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Students who would like exceptions to the normal academic regulations of the College (as outlined in the Haverford College Catalog) need to seek CSSP's approval. Students also need the Committee's approval if they would like to do any of the following:

Please submit your petition before the deadlines established in the Haverford College Catalog for 2007-08:

Completed flexibility petitions should be sent to Dean Phil Bean, Chase Hall 205. Students will be notified by letter regarding the decision of CSSP on their petitions. If you think you are going to have difficulty meeting the established deadlines, or if you have missed them, please contact Dean Bean (pbean@haverford.edu) as soon as possible. There is no guarantee, however, that late petitions will receive timely consideration.

Please note: failure to provide the required information and documentation may compel the Committee to deny a petition or to decline to consider it.

Students interested in the possibility of pursuing an independent major should read the memo entitled "Designing an Independent Major," consult with their dean and intended major advisers, and then submit their petitions to Dean Bean by the deadlines established above.

When students petition for permission to participate in off-campus programs not already approved for academic credit they are asking CSSP to provide a degree of scrutiny of the program proportional in some degree to the seriousness with which the Educational Policy Committee scrutinizes additions to the regular Haverford curriculum. In order to facilitate this scrutiny the petitioning student must assume the responsibility for providing the Committee with sufficient documentation to enable the Committee to judge the suitability of the proposed program. He or she should provide a description of the program in question that is somewhat more detailed than the abbreviated course descriptions in the Haverford College Catalog.

Please note that students wishing to study overseas during the summer do not need to seek CSSP approval to do so. In addition, students wishing to study at another institution in the United States, either in the summer or during the academic year, also do not need the permission of CSSP.

However, students interested in pursuing summer study abroad or study in the United States during the regular academic year still need to consult their dean regarding other college requirements for domestic study out of residence, and are required to complete and file the appropriate permission form before they embark on such programs:

Students should be aware that, if the relevant Bi-Co department chair does not grant prior approval of summer courses--either those taken domestically or abroad--or courses taken at an institution outside the Tri-Co/UPenn system during the academic year, they will in all likelihood not be granted Haverford academic credit for such work, and CSSP is not likely to approve petitions requesting retroactive approval of such courses.

Please note that students can study abroad during the regular academic year only through the pre-approved programs administered through Haverford's Office of International Academic Programs. For more information, please consult the International Programs web site (http://www.haverford.edu/deans/IAP/index.htm) or contact Dean Donna Mancini, director of Academic Programs. Under no circumstances will CSSP entertain petitions for permission to study abroad during the academic year through programs that are not already approved by Dean Mancini's office.

Students should also be aware that they cannot fulfill the Foreign Language Requirement during the summer except through successful completion of the summer Italian language program administered by Bryn Mawr College in Pisa; for information regarding the Bryn Mawr Program in Pisa, please visit the following web site: http://www.brynmawr.edu/italian/pisa/program.htm. Students interested in participating in the Pisa program for credit should file, in advance, the summer study away form: http://www.haverford.edu/registrar/SummerStudyUSAorAbroad.pdf

The Foreign Language Requirement can be fulfilled during the academic year only through study at Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, the University of Pennsylvania, or a foreign study program administered through Haverford's Office of International Academic Programs.

Finally, please note that CSSP will not, under any circumstances, entertain petitions for permission to fulfill the language requirement during the summer; the Bryn Mawr Pisa program is the only such opportunity approved by the Faculty of Haverford College, and CSSP has no jurisdiction to make exceptions to the rules governing the Foreign Language Requirement.

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CSSP relies on the faculty to convey notes of concern to the deans of those students in their courses who are experiencing academic difficulty. The committee reviews these faculty reports at the middle of each semester and sends letters to some students apprising them of its concerns, urging them to consult with their advisors, counselors, deans, and instructors, and recommending, where appropriate, that they make use of the College's peer tutoring system and other academic help resources. CSSP will also apprise such students of the consequences of failure and may put them on one of several levels of "academic warning" (see below) that requires them to maintain regular contact with their deans and places their academic performance under close supervision for at least a semester.

In dealing with academic deficiencies, the committee has broad authority to set requirements for a student's continued enrollment or to require him/her to take a College Leave for a minimum of one year; such decisions are typically made at the end of each semester. Students are accountable to themselves and to the College (as embodied in the committee) for the use to which they put both their talents and the resources of the College. Each case that comes before the committee is treated individually within the context of College policy, and from this perspective, accountability means that some students who perform poorly but manage to pass their courses may still be placed on College Leave and ones who are failing may, on occasion, be permitted to continue. However, although it may permit students who fail some of their courses to continue at the College, the committee must first be convinced that there is a high probability that such students will do work that is at least consistently adequate in the immediate future.

There are three levels of Academic Warning at Haverford College. Below are listed the requirements for each:

Attend all classes unless excused in advance by his or her instructor or dean;
Complete satisfactory work on time;
Meet with his or her dean every three weeks;
Keep in close touch with his or her professors;

2. Strict Academic Warning

Attend all classes unless excused in advance by his or her instructor or dean;
Complete satisfactory work on time (please note that he or she is not permitted to have any extensions or incompletes in any courses during the entire semester);
Meet with his or her dean every two weeks;
Keep in close touch with his or her professors;

3. Very Strict Academic Warning

Attend all classes unless excused in advance by his or her instructor or dean;
Complete satisfactory work on time (please note that he or she is not permitted to have any extensions or incompletes in any courses during the entire semester);
Meet with his or her dean every two weeks;
Keep in close touch with his or her professors;
See his or her advisor periodically;
Take no more (no fewer) than four courses during the Academic Warning.

Failure to keep any of the terms of the different Academic Warnings would be sufficient cause for separation from the College for a minimum of one year.

CSSP will review the academic performance of a student on Academic Warning at mid-semester and will expect to see evidence of substantial academic improvement. Failing grades, or a pattern of low grades, even if it does not contain a failure, would be cause for placing the student on College Leave.

The College urges any student on Academic Warning to make full use of the College's resources, including instructors, advisors, Psychological Services, Deans, study skills counseling and tutors to help surmount academic challenges and/or the personal difficulties that interfere with academic performance.

Finally, the College strongly urges students on warning to be open with their parents about their status and the challenges they face, and to do so in a timely fashion. Parents can be invaluable sources of guidance and personal support in times of difficulty, and experience suggests that the failure on the part of students to be honest with their parents about such matters can have an adverse impact on the trust that is the basis of healthy adult relationships.

In a few cases, CSSP may consider placing a student on College Leave. Such consideration more often occurs at the end of each semester, when the most intensive review of student records is conducted.

When the Committee is considering the possibility of asking a student to leave the College, the final decision will be postponed to a second meeting known as a "drop hearing." The student will be invited to appear before the Committee at the drop hearing, if he or she wishes to do so. If the student does not appear, the Committee will make its decision in the student's absence and will inform him or her of it in writing.

Students placed on College Leave by action of the Committee may appeal to the President of the College on procedural grounds only. Their individual appeals must be in writing, must state the grounds for appeal, and must be received by the President within seven days of receipt of the Committee's letter.

Students who are placed on College Leave by CSSP are required to apply for readmission. This is done by writing a letter to the Director of Admissions indicating what the student has done during his/her leave and why the student thinks he or she is now ready to resume studies at the college. CSSP may set specific requirements upon which readmission after a College Leave would be contingent, such as taking courses at another college and earning satisfactory grades on them or pursuing counseling while away.