
- Email is usually the preferred means of communicating with faculty in the summer.
- For questions with college-wide requirements call Academic Programs at 651-696-6036.
- For questions about course selection and scheduling, 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.
We will begin processing registrations on June 26th. Any forms received after that date will be processed on a first come, first served basis.
WORKING TOWARDS A MACALESTER DEGREE
- Academic Advising
- Credit Hours
- Distribution Requirements
- Other Required Courses
- Second Language Proficiency
- French, German, or Spanish Placement
- Language Requirement Exemption
- Major Concentration
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.
The faculty at Macalester has established an academic advising program designed not only to assist you in course selection, but also to aid you in exploring the excitement of a liberal arts education. In order for us to place you with an adviser in a department of interest to you, please complete the Adviser Selection Form and submit it.
Later this summer we will let you know who your adviser will be, and you will meet with that person during Orientation.
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.
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.
You will not get General Education Requirement designation (Internationalism, Multiculturalism, Quantitative Thinking, Writing) without a special form available from the registrar, unlike distributional requirements where credit is given without added forms. Don't assume you will receive this credit automatically. Save relevant papers (syllabi) if necessary.
The registrar might not be able to sign you up for 4 classes before school starts. If you give a long list of possible classes, your chances of getting 4 is much better. But, don't worry, you will have time at the beginning of the year to add and change classes.
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 graduation 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:
- How to plan, draft, and revise a college-level paper.
- How to construct an argument.
- How to organize an essay.
- How to use argumentation and evidence to support claims.
- How to adapt the style, vocabulary, and tone of a piece of writing to its anticipated audience and context.
- How to cite evidence using a standard citation style, such as MLA, APA, CMS or CBE.
- 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.
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 or college, 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 their other schools, 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:
- On the web, go to http://webcape.byuhtrsc.org?acct=macalester.
- Enter the password given below.
Password: highland (all lower case)
- Select the appropriate language.
- 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
WebCape Score |
Course # |
SAT II Scaled Score |
0-300 |
101 |
200-400 |
301-369 |
102 |
410-470 |
370-459 |
203 |
480-580 |
460-550 |
204 |
590-610 |
Over 550 |
620+ |
German
WebCape Score |
Course # |
SAT II Scaled Score |
0-300 |
101 or 110 |
200-400 |
301-400 |
102 or 110 |
410-470 |
401-475 |
203 |
480-580 |
476-550 |
204* |
590-610 |
Over 550 |
620+ |
*For German placement, you must visit the department office during orientation to confirm your placement in German 204.
Spanish
WebCape Score |
Course # |
SAT II Scaled Score |
0-300 |
101 |
200-400 |
301-385 |
102 |
410-470 |
386-450 |
203 |
480-570 |
451-550 |
204 |
580-610 |
Over 550 |
620+ |
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:
Language |
SAT-II with Listening Scaled Score |
French |
620 |
German |
620 |
Spanish |
620 |
We advise you to do the following:
- 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.
- 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 lower course initially. College courses are different from high school courses, 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.
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.