Attendance and Enrollment Verification
Regular attendance and active participation are essential to student success. Attendance expectations are established by faculty within each department or program and approved by the academic dean. Students are responsible for understanding and adhering to the requirements outlined in their course syllabus.
Enrollment verification confirms a student’s academic engagement in each course. In accordance with federal Title IV financial aid regulations and state-funded programs, including free community college initiatives, the College must verify that students have begun attendance or participated in academically related activities.
Academically related activities may include attending class, submitting assignments, participating in discussions, or completing assessments. Students who do not demonstrate academic engagement may be reported as not attending.
Failure to participate may result in:
- Adjustment or reduction of financial aid
- A requirement to repay funds
- Administrative removal from the course in accordance with College procedures
If an instructor does not arrive within fifteen (15) minutes of the scheduled start time and no prior notification has been provided, the class may be considered dismissed.
Students who anticipate extended absences should notify the Office of the Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management. Students participating in college-sponsored activities must coordinate with instructors regarding missed coursework.
Students unable to meet academic requirements due to sincerely held religious beliefs will be provided with a reasonable opportunity to make up missed work without penalty.
Course Load
A full-time course load is defined as enrollment in 12 or more credit hours in a semester.
Students should plan to dedicate sufficient time to coursework outside of class. A general guideline is to spend approximately two to three hours on academic work for each hour spent in class. For example, a student enrolled in 15 credit hours should expect to spend approximately 30 to 45 hours per week on studying and completing course requirements.
Course load decisions should be made in consultation with an academic advisor, taking into consideration academic goals, program requirements, and outside commitments.
Dropping and Withdrawing from a Course
Students may add or drop courses during the published registration and add/drop period. After the first week of classes, instructor authorization is required to add a course.
Courses dropped through the second week of classes will not appear on the academic transcript.
After the add/drop period, students who discontinue a course must officially withdraw. A grade of “W” (Withdrawal) will be assigned. A “W” does not affect the grade point average but may impact academic standing and financial aid.
Students must withdraw by the published deadline, typically the tenth week of a standard semester. Deadlines vary by part of term and are published in the academic calendar.
Students may withdraw:
- Online through myBristol
- By submitting a request through their college email to registrarsoffice@bristolcc.edu
Students who stop attending without officially withdrawing may be subject to administrative action, including impacts to financial aid eligibility.
Course Repeat
Students may repeat a course once without the permission of the Registrar or designee. Students will then be required to complete a “Repeat Course” form found in their myBristol account under Registration. The higher of the two grades will be applied to the student’s grade point average calculation and graduation requirements. All repeated courses remain on the student transcript. Developmental courses may be repeated to meet prerequisite requirements; however, students may not exceed a total of 30 attempted developmental credits. Students who wish to repeat clinical courses or courses in selective admissions programs must follow the policies of that program, which may include reapplying to the program.
Directed Study
A Directed Study is a faculty-supervised course that allows a student to complete the learning outcomes of an existing catalog course when a regularly scheduled section is not available. Directed Study courses are equivalent in credit, rigor, and assessment to the catalog course. Tuition is charged based on approved credits.
Directed Study is not intended to replace regularly scheduled courses or to accommodate scheduling preferences.
For eligibility, students must:
- Be enrolled in a degree or certificate program
- Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
- Have completed all course prerequisites
- Demonstrate a qualifying need (e.g., nearing program completion, course unavailable, program changes, or approved special circumstances)
Directed Study approval is contingent upon faculty availability and departmental support and may not be used to bypass established curriculum requirements or course sequencing. All requests must be submitted through MyBristol and are subject to approval by the faculty sponsor, Academic Dean/Academic Affairs, and the Registrar’s Office. If approved, the Directed Study must include a written learning contract outlining course expectations, learning outcomes, assignments, and grading criteria prior to enrollment.