Low Enrollment Course Guidelines

Low Enrollment Course Guidelines

Effective Spring 2021

Mayville State University remains committed to delivering academic programs and courses in a timely and sequential manner aligned with on-time program completion for students, while also ensuring efficient and fiscally responsible use of instructional resources.

The following guidelines have been developed to guide decisions surrounding fall and spring semester course cancellations, or altering course format in the event of low course enrollment.

Minimum Course Enrollments

Approval to offer a low enrollment course (enrollment less than the minimum noted above) may be granted by the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) in special situations such as:

• The course is required for graduation and if the class were canceled it would impede the student’s normal progress toward graduation in the same year

• The course is required in a program and the class must be offered in a sequence for students to maintain the proper sequencing of courses

• The course is part of a new program in the first three years of offering

• When merger of the credit assignment for two low enrollment courses, or an alternative combination of two course enrollments, as one for teaching load calculation is possible

Class Cancellation Procedure

Division Chairs will closely monitor class sizes during the enrollment period each semester, proactively adjusting course offerings as needed and as soon as possible to allow for student class schedules to be adjusted if necessary.

The VPAA will consult with the Registrar and the Division Chair throughout the enrollment period each semester regarding decisions to cancel or adjust course offerings. Care will be taken to ensure students can take the courses they need for graduation or a substitution can be made when appropriate.

Two weeks prior to semester start, the Registrar will send current course enrollments to the Division Chairs for review. Division Chairs will subsequently meet with the VPAA to formalize necessary updates to the course schedule and faculty teaching assignments and send a list of any cancelled classes to the Registrar’s office which will allow for timely notification to the students, course instructor, and academic advisor that the class has been cancelled.

Final cancellation decisions will be made by the Division Chair and VPAA and communicated by the Registrar to enrolled students, the course instructor, and the academic advisor, by the 5th day of the term. The appropriate guidance and the independent study form for courses for which an independent study option is granted will be included in this communication.