|
|||||||||
|
| < PREVIOUS PAGE | TABLE OF CONTENTS | NEXT PAGE > |
NORTHWEST INSTITUTE OF LITERARY ARTS
WHIDBEY WRITERS WORKSHOP
CATALOG, 2009-2011
CREDITS
Credit System
Credits measure the amount of work required for a class. The semester hours of credit for each class are shown after the course titles in the course descriptions. Students earn credits only for those courses for which they are officially registered for credit.
Credit Load and limitations
Students wishing to take more than 15 credits in any term other than the thesis semester need written permission from the program director; such permission is very rarely given. Students may register for less than a full load, but an average of 15 credits per term plus 15 in the thesis semester is required for completion of the program in two years. Many students prefer to take smaller credit loads and take three or more years to complete the program. Up to six years are allowed for completion.
Repeating a Course for Additional Credit
Some courses may be repeated for additional credit up to a specified maximum. A separate grade is issued for each completed repetition. See individual course descriptions for details.
Repeating a Course to Change a Grade
Permission of the program director is required to repeat a course to change a grade. When granted, a course may be repeated only once and credit will be given only once though the course is taken twice. A student repeating a course will pay full tuition for the repetition. Both grades will appear on the permanent transcript, but only the second grade will be used to figure the student's final grade point average. Other colleges or universities may or may not accept a grade from a repeated course; when considering transferring or enrolling in programs leading to further degrees, students should inquire into the policies of the school under consideration.
Credit by Examination or Course Challenge
All students must attend at least five residencies and must participate in the program’s community of writers. For that reason, credit by examination or course challenge is not appropriate for the MFA program. We wish our students to do additional writing and reading in the process of completing our degree, regardless of the amount of writing and reading they have done before joining our program.
Credit for Experience
All students must attend at least five residencies and must participate in the program’s community of writers. For that reason, credit for experience is not appropriate for the MFA program. While writing experience might be relevant to our graduate workshops, it is our intention that our students write and study writing intensively with our instructors and program, and the granting of credit for writing experience would not support that aim.