Understanding Your Class Schedule

On the first day of class, professors of each of your classes will provide you with a syllabus that will explain course/attendance requirements and what will be expected of you during the semester.

If you want to beat the book-buying rush, you can find out more information on the Bookstore website. The booklist for fall will available there soon. Otherwise, it’s fine to wait until you arrive on campus to buy your books.

READING YOUR SCHEDULE

Your class schedule can be found in your plus.hope.edu account:

1. Log in to plus.hope.edu
2. Go to Registrar and Student Accounts
3. Click Registration
4. Click Student Detail Schedule or (Printable) Term Schedule

Each class has a subject, course number and section number (e.g., IDS 100-01). The "-01" indicates the section number.

Everyone is registered for First Year Seminar (IDS 100). You can find your FYS topic by looking at the section number (explained above). You can read descriptions for each section number.

Some classes don't have specific meeting times, like some online/hybrid courses, private music lessons and ensembles. These courses will say TBA for the meeting time. See below under "Course Delivery Methods" for more information about online and hybrid courses. If you're registered for a music pending placement course, see below under "Music Pending Placements" for more details.

The interactive campus map will help you view your classroom buildings.

COURSE DELIVERY METHODS/TEACHING TYPES

Some courses may be conducted online. The majority of courses are being offered traditionally face-to-face, with no change in teaching type/delivery method. Your schedule and the Schedule of Courses show the delivery method of each course. Descriptions of each delivery method are listed here. Your syllabus will further explain how these methods will play out in each course.

Credits and time in class

You will notice that some courses are a different number of credits than other courses. Usually, 2-credit classes meet less often than 4-credit classes. Most half-semester classes are 2 credits.

Some classes meet three or four times a week for 50 minutes; others meet twice a week for 80 minutes or 100 minutes. Typically, professors decide which pattern works best for their teaching style and class content. Some classes, such as studio art, dance and labs, meet for longer since a substantial part of the class work is done during that time. Classes that meet less often typically expect more work outside of class time.

First-half and last-half semester classes

Some classes are offered only during half of the semester, and are distinguished with an "A" or a "B" at the end of the section number. "A" means the course is held during the first half of the semester, and "B" means it is held during the last half of the semester. For example, Rel 100-01A is a first-half course, and Rel 100-01B is a last-half course.

First-half classes end on Wednesday, October 19. Last-half classes start on Thursday, October 20.

Drills, labs, discussions and non-graded sections

Some classes have additional sections such as a discussion, drill or lab to go along with the lecture. Sometimes these are 0.0 credit, non-graded sections, and sometimes they are an additional 1 or 2 credits. Any of these sections that appear on your schedule are required. They often meet on different days and times from the lecture.

Some science labs have a different course number from the lecture, such as Chem 125 (lecture) and Chem 127 (lab).

Some sections of Health Dynamics (Kin 140) have two components: activity and lecture. You may be registered for two sections of Kin 140 and have different instructors for activity and lecture.

music pENDING placements

You may see a pending placement music course (MUS 0X0) on your schedule if you requested an ensemble or voice or piano lessons. This is put on your schedule until you audition with the Music Department during Orientation weekend or the first week of classes. Your schedule will be adjusted once the department has placed you.

The pending placement courses are:

• MUS 010, piano lessons
• MUS 020, voice lessons
• MUS 030, choral ensemble
• MUS 040, orchestra
• MUS 050, string instrument in a chamber ensemble
• MUS 060, woodwinds, brass or percussion ensemble
• MUS 070, jazz ensemble

CLASSES YOU DID (OR DID NOT) REQUEST

CLASSES YOU ASKED FOR BUT DID NOT GET

Please remember that you will have opportunities to take these classes in future semesters. There are a variety of reasons you may not have received one of the courses you requested, including:

• Time conflicts. Some classes have limited time options for which they are offered, and you may have requested classes that happen to meet at the same time.
• Closed sections. You may have asked for a course where we had limited available seats.

