General Information

Office of the Registrar Handbook

The Office of the Registrar is the custodian of your academic record at JMU. We are currently in the Student Success Center - Room 5300. The Office of the Registrar's handbook has detailed information about policies and procedures.

FERPA

FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. James Madison University adheres to and annually informs students of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. This act, with which the institution intends to fully comply, was designated to protect the privacy of educational records. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) students have certain rights with respect to their educational records. Additional information of FERPA can be found in the undergraduate catalog or by clicking on the link above.

MyMadison

You may show your grades to your parents via MyMadison, or with verification of your dependent status and an official written request from your parents, we will mail them your grades. Please see https://www.jmu.edu/registrar/info_request.shtml for more information.

MyMadison

MyMadison is JMU's online student center. Students have access with their E-ID and password. Once logged in, the Student Center is the hub of a student's information. Registration, class schedule, grades, unofficial transcript, bills, financial aid, emergency contact, adviser, etc., are all available for the student to view. Students should log in to MyMadison daily.

Veterans Benefits

Please click on the link above to be directed to our Veterans' website.
If you still have questions, please contact one of the following:

veteran@jmu.edu

VA Program Coordinator
Office of the Registrar
738 South Mason Street
MSC 3528
Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Students and faculty are expected to follow the exam schedule as posted.   The exam schedule is available at the time of class registration and is listed on the class syllabus received at the beginning of the semester. 

If you are a current student, please bring in the official documentation of your name change (e.g. marriage certificate, divorce decree, court order, etc.) to the Student Success Center, Suite 5300.  If you are an employee, you must contact Human Resources to update your information.

Enrollment

MyMadison tutorial: Add a Class or Drop a Class

Classes may be added or dropped on MyMadison through the end of the free add/drop period. Refer to the Dates and Deadlines for each semester for specific dates.

Enrollment is controlled by the department offering a course. If a waitlist is available for the class you want, then you can place yourself on it provided you meet all of the requisites for the class.  If a waitlist is not available; or you don't meet the requirements for the class, you will need to contact either the instructor or department to request permission to enroll. If you are given permission to enroll, you must then add the class via MyMadison.

There are four levels of "Unit Limits":

  1. Appointment Period (advance registration) = 17 hours {Note: There are NO exceptions to this rule.}
  2. Open enrollment (free add/drop) = 19 hours {Note: Permission to go above 19 hours must be obtained from the department head of student's major.}
  3. Open enrollment (during free add/drop, after current semester grades are posted) GPA 3.25+ = 21 hours {Note: Permission to go above 21 hours must be obtained from the department head of student's major.}
  4. Open enrollment (during free add/drop, after current semester grades are posted) GPA 1.999 or lower = 12 hours {Note: Permission to go above 12 hours must be obtained from the DEAN of student's major.}

Adding a class after the add deadline requires the permission of the instructor and department head of the course. Classes may be added with these permissions through the last day to add a class with permission deadline. Refer to the Dates and Deadlines for each semester for specific dates.

Withdrawing from a course occurs after the drop deadline. A student who withdraws from a course before the end of the course adjustment deadline will receive a grade of "W" for the course. This grade will be recorded (and will remain) on the student's transcript regardless of the status of the student in the course at the time of the withdrawal. Withdrawing from a course will not result in a tuition reduction and the W grade will not be counted toward the GPA.

A student may repeat any of the courses that he or she has taken during an undergraduate career at JMU except courses originally taken and passed on a credit/no credit basis. All grades will be included when calculating the student's grade point average. There are, however, certain exceptions to this rule.

