Academic Issues, Registration, and Grades

If you have declared a major, your advisor will most likely be a faculty member in your area(s) of study (your chosen major(s) or minor(s).  The Office of Academic Advising advises undeclared students.

Once an academic advisor is assigned to you, their name will be shown within your degree audit, MyLaVerne, within your student Portal.

Online changes to your major and/or your academic advisor can be done using our online form.  For questions about academic advisor assignments or changes, please visit the the Office of Academic Advising or contact us by phone (909.448-4510) or email.

Yes, all traditional undergraduates must meet with their academic advisor(s) ahead of registration.  Academic advisors for main campus traditional undergraduates will remove academic advising holds allowing students to register and add/drop classes.  Only your assigned advisor can remove the academic advising hold; they can give you all the information needed to make informed choices, helping you to avoid costly mistakes, and help you to graduate on time.

Beginning in fall 2021 with the release of Banner 9, we eliminated the advisor approval code (AAC), replacing it with an academic advising hold.  Once the hold is removed it will stay off for the rest of the registration season.  The process repeats every semester.

If you are interested in knowing how easy it will be for advisors to remove a hold, watch this video.

If the academic advising hold (that replaced the advisor approval code to register) is applied around the time you need to withdraw from a semester-based course, don’t despair.  Contact the Office of Academic Advising at (909) 448-4510 or email, and we will assist.

If the timing of your withdrawal decision aligns with your academic advising appointment for next semester, then simply meet with your academic advisor and they can release the hold, knowing that once the hold is removed that it will stay off for the rest of the registration season.

To check your day and time of registration and whether or not you have holds on your record follow these steps:

• Log into MyLaVerne through the Portal’s Quicklinks
• Click on “Student Services/Financial Aid”
• Click on “Check Your Registration Status”
• Select Term (i.e. the upcoming semester) and then click on submit.

If you have holds, click on the View Holds at the bottom of the screen.  All holds must be cleared prior to registering.

While we can empathize with your possible dislike or frustration with the day and time of registration, our system is a fair one. Improving one student’s priority over another based solely on opinion would not provide an equitable standard to other students. As you earn semester hours (credits), your priority day and time improves relative to your peers who might have earned fewer credits. In short, our system prevents students who have earned less credits from “cutting in line” ahead of you.

Your advisor should be able to answer the following questions, for example:

• Which general education courses do I have left?
• Which courses should I take next in my major?
• Is this a good major for me?
• How long will it take me to graduate?
• What jobs are available for graduates with this major?
• Should I take this course for credit/no credit or a letter grade?
• Should I drop, withdraw and/or repeat this course?
• How many semester hours should I be taking this semester to graduate in four years?
• How many semester hours does it take to graduate?
• When will I be ready to take upper division coursework?
• What about internship positions in this major? How can I get one?
• What graduate schools do you recommend for my area of study?

No. La Verne’s registration module will not allow you to matriculate unless you have completed the prerequisite.  In some instances the instructor can approve you to take the course and enter an override in the system allowing you to register directly.

Catalog of record indicates the catalog you are tied to when you first matriculated at ULV. You will be held to the general education and major program requirements stated in that catalog.  For example, if your first semester at La Verne was in fall 2021, then your catalog of record is the 2021-2022 edition.  If your first semester of enrollment was spring 2021, your catalog of record defaults to the prior fall semester, in this case the 2020-2021 catalog. You can view our online catalogs HERE.

No, you cannot mix catalog years or requirements.  If you wish to follow a catalog that is different than the year you came in with, you can change the catalog of record, but you must follow all General Education and major requirements from the new catalog (for good or ill).  You can submit a change of catalog year after consulting with your academic advisor, HERE.

Yes, in some cases depending on the score.  Usually a test score of at least 3 will earn college credit.  Make sure the College Board sends the score(s) to the Office of the Registrar.

Some AP exams with the necessary test score can substitute for a general education requirement; however, if your particular exam does not earn subject credit, it can still count as elective credit toward the 128 semester hours you need to graduate.  More HERE.

At ULV we use directed self-placement (DSP) assessments to determine appropriate levels in English, mathematics, and foreign language.  Every freshman and transfer student is required to take an English and math DSP to determine the right course level unless they completed an equivalent course for college level English or math in transfer or standardized examination for placement.  Some AP exams with the appropriate score can be considered equivalent.

Students are also strongly encouraged to take the foreign language directed self-placement (some majors may require placement in a foreign language prior to first registration).

Yes, definitely!  It will be in your best interest to take the foreign language directed self-placement.  You might place into the second semester equivalent course or higher.  The old adage “use it or lose it” reigns true in foreign languages and is supported in studies on language acquisition.  Thus, it is always best to test early and place higher than to delay it and have it become an obstacle to degree completion.

