Important notes

Here are a few points to keep in mind about the registration process:

• Classes are offered in buildings on the Georgetown main campus;  at 3307 M Street, N.W. in the Georgetown district of Washington, D.C.; at the Center for Continuing and Professional Education, 3101 Wilson Boulevard, in Arlington, Va.; and at select other locations in the Washington area. Classroom assignments, which will be posted on https://myaccess.georgetown.edu, are subject to change.
  
• In late March, the Office of Student Accounts will cancel any registered summer courses (and block additional summer registration) for any student who owes the university more than $100 for spring semester (or who does not have a payment plan in place). The Office of Student Accounts implements this policy. The B.A.L.S. office cannot intervene and allow you to register if you have an outstanding bill. Accordingly, please contact the Office of Student Accounts directly at (202) 687-7100 if you have an outstanding bill.

• If your employer is reimbursing you for your tuition after you complete a course, you must pay Georgetown with your own funds now and await your employer’s reimbursement after the course has ended. If you don’t pay now, you will have an outstanding bill with the university. An outstanding bill will prevent you from getting a grade report for your employer as documentation of your grades, which you need in order to be reimbursed and settle your account with the university. Again, this policy is controlled by the Office of Student Accounts, and the B.A.L.S. office has no ability to intervene for you on this issue.

• To register for more than 11 credits, you must have Assistant Dean Mossadegh’s approval. Please submit the form on page 53 of this handbook before pre-registering.

• If you wish to take Georgetown classes outside of Liberal Studies, you must (1) have Assistant Dean Mossadegh’s approval and (2) have the approval of the department offering the course. The course schedule for the entire main campus is available at https://myaccess.georgetown.edu. To get approval from Asst. Dean Mossadegh, please submit the form on page 54 to the B.A.L.S. office before pre-registering. In order to get approval from the department, please ask them to sign the form available at http://registrar.georgetown.edu/forms/course_permission_form.pdf.

You must submit the aforementioned forms to the Registrar before pre-registering. Courses in the following departments must receive permission from the dean's office in the School of Foreign Service: CULP, STIA, IHIS, INAF, RCST, IECO, IPEC.

• If you are planning to graduate in August 2012, submit the Application for Degree on page 55 by June 1, 2012.
  

Academic advising

Assistant Dean Gilda Mossadegh is available to help you select appropriate courses and for any other questions that you may have. You may contact her at gm721@georgetown.edu or (202) 687-6380. If you prefer, you may consult with Dean Kiernan or any B.A.L.S. faculty member for advice as well.

In addition, please review your Degree Audit at least once every semester to make sure that your academic work is being recorded correctly. The University Registrar will use your Degree Audit in certifying you for graduation, so getting the audit correct is very important. To view your Degree Audit, go to https://myaccess.georgetown.edu and log in using your NetID and password.

Honor tutorial

Before you can preregister for classes, you must complete Georgetown’s online honor tutorial. This exercise, which takes about two hours to complete, will review the major principles and practices for scholarly integrity at Georgetown. All Georgetown undergraduates, including B.A.L.S. students, must complete this tutorial in order to be eligible to register.

If you have not completed the tutorial, your pre-registration for Summer 2012 will be blocked. If you haven’t yet completed the tutorial, please do so now.

You can find the tutorial at http://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/academic-integrity

Independent study

You may design an independent study project with any willing Georgetown faculty member. Instructions and forms are available at departments/4/bachelor-of-arts-in-liberal-studies/resources-and-policies.cfm#forms. The completed proposal must be submitted to the BALS Office by May 14. No extensions will be granted – please do not wait until the last minute!

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (M.A.L.S.) courses

Under special circumstances, an outstanding B.A.L.S. student may be permitted to use a M.A.L.S. course toward the B.A.L.S. degree requirements. However, you must receive permission in advance from both the B.A.L.S. and M.A.L.S. offices. Please contact Assistant Dean Mossadegh for more information. The M.A.L.S. summer schedule is available at departments/9/master-of-arts-in-liberal-studies/course-schedule/summer-2012.