Students may elect to repeat up to two courses during their enrollment as an undergraduate student at JMU on a "repeat forgiveness" basis. As a result of the "repeat forgiveness" option, the university will exclude the previous grade and credit hours earned for the repeated course when it calculates the student's cumulative GPA and earned credit hours total, regardless of whether the previous grade was higher or lower than the repeat attempt. Both grades will appear on the transcript. The student must either declare the "repeat forgiveness" option at registration or log into MyMadison and edit their courses prior to the end of the course adjustment period. A student may not exercise the repeat/forgiveness option for courses in which that student was assigned a grade as a result of an Honor Code violation. Courses taught on a topic basis are repeatable; however, these courses may only be designated with a repeat credit or repeat/forgiveness credit option if both course attempts have the same topic (i.e. a second attempt of the course GHUM 200 “Western Classics” may only be assigned as a repeat credit or repeat/forgiveness credit if the original attempt of GHUM 200 was taken with the topic “Western Classics”).

All grades will appear on the student's transcript, but a course that has been repeated will only be counted once toward satisfying graduation requirements.

Courses taken at other universities do not qualify to be taken as repeat/forgiveness.

The following procedures will be followed for repeating at JMU a class for which a student has received credit via test or transfer:

Test Credit and Transfer Credit from an outside institution

1) Students who present to JMU a transcript from another institution where a class has been repeated at that institution will only receive transferable credit for the class one time.

2) Students who have received credit via test, or who have transferred credit to JMU, and wish to repeat that class at JMU may do so for grade with the following stipulations:

  • The test or transfer credit will remain on the JMU record until the end of the term in which the class is being repeated. If the student earns a grade of “D-“ or higher, the test or transfer credit will be removed permanently from the JMU record once that grade is posted.
  • The test or transfer credit will remain on the JMU record until the end of the term in which the class is being repeated. If the student earns a grade of “F“, “W”, “WP”, or “WF”, the test or transfer credit will remain on the academic record.

3) Students will not need to select a repeat code for a repeat attempt of a class or classes for which credit has been received via test or transfer. Repeat Credit or Repeat/Forgiveness options are to be used when a student chooses to repeat a class that the student enrolled in and completed on the undergraduate career at JMU.

Transfer Credit from a non-undergraduate JMU Career

1) Students who present credit on a JMU Continuing Education transcript where a class has been repeated will receive transferable credit to a UG career for the class attempt with the most favorable grade. Classes with grades of “W”, “WP”, or “WF” will not transfer to the UG record as the student was not charged with an attempt of that class.

2) Students who have transferred credit from a non-undergraduate JMU career (i.e. CE) to an undergraduate JMU career, and wish to repeat that class in the undergraduate career at JMU, may do so for grade with the following stipulations:

  • The graded transfer credit will remain on the JMU undergraduate record until the end of the term in which the class is being repeated. If the student earns a grade of “D-“ or higher for the repeat attempt, the graded transfer credit will be removed permanently from the undergraduate JMU record once the repeat grade is posted.
  • The graded transfer credit will remain on the JMU undergraduate record until the end of the term in which the class is being repeated. If the student earns a grade of “F“, “W”, “WP”, or “WF”, the graded transfer credit will remain on the undergraduate JMU academic record.

3) Students will not need to select a repeat code for a repeat attempt of a class or classes for which credit has been received via test or transfer. Repeat Credit or Repeat/Forgiveness options are to be used when a student chooses to repeat a class that the student enrolled in and completed on the undergraduate career at JMU.

If you are receiving financial assistance to attend JMU, repeating courses may alter the aid that you receive. For more information on how repeating classes may affect your financial assistance, please click here: https://www.jmu.edu/financialaid/

 

 

Withdrawing from a Course

In extraordinary situations, a "WP" (withdrawn passing) or "WF" (withdrawn failing) grade may be assigned at the instructor's discretion upon the student's request to a student who becomes unable to complete some course requirements after the course adjustment deadline. The form (e.g., verbal, written) and timing of such requests are determined by individual instructors; the student is responsible for ensuring that the request is made in an appropriate manner and at an appropriate time. In response to such a request, the instructor may choose to record a grade of "WP" or "WF", but is not obligated to do so (and may record any grade other than "W").

