Registration

Students must complete all admission or readmission procedures before they are permitted to register for courses. It is recommended that this be done no later than five months in advance of classes. After students have submitted their complete Application for Admission or Readmission to the Office of the Registrar and their application has been evaluated, they will receive a Letter of Acceptance.

Douglas College students register for courses using the Web site. Details concerning the registration process, the planning required and course information are contained in the Registration Guide. Students who have satisfactorily completed the previous semester at Douglas College automatically receive registration information. Students who do not receive this information should contact the Office of the Registrar at 604-527-5478 before registration.

New and continuing students who do not attend for 3 consecutive semesters must reapply to the College. Registration appointment times are assigned on the basis of the overall or cumulative GPA for General Admission programs.

For new students, registration appointment times are assigned based on high school GPA in English 12, Principles of Math 11, and one more provincially examinable Grade 12 course. New students may apply for special consideration if they are over 21 and have life experience demonstrating superior achievement OR have completed nine or more credits of coursework from a recognized post-secondary institution. For more information go to Priority Registration for Open Enrolment Programs.

Students who do not satisfactorily complete a semester at Douglas College may be placed on scholastic probation or be asked to withdraw. See section on scholastic probation.

College staff assist in helping students through the registration process. Students who plan to transfer to another institution after attendance at Douglas College should refer to the previous section on transfer credit. Planning should be done well in advance of registration. Contact the Registrar's Office for assistance at 604-527-5478.

Note: Academic Advisors are available to help plan course selection. Please contact the Registrar's Office at 604-527-5478.

Ultimate responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of course timetables and of registration rests with the student. Students cannot receive credit for a course in which they are not properly registered.

Priority Registration for Open Enrolment Programs

Your registration time is assigned based on your cumulative or overall Grade Point Average (GPA) and status as a student.

Returning students (students who have completed two semesters of study at Douglas College), will be assigned registration appointment times based on their overall or cumulative GPA at the time registration priority is assigned for the upcoming semester.

Students who are taking a majority of Mastery courses will be placed into groups based on successful completion of these courses.

For new students (students in their first or second semester of study at Douglas College), registration appointment times are assigned based on high school GPA calculated using interim grades and includes English 12, Principles of Mathematics 11 and one other provincially examinable Grade 12 course at the time registration priority is assigned for the upcoming semester.

All students will be assigned to one of the following groups (in order of priority registration time):

Group 1	Returning students with a GPA of 4.00 or higher
Group 2	New students with a GPA of 4.00 or higher
Group 3	Returning students with a GPA of 3.50 to 3.99
Group 4	New students with a GPA of 3.50 to 3.99
Group 5	Returning students with a GPA of 3.00 to 3.49
Group 6	Students who receive MAS/EXP grades in 100 percent of their courses
Group 7	New students with a GPA of 3.00 to 3.49
Group 8	Returning MAS students who receive MAS/EXP grades in 50 percent of their courses
Group 9	Returning students with a GPA of 2.50 to 2.99
Group 10	New students with a GPA of 2.50 to 2.99
Group 11	Returning students with a GPA of 2.00 to 2.49
Group 12	New students with a GPA of 2.00 to 2.49
Group 13	Returning MAS students who receive NCG/UN grades in more that 50 percent of their courses
Group 14	New students aged 21 years or older with no GPA
Group 15	Returning students with a GPA of 1.50 to 1.99
Group 16	New students with a GPA of 1.50 to 1.99
Group 17	Returning students with a GPA of 1.00 to 1.49
Group 18	New students with a GPA of 1.00 to 1.49
Group 19	Returning students with a GPA of 0.50 to 0.99
Group 20	New students with a GPA of 0.50 to 0.99
Group 21	Returning students with a GPA of 0.00 to 0.49
Group 22	New students with a GPA of 0.00 to 0.49
Group 23	New students under 21 years of age with no GPA
Group 24	New students who apply after the application deadline

Special Consideration

Newly accepted students may be specially considered for an earlier registration time than they would have otherwise received based on their high school GPA.

Who qualifies for Special Consideration?
To request an earlier registration time, new students must meet the following conditions:

• Be 21 years of age or older by the end of the first month of the first semester of attendance
• Have applied by the early application deadline date:
• May 1 for the Fall semester
  
• September 1 for the Winter semester
  
• January 1 for the Summer semester
  

Students must also qualify under one of the following three categories:

1. Life Achievement - Have life experience demonstrating superior achievement, OR;
2. Post-secondary Achievement - Have completed nine or more credits of course work from a recognized post-secondary institution, OR;
3. Academic Upgrading - Have completed academic upgrading at Douglas College.
   

How to apply for Special Consideration
To apply for special consideration, students must submit a letter to the Registrar’s Office providing detailed information and documentation outlining their achievements or extenuating circumstances. This letter must include:

• Your student number, current address and contact information
• Your birth date and current age
• The special consideration category you are applying for i.e. Life Achievement, Post-secondary Achievement or Academic Upgrading
• Detailed reasons you feel you qualify for that category and official documentation to support your rationale (e.g., if you are applying under Category 2: Post-secondary Achievement, include an official transcript from the post-secondary institution you attended)

In addition to the information listed above, your letter must specify which one of the 24 registration groups (other side) you feel is most appropriate to your situation. For instance, if you attended another post-secondary institution since high school and your cumulative GPA at that school is 3.73, please indicate that you would like to be placed in Group 6: New students with GPA of 3.50 to 3.99.

