The academic year at Bard College at Simon’s Rock consists of two 14.5-week semesters, preceded in the fall by a week-long Writing and Thinking Workshop for newly admitted students. Each fall the Office of Academic Affairs publishes a list of important dates and deadlines for the academic year. Students are responsible for meeting these deadlines when implementing changes in their course schedules.
Each student has an academic advisor who is responsible for working with the student to design an academic program compatible with the student’s interests, abilities, and goals that fulfills the College’s program requirements. New students are assigned advisors and are required to meet with them weekly during their first semester, at least every other week during their second semester, and as needed and arranged by the student and advisor in the years following. A student may change advisors at any time by asking a faculty or staff member to be their new advisor and completing a Change of Advisor form at the Registrar’s Office. When Moderating, students may want to change to an academic advisor whose expertise will be particularly helpful for guiding their work in the Upper College.
Courses at Simon’s Rock are offered through four divisions: Arts; Languages and Literature; Science, Mathematics, and Computing; and Social Studies. Some courses are interdivisional. 100-level courses are introductory and develop basic skills appropriate to the subject preparing students for intermediate and more advanced work. 200-level courses are intermediate-level assuming and building on skills and knowledge achieved in 100-level courses to deepen understanding of a subject. 300- and 400-level courses assume students’ ability to work in depth and with increasing independence on more complex or advanced materials in a subject area. They include advanced courses, seminars, tutorials, and independent projects. Preference is generally given to Upper College students for enrollment in advanced courses.
Most courses meet for three hours per week. Courses at the 100- and 200-levels typically earn three credits; courses at the 300- and 400-levels earn four credits. Laboratory courses, accelerated beginning language classes, and 100- and 200-level general education seminars may also earn four credits because of the extra hours of class and/or lab time. The credits assigned to each course are noted in the course guide.
All Simon’s Rock students who are working toward a degree are expected to be full-time, whether they live on or off campus. The minimum credit load to maintain full-time status is 12 credits per semester; the normal credit load to be on track to earn an AA in two years and a BA in four years is 15–16 credits per semester; the maximum credit load, without surcharge and permission from an Academic Dean, is 18 credits per semester.
The normal course load for Lower College students is four or five courses per semester. The normal course load for Upper College students is four courses per semester, one of which may be a Tutorial, Independent Project, Extended Campus Project, or Senior Thesis. Any junior or senior whose GPA falls below 2.5 may not register for a Tutorial, Independent Project, or Extended Campus Project.
Exceptions to these credit and course limits must be approved by the Committee on Standards and Procedures and the Dean of Academic Affairs. Students with permission to exceed the maximum number of credits may register for the additional course(s) during the Add period. There is an additional per-credit fee for these additional credits. Students who withdraw or are suspended from a course for nonattendance, thereby reducing their course load to fewer than 12 credits, risk jeopardizing their ability to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, and thus their eligibility for financial aid (including for the current semester), may be suspended from the College. Petitions to carry more than 18 or fewer than 12 credits are available in the Office of Academic Affairs.
Simon’s Rock assumes that students in full-semester introductory (100-level) or intermediate (200-level) classes will spend 3 hours in class per week, and an average of 2.25 hours preparing for each contact hour, for a total of just over 140 hours of study per semester for a three-credit class. Classes with a laboratory component earn four credits because of the extra hours of lab each week and the related work outside of class. Advanced classes are worth four credits because the work outside of the 3 class hours is assumed to be more extensive; students in 300- and 400-level courses are expected to spend 3.25 hours in preparation for each contact hour. Modular (half semester) classes are also assigned two credits as they move at a slightly faster pace than full-semester classes, and students are expected to spend 3.25 hours in preparation for each contact hour. Some courses (e.g., music lessons) are worth 1 credit and are ungraded.
Students taking a normal full-time course load of 15 credits should be prepared to spend no fewer than 48 hours engaged in academic study (including in-class time and preparation for classes) each week. Students taking more credits should be prepared to spend more time engaged in academic study; e.g., taking 18 credits requires no fewer than 60 hours each of academic study.
Students who wish to change, add, or drop courses must do so within the deadlines listed on the academic calendar published by the Office of Academic Affairs. Such changes are made only when students have completed the necessary forms, obtained the required signatures of instructors and advisors, and submitted the form to the Registrar.