Courses at other institutions

With the Assistant Dean’s approval, you may take a limited number of courses at another four-year educational institution in the Washington, D.C. area. You will pay the usual Liberal Studies tuition rate to Georgetown University for such arrangements. Information is available at http://www12.georgetown.edu/undergrad/bulletin/consortium.html.  The necessary forms are available from Ms. Dina Randolph in the B.A.L.S. office.

Students on academic probation

Any student on academic probation must meet in person with Assistant Dean Gilda Mossadegh before pre-registering for courses.

Policy accommodating students’ religious observances

Georgetown University promotes respect for all religions.  Any student who is unable to attend classes or to participate in any examination, presentation, or assignment on a given day because of the observance of a major religious holiday or related travel shall be excused and provided with the opportunity to make-up, without unreasonable burden, any work that has been missed for this reason and shall not in any other way be penalized for the absence or rescheduled work. Students will remain responsible for all assigned work.

Important: Students should notify their professors in writing at the beginning of the semester of religious observances that will conflict with any upcoming classes.

Hybrid courses and online study

We offer several courses that do not follow the traditional instructional model. Known as hybrid courses, these courses have fewer face-to-face meetings but may require additional activities such as online work or online videoconferencing.

Please note: These courses are as academically rigorous as any other B.A.L.S. course. In addition, they may require a higher degree of self-discipline because of the greater amount of independent study that is involved. Many students in hybrid courses report that they spend more time on hybrids than traditional courses.

We welcome you in these courses, and we hope that you will find them a useful addition to our curricular offerings. However, be very careful that you have realistic expectations for these courses. If you have any questions and/or concerns, please contact the professor or Assistant Dean Mossadegh.

             Financial matters

Many of our students need or want help in paying for their B.A.L.S. education.  For assistance, please contact Ms. Gloria Kimball who specifically advises non-traditional students.  You may contact her at gmk29@georgetown.edu or (202) 687-3238. Information tailored to the needs of B.A.L.S. students can be found at http://www8.georgetown.edu/admin/provost/osfs/scs.htm.

Federal aid

Depending on your financial need, you may qualify for federal grants and federally subsidized loans. The most important step in applying for federal aid for Summer 2012 is completing the 2011-12 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which can be completed online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Georgetown’s FAFSA institution code is 001445. Because filling out the form will take some time, you are well advised to start filling it out early! B.A.L.S. students enrolled for only three credits may be eligible for a federal Pell Grant, but they are not eligible for federal loans. B.A.L.S. students must be enrolled for a minimum of six credits to apply for a federal loan.

Other scholarships

In view of the special reduced tuition rate charged to B.A.L.S. students, Georgetown does not offer scholarships to B.A.L.S. students, but many outside scholarships are available. One free online database of scholarship opportunities that you might like to try is Scholarship Search, offered by the College Board at http://apps.collegeboard.org/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp.

In addition, the Foundation Center in downtown D.C. has a library, open to the public, with information on sources of educational scholarships and grants. The center’s Web site has a free, one-hour webinar that provides an overview on how to find and apply for educational grants. You can find the webinar at http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/training/webinars/ffsye_webinar.html.

Or, you may be able to attend an in-person version of the class at the center’s office, located at 1627 K Street, N.W., 3rd floor, Washington, D.C. 20006. The class schedule is available online at http://www.grantspace.org/Classroom/Training-Calendar/Washington-DC.

Georgetown's financial aid office has an e-mail list through which it distributes information on outside scholarships. Sign-up by sending an email from your Georgetown e-mail account to listproc@georgetown.edu with the following text: subscribe SCHOLARSHIPS-L <yourname>

Important: Please think twice before paying for information on available scholarships. The U.S. Education Department warns that these usually are scams that charge for access to information that is available for free elsewhere!

Tuition reimbursement

If an outside employer is reimbursing you for your tuition, you must pay Georgetown with your own funds now and await your employer’s reimbursement after the course has ended. If you don’t pay now, you will have an outstanding bill with the university. As a result, you will be unable to get a grade report to give to your employer as documentation of your grades in order to be reimbursed and settle your account with the university. The Office of Student Accounts enforces this policy, and the B.A.L.S. office has no ability to intervene for you on this issue.

Full-time Georgetown employees may be eligible for tuition benefits for B.A.L.S. classes. Please contact Georgetown University’s Human Resources Department for more information.