Major Declaration

Major/Minor Declaration Information

If you are a current student wishing to declare or change a major, minor, or pre-professional program, you must complete a request through MyMadison. Additional department specific information will be available once you select that academic plan.  Please follow all directions and steps necessary to execute your request.  Once all necessary steps are completed, the department will either approve, deny, or contact you for additional information regarding your request.  If accepted into the new major or minor, the department will assign a new advisor for students who are beyond the freshman level. 

For additional assistance making this request, please view the Change/Declare a Major/Minor tutorial in MyMadison or on the tutorials website, and choose Change/Declare a Major/Minor under the Students menu

Verifications

Verification

If you are a current student, you may obtain your enrollment verification anytime via MyMadison. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It provides current or complete enrollment history as well as good student verification used for insurance discounts. Enrollment verifications obtained from National Student Clearinghouse are considered official. You may use the enrollment verifications for insurance, scholarships, employment, loan deferment, and many other purposes.

Pre-enrollment verifications for future terms will be available approximately 10 days after grades are posted for the current term.

If you have a form (insurance, scholarship, etc.) to be completed by the Office of the Registrar, we suggest that you obtain the enrollment verification through National Student Clearinghouse as directed above and attach the verification to your form.

If you are studying abroad through the JMU Office of International Programs and plan to transfer those courses back to JMU from a foreign institution, you will need to seek your enrollment verification from the foreign institution. (If you are studying abroad under the Financial Aid Consortium agreement, our office can verify your enrollment status.)

Transfer Credit

Courses taken in this manner are referred to as dual enrollment courses. Upon approval, dual enrollment credit will be awarded for academic courses completed at regionally accredited institutions of higher education. You must receive a grade of "C" or better in order to be awarded credit.

All dual enrollment courses taken at JMU automatically will be transferred to a student's undergraduate record if the student subsequently enrolls at JMU as a degree-seeking undergraduate student. The grades earned and corresponding GPA will transfer as well. The GPA will be used to calculate Latin Honors at graduation. Students who have a dual enrollment course(s) transferred to the undergraduate record may not utilize a Repeat/Forgiveness designation on that course(s) in a future term.

Transfer Credit Approval Form

A student wishing to earn credits at another institution, either during the summer or during a regular session, must obtain permission in advance of registration elsewhere by completing the above Transfer Credit Approval Form. Course descriptions and/or syllabi must accompany all transfer requests for courses taken outside the Virginia Community College System. Completed Approval Forms can be submitted to the Office of the Registrar for approval. Note that multiple department approvals may be required.

JMU does not distinguish between lecture or online courses. The same guidelines apply as any other transfer credit.

You will earn credit for all transferable courses in which you have earned a grade of "C" or better, but your grade point average for those courses does not transfer to your JMU record. Your JMU cumulative grade point average is calculated only based on grades earned for course work completed at JMU. Please review your undergraduate catalog for the year in which you first enrolled at JMU to see how transfer credit and corresponding grades apply to JMU graduation honors.

If you study abroad through the JMU Center for Global Engagement and your registration for those courses is with the foreign institution and not JMU, then you will need to complete the Transfer Credit Approval Form and secure permission from the Center for Global Engagement.  Upon completion of your studies abroad, you must request that an official transcript be sent from the foreign institution or study abroad provider to JMU for posting of approved courses with a letter grade of “C” or better.

Academic Requirements

Contact your adviser to discuss your academic requirements report. Your adviser may need to initiate a course directive or waiver on your behalf, or a catalog year change may need to be requested. 

Your General Education catalog year is typically the year that you were first admitted to JMU.  Your major/minor catalog year is typically the term that you declared your major/minor/pre-professional program. You can view the catalog years that you are subject to by viewing your academic requirements report in MyMadison.

Contact your major adviser to discuss your academic requirements report. Your adviser has the ability to initiate a course directive or waiver for you.

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