Courses may be added only during the first two weeks of the semester, with consent of the instructor and the student’s academic advisor.
Courses dropped by the end of the twelfth week of the semester will not appear on the student’s academic record. A student may withdraw from a course with a grade of W until the end of the fourteenth week of the semester. After that time, a student may not withdraw from a course and will receive a grade. A student who attends a course without formally registering for it will not be awarded credit for the course; a student who ceases to attend a class without completing a drop or withdrawal form before the published deadlines will receive a final grade of F for that course. (This includes classes from which the student has been suspended for excessive absences; see the policy on Suspension from Class for Excessive Absences below.)
Students receive written evaluations (“comments”) on their performance at midterm and following the completion of courses. Letter grades are also assigned as an abbreviated indication of overall performance. Together, the grade and comment sheets make up the student’s academic record. Final semester grades are recorded on the student’s official transcript in one of two ways: Letter grades or Pass/Fail grades. Letter grades represent the following levels of academic achievement:
A = performance with distinction
B = good performance
C = satisfactory performance
D = minimally passing performance
F = failure; no credit
A plus (+) attached to a letter grade indicates a higher achievement at the level of that letter grade; a minus (-) indicates a lower achievement at the level of that letter grade. Grades of A+ and D- are not used on academic records.
A grade of Pass (P) indicates acceptable performance and does not affect the GPA. A grade of Fail (F) indicates unacceptable performance and is calculated in a student’s GPA as zero points. Pass/Fail grades are awarded when the instructor wishes to distinguish only two different levels of accomplishment in a course or when an eligible student elects the Pass/Fail option.
Pass/Fail option: A student taking at least 14 credits in a given semester may elect to take one course on a Pass/Fail basis. This option is designed to encourage students to explore courses outside previously defined areas of competence and is not available for required courses in the core curriculum or in the BA concentrations. The option exists even if some of the student’s other courses are already designated by the instructor as Pass/Fail courses.
With consent of the instructor, a student in a Pass/Fail course may elect to receive a letter grade. The deadline for both options is the end of the third week of the semester. The student must fill out the applicable form and submit it to the Registrar.
Audit option: A student may attend a class for no credit with the instructor’s permission. It will not appear on the transcript.
The Senior Thesis is graded High Honors (HH), Honors (H), Pass (P), No Credit (NC), or Fail (F). The grades of High Honors, Honors, and No Credit are used exclusively for theses and are not calculated into the GPA.
To be in Good Academic Standing at the end of a semester, a student must earn at least 12 credits and have both a semester and a cumulative GPA of 2.0.
Letter grades are assigned the following GPA equivalents: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, and F=0. A plus (+) adds 0.3 and a minus (-) subtracts 0.3. For Pass/Fail courses, a Pass grade and the credits they represent are not included in the GPA; Fail grades are the same as Fs and are treated as such in the GPA.
Class standing is based on the total number of credits earned toward the degree:
| Student Year | Credits |
|---|---|
| First-year student | 29 or fewer credits |
| Sophomore | 30–59 credits |
| Junior | 60–89 credits |
| Senior | more than 90 credits |
To maintain eligibility for financial aid, students must make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in accordance with federal, state, and Simon’s Rock guidelines. This is, students must achieve at least a C (2.0) grade point average each year and accumulate credits toward a degree according to the following schedule:
| Academic Years Completed | Credits Successfully Completed |
|---|---|
| 1 | 24 |
| 2 | 48 |
| 3 | 72 |
| 4 | 96 |
Failure to meet these standards will result in a review of the financial aid awards. Federal aid eligibility is limited to a maximum of 6 years or 180 earned credits for students pursuing their BA degree; for AA students, the limits are 3 years or 90 credits, whichever comes first. Bard College at Simon’s Rock Institutional Aid is limited to a maximum of four years.
If financial aid eligibility is suspended, it can only be renewed once the student has regained satisfactory progress as defined above. To appeal suspension from financial aid eligibility, a student may submit a letter explaining the circumstances surrounding the loss of credits or low GPA to the dean of Academic Affairs who will review it in consultation with the Director of Financial Aid. Students are notified of the appeal decision in writing.
Students who do not earn a semester GPA of at least 2.0 are not in Good Academic Standing and endanger their ability to earn a degree on schedule.