Benefits for veterans, active-duty military, and military families

The School of Continuing Studies is pleased to work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to accept the government’s “Yellow Ribbon” benefit. If you are a veteran or dependent of a veteran who has served in the armed forces for 36 months after Sept. 11, 2001, you may be eligible to take courses without paying tuition up front. The benefit is available to all bachelor and master degree students in the School of Continuing Studies. It is available to both new and continuing students. In some cases, a veteran can transfer the benefit to a dependent.

To take advantage of the Yellow Ribbon benefit, you must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and submit it to Mr. David Shearman, Georgetown’s veterans services coordinator, at veteranservices@georgetown.edu or (202) 687-2708. To minimize delays, please apply for the Certificate of Eligibility as soon as possible. Please do not submit the Certificate of Eligibility to the School of Continuing Studies.

Tax credits for college costs

The federal government offers tax credits that can make higher education more affordable for you: The American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. Both are claimed on your federal income tax return. For information, consult the Internal Revenue Service’s Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf. Please consult your tax advisor on whether these credits are appropriate in your situation. 

Help in saving

You can reduce the cost of paying for college by opening a college savings account that enjoys a tax break, called a 529 plan (named for a section of the tax code). You can deposit money for educational uses and avoid paying federal or state income taxes on the money. At a later date, you can withdraw the money to pay for educational expenses such as tuition and books.  Although this arrangement might seem a bit of a hassle, it can save you a significant amount on your tax bill -- and thus make it easier to pay the tuition bill.  Georgetown does not offer these accounts. Therefore, please consult your financial advisor or visit a bank or credit union if you are interested and want more information.  The I.R.S. describes 529 plans in its Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf.

             Summer registration

Most summer courses start the week of May 21 and end the week of August 6. But there are many exceptions: Some courses meet for only part of the summer. Check the class schedule carefully.

The registration process includes the following steps:

1.      From February 1 through Wednesday, May 16, you can pre-register using MyAccess at http://myaccess.georgetown.edu. You will need your NetID and password. If you have lost your password, please contact the Help Desk at (202) 687-4949.

During the pre-registration process, you do not gain immediate admission to the courses that you select. Rather, you will state your desire to take one or more courses. You can also indicate an alternate choice in case a course you request is overbooked.

After you submit your pre-registration request, the Assistant Dean will review your request and (if approved) send it to the Registrar for processing. If you are requesting to take more than 11 credits and/or classes outside of liberal studies, be sure to submit the required petitions to the B.A.L.S. office before submitting your pre-registration request.  Otherwise, your pre-registration request will be rejected.

2.      Starting the Wednesday before a class starts (i.e., May 16 for most B.A.L.S courses), you no longer will be able to pre-register. As a result, you will need to register using a paper Add/Drop form, signed by the Assistant Dean. You must bring that form to the Registrar’s office in White Gravenor Hall during business hours.

3.      You can check to see which courses you received through the pre-registration process on MyAccess. Likewise, once you are registered in a course, you can drop it online on MyAccess.

Although this process seems complex, there is an easy way to navigate it: Pre-register as soon as possible – and in any case, before May 16. Then you will be all set for the summer semester!

Important: If you do not pre-register, you run the real possibility of not getting the courses you want. We will cancel classes with low enrollment, so please act now!

Add/Drops

Courses dropped by May 30 will be deleted from the student’s record with 100% tuition refund. Thereafter, dropped courses are listed as “W” (withdrawn) on a student’s transcript, and the tuition refund is prorated according to the withdrawal date. Students should be attentive to the fact that dropping or withdrawing from a course may have implications on their financial aid package. Please consult with Gloria Kimball at gmk29@georgetown.edu or (202) 687-3238.

The last day for withdrawing from a B.A.L.S. class is July 25. All students who remain enrolled in a class after July 25 will receive a letter grade in that class.

Add/Drop/Withdrawal refund schedule

Refunds for summer courses follow a different tuition refund schedule than for fall and spring semester. Please plan accordingly.

For classes dropped by May 30: 100%

For classes dropped by June 11: 80%

For classes dropped by June 21: 70%

For classes dropped by July 3: 50%

For classes dropped by July 9: 40%

For classes dropped after July 9: No refund