Registration

605-367-7466 800-247-0789

Academic Forgiveness

• A student who has changed an area of study and has successfully completed a minimum of twelve credit hours in the new area with a grade average of “C” or better may petition to exempt the “D” or “F” coursework accumulated in the student’s former major, minor, specialization, or career program in calculating grade point average.
• The choice of courses to exempt is the responsibility of the student with the recommendation of the new program advisor and the approval of the Registrar.
• The student must petition the Registrar for exemption in writing not later than one full semester prior to intended graduation. 
• Exempted courses referred to above will be left on the transcript but marked to indicate that hours and grades were not used in computing graduation requirements (grade point average and hours needed to graduate).

Academic Records

A transcript is a record of courses taken and the credits, grades, and grade points earned at Southeast Tech. Also listed on the transcript are credits transferred from other colleges or gained through Dual Credit, Concurrent Credit or Advanced Placement.

Transcripts are usually required when students are applying for scholarships, jobs, or when applying for admission to another school. Southeast Tech students are encouraged to review their transcripts and to keep their own records of courses, credits, and grades for work completed. Students may receive a copy of their official Southeast Tech transcript by ordering a transcript online through www.getmytranscript.com. Current students may also print out unofficial transcripts at myTech.southeasttech.edu.

All current and former students of Southeast Tech are entitled to copies of transcripts of their work at Southeast Tech unless the student has an outstanding obligation to Southeast Tech. Transcript information cannot be provided over the phone.

Southeast Tech will not release high school transcripts or post-secondary transcripts from colleges to students.

Auditing

Students may enroll on an audit basis in any course except as stated below. Standard tuition and fees apply. The student’s transcript will identify such courses as being audit courses (AU) with no credit awarded. Students must inform the instructor during the first two weeks of class when auditing a course. Audit status is not available in classes involving clinical assignments or laboratories where waiting lists are established. Audited courses do not count toward graduation requirements and do not meet pre-requisite course requirements.

A student who has previously completed a course successfully but chooses to take the course again as an audit will be required to pay the required tuition fee only. Enrollment in the course is subject to room availability. Students taking the course for a letter grade will receive first priority.

In some situations, Southeast Tech instructors and administration may require a student to audit a class the student successfully completed in the past. This generally occurs when students have discontinued their education for a period of time and need to brush up their skill levels. Financial aid is NOT available for audited classes. Tuition and fee charges may apply.

Calculation of Refunds & Earned Financial Aid

See Financial Aid Information  section for details.

Changing Your Program of Study

Students who wish to be considered for a different program of study after starting school must complete a “Program Change/Double Major Form” which is available in the Student Success Center. This will serve as an Admissions Application.  After a review of admission qualifications and determination of program capacity, a program transfer may be granted.

Course Code and Delivery Definitions

Southeast Technical College delivers courses using a variety of delivery methods to fit student scheduling needs and learning style preferences. Courses in the schedule have codes that indicate how, when and where the course is delivered. In addition, a course can have more than one code to communicate expectations for the student. Further expectations about each course can be found by clicking on the course link in the course schedule. For all STC courses, students can expect to need computers to access the learning management system for posted course content, activities, attendance and grades. Computers may also be needed for supplementary software systems packaged with textbooks. 

Other Terminology used in Definitions: 

• Synchronous learning= students engaging in learning at the same time during the week. 
• Asynchronous learning= students viewing instructional materials and learning at any time they choose, while meeting weekly due dates set by the instructor. 
• Remote= away from campus

Full-time/Part-time Status

Full-Time Students

A full-time student is someone registered for 12 or more credits during a sixteen-week semester.  Southeast Tech recommends that students do not exceed 19 credits for a given semester.

Students wanting to take 20 or more credits within a semester must receive approval from an academic administrator.

Full-time credit requirements may vary for students receiving funding from other sources due to each agency’s established policies.

Part-Time Students

A part-time student is one who is enrolled in less than 12 credits during the fall, spring or summer semester. Part-time students seeking a diploma or degree should meet with their Academic advisor for registration. Part-time students wishing to attend classes, but not seeking a diploma or degree, must complete a “Limited Course(s) Registration Form” which is available in the Admissions Office.

Military Service – Withdrawal Without Penalty

Students required to withdraw from Southeast Tech before completing a semester may receive credit and refund privileges if the following conditions are met:

• The individual is a regularly enrolled student
• He/she belongs to a military unit called for duty or is drafted (not eligible for deferment).
• Deployment activation paperwork must be provided to the Registrar.
• Class attendance will continue until the last practical day before reporting for duty as determined by Southeast Technical College.

An eligible student who is required to report for military duty not earlier than four calendar weeks prior to the date a semester ends, or after completion of at least 75 percent of an extension enrollment, will be given full credit for all courses or lessons of which he/she has an average of “C” or better. An eligible student who receives credit for any course for which he/she is enrolled will not be entitled to any refund of tuition or fees paid for the privilege of pursuing such course. An eligible student who does not receive credit for a course or lesson in which he/she is enrolled will be entitled to a full refund of tuition and academic fees.

Students who have applied and been accepted to Southeast Tech but are unable to attend Southeast Tech due to military service are required to submit a new application for admission for the following year and will be placed in the program or at the top of any wait list.

Prerequisite/Corequisite Courses

The satisfactory completion of a prerequisite course, as defined by the curriculum sheet, or departmental approval, is required before the course with the prerequisite may be taken. Satisfactory completion may vary from course to course and among departments. A student auditing a prerequisite course must receive a “Pass” grade and departmental approval before the course with the prerequisite may be taken. An audit grade cannot be used toward graduation requirements. Corequisite courses must be taken at the same time unless approval is obtained from the department.

