Mar 28, 2024  
2005-2006 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2005-2006 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

General Information


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Definitions

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Academic Calendar

Highlights of the calendar for the 2005-2006 academic year appear on the inside front and inside back covers of this publication. The program of regular semesters (for New College, and School for University Studies Calendar, see inside front and back covers) is based on the 4 x 4 calendar with fall classes beginning on September 6 and concluding (through final exams) on December 21. Spring semester classes begin January 30 and conclude (through final exams) May 20. 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 Admissions Office.

Change of Address

Students must report a change of their home or local address to the Office of Academic Records or to a Student Account Representative immediately. Change of address can also be processed through the Hofstra Online Information System.

Change of Major/Minor/Specialization/Concentration/Degree

In order to facilitate orientation and advisement of a student to his or her new major, students must report any change in their major, minor, specialization, concentration, or degree on the official Change of Study form to the Office of Academic Records. Any change requires a signature from the new department indicating that the student has notified the new department and has been made aware of all requirements. Students are not required to obtain a signature from the program or major they are leaving.

Class Schedules

Classes at Hofstra begin at 7 a.m., Monday through Friday. Classes are usually scheduled for meetings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with 55-minute periods, or on Tuesday and Thursday with 85-minute periods. Laboratory sessions are scheduled separately from the regular lecture hours for a course.

Evening classes are normally scheduled on a Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday combination. However, some 200-level and two-semester hour courses meet once weekly as do courses scheduled on Saturday.

Common Hour

To facilitate student and faculty participation in extra-curricular and cocurricular events, the schedule of undergraduate day classes leaves open a common hour on Wednesdays from 11:15 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.

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, 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 and Allied 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, 23, 24, 55, 155, 156
ENGL 170, 174, 178, 178A, 178B, 178C, 178D
MUS 30, 31 through 38A, 39A, 107, 107A, 108, 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
ENGG 1, 32B, 34, 47, 62, 114, 117, 134, 136, 138, 140,143B, 143E, 143F, 146, 160A, 169, 170, 180, 183, 199
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 104, 13

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:
AVF 14, 21, 24, 26, 40, 41, 44, 64, 65 A-Z, 66, 84, 91, 94, 100, 104, 106, 134, 144, 145, 152, 161, 164, 165, 167
JRNL 15, 16, 56, 67, 76

School of Education and Allied Human Services
the only liberal arts courses are:
FDED 111, 112, 115, 127, 131
PESP 159
READ 12

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 6 to 9 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 Admissions. Semester schedules include pertinent information on admission and registration procedures. The Office is open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; 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 Class Schedule for specific offerings before registering for their programs.

Senior Citizen Tuition Discount

To encourage their participation and extend the benefits of its community service program, Hofstra University provides for a 50 percent tuition discount for senior citizens registered in credit courses on campus.

To be eligible for this discount, a registrant must be at least 60 years of age. The age qualification is to be verified by presentation, at registration, of a senior citizen’s identification card issued by the Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs or a town, city or village Office for the Aging.

Study Time

Each student should schedule study time for each week equal to at least twice the number of hours spent in class.

Visiting Students: Permission to Attend from Other Colleges

Students enrolled in an accredited college or university wishing to attend Hofstra during any session are required to submit written approval by the appropriate officials from their home institution certifying their good academic standing. Materials are to be submitted to the Office of Academic Records either prior to or at the end of registration. Students visiting Hofstra accept full responsibility for University tuition, fees and other applicable charges in effect at Hofstra for the session or semester of attendance

Visiting undergraduate students shall not be permitted to enroll in graduate courses at Hofstra.


 

Course Numbering System

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This Bulletin lists all the undergraduate courses offered by the University in its programs.

Courses numbered from 1 to 199 are for undergraduates only. All courses below the 200 level do not carry graduate credit.

Courses numbered 200 and above are for graduate credit with the exception that courses taken by students in the New College University Without Walls program are strictly on the undergraduate level, and 200 and above level business courses are open only to matriculated Zarb School of Business graduate students. 2000-level courses are graduate courses offered in conjunction with 100-level courses, for which graduate students are expected to fulfill substantially enhanced requirements.

