REGISTRATION POLICIES

Students must visit the Financial Aid Office in order to understand how their financial aid package will be impacted by adding and dropping courses. symposia. Thesis final review presentations typically take place over the course of a weekend and include visiting instructors from around the world.

The Credit Hour Policy is periodically reviewed through the offices of the Director of Academic Affairs, Undergraduate and Graduate Program Chairs, and the Academic Curriculum Coordinators. The policy is also reviewed through meetings of the Curriculum Committees for each academic program, annual Faculty Retreats, and quarterly Academic Council Meetings.

* Students enrolled in the final thesis semester of the B.Arch and M.Arch programs are considered to be enrolled full-time at 9 units.

Add/Drop Procedure

Students can change courses by completing the Add/Drop process online during the first 7 calendar days of each term (period subject to change). Students may access their course schedule via my.sciarc.edu. If the student fails to drop a course within the prescribed time limit, a permanent ‘no credit’ (NC) for that course will be recorded on the student’s transcript. During the core sequence, students are expected to maintain a full course load. Students taking more than 18 units are required to receive approval from the Academic Advisor and the Program Chairs. For students taking a reduced course load (less than 12 units UG / less than 9 units) approval from the Academic Advisor and Program Chair is required. In addition, International Students must have approval for a reduced course load through the Registrar/International Advisor.

After the first week, until the 13th week of the term (10th week in the summer), students may withdraw from a course. To withdraw from a course, students using financial aid must meet with the Financial Aid Office before meeting with the Academic Advisor. If approved by Financial Aid, students must meet with the Academic Advisor to review their coursework and receive an Add/Drop form. Students must return completed Add/Drop forms to the Academic Advisor no later than the 13th week of the term. A withdrawal (W) is recorded on the transcript.

Students who have more than 3 absences will be involuntary withdrawn by their seminar instructor or the administration.

Students are eligible for a partial refund of their tuition fees only if they reduce attempted credits following the Add/Drop period with approval from the Undergraduate or Graduate Program Chairs prior to the 38th day of the term. Refunds are calculated as set forth in the tuition refund policy located in the Financial Aid section of this handbook.

Also see Tuition Refunds section.

Auditing a Course

Students who wish to attend a class without working for or expecting to receive formal credit may audit the course with Faculty approval and clearance from the

Registrar/International Advisor. Only upper division students may audit courses and only one course per term is permissible. Students who audit a course may not participate in class, do not take examinations, and do not submit papers. Students may only audit seminar courses; students may not audit design studios. Students must gain permission to audit a course from the course instructor and may not register to audit a course until the first day of classes in order to give priority to students needing to take the course for credit. Students may not attend any course without officially committing to either credit or audit. Students may not change an audit class to credit after the Add/Drop period (the first week of classes) and all audit courses must be approved through the Registrar/International Advisor.

Leave of Absence/Withdrawal

Upon the satisfactory completion of any term, a student who is in good standing is eligible to take a leave of absence for up to two years with the approval of the Financial Aid Manager, Registrar/International Advisor, Academic Advisor, and Program Chair. Students on Leaves of Absence are assured readmission to resume their studies from the point at which they were interrupted as long as it is within two years and they return to the original program of study. Students who do not complete the leave of absence process prior to the start of the next term will be administratively withdrawn from SCI-Arc, will need to reapply if they wish to return, and will be subject to the tuition rate and curriculum in effect if readmitted.

Students who are on a leave of absence are not eligible to apply for the Continuing Student Scholarship in the year of their return. Students who are administratively withdrawn are not eligible for an Admission Scholarship if readmitted.

All students seeking a leave of absence must meet with the Academic Advisor to review the leave of absence process. In addition, students are required to meet with their Academic Program Chair regarding any possible leave of absence or withdrawal. International students must meet with the international advisor to review F-1 status. Students must also meet with Financial Aid Manager if they recieve any financial aid, scholarships, and/or loans.

Students who intend to return from an approved leave of absence must notify the Financial Aid Manager, Registrar/International Advisor and the Academic Advisor no later than four months prior to the start of the term.

Students who do not return from an approved leave of absence within two years will be administratively withdrawn at the end of the final Add/Drop period for the leave of absence deadline. Any student who has been administratively withdrawn must reapply through the Office of Admissions. The readmitted student will be subject to the incoming “New Student” tuition rate and curriculum in effect for the new academic year.

