Academic Calendar
Academic calendars can be found here. The program of regular semesters (for New College for Interdisciplinary Studies calendar, call (516) 463-5820) is based on the 4 x 4 calendar with fall 2011 classes beginning September 6 and concluding (through final exams) December 19. Spring 2012 classes begin January 26 and conclude (through final exams) May 18. The January Session, the period between semesters, can be used as a holiday, for independent or group study programs or for special educationally related projects. Credit courses are offered during this session. For information, consult the Office of Academic Records.
Change of Address
Students must report a change of their home or local address to the Office of Academic Records immediately. Change of address can also be processed through the Hofstra Online Information System.
Bulletin of First Registration
Undergraduate students are expected to satisfy those requirements specified in the Bulletin of their year of first registration at the University. Students who have no record of attendance at Hofstra University for a period of 15 months or more must follow the requirements set forth in the Bulletin in effect when they are readmitted. Any student, however, may elect once during his or her undergraduate studies, to follow all the requirements specified in a subsequent Bulletin, provided the Office of Academic Records is notified prior to the semester of graduation. No exceptions regarding the requirements set forth in any Bulletin may be made by the students or by the faculty without the written approval of the dean of the academic unit or of the provost. This policy refers to academic requirements such as degree and major requirements. Other procedures and policies, such as the grading system, may be changed through the University’s governance process. However, students will be notified (by placing notices in our student newspapers and by any other methods and media applicable) of any significant change at least a year in advance of its implementation.
Change of Program
Students will be permitted to make program changes in accordance with the published University deadlines.
Class Standing
An undergraduate student credited with 30 semester hours will be ranked as a sophomore; with 60 semester hours, a junior; and 90 semester hours, a senior. Students will be ranked at the beginning of each regular fall and spring semester.
Effective September 1, 2011: An undergraduate student credit with 30 s.h. will be ranked as a sophomore; with 60 s.h., a junior; and with 90 s.h., a senior.
Commencement
Commencement programs are conducted twice each year, in December and in May. Summer candidates are invited to the December exercises and are listed in that program. Information regarding programs is automatically mailed to candidates about six weeks before commencement.
Elective
An elective is a course students choose to take either because of their special interest in it, because it helps to satisfy their intellectual curiosity or because it complements their college degree requirements. An elective course may be outside of a student’s field or discipline, or it may have a direct relationship to his/her degree program. Limits are placed on the number of elective credits students can earn, and students must consult with a faculty adviser when planning a program of study.
Full-time Study
Hofstra University has a full-time undergraduate student body of approximately 8,000 students usually attending classes between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday. Some part-time undergraduates and graduates also attend during these hours. The regular day program is organized into two fifteen-week semesters. The average full-time student (registered for 12 to 17 semester hours) completes all course work for the degree in four academic years.
Full-time Undergraduate Status
Undergraduate students are considered full time if they are registered for a minimum of 12 semester hours per semester. Off-Campus Education courses and credits are counted in the 12 semester hours. Education students are considered as full-time students if they are enrolled in student teaching plus one additional required course, where appropriate. University Without Walls students are considered full time according to the criteria specified in the specific program guidelines.
Liberal Arts
A liberal arts course is designed to help students grasp the range of possibilities for shaping their lives with particular reference to the formulation of their thoughts, sensibilities and notions of meaning. Such courses concern themselves with questions of basic human values and with the ways of understanding the character and organization of reality. They focus upon the various approaches to self-examination and the inquiry into the outside world of nature and society.
It is an underlying assumption of all liberal arts courses that we must make ourselves aware of, and evaluate, the ends toward which we apply our intellectual efforts and develop our feelings. Liberal arts courses stress the development of clarity of expression, power of discovery and creative imagination. Techniques of communication and the applications of theory to practice are crucial objectives of education, but courses which emphasize skills as preprofessional training are not considered liberal arts courses.