Course numbers may be separated by a comma, hyphen or ampersand. For example:

Course 1, 2 indicates that either course may be elected for credit independently of the other.

Course 1-2 indicates that course 1 must be completed before course 2 is taken, and that no credit toward a Hofstra degree is given for a hyphenated course until both semesters of work are satisfactorily completed.

Course 1 & 2 indicates that course 1 may be elected for credit without course 2, but course 2 may not be taken until course 1 has been satisfactorily completed.

Course numbers with A through Z designations usually indicate that as individual subjects are selected, each is assigned a letter and added to the course number. The course may be taken any number of times as long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken.

The University reserves the right to withdraw any scheduled course without notice.


Availability of Records

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To Parents and Students

The University complies with all provisions of Public Law 93-380 (Privacy Rights of Parents and Students’ disclosure law). Students may make an appointment in the Center for University Advisement to inspect any record included in the terms of the Law.

To Others

In compliance with the Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment), this statement reflects Hofstra University’s policy.

The following directory information may be released by telephone: a) student’s dates of attendance; b) date of graduation and degree earned. Other kinds of directory information, such as a student’s address, telephone listing, major field of study, awards received, and the most recent previous education agency or previous institution attended, will be released only in response to a written request. Hofstra reserves the right to refuse the above information if the reason for the request is not considered to be a sufficient need to know.

Information regarding the student’s record: grades, courses, GPA, social security number and other personal information will not be released without the student’s written consent.

The University will not provide directory information for specific students who formally request that such information be withheld from third parties. A form to request nondisclosure of directory information must be filed by the student. This form is available at the Student Administrative Complex, Memorial Hall or can be downloaded from Hofstra’s Web site.

The Solomon Amendment

In accordance with the Solomon Amendment, the University will make accessible to the Secretary of Defense, directory information including each student’s name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, level of education, academic major, degrees received and the educational institution the student was most recently enrolled in.


January Session

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The emphasis of this mini-semester (a three-week session starting the first week in January) is on diversity-there are beginning, advanced and courses of general interest; courses earning up to three credits; day, evening and weekend courses; on-campus and off-campus courses and courses which involve travel.

Students attending this session may not earn more than three semester hours of credit or four semester hours of credit if offered on that basis.

Students may attend the January Session on one of four bases:

  1. as former or continuing students in good standing;
  2. as students who are attending the University for the first time;
  3. as visiting students from other accredited colleges or universities provided they are enrolled and are in good standing at those institutions (visiting students expecting to transfer credits earned during the January Session to another college should get advance official approval from that institution for course work to be taken);
  4. high school graduates interested in taking a course. Information on registration, tuition and fees, course offerings, schedules, etc., can be found in the January Session Schedule, which is available upon request from the Office of Admissions.

Summer Sessions

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The University offers a full program of day and evening undergraduate courses during two separate five-week academic sessions, and one three-week session each summer. Day and evening classes usually meet Monday through Thursday.

No undergraduate student may enroll in one summer session for more than six semester hours, or if three- and four-credit hour courses - seven semester hours. For the three-week session, no undergraduate student may take more than one three- or four-credit course. Exceptions to the above may be granted when special circumstances and the student’s special capacities for the work permit. Written approval is required of the dean of the academic unit of the major or proposed major field of study.

Students may obtain credit on their Hofstra records for courses taken in the summer session at another accredited institution if the courses have been approved in advance by the appropriate department and the Office of Academic Records, and are in accordance with the Advanced Standing Policy set forth in this Undergraduate Bulletin.

Visiting students are permitted to attend Hofstra University summer session(s) provided they are enrolled at another accredited college or university. Students expecting to transfer summer credits to another institution should get advance official approval of their selection of courses from that college. A special application form for visiting students can be found in the Summer Sessions Bulletin, which is available in the Office of Admissions. On request, an official transcript of all credits earned is forwarded to each visiting student’s college after the summer sessions. There is no fee for an official transcript sent to a third party; for a student copy, the cost is $5 per transcript.

Details of the course offerings and schedules, as well as information about residence halls, may be obtained by inquiring at the Office of Admissions.