NEW Online Academic Overload Process & Form

I hope that this email finds you well.  With summer registration underway and fall registration ramping up, I wanted to update you all on the NEW online process for students requesting to exceed the maximum academic load or what we’ve called Academic Overload.  This process is set up to mirror that of the Academic Suspension Appeal, but I’ll break down the process in a moment.  This request is essentially an appeal of Academic Regulation 9.63.  In short,

·         The maximum load in a fall or spring semester is 18 hours.  Counseling faculty can approve students to take 19 to 21 hours.  Students who would like 22+ hours need to seek permission from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs. 

·         The maximum load in one summer session is 7 hours or a total of 10 hours in overlapping summer sessions.  Students who would like to take 8+ hours need to seek permission from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs. 

·         The maximum load in a winter session is 4 hours.  Students who would like to take 5+ hours need to seek permission from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.    

Ideally, a student meets with a counselor for academic planning and if the student would like to exceed the maximum academic load they would have that conversation and a referral would be made in Starfish; see attached.  It would be helpful if counseling faculty would provide any comments in support or disapproval of the student’s request in Starfish.  That information would assist the deans and associate deans in the decision making process.  The Starfish referral triggers an email to the student with a link to the online form:  https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?MontgomeryCollege&layout_id=5; see attached.  Again, this mirrors the Academic Suspension Appeal.  The student would complete the form, including when they met with a counselor, the semester in which they are requesting academic overload, a statement explaining the basis for the request and any supporting documentation (e.g., non-MC transcript, Academic Plan, etc.).  The campus the student selects determines how the appeal will be routed through Maxient. 

As you know, the deans updated AR 9.63 and that was sent to Academic Regs, was tweaked some and finally approved.  It is my understanding that the approved changes (see below) are with Dr. Rai’s office.  At the moment the online form reflects the language of AR 9.63 as it is currently available online, with some edits noted with brackets [ ] to make it somewhat consistent.  Hopefully once approved by Dr. Rai’s office I can quickly edit the form, which is the beauty of an online form.  Moreover, hopefully this makes the process easier for all involved, but also aides in tracking these requests.   

Please share this information with counselors and anyone else you think should be in the know.  If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Regards,

Marcus

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9.63 Academic Load (Clean version)

A.      Students in good academic standing may enroll for up to 18 billing hours in a fall or spring semester.  Students who wish to take more than 18 billing hours but less than 22 billing hours must obtain permission through the Counseling and Advising Office or the Office or the Dean of Student Affairs.  Students who wish to take 22 or more billing hours during a fall or spring semester may only receive permission from the Office of the Deans of Student Affairs.

B.      Students in good academic standing may enroll for up to 7 billing hours in one summer session or a total of 10 billing hours in overlapping summer sessions.  Students who wish to take more than 7 billing hours during a summer session or more than 10 billing hours in overlapping sessions may only receive permission from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.

C.      Students may enroll for up to 4 billing hours during a winter session.  Students who wish to take more than 4 billing hours during a winter session may only receive permission from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.

Mr. Marcus E. Peanort  |  Associate Dean
Germantown Campus Student Affairs

20200 Observation Drive, SA139  |  Germantown, MD 20876

240.567.1993 office  |  240.567.7775 fax