Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

For the Fall: returning students register in April. For the Spring, registration is in November. For registration dates, refer to the Academic Calendar. Watch your email for detailed instructions on how to register for the upcoming semester–information on the date and time you can begin registration will be included in this email.

Once registration closes, you will need to wait until the start of the term (Add/Drop) to make any registration changes. If you were eligible to register and did not start your registration within the posted dates, contact the Registrar’s Office for assistance. In some cases, we may be able to assist you if you did not start the registration process for the coming term.

Refer to the Academic Calendar for important dates and deadlines.

During the Add/Drop period: in 1600grand select Enter Registration under the Registration header. Select Register for Classes. Select the current term in the Terms Open for Registration drop down box. You can Add/Drop courses using the actions drop down box and submit button in the bottom-right. All course Adds require instructor authorization (registration override). Contact the instructor of the course for a possible registration override. If you are granted a registration override, you must take action in 1600grand to process and complete the registration. Until you do so, you are not registered in the course. Click here for a 30 second video.

Validation is a process by which you resolve any outstanding holds that prevent your ability to make registration changes for a specific semester. The most common validation holds are: (FI)–outstanding Student Accounts balance and (AD)–off-campus address.

Validation generally starts when the related holds have been added to your record. You will receive and email from Macalester Registrar announcing the start of validation. Review your holds on 1600grand and take the required action to resolve the hold. It is important to check back during this time as new holds may be added. Validation ends with the last day to Add/Drop a course for the semester (see the Academic Calendar for important dates). If you fail to validate your registration by the deadline, your registration will be dropped and you will lose your status as a student.

The most common offices involved with Validation includes: Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Health and Wellness, and the Registrar’s Office.

A Validation Hold will prevent you from making any registration changes and keep you from validating your registration. See Registration Holds for additional details and contact information on resolving a validation hold.

See Registration Holds for contact information on a specific validation hold. If you have a FI (See Student Accounts Office) hold, this means that you have an outstanding balance on your student account. Contact Student Accounts as soon as possible to resolve this hold. If you have an AD (Contact Update: Off Campus Addr) hold, you can update your off campus (OC) address in 1600grand. Other holds—view the Action Needed column for more details.

You will need to contact the ITS Help Desk at 651.696.6525.

You can complete the Macalester–Student Address Update and/or Student Cell (SC) Phone Update Google Form. You may also come by the Registrar’s Office and ask for a change of address form that you can fill out.

Certain information is publicly available unless you request that it be otherwise.  For instance, if someone (an insurer, an old friend, a current or potential employer, or anyone who might be curious) calls up and asks if Johan Smith is a student at Macalester, we can confirm or deny that and provide whatever information is available on the college directory, which might include your e-mail address and telephone number.  If you are on Directory Restriction, then we will not release any information regarding your status at Macalester.  We cannot answer questions about you if you are on Directory Restriction, unless it is for internal Macalester use.

Do you