You may not receive credit for all courses taken at other colleges such as, for example, remedial courses or courses that have less than a C- grade.  For vocational and assessment coursework refer to the catalog section Transfer Credit for Undergraduate Students, Other Transfer Credit.

The University Registrar will articulate accepted courses for general education, unused courses will count as electives toward the degree.  Courses that are identified as electives might be eligible for major credit.

The acceptance of transfer work in the major is determined by the major department.  Speak with your academic advisor in the major if you think a course in transfer should earn major credit.

The short answer is yes.  More specifically, placement and completion in the second semester college writing course (Written Communication B) in transfer does not waive the Written Communication A requirement at ULV.  Students must enroll and successfully complete the Written Communication A  course or its equivalent to fulfill the requirement. They may also opt to take the RCS 110 challenge/certification exam; if successful, fulfillment of this GE requirement will be noted in their transcript.

There are residence requirements for all students, meaning that we expect students to complete a minimum number of courses (semester hours) at ULV to earn a degree from us. What is applicable to you depends on the catalog year you started.  Refer to your catalog of record for details or ask your academic advisor.

We answer this question HERE.

We answer this question HERE.

We’re excited about our new academic calendar starting in fall 2021.  It brings greater flexibility and possibilities to our students, especially our traditional undergraduates who, prior to fall 2021, could not take courses from any of our regional or online campuses without prior approval.  Now they can!

There are too many details to cover here.  However, we have a video  that explains the new academic calendar.

It is appropriate that you use your assigned university email to communicate effectively with a university representative.  University email is generally more secure, and it guarantees your identity to us.  When you use your personal email, especially when your name is not used as your email name (ie. cuteleostudent@yahoo…), it becomes difficult for us to determine if it is really you on the other end of the email.  By using your university email, you can save time for everyone when you can quickly identify yourself to us.

There’s also a formal way to using email effectively, we believe, as you work to polish your professional demeanor as a college student.  Please follow these tips for effectively using email:

• Avoid a personal email when writing to a university representative (faculty or staff).
• Effectively identify the Subject of your email: “Withdrawal Policy Question”.
• In the body of the email, use formal salutations (“Dear…, Dr. Leo… Hello NAME).  Using “Hey” doesn’t make a good impression.
• In the body of the email use complete sentences to communicate your question, comments, or concerns.  Identify specific courses by name, CRN, and semester, if appropriate.  Balance your email between completeness and brevity (in other words, make every sentence count).
• Finally, “sign” your email with your full name, include your phone number, if desired, and don’t forget to include your 8-digit student ID number.

We use assessments to ensure you are placed at the right level for any one of our three placement assessments (foreign language, math, and writing).  Appropriate placement benefits you because you avoid enrollment in a level you might not need or be placed in a level that is too high.

If you need a placement assessment, contact the Academic Success Center about “directed self-placement” (DSP).

If you already took a DSP, check your university email (FName.LName@laverne.edu) for your placement result.  Otherwise, contact our office: (909) 448-4510, advising@laverne.edu.  If you are on campus, visit us in Woody Hall or Abraham Campus Center (2nd Floor).

The whole term defines the student’s enrollment level.  January is not a standalone term.  It is part of the spring term.  The combination of enrollments from all parts of the spring term taken together constitutes the student’s enrollment for spring.  Their billing, aid eligibility, and enrollment reporting are all based on this federal definition.

An undergraduate student who enrolls in 4 credit hours in January session, plus 8 credit hours in the spring semester is in 12 credit hours for the full spring term.  Their billing will reflect the full time tuition rate, their aid eligibility will be based on full time status with a disbursement of funds based on their earliest class start (e.g., January), and their enrollment will be reported to the National Student Clearinghouse by the Registrar as full time for the spring period.

No sessions function as standalone enrollment periods.  All sessions are simply schedules within the overarching term, which defines all levels of administrative processing.

We differentiate “drop” from “withdrawal” even though the process is identical in many cases.  The difference is really about the timing of the action and the context of this action that determines if you “drop” or “withdraw” from a course.

A drop presumes you never attended, ever; a drop can occur prior to the start of a semester (through the first week of classes) or after-the-fact by appeal and instructor confirmation of nonattendance.  A dropped course is not included on your transcript.

A withdrawal is timed during a specific “start date/deadline” window in the semester* or afterward by appeal with instructor’s  confirmation of the last date of attendance.  A withdrawal reflects some amount of attendance beyond the “add/drop” period through the deadline to withdraw.  A withdrawal also results in a mark of W on the transcript.

*ALWAYS check the official university academic calendar for specific deadlines for our academic terms.

The Office of Financial Aid has legal obligations to ensure that aid is disbursed only for degree-eligible courses. They might flag the electives that would allow the student to carry a full-time load beyond the major subjects that she needs to complete.In short, whatever courses you take must be in alignment with your academic program (nothing less and nothing more). Regardless, please consult with the Office of Financial Aid to discuss specific concerns you might have.