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Students, senior citizens, and seminary spouses may audit courses for $375 per course.  For more information on auditing classes, please consult the academic catalog.  All audits are subject to the same registration deadlines for adding/dropping as courses that are offered for credit.

 
A faculty-signed add slip, indicating an audit (check the left column box in front of the course number for audit), must be submitted by the student to the Office of the Registrar.

Recommended semester course load is 4.5 courses.  Maximum load is 5.0 courses for Fall and Spring Semesters. Maximum load for Summer session is 3.0 courses;  however, be advised that this is a  very  heavy course load. Maximum load for January Term is 2.0 courses.

Grade Point Average (GPA) will be calculated by term and cumulatively for students in the M.Th., Ph.D., and D.Min., programs effective July 1, 2015.  Because coursework for these programs must be passed with a grade of B or better to receive credit, the minimum GPA for these programs will be 3.0. 
 
Effective July 1, 2015, GPA calculations for students in the M.A., Dual Degree and M.Div. programs will be calculated on FINAL transcripts for graduates at the written request of students if at least 75% of their courses were taken with letter grades.  This policy does not apply to transcripts for Graduate Certificate or affiliated students.  Transfer courses are not calculated into the GPA.
Those who may be interested in further graduate study may find it particularly helpful to take an independent study course in which they can work to develop their research and writing skills. No more than 5 total courses required for the master of arts or master of divinity degrees can be completed by independent study.
 
The signature of the instructor indicating approval of course design must be obtained on the appropriate independent study /learning agreement form (see Forms to the left or get one at the Registrar's Office). The instructor and division chair signature must be obtained and the form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office within the first 5 weekdays of the term. Please also PRINT the instructors name on the form where indicated.
 
All independent studies are required to have the signature of the Division Chair on them as well as the instructor's signature. Please note this on the form by the faculty signature area.
 
All Independent Study/Learning agreement forms are subject to the same deadlines for adding/dropping as regularly offered courses.  Students are encouraged to make 2 copies of the form BEFORE submitting them to the Registrar; one for the instructor and one for personal files.
 
Kairos continuing education courses are available for students to take as a half (0.5) course for elective credit. Check out the Kairos course catalog, available online at www.luthersem.edu/lifelong_learning/kairos. Register for the Kairos class in the Center for Lifelong Learning and with the Registrar's Office by using an independent study form.
 
Luther Seminary's grading system defaults to A/F Letter Grades for master of arts, graduate certificate, and master of divinity degree students.  Pass-Fail-Marginal grades may be elected at the time of registration for most classes and must be chosen by the first add/drop deadline. 
 
Letter grades (A, B, C, D, and F) are required for master of theology, doctor of philosophy, and doctor of ministry degree students in 6000, 7000, and 8000 level courses.
 
Grade type choices can be seen on the MY DEGREE tab under COURSE HISTORY.  Please check this area at the beginning of term to make sure your choices are accurately recorded in the system.

Students planning on further graduate study are encouraged to elect the letter grade option.  All grades appear and remain on the official transcripts. See the 2016-2017 Academic Catalog (after July 1, 2016) for more grading information.

Students may choose what type of grade (Pass/Marginal/Fail or Letter Grades A/B/C/D/F) they would like to receive for most courses at the time they register online in MyLutherNet. 
  • When registering, students will notice that once a course(s) has been added, a screen will appear that will ask them to change the "Variable Credit Type;" this is the screen where a student can choose the Grade Type - either Pass/Fail or A/F Letter Grades.  The default grading system is A/F Letter Grades.  
  • If a student would like additional comments about their work, they are asked to work directly with the instructor to provide more feedback on assignments, etc. 
If a student changes their mind and wishes to change the grade type initially selected at registration:
  • During the online registration period (first 2 days of J-Term/Summer or first 5 days of Fall/Spring Semester) a student may drop and re-add the course with the corrected grading preference. Contact the Office of the Registrar if there are difficulties with this.
  • ALL grading preferences must be made known during the first 5 days of the term. 
REMINDER:  All current students must have and use their Luther Seminary email addresses when corresponding with Seminary faculty and staff.  It is the seminary's way of verifying who you are through your account usage.  These are to be the ones kept on file in Luther Seminary records and used for all official communication.  Thank you for your understanding and using your Luther Seminary email when communicating with us.
Information is mailed to new students and emailed to current students about the upcoming registration period.
  • Early registration for FALL SEMESTER occurs during July, with information available in early May. 
  • Early registration for JANUARY TERM occurs in late October. 
  • Early registration for SPRING SEMESTER occurs in early  December . 
  • Registration for SUMMER TERM is typically in April.
Additional add/drops may be made during the beginning of each term.  Please follow the add/drop schedule posted. Due to the computer system, students are REQUIRED to follow the add/drop schedule dates.

Once students complete the initial registration process, schedule changes may be made according to the add/drop deadlines for each term as stated in the seminary’s academic calendar. No registration will be allowed after the stated deadline.

Students desiring to withdraw from a course must make their intention known to the Office of the Registrar according to the term/semester deadlines as stated in the seminary’s academic calendar.

Students who withdraw from 13-week and six-week courses during the second week (calendar days eight to 15 from the start of the term) will receive a notation of W (Withdrawal). Students withdrawing after the 15th calendar day of the term (after the NO REFUND deadlines) will receive a notation of WF (Withdrawal Fail). Students who withdraw from J-Term, Summer Term or short-term intensive courses will receive a WF notation at the NO REFUND deadline. See Refund Schedule in the current academic catalog, http://cms.luthersem.edu/catalog/2017-18_catalog__1_.pdf

A faculty signed add/drop slip must be submitted by the student to the Office of the Registrar for each course change during the period ranging from calendar day eight and beyond of the fall and spring semesters. A faculty signed add/drop slip must be submitted by the student to the Office of the Registrar for each course change for J-Term, summer or short-term intensive courses beyond the designated day of the NO REFUND deadline. See Refund Schedule in the current academic catalog, http://cms.luthersem.edu/catalog/2017-18_catalog__1_.pdf

Students wishing to petition to withdraw without academic penalty may do so with verification from the instructor that the student was doing passing work at the time of withdrawal. A W (Withdrawal) notation will then be given.

Class Status may be seen by clicking on the Personal Info link in the top-right corner.  
  • MDIV Seniors have completed 20 or more credits. 
  • MDIV Middlers have completed between 10 and 19.5 credits. 
  • MDIV Juniors have completed 9.5 or fewer credits. 
Completed credits includes only courses that have been graded (NR, Incompletes, etc. do not count toward earned credits). 
  • MA Seniors have completed 9 or more credits. 
  • MA Juniors have completed 8.5 or fewer credits.  
Reclassifications are made in mid-June only based on credits that were completed as of the end of end of Spring Semester (after grades are due).   No re-classifications will occur before J-Term, Spring Semester, or Summer registration periods because of the timing of registration periods/grading periods from the prior term and the staffing levels needed to process re-classifications at these times.