Academic Warning notification is sent to students whose cumulative GPA is above 2.0, but the GPA in the most recent semester fell below 2.0.
Academic Suspension is the consequence of earning a semester GPA below 1.5. Such students are encouraged to take time to address the issues that are preventing their success and may not enroll in Simon’s Rock classes in the subsequent semester—suspension requires at least a one semester separation from the College. Following one semester on academic suspension, students are entitled to apply for Readmission.
To be considered for readmission, they should involve themselves in activities that enhance study skills, self-discipline, and ability to work within a structured academic setting. Suspended students who are readmitted to the College following the period of their suspension are not eligible to receive financial aid from the College until good academic standing has been reattained.
Students who earn a semester GPA between 1.5 and 2.0 are placed on Academic Probation and are encouraged to make use of additional supports to improve their performance.
A student who achieves a semester GPA and cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher is automatically removed from academic probation at the end of the semester.
If at the end of the probation semester a student has failed to achieve good academic standing, the Deans will consult the student’s instructors and advisor to determine whether the student may continue at Simon’s Rock and, if so, under what conditions.
The Dean’s List recognizes academic excellence. Students taking 14 or more graded credits in a given semester who earn either a semester GPA of 3.5 (or a semester GPA of 3.3 with no grade below a B) are named to the Dean’s List. Thesis-carrying seniors may be named to the Dean’s List with 12 graded credits (apart from the thesis) and a semester GPA of 3.5.
A student earning the AA degree with a GPA of at least 3.5 graduates with distinction. Honors are awarded to BA degree candidates as follows:
Academic honors are bestowed based upon grades received prior to commencement.
A student who falls behind in a class may request a grade of Incomplete (I) from the instructor. A grade of Incomplete is not awarded automatically; rather, it is given at the instructor’s discretion. A student must submit the appropriate form signed by the instructor to the Registrar’s Office by the last day of classes.
A student may request only one Incomplete per term except for medical reasons, and approval for more than one Incomplete per semester must be given by the Dean of Students in consultation with the Office of Health Services. Students on academic probation are not eligible to receive an Incomplete. In the spring semester, AA and BA graduates are not eligible to receive an Incomplete.
In granting an Incomplete, the instructor sets a deadline by which all work must be submitted, usually one month from the last day of the semester, but no later than the Friday before the beginning of the following semester. The instructor then submits a revised grade to the Registrar. If no revised grade is received, the Incomplete becomes a final grade of F.
Faculty members may indicate in final comments that they are willing to change a student’s grade in a course based on the submission of additional work. Faculty members may set a deadline for the submission of this work no later than the Friday before the beginning of the following semester. Students may not submit additional work for a course after the beginning of the following semester.
Grade changes made after the deadline for “grades for graduates” cannot alter a student’s graduation status or his/her Latin honors (e.g., with distinction, cum laude). A student who does not complete the degree requirements by the “grades for graduates” date cannot graduate that year retroactively—his/her graduation date for the relevant degree (AA or BA) will be that of the commencement following the date he or she completes the degree requirements.
A student who earns a course grade of C- or lower may repeat the course at Simon’s Rock. The new grade becomes the grade of record, and the grade used in calculating GPA, although an indication that the course was repeated is retained (no additional or new credits are earned). Grades associated with transfer credits (credits received at other academic institutions) cannot replace a Simon’s Rock grade.
Students wishing to receive transfer credit at Simon’s Rock for coursework at other accredited institutions and programs should seek preapproval for this work by completing the Transfer Credits Worksheet available from the Office of Academic Affairs prior to enrolling in such programs. Juniors who plan to study elsewhere during the academic year must file a form requesting leave with the Dean of Academic Affairs. Only liberal arts and sciences courses in which the student has earned a grade of C or better will be considered for transfer credits. A total of 10 transfer credits may be applied toward the AA degree; up to 60 credits may be applied toward the BA degree. Grades awarded by other institutions for courses accepted for transfer are not used in calculating a student’s GPA at Simon’s Rock.
Official transcripts from other institutions must be sent to the Registrar at Simon’s Rock. The Registrar evaluates the acceptability of the courses and determines the number of allowable credits. Students may also be required to provide a course description and syllabus. Final approval of transfer credit rests with the Dean of Academic Affairs.
