Academic Policies

Registration Dates & Instructions

Registration dates are listed on the Academic Calendar and on Compass. New student appointments are assigned by the Office of Admission. Continuing student registration periods are assigned by the Registration & Records Office. Students register online using Compass—it is recommended they register as close as possible to the start of their registration period. If students have any difficulty registering using Compass, they can contact the Registration & Records Office. The last day to register is the eighth calendar day of the semester. 

Continuing students and students returning from a Leave of Absence must contact their Department Chair for an advising session prior to Registration. At this time they will receive clearance to register online on their priority registration date. Students can refer to the degree requirements listed in the Cornish catalog and their degree audit report to assist with choosing classes. They should choose alternative courses in case first choice classes are full. Students will not be allowed to register until they receive registration clearance from their advisor.

Students planning on signing up for classes outside their major marked “Open to In-Majors Only or by Departmental Authorization,” will need to have a course authorization issued by the Department Chair or Coordinator of the department offering the class. This will enable them to add the course online. Students planning on signing up for a class with the requisite “Open to Non-Majors after Advance Registration,” will not be able to sign up for the class until after advance registration is finished. Students will be notified by email when departments release space to non-major students. Any space available at this time will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Adding & Dropping Courses

Once registered, students can view their schedule online via their Compass account, and they are responsible for completion of courses listed on their schedule. 

Students may add or drop courses or change sections online until the eighth day of the semester. The Academic Calendar shows deadline information about making schedule changes. These deadlines also apply to courses that meet for only the second part of the semester or fewer than 15 weeks. It is not possible to add courses after the eighth day of the term, regardless of the start date of the course. To drop courses after the eighth day of the term, students will need to come to the Registration & Records Office. Schedule changes may result in recalculation of students’ financial aid awards by the Student Accounts Manager.

Independent Study

Department curricula are assumed by the College to provide a complete training path. However, juniors and seniors may be permitted to pursue a maximum of 4 credits of Independent Study, which must consist of research outside the established curriculum and be otherwise unavailable in any department. Independent Study is defined as student-performed research and study. Faculty are limited to a total of six hours of instruction over the course of the semester to consult with the students and to provide evaluation at the conclusion of the study. Completed Independent Study contracts must be turned into the Registration & Records Office by the student.

Pass/Fail Credit Option

Students may choose to take courses for the Arts Elective degree requirement for a pass/fail grade option. No more than these 6 credits may be taken on a pass/fail basis for the baccalaureate degree. Humanities and Sciences requirements and/or major requirements may not be taken on a pass/fail basis unless the course is only offered with this grade option.

Incomplete Grade

An instructor may choose to award an incomplete grade when a student that has performed satisfactorily in a course cannot complete all assignments before the end of the semester because of illness or other serious circumstances beyond the student’s control. If the instructor deems an incomplete grade is appropriate, then the student and instructor should submit an Incomplete Contract to the Registration & Records Office. Contracts are available to both faculty and students on Compass. Instructors must submit the final grade for the incomplete by the 9^th week of the following semester.

Withdrawal Notations

If students drop a course or withdraw completely from the College during the first eight days of the semester, no withdrawal grade will be recorded on the academic transcript. 

Students that withdraw or drop classes after the eighth day of the term will receive a “W” withdrawal grade on academic transcripts. The “W” grade does not impact grade point average (GPA).

Students may not drop courses or withdraw from the college after the eleventh week of the semester. Ceasing to attend a class does not constitute withdrawal; official procedures are required. Failure to complete the semester does not cancel students’ obligation to pay tuition, fees, and other charges in full.

Complete Withdrawal from Cornish

Students who find it necessary to withdraw from Cornish College after the eighth day of the semester must complete the following. 

• Fill out a Complete Withdrawal form.
• Schedule exit interviews to obtain signatures from their Department Chair, a financial aid representative, and a student accounts administrator.
• Submit the completed and signed form to the Registration & Records Office.

The date the form is signed by the Registrar is the effective date of withdrawal and is the basis for any tuition refund and/or financial aid recalculation. Official withdrawal does not cancel students’ obligation to pay tuition, fees, and all other charges in full. A full refund policy is available with Student Accounts.

Students who must withdraw prior to the eighth day of the semester may drop all of their classes on Compass. Students are responsible for conducting any closing business with their Department Chair, Student Accounts, and the Office of Financial Aid. 

Leave of Absence

Students who need to take a Leave of Absence from the College for a period of up to two semesters (one academic year) and intend to return to Cornish to complete their degree can obtain a Leave of Absence Application from the Registration & Records Office. Students are recommended to schedule appointments with their Department Chair and the following offices: the Office of Financial Aid, Student Accounts, and the Registration & Records Office. Only students in good academic standing are eligible to be granted a Leave of Absence.

Transfer Credits

A maximum of 70 transfer credits (including AP, IB, CLEP, CBE, and PLE) may be granted and applied toward a student’s degree. Only course work from a regionally accredited institution may be considered for transfer. Eligible courses must be non-remedial, college-level, and graded ‘C’ or better. Applicants will receive formal notification of transfer credit granted when admitted to the College. Transcripts received after the first year (two semesters) of a student’s enrollment will not be evaluated for transfer credit.