Deadline to apply for Special Consideration
Students must apply for special consideration by the deadline for the appropriate semester:

• Fall semester – June 1
• Winter semester – October 1
• Summer semester – February 1

For more information on how registration times are assigned, please refer to the Priority Registration Policy at www.douglas.bc.ca/policies/edu/priority.htm

Program Declaration

All students are required to declare a program of studies at the time of application or reapplication. For those students applying to limited enrolment programs, priority registration for courses is assigned. Students who have applied and been admitted to a limited enrolment program and later register for courses outside their declared program, will be deregistered from those courses approximately one week from the date they register. If you have been admitted to a limited enrolment program and are unsure as to what courses to register for, please consult the current Douglas College Calendar or an Academic Advisor.

Late Registration

Students may register late for courses, if space is available, for two weeks after classes have started. Course availability will be limited. Shorter deadlines will apply for courses that are less than 15 weeks in duration. Late registration is done using the Web at http://registrar.douglas.bc.ca

Attendance/Non-attendance

A student who is registered and unable to attend the first class of a course should inform their instructor by e-mail, in person or by telephone (but not voice mail) of the intended absence by the start of the first class. Where this is not possible, notification by e-mail, in person or by telephone (but not voice mail) must be received prior to the scheduled start of the second class. A student may be required to provide evidence of notification. If a registered student misses their first class and does not notify their instructor prior to the scheduled start of the second class, their seat in that course may be given to another student. The student whose seat is given away must officially withdraw from the course. If withdrawal or course drop procedures are not completed, the grade of UN will be recorded. Deadline dates are designated in the official online calendar and registration guide.

Auditing a Course

Auditing a course requires normal application, registration and fee payment. The notation Audit is placed on the student's Permanent Record, beside each course audited, if classes are attended regularly. Poor attendance results in the grade of W. Usually, auditing students are not required to complete assignments, tests or examinations.

All students will be registered as credit students. A student has until the end of the second week of classes to change their status from credit to audit. This change must be done inperson at the Registrar's Office and a student must present picture ID.

Change of Address

Update your address on-line at http://registrar.douglas.bc.ca so that correspondence can be mailed without delay. Changes in telephone number, e-mail addresses and names of persons to contact in emergencies can also be updated at the same site.

Course Adds, Drops and Withdrawals

Deadline dates, for courses less than 15 weeks in length, are pro-rated.

Students are required to add or withdraw from courses by using the Registration System. Details for this process, including deadline information, are available in the Registration Guide. Deadline dates apply. A course dropped during the first two weeks of the semester is deleted from a student's permanent record. Courses that are officially dropped during the third to ninth week of the semester are recorded on a student's Permanent Record with a grade of "W". Course drops are not permitted after the ninth week.

Section Changes

Douglas College offers many courses at several different times during the week so students can find it easier to fit all their courses into their schedules. The different times that a course is offered are called sections.

A section change is processed as a course add and a course drop that occur at the same time. When a section is changed, however, the dropped section is always deleted from the permanent student record.

Students must change the section by using the Registration System. Deadlines and the refund policy apply to changing sections.

Course Load, Approval for Overload

A normal course load for a full-time student is 15 credits. Some programs, however, may require more than a normal course load. Students not enrolled in such a program and wishing to take a course overload (i.e. more than 15 credits in one semester) must first obtain permission from the Registrar. Normally, a grade point average of 3.0 (B) or better is required before permission to carry extra courses is granted.

Guided Study Courses

Douglas College, under the conditions and procedures listed below, makes available to students an alternative to regular classroom instruction. The alternative allows completion of courses by independent study, under the guidance of a College faculty member.

Guided Study Policies (See Note)

1. A guided study course is approved under very special circumstances. These circumstances do NOT include instruction by correspondence or payment of less than the regular course fee.
2. Only courses listed in the College calendar may be adapted for guided study. Students must register for a course in the calendar and the goals and objectives of the course must remain unchanged.
3. Appropriate courses for Guided Study are those at the second-year level for which there is low demand or low enrolment. Courses in reading, research, work experience, or field studies are NOT offered on a Guided Study basis. Further, courses that depend primarily on student/instructor interaction are NOT offered for guided study.
4. Students should apply for the Guided Study Contract at the office of the Department Head. They should complete both the contract form and a registration form, attach cash or a cheque for the course fee and student fee and request approval by the Department Head.
5. A Douglas College instructor must be willing and available to participate with the particular student before the contract is approved.
6. The student, the instructor and the Department Head must meet to examine the Contract Form to ensure that all parties are aware of its nature and implications. The course outline is attached to the contract and as part of the contract, the instructor and the student must agree on the variations from the regular course outline.
7. Guided Study programs are open only to students who have completed at least 12 semester hours of credit or two semesters at Douglas College.
8. If students do not complete the contract, an F grade (failure) is awarded. An Incomplete I grade is awarded only with the approval of the appropriate Department Head. Successful completion of the course results in one of the regular College passing grades being awarded.
9. Because of the particular fee payment arrangements for the instructor's services, no refund is possible after the course has begun.
10. If students are registered for other courses during the current semester, the additional Guided Study course(s) must not cause the student to exceed the normal permitted academic load and the additional Guided Study courses must be added to the student's records using a Change in Registration Form.
    

Note: For the benefit of students, the above information is provided by the Office of the Registrar. Anyone requiring information on the full policy and procedure should consult with the Department Head or the Registrar.

Repetition of Courses

In general, students may register for the same course if it is a graded course (A, A-, B+, C etc.) a maximum of two times. Students enrolled in graded DVST courses may repeat those courses a maximum of 3 times. Students enrolled in courses which use Mastery grading may register a maximum of three times. Register, in this context, means enrol as a credit or audit student.

The policy applies to all cases of registration, whether or not the course is successfully completed or the student withdraws.

Students may appeal to the Registrar for special consideration or exemption from this policy. Some departments have specified other repeat course policies. In those cases, that policy would apply. Please consult with the department.

Academic Advising

Academic Advisors are available for students and prospective students. Please see the Registrar’s website.