Purpose

Lindenwood offers a variety of degree and certificate programs, each containing a carefully curated list of course requirements. Students who complete the course requirements earn the relevant credential(s), and students who wish to earn an additional requirement must declare their intention via the institution’s Change in Degree Program policy.

Should students wish to take courses without working toward a credential, the University provides an opportunity via the Non-Degree Seeking Students.

If current degree seeking students wish to take classes outside of their program of study, this creates a conflict with federal Title IV guidelines and is not currently covered under a catalog policy. Furthermore, high-enrollment courses containing students who do not need the course for their degree program can place undue burden on colleges and faculty deployment. This policy ensures students enrolled in degree or certificate seeking programs remain within the bounds of their course of study.

Scope

This policy applies to degree-seeking and certificate-seeking undergraduate and graduate students.

Policy

Students enrolled in a degree or certificate seeking programs may only register for degree-applicable coursework. If a student wishes to pursue a reasonable course substitution for a degree-applicable course, they should collaborate with their advisor to submit a Petition for Policy Exemption to their Academic College for consideration by the Dean and the Registrar or designees.

In the context of this policy, degree-applicable refers to required major, minor, certificate, general education, and free elective courses.

Students wishing to pursue study outside of degree-applicable coursework should review the Non-Degree Seeking Student policy.

Please direct any questions about this policy to the Office of the Registrar.