A course approved for transfer credit may be used to satisfy a degree or concentration requirement only if the course is judged to be similar in content and scope to those used to satisfy the relevant requirement at Simon’s Rock (the Registrar in consultation with the relevant faculty members, makes this judgment). In order for a transfer course to be approved as meeting one of the school’s requirements, the student must follow the instructions on the Transfer Credits Worksheet prior to taking the course.
Online Courses: Because the College places great value on faculty-student and student-to-student discussion in a liberal arts education, no more than 6 total online credits may be applied to the Simon’s Rock AA and BA degree (combined across both degrees) and no online course will be considered as an advanced course (i.e., 300- or 400-level). Online courses may not be used to fulfill any of the AA general education distribution requirements. No online course credits will transfer if earned during a semester when the student is enrolled full-time at Simon’s Rock or in residence at another college or university.
College or early college courses completed while the student is still enrolled in high school will be evaluated for transfer credit to Simon’s Rock by the Registrar and Academic Dean. Questions relevant in the evaluation will include: Was the course taught by an instructor selected, supervised, and evaluated by the college or university awarding the credit? Is the college or university awarding credit an accredited institution? Does the course syllabus indicate a level of instruction and assessment consistent with postsecondary coursework? Does the instructor have demonstrated expertise in the subject area being taught?
Advanced standing for College Board Advanced Placement courses may be given at the discretion of the faculty in the appropriate discipline; a score of 5 is generally required for advanced standing. Bard College at Simon’s Rock does not grant credits for AP courses or exams.
Since most students enter Simon's Rock before completing high school, they do not normally have high school diplomas. Some high schools will award a diploma after a student has successfully completed one year of college study. Students who want to obtain the diploma should check with their former high school. Alternatively, a certificate of high school equivalence may be obtained by passing the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET) the new alternative, which is available to Simon's Rock students through Berkshire Community College.
Students are expected to attend all classes for which they are scheduled. Generally, an instructor’s evaluation of a student’s work depends in part on class participation; therefore, absence from class is viewed as an irrevocably lost opportunity for both the individual student and the class collectively. Classes immediately before and after vacations are as important as any other classes during a term; students are expected to attend them and to limit their vacations to the days prescribed in the College’s academic calendar. Final exam days are part of the academic semester and students should plan on being on campus through the end of the exam period. Students who miss more than one week of a class may be suspended from that class.
Simon’s Rock recognizes that the student body includes adherents of various faiths, and that observance of religious holidays is an important part of religious practice. Students may obtain an excused absence for such observance by informing their professors, in writing, of a planned absence at least two weeks in advance and making arrangements to complete any missed work. Absences for the observance of religious holidays are not counted toward maximum allowable absences.
Pursuant to the requirements of the law set forth in Chapter 151c, Section 2B of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a copy of this section is printed here in full.
Any student in an educational or vocational training institution, other than a religious or denominational educational or vocational training institution, who is unable, because of his/her religious beliefs, to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study, or work requirement on a particular day shall be excused from any such examination or study or work requirement, and shall be provided with an opportunity to make up such examination, study, or work requirement which he may have missed because of such absence on any particular day; provided, however, that such makeup examination or work shall not create an unreasonable burden upon such school. No fees of any kind shall be charged by the institution for making available to the said student such opportunity. No adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to any student because of his/her availing himself/herself of the provisions of this section.
If a student is suspended from class for exceeding the permissible number of absences, the student, academic advisor, residence director, and (for first-year students and students on academic probation) parent(s) or guardian(s) will receive notification from the Registrar’s Office. The student may apply to the appropriate instructor or instructors for readmission.
If the request is granted, a Reinstatement Form, signed by the instructor(s), and stating the conditions for returning to class must be filed with the Office of Academic Affairs within one week of the class suspension. If an instructor or student decides against reinstatement, the student should drop or withdraw from the course by submitting the appropriate form to the registrar before the relevant drop or withdrawal deadline. If a drop or withdrawal would result in a course load below 12 credits (which is the minimum for full-time enrollment status), the student may not be eligible to withdraw from the class and will receive an F for the course. Students may petition to go under the minimum full-time credit load in the Office of Academic Affairs. Students and their families should be aware that carrying fewer than 12 credits may have implications on Financial Aid Awards. In some cases, if suspension from one or more courses jeopardizes the students’ ability to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, the student may be suspended or withdrawn from the College.