Re-entry of Withdrawn Students

Students who have withdrawn from enrollment in a Southeast Tech program and would like to be reinstated as a student are required to submit an Application for Admission form.

The student’s Southeast Tech academic record and financial standing with the college will be reviewed prior to acceptance. Students who were previously suspended from a program, did not show satisfactory progress in a program, violated Southeast Tech policies or state or federal laws, or have an outstanding financial obligation to the college may be denied acceptance or be required to take additional coursework before or after program acceptance. Re-entry students are subject to being placed on a waiting list if their chosen program is full.

Registering for Classes

Each year, in October and March, registration is held for the upcoming semesters.  Students register via myTech after receiving clearance to register from their academic advisor.  Registration times and courses are scheduled in a way that students are able to get the classes they need each semester.

Repeating a Course to Raise the Grade

If a student repeats any course, the student may petition the Registrar’s Office to apply only the highest grade in calculating the cumulative grade point average. Both letter grades will remain on the transcript, but only the highest grade earned will be calculated in the cumulative grade point average. It is the student’s responsibility to request only the highest grade be used in the calculation. Credits and grade points earned for the lower grade cannot be counted toward graduation.

Schedule Changes – Course Adds/Drops/Withdraws

The deadline for adding courses is included in the Academic Calendar.

A drop or termination is not considered official until it has been processed through the Registrar’s Office. Students who discontinue a course without dropping the course by completing the proper paperwork will still be considered enrolled in the course and will receive grades of Attendance Withdraw (WA) or failing (“F”) grades for these courses.

Fall and Spring Semesters

Students may withdraw from a course and receive a grade of “W” (withdraw) without affecting their grade point average up until the last four weeks of the 16-week semester or the last two weeks for courses running for 8 weeks.

Summer Semesters

No withdraws are allowed during the last three weeks of the Summer session.

For Summer add/drop/withdraw dates, see the Refund Policy.

Strategies for Success Course

Students placed for the first time on financial aid warning or probation or academic probation, are required to take and pass Southeast Tech’s Strategies for Success course in order to remain a Southeast student. Students who do not take the course and students who fail the course may be permanently removed from their program and from attending Southeast Tech. Southeast Tech will automatically register the student for the course. Failure to attend the course on a regular basis will result in the removal of the student from Southeast Tech as an administrative withdraw. The Strategies for Success course credits cannot be used in the calculation of full-time/part-time status for financial aid purposes or to meet credit requirements for graduation.

Student Withdrawal – Terminating Enrollment

Students planning to withdraw completely from Southeast Tech either temporarily or permanently are required to complete a “Student Termination Form through Student Success.” Refunds are based on the Tuition Refund Policy. A student who terminates enrollment will automatically be dropped from all pre-registered courses for the following semester.

Students wishing to re-enroll at a later date are required to complete a new application for admission.

Transferring Credits and Accuplacer Scores to Other Schools

Students who wish to transfer credits to another college should contact the Registrar’s Office of that school for an evaluation of their Southeast Tech transcript.

Southeast Tech courses are designed to prepare students to enter the work force. Acceptance of these courses for credit at other post-secondary institutions is strictly the function of the receiving institution. Southeast Tech does not guarantee the transfer of credits earned to other post-secondary institutions. Students who wish to transfer credits to a South Dakota public university should contact the Registrar’s Office of the desired university for an evaluation of their program objectives and technical college transcript. An individual evaluation of course credits will be made by the receiving public university in accordance with institutional and Board of Regents policy.

Southeast Tech students who wish to transfer their Next-Generation ACCUPLACER test scores to another institution should contact the Southeast Tech Testing Center at 605.367.6014. 

Note: Students who wish to take the ACCUPLACER for purposes of attending another school will be assessed a $35 fee (fee subject to change).

Tuition Refunds – Dropping or Terminating Enrollment

Southeast Tech realizes that students may find it necessary to terminate their education prior to the end of a given academic term. The institution is required to establish a fair and equitable refund process.  

The process is effective for all terms including summer school, late start, and evening courses, and applies whether a student is a full-time student or a part-time student.

Students must complete a termination or drop form and submit it to the Student Success Center in order to terminate enrollment. The date the form is received by the Registrar’s Office will be regarded as the student’s last day of attendance for the course(s).

If the proper termination paperwork is not completed, the student is still responsible for full payment of the course and all courses will be graded accordingly. Students completing and submitting the proper termination or drop paperwork in the time frame indicated in the Refund Policy will receive withdraw grades. Letter grades will be issued for all course withdrawals outside the drop timeframe indicated in the Refund Policy. 

Students can access the Refund Estimation Calculator  to help learn their refund dates. A student’s official refund can only be calculated after a class is dropped.

Unofficial Withdraws

Students who:

• left Southeast Tech without completing the required termination paperwork, and
• ended class attendance prior to the 60% mark of the semester for each course, and
• received no earned grades (passing or failing)

are generally considered unofficial withdraws.

Unofficial withdraws will receive failing grades for all their coursework and their withdrawal date will be considered the midpoint of the semester. A 50% Return of Title IV funds will be calculated for unofficial withdraw students who received financial aid for that semester.  These funds will be sent back to the Department of Education.  No other return of funds are provided for unofficial withdraws, either to the student or other agencies.

Please note: When an unofficial withdraw is applied, Southeast Tech has the right to bill the student for the federal funds that are sent back to the Department of Education. Also note that students who receive at least one A, B, C, D, P, I or earned F grade in a given semester will not be considered an unofficial withdraw for that semester.