All courses in the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies, Honors College and the School of Communication are liberal arts courses unless otherwise indicated. All courses in the Zarb School of Business and the School of Education, Health and Human Services are not for liberal arts credit unless otherwise noted. The following lists the courses that are exceptions to the general rules just stated:
Division of the Humanities
all are liberal arts courses except:
AH 168
DRAM 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 31, 32, 33, 34, 54, 55, 56, 155, 156
ENGL 170, 174, 178, 178A, 178B, 178C, 178D
MUS 30, 31 through 38A, 39A, 51, 52, 107, 107A, 108, 109, 110, 172, 172A, 173, 174, 175, 190, 191, 101C-122C, 101D-120D, 122D
Division of the Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science
all are liberal arts courses except:
BCHM 173, 182, 183
CHEM 111, 173, 182, 183, 192
CSC 163, 197A, 197B
ENGG 1, 32B, 34, 62, 143A, 143D, 143E, 143F, 143G, 143J, 143K, 154, 160A, 163, 169, 170, 178, 180, 187, 192, 195, 199
FOR 120, 130, 140, 160, 165, 180, 181, 185, 192 A-Z, 195
GEOL 20, 104, 120, 131
PHA 1, 2, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 130, 131, 150, 155, 160, 165, 170, 175, 180, 190
Division of the Social Sciences
all are liberal arts courses except:
PSY 88, 179
SPCH 138
Military Science
all are liberal arts courses except:
MS 1C, 1E, 2C, 2E and associated leadership laboratories
School of Communication
all are liberal arts courses except:
JRNL 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 25, 26, 27, 55, 56, 57, 59, 74, 75, 76
PR 101, 105, 107, 150, 151, 199
RTVF 14, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 61 A-Z, 64, 65, 66, 74, 84, 91, 94, 100, 104, 106, 107, 120, 134, 144, 145, 148, 152, 161, 164, 165, 167, 168A, 168B
School of Education, Health and Human Services
the only liberal arts courses are:
FDED 111, 112, 115, 127, 131
LYST 12
PESP 159
Hofstra University Honors College
all are liberal arts courses except:
HUHC 21 A-Z
Special Project Courses are not for liberal arts credit.
Matriculated Student
A student who has successfully satisfied all admission requirements and has been officially accepted into a degree program at the University.
Part-time Study
Hofstra University encourages the enrollment of undergraduate part-time students who vary greatly in age and educational objectives. Primarily, these students are older than the typical full-time day undergraduates, have major responsibilities outside the University, have gaps between their high school graduation and attending college, or between attending one college and another. They attend college on a part-time basis and attend in the evening. There are, however, many variations to these patterns, and individual needs-such as the needs of those who must attend during the day-can be accommodated. All regular degree requirements and academic standards of the University apply to part-time students.
Part-time students with no previous college credits generally require six to eight years to complete all requirements for bachelor’s degrees. They usually enroll in two or three courses, totaling six to nine semester hours of credit, each semester. Although part-time study is intended primarily for students who plan to earn degrees, enrollment is open to students who wish to further their education in specific areas if they meet admission and course requirements.
Requests for information or course schedules for evening programs should be directed to the Office of Admission. Semester schedules include pertinent information on admission and registration procedures. The Office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. throughout the year for assistance with academic questions.
Semester Hour
Semester hour is the term used to describe the number of credits received by the student for successfully completing a specific course. The definition of semester hour is “one one-hour period of participation in class per week, or a minimum of two hours of laboratory or studio work per week for one semester, or the equivalent.”
It should be noted that the semester-hour credit given a course is not necessarily equal to the actual number of hours spent in the class. This applies particularly to courses in the sciences and fine arts, where laboratory or studio sessions are scheduled in addition to regular class lectures.
Most courses are given credit of between two and four semester hours; a full-time student normally registers for 15 or 17 semester hours, consisting of five or six courses for each semester, chosen with the aid of a faculty adviser. No student may register for over 18 semester hours without special permission of the major adviser and the dean of the academic unit.
Part-time evening students are advised to limit their program to nine semester hours in the spring and fall semesters except by special permission. For Summer Session enrollment see that section in this Bulletin.
In the case of full-year courses both semesters of the course must be satisfactorily completed before semester hour credit can be received for either semester.
Since all courses are not offered every semester, students should consult the online class schedule available online for specific offerings before registering for their programs.
Study Time
Each student should schedule study time for each week equal to at least twice the number of hours spent in class.
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