Humanities & Sciences Credits

A maximum of 30 credits in Humanities and Sciences may be granted for transfer. A BFA or BA degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution prior to admission to Cornish will automatically transfer in a minimum of 30 credits, and thus satisfy the Humanities and Sciences requirement. Students who have earned a BS from a regionally accredited U.S. institution prior to admission to Cornish will automatically transfer in a minimum of 6 credits in satisfaction of the English Composition requirement. An Associate of Arts degree from a Washington State community college under the Direct Transfer Agreement will guarantee the transfer of a minimum of 30 semester credits in Humanities and Sciences. Once enrolled in a degree program at Cornish College of the Arts, students may not fulfill Humanities and Sciences requirements at another institution.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Cornish awards college credit based on test scores earned on the College Entrance Examination Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) tests. No more than 6 semester credits may be granted through AP tests. Students must submit official score reports to the Office of Admission before enrollment at Cornish. Score reports must be no more than five years old at the time of application. The College does not award transfer credit on the basis of placement exams taken at other institutions.

Advanced Placement Credit

Advanced Placement test scores of 5, 4 and 3 are accepted for college credit by Cornish. Studio Art examinations are not accepted. Cornish grants credit for AP tests in the following subjects only:

Art History
AP Score 5 = 6 credits Visual Art History I & II
AP Score 3–4 = 3 credits Visual Art History I

Economics: Macro/Micro
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S in Social Science

English: Language
AP Score 5 = 6 credits H&S in English Composition
AP Score 3–4 = 3 credits H&S in English Composition

English: Literature
AP Score 5 = 3 credits H&S English Composition AND 3 credits H&S Humanities
AP Score 3–4 = 3 credits H&S English Composition OR 3 credits H&S Humanities

Government Politics: Comparative/U.S.
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S Social Science

History: U.S./European/World
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S Humanities

Human Geography
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S Social Science

Languages: Chinese/French/German/Italian/Japanese/Latin/Spanish
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S Electives

Literature: French/Spanish
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S Electives

Music: Theory
AP Score 3– 5: See Music Department Chair for credit and placement.

Psychology
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S Social Science

Science and Mathematics: Biology/Calculus AB or BC/Chemistry/Computer Science/Physics B or C/Statistics
AP Score 3–5 = 3 credits H&S Science

International Baccalaureate (IB)

Cornish may award 3 semester credits (or more) for Higher Level Subject Exams with a score of 5, 6, or 7. Official copies of the test results must be submitted to the Office of Admission as part of the admission process. Score reports may be no more than five years old at the time of application to a degree program. Up to 6 credits may be satisfied through IB. Cornish grants credit for IB scores in the following way:

Anthropology
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Social Science

Biology
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Science

Chemistry
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Science

Computer Science and Engineering
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Science

Economics
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Social Science

English
IB Score 5–6 = 3 credits H&S English Composition
IB Score 7 = 6 credits H&S English Composition

Geography
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Social Science

History: African/American/East & Southeast Asia/Oceanic/European
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Humanities

Language: Arabic/Chinese/Classical Greek/French/Germanics/Italian/Japanese/Latin/Russian/Spanish/Swahili
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Electives

Mathematics
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Science

Philosophy
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Humanities

Physics
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Science

Psychology
IB Score 5–7 = 3 credits H&S Social Science

CLEP Credit

Cornish accepts credits for the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) subject examinations for students that have scored at the 50th percentile or higher. No more than 6 credits may be granted through CLEP subject exams. Credit will not be granted for the general CLEP examination. Score reports may be no more than five years old at the time of application to a degree program. 

Credit by Examination (CBE)

Currently enrolled students may challenge courses in their major by taking an examination and paying a fee of $30 per credit challenged. Cornish will not award a student more than 30 semester credits combined for Prior Learning Experience (PLE) and Credit by Examination (CBE). PLE/CBE forms may be picked up from the Registration & Records Office.

Prior Learning Experience (PLE)

Students may receive credit for prior learning experience. Prior Learning Experience (PLE) is documented experience gained prior to enrollment in a degree program at Cornish. Common PLE credit includes credit for instruction in student’s major from a non-accredited institution (i.e., a technical school) or extensive work or study with a professional or professional organization prior to entering a degree program. 

For a fee of $30 per credit, students may petition for a maximum of 30 semester credits of Prior Learning Experience credit. The College awards PLE credits for in-major and for arts elective courses. At the time of admission, students will be informed of possible Prior Learning Experience credits. Specific documentation is necessary for an assessment and granting of PLE credits. It is recommended that students discuss the needed materials with their Department Chair and/or the Registration & Records Office.

Residency Policy

Students must complete at least 60 credits and their final two semesters as a matriculated student-in-residence at Cornish. Credit by Exam, Prior Learning Experience, AP/CLEP/IB, and transfer credit are not considered credits completed in residence.

Graduation Requirements

Candidates for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) or Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree must meet the criteria listed below. 

• Completion of total credit requirements in program, ranging from 120 – 130. These credits must be distributed as follows: 84 – 94 credits in the major area of study, 30 credits in the Humanities and Sciences program, and 6 credits of arts electives outside the major area of study.
• Completion of at least 60 credits and final two semesters as a matriculated student-in-residence at Cornish. Credit by Exam, Prior Learning Experience, AP/CLEP/IB, and transfer credit are not considered credits completed in residence.
• Minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0.
• Satisfaction of all degree requirements.
• Conversion of all incomplete grades to final grades.

Submission of graduation application: Graduation applications must be submitted to the Registration & Records Office through Compass by October 1 (for spring and summer graduates) and April 1 (for fall graduates). Submission will enable a degree audit to be completed in order to notify students of missing degree requirements.

Curriculum Revisions

If degree requirements change during the time students are enrolled at Cornish, students may elect either to complete a baccalaureate degree under the new requirements or remain under the requirements applicable at the time they became matriculated students. Students may not combine provisions of the old and new programs.