CLASSES YOU GOT BUT DID NOT ASK FOR

You may be registered for a class that was not on your registration survey. We only would have added a course that counts toward an academic major interest or general education requirement. More specifically, these reasons include:

• Academic major interest. If you indicated a particular major that you were interested in but did not request a key course associated with that major, we may have added that course to your schedule. If you listed multiple majors, we did our best to make sure you are only taking classes that will count for all of them, so that you have some flexibility when you later decide what major(s) to declare.
• General education requirements. We may have added a course that fulfills a general education requirement (e.g. Fine Arts, Cultural Heritage, Religion) that all students complete at Hope; this was typically done if you did not list very many course options on your registration survey or there were time conflicts or closed sections for some of your other requests.

More information about courses that may be listed on your schedule and what general education requirements they count for is listed at the bottom of this page.

Pre-health professions

You may have listed both general biology (Biol 105/107) and general chemistry (Chem 125/127) on your survey because you are interested in the health professions. Occasionally based on high school GPA and ACT/SAT scores, we registered some students for either general biology or general chemistry, but not both. We have found that many students do better on the pre-health track when they take just one of the general science courses at a time. We want to help you make sure your first semester is successful. You will be able to take the other science class in your second year at Hope, though you can also contact us if you strongly prefer to be placed in both but were placed in one.

TIME CONCERNS

Hope’s campus is very walkable, so you will have enough time to get from class to class. We have made sure to include at least 10 minutes between your classes, which is plenty of time to walk across campus.

We tried our best to make sure you have some open time during the lunch hour. However, some classes are only offered during this time.

Athletes

If you are an athlete and your sport's primary season is in the fall, we did our best to make sure your classes end by 3:30 p.m., especially on the days your sport has games or matches. Sometimes, this was not possible due to the availability of your courses of interest. For example, there are more athletes who are pre-health or biology majors than there are available spaces in chemistry and biology labs that end before 3:30 p.m. Therefore, you may have a lab or discussion during this time — this is okay! Coaches and the Athletic Department are aware that this may happen and will work with you. Your course work is their top priority.

LEVEL AND PLACEMENT CONCERNS

AP/IB CREDIT

We registered you for the appropriate level based on the AP/IB scores we have received for you to date. If you know you scored high enough to be awarded Hope credit (see the credit we award for AP and IB), but don't see the credit on your unofficial transcript, that probably means we have not received your scores. You will need to contact the College Board (for AP) or International Baccalaureate to request they send us your scores.

Languages

The Department of World Languages and Cultures is usually accurate in their language placements. Most students in language classes this fall will be coming from high school programs that had different teachers, approaches and books. Language professors at Hope will review content at the beginning of the semester. Some give a short placement test just to see where you’re at and verify the placement.

If you have concerns about your placement after the semester begins, let your professor know. The professor will work with you to decide whether you should stay in your current level or move to a different level.

Space in Spanish and some French classes is limited, so if you decide to change to another level, you may need to wait until the spring to take the class.

Math and science

We tried to place you in the most appropriate math or science level based on many factors: AP/IB/transfer credit earned or expected (see above), ACT/SAT scores, classes taken in high school and major interest. In the first week of the semester, if you feel you are not placed in the right level course, speak with the professor. They will work with you as much as possible to make sure you have the right placement.

Additionally, the Academic Success Center offers tutoring and group study sessions in the natural and applied sciences, as well as other subjects.

SCHEDULE CHANGES

If you have decided you would like to pursue a different major, or you are registered for a class you absolutely do not want to take, we can try to make schedule changes. We advise making these changes now, before you get to campus, so you’re more settled prior to your arrival.

If you want to pursue a different major than what you listed on your survey, check the first-year major recommendations page to see what is recommended for your new major interest. A change of direction may not mean that you need to change your class schedule; many classes will meet requirements for general education and majors. However, if the major recommendations page indicates there are classes that are required in the first semester for your new major interest, we need to try to change your schedule so that you stay on track.

We can’t guarantee that a schedule change you want to make will be available, but we are happy to discuss options with you. Any schedule change request must come directly from you, the student, through your Hope email account by emailing advising@hope.edu. We will get back to you in 1–2 business days via email, or we’ll call you if we need to discuss options in detail.

We only registered you for classes that fulfill major or general education requirements for you. If a class you didn't request is listed on your schedule, see below for information about which general education requirement it fulfills or helps fulfill. A full list of your intended major's requirements can be found in the Hope College Catalog (choose the appropriate department/major to see requirements).

Specific details about each gen ed requirement can be found here.