Completion of the B.Arch degree requires 166 units. Students need 108 units to complete the M.Arch 1 degree , 78 units to complete the M.Arch 2 degree, and 45 units to complete the EDGE programs.

Students are required to complete their Liberal Arts courses at SCI-Arc once enrolled.

Exceptions for Liberal Arts courses taken outside of SCI-Arc are rare and require preapproval from the Academic Advisor and Liberal Arts Coordinator. Information regarding SCI-Arc’s Tuition Refund policy relating to leave of absence/ withdrawals can be found in the Financial Information section of this handbook. Completion of the B.Arch degree requires 166 units. Students need 108 units to complete the M.Arch 1 degree, 78 units to complete the M.Arch 2 degree, and 45 units to complete the EDGE programs.

Undergraduate Transfer of Credit

Transfer students at SCI-Arc come from a variety of educational backgrounds, including colleges and universities, as well as community and city colleges. Their fields of study range from liberal arts programs with no experience in architecture to one or more years of architectural design experience.

First-Year Placement Transfer

Students who have completed general, nonarchitecture courses at other two- or four-year colleges may only apply for placement in the first year of the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program. These include students who have completed associate degrees (AA or AS) in disciplines other than architecture.

Undergraduate Advanced Standing Transfer

Advanced standing for transfer students from other architecture programs into SCI-Arc’s B.Arch program is not guaranteed, and is determined on a case-by-case basis upon review of the applicant’s portfolio of architectural and creative work, number of architectural design studios completed, number of potential transfer courses, personal statement, academic standing, and letters of recommendation. Students who begin their studies in the B.Arch program with advanced placement (1B studio placement or higher) may be required to complete additional prerequisite seminars at SCI-Arc before advancing to the next studio level.

Undergraduate - Transferring Liberal Arts/General Education Credits

SCI-Arc is known for its innovative and cutting-edge approach to education. As such, it is uncommon to find direct alignment of our design studios or seminar courses with those at other colleges. The SCI-Arc undergraduate curriculum contains 45 units of liberal arts coursework. We encourage prospective students to review the curriculum and read the Liberal Arts (LA) course descriptions. Courses from schools without a current articulation agreement are subject to the transfer credit evaluation process. Students must review and follow the waiver request process posted on the Advising page on my.sciarc.edu.

To evaluate a course for transfer credit, SCI-Arc requires a B or better grade in the course, a course description, and the full course syllabus from the correct term and instructor. A professional third-party English translation must accompany original language documentation for courses taken at international institutions where English was not the language of instruction. All required documentation for transfer credit evaluation requests must be received by the end of the eighth

week of the term for courses needed for the next term. New students must submit documentation by Orientation. Academic Coordinator decisions are final.

Coursework from schools without a current articulation agreement is not guaranteed to transfer, however SCI-Arc strives to accept as much transfer credit as is possible with the understanding that it is in the student’s best interest to complete their studies without additional delays or expense. Also see Courses and Degree Requirements section.

Undergraduate students forfeit the opportunity to request a transfer credit evaluation for a required course once they have enrolled and attended the particular course (following the Add/Drop period), or they do not submit all required waiver request documentation by the deadline. At that point specific courses must be completed and passed at SCI-Arc.

SCI-Arc has articulation agreements with several community colleges. Students transferring from schools with current articulation agreements are not required to submit transfer credit evaluation requests.

Graduate - Waiver of Required Courses

Graduate students may submit a request to have courses required for their graduate program waived if the courses are comparable to those taken at previously attended colleges or universities. A required course may be waived upon determination that the coursework was adequately covered by previous graduate level coursework. Students must review and follow the waiver request process posted on the Advising page on my.sciarc.edu. Approval of course waiver requests is not guaranteed. To review a waiver request, we require a B or better grade in the course, a course description, and the full course syllabus from the correct term and instructor. All required documentation for waiver requests must be received by the end of the eighth week of the term for courses needed for the next term. Academic Coordinator decisions are final.

If a waiver request is approved, graduate students must replace waived courses with either core or elective classes approved by the Academic Advisor and respective Department Coordinator.

Graduate students forfeit the opportunity to request to waive a required course once they have enrolled and attended the particular course (following the Add/ Drop period), or they do not submit all required waiver request documentation by the deadline. At that point specific courses must be completed and passed at SCI-Arc.

Residency

Residency is required for the last two terms of each program. The undergraduate program consists of ten terms of full-time study. Applicants accepted with