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Forms & Petitions

Links to forms and petitions, as well as policy and procedure information.

  • Designation of the pass/fail option is available between the third and tenth week of the semester.

    It's advised to wait until you have a sense of how you are doing in all your courses before you designate one as pass/fail and not all courses can be taken pass/fail.

    To designate a course pass/fail login to Williams Students Records:

    Student Records tile > Self-Service Forms tile > Pass/Fail form

    Read the Pass/Fail policy details.

  • A fifth course may be designated in Williams Student Records only during the drop/add period at the beginning of the semester—not all courses can be taken as a fifth course—be sure to check the catalog.

    The course you designate as your "fifth" can be dropped up to the sixth week of the semester.

    To drop a designated fifth course login to Williams Student Records:

    Student Records tile > Self-Service Forms tile > Drop Extra-Graded Fourth or Fifth Course form

    Read the Fifth Course policy details.

  • A petition for Independent Study (e.g., 297, 298, 397, 398, 497, 498) should be submitted before the beginning of the semester in which the independent study will be taken, but no later than the last day of drop/add period.

    Carefully read course descriptions for independent studies—departments may have special criteria or deadlines that should be considered.

    Once independent study plans have been discussed with a faculty sponsor, submit the Independent Study form.

    1. The proposal will be forwarded to the faculty sponsor for approval.
    2. The proposal and faculty sponsor support will be forwarded to the chair for final approval.
    3. Once the Registrar's Office receives final approval, we will register students for a unique section, with the faculty sponsor listed as instructor.

  • Use the Off-Campus Course Approval form for:

    • Making up course deficiencies (for withdrawn students this may be fall or spring courses).
    • Taking a course not for credit but with approval toward major or preprofessional requirements.

    Familiarize yourself with off-campus course guidelines, exceptions that require Committee on Academic Standing (CAS) pre-approval, summer course deadlines, and required documentation.

    Off-Campus Course Guidelines

    • must be approved in advance by the Registrar’s Office before you enroll
    • must be taken at a US regionally accredited 4-year college or university (see exceptions below)
    • must be of a liberal arts content that could be offered at Williams
    • must be at least 3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours credit
    • must be offered in a traditional scheduled classroom setting (see exceptions below)
    • cannot duplicate or substantially overlap coursework completed or to be completed at Williams
    • will require additional approval of the academic department if the course will be used as a prerequisite equivalent or in the field of a declared or probable major or concentration
    • cannot be used to fulfill distribution requirements

    CAS Exceptions

    For any exceptions to off-campus course guidelines, submit the CAS Petition.

    • Courses taken outside the US must be pre-approved by the CAS. Prepare an explanation of why the course must be taken outside the US.
    • Courses taken at 2-year community colleges will be considered by the CAS given financial or geographic reasons. The courses must be of a liberal arts (not vocational) content intended for transfer to 4-year programs. Prepare an explanation of why you need to request approval for courses from a 2-year community college.
    • Online courses will be considered by the CAS only if scheduled courses have been considered at either a 4-year college or university, or at a 2-year community college, and those courses are not possible. Prepare an explanation that includes why the online course is necessary and details on the course structure—the degree of interaction with other enrolled students as well as with the instructor. This information may be available on the school’s site or you may need to request a syllabus from the course instructor. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) or self-paced courses will not be considered.

    Summer Course Deadlines

    Most late summer sessions begin in early July with registration deadlines in June, so it’s important to plan ahead.

    Form submissions are due no later than June 30.

    For students considering summer course online courses, some suggestions include: umass.edu, mcla.edu, snhu.edu, nyu.edu. There are many others that have summer sessions but plan ahead as the CAS has to pre-approve an online course.

    Students required to take summer courses may not use the excuse that they missed the last date to register for summer courses.

    Required Documentation

    Prior to submitting the Off-Campus Course Approval form you will need to prepare:

    • course descriptions (copy/paste description, provide a direct link, or upload a file)
    • credit hours
    • start and end dates of the course
    • course meeting times
    • submit the CAS Petition for exceptions that require CAS pre-approval

    Questions can be addressed to Kath Dunlop, Registrar.

  • During the first two years of study, students are limited in the number of courses they may take in one department or subject each semester:

    • First-year students may take no more than one course with the same course prefix, nor more than two in one department, in a semester.
    • Sophomores may take no more than two courses with the same course prefix, nor more than three in one department, in a semester.
    • Sophomores may take no more than three courses with the same course prefix, nor more than four in one department, during the full year.
    • A student may take no more than a total of five courses with the same course prefix, nor more than eight in one department, during the first two years.

    You may request an exception to this policy by submitting the CAS Petition at the time of registration.

  • To audit a course:

    • Contact the instructor during drop/add period.
    • Work out the details of participation; whether or not you should engage in class discussions, take tests, etc.
    • For a formal record of the audit on your transcript, fill out the Audit Validation form before the end of exam period.

    If you cannot continue auditing the course, please tell the instructor. 

  • Students can choose to be known on campus by a name other than their legal name—read more about name options.

    Williams recognizes the importance of respecting personal pronouns. Students can indicate their pronouns via Williams Student Records.