In the event of a serious illness or other severe problem that necessitates missing several consecutive classes, the student may request a formal Leave of Absence from health services or from the Dean of Students, Dean of Academic Affairs, or Dean of Campus Life. If a student is absent from more than a total of two weeks of class sessions for any reason, completion of the course requirements is often not possible. In such cases, certification from the professor is required that the student has already done sufficient work in the course for it to reasonably be completed by the end of the semester. If the professor or the student judges that a class cannot be successfully completed, a student who has been granted a leave of absence usually will be allowed to withdraw from that class and will receive a W on the transcript. Students are expected to make up work missed during a leave of absence.
Juniors who wish to spend a semester abroad or at another postsecondary institution or program must receive prior approval to assure that their programs of study are appropriate and that credits earned away will transfer. They must complete a Leave to Study Away application and submit it to the Office of Academic Affairs. Students must also complete the Leave to Study Away preparation course.
Students may apply courses taken at other institutions (e.g., as part of a Leave to Study Away) toward their BA concentration requirements. However, to be awarded a BA in a Simon’s Rock concentration, at least 50% of the credits required for the concentration must be completed at Simon’s Rock. Planning for courses that will be taken elsewhere and their relevance toward particular concentration(s) should be done in advance and in consultation with the student’s moderation committee and the faculty in the relevant concentration. Ultimately, the evaluation of whether courses taken elsewhere fulfill the Simon’s Rock concentration and program of study requirements is made by the academic advisor and the faculty in the relevant concentration. Students participating in one of the College’s 3/2 or 3/1 programs must complete their third year of study (their first year in the BA program) at Simon’s Rock.
Honesty and integrity in the performance of all academic assignments are expected of all students at Simon’s Rock. Plagiarism; giving or receiving unauthorized assistance on any examination, quiz, lab or homework assignment, and falsifying data all are serious forms of academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated.
A student who submits, without acknowledgment, work that is not his or her own has committed plagiarism. An example of plagiarism is the submission of a paper with content that is wholly or partially taken from another’s work, including that found on the Internet. Plagiarism occurs when even a single sentence, phrase or wording is copied without attribution. Special care should be taken when engaging in research on the Internet, as there are a vast number of sources that are designed to aid students in committing academic dishonesty, or that are otherwise unsuitable for academic pursuits.
Information about the proper use and acknowledgment of source material is available in the College library and from the faculty. The library has resources available to aid students in finding appropriate materials through Internet research. It is the student’s responsibility to consult with the faculty member involved whenever there is a question about the appropriate way to handle the use of source material. An approved style manual also should be consulted to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
A first offense will result in at least a grade of F on the assignment or exam in question and may result in a semester grade of F for the course. The student will receive a written warning (although nothing will go on the student’s academic record) and parents or guardians will be notified. Any subsequent offense will become part of the student’s record and will result in further consequences, which may include academic probation, revocation of scholarship, and suspension from the College. Appeals of the consequences or a judgment of academic dishonesty (beyond a warning) may be made in writing to the Standards and Procedures Committee within 48 hours of the decision.
Further questions about the College’s policy on academic dishonesty should be directed to the Office of Academic Affairs.
The Standards and Procedures Committee, chaired by the Dean of Students and staffed by members of the faculty, staff, students, and administration, reviews petitions for exceptions to the academic policies of Simon’s Rock based on unusual circumstances. Petitions should be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs.
Students, faculty, and staff should all be addressed by their preferred name and pronoun, regardless of the sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on identification documents or past academic record. It may be necessary for an individual to express this preference when interacting with people who may not have been informed of it, based on the student’s Self-Identified Preferred First Name/Self-Identified Gender or Gender-Neutral Pronoun form. There are certain instances where the College must use a legal name and gender pronoun, and this is detailed on the above-mentioned form. The form is available on the Simon's Rock portal under Academics/Forms & Manuals or from the Registrar’s Office.
Bard College at Simon’s Rock complies with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). This act assures students attending postsecondary educational institutions that they have the right to inspect and review certain of their educational records, and, by following the guidelines provided by the College, to correct inaccurate or misleading data through informal or formal hearings. The act protects students’ rights to privacy by limiting transfer of these records without their consent, except in specific circumstances. Students also have the right to file complaints with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Office, Department of Health and Human Services, 330 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201.
College policy on the maintenance of student records is available on request from the Registrar.