Associate Program Information and Policies (DFC)
Associate Program Information and Policies (DFC)
The Dougherty Family College Associate of Arts program policies differ in some areas from the Baccalaureate program policies.
Outlined here are specific policies, support services and requirements for the Dougherty Family College students. Please contact the college administration with questions or concerns.
Contact the Dougherty Family College
Terrence Murphy Hall, room 301
1000 LaSalle Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
DFC@stthomas.edu
(651) 962-8010
(800) 328-6819, ext. 8010
Academic Integrity Policy
St. Thomas has an Undergraduate Student Academic Integrity Policy that establishes expectations for undergraduate students related to academic honesty and integrity, which are essential for a strong, functioning academic community. Students are responsible for reading, understanding, and adhering to the Undergraduate Student Academic Integrity Policy, located here:
Advising Policy
All students will meet with their faculty mentors for one-on-one meetings approximately 30 minutes every other week to discuss academic, social, career, and other topics related to student success.
Academic Early Intervention Policy
Students who earn less than a C grade on any assignment (e.g., quiz, homework, essay, research paper, exam, team project, etc.) are required to immediately meet with their instructors and faculty mentors and create an action plan to improve their performance in the course(s).
If the student receives less than a C grade a second time in the same course, the student must meet with the associate dean of academics and other members of the Dougherty Family College academic early intervention team to review the previous action plan and determine what are the next steps to be taken to improve the student's performance in the course.
Credits Earned Prior to Admissions
Dougherty Family College is based on an academic cohort model allowing students to take classes together and receive intensive mentoring and other academic and social support. The courses in the curriculum were selected to provide graduates of Dougherty Family College with a pathway to four-year degree programs at St. Thomas and other colleges and universities.
Students who have previously earned credits during high school (e.g., AP, IB, CIS, PSEO) will be required to decline those credits for equivalent courses that are offered in the curriculum for the Associate of Arts Degree. All other credits for non-equivalent courses will be treated as elective credits at Dougherty Family College.
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Course Load Policy
The normal course load for fall and spring semesters is 16 credits. Students may take no more than the number of credits listed below without endorsement of their faculty advisor and approval of the relevant dean. Students are advised to seek this approval before registration begins.
Credit Limits
- Fall semester: 16 credits
- January term: 4 credits
- Spring semester: 16 credits
- Summer term: 16 credits (8 credits per summer session)
Students on academic probation may register for no more than 16 credits.
Courses
Most undergraduate courses at St. Thomas are 4-credit courses, although some departments also offer 0-credit or 2-credit courses. Each course is assigned a subject-area code consisting of four letters, which designates the department or discipline, followed by a three-digit number. For example, ENGL 121 is the English course numbered 121.
Courses offered through the Dougherty Family College have numbers that begin with either 1 or 2, which indicates they are lower-division courses.
The number of class meetings for a course varies with the nature of the course. Class Finder indicates the days and times each class meets.
Retaking a Course
A student may retake a course if her or his grade or mark is F, R, D-, D or D+. If the course is retaken at St. Thomas, only the higher grade will be used to compute the GPA. Credit will not be given more than once for the same course. Both notations, however, will remain on the transcript.
If the course is retaken elsewhere, the student must obtain preapproval from the relevant department to confirm that the course is equivalent to the course originally taken at St. Thomas.
If the student earns a C- or higher after taking the off-campus course, the course can transfer to St. Thomas to fulfill a requirement, but credit will not be given for the course the second time and the St. Thomas grade will not be replaced in the GPA. Both notations, however, will be included on the transcript.
Final Examinations
Each fall and spring semester ends with a final examination period. A two-hour final examination session is scheduled for each course. Final exam dates and times are separate from regular class times and posted online to the Final Exam Schedule. Final examinations are not administered other than during final exams week. Students should plan to be available for exams through the end of each final exam period.
Instructors will determine the final examination times for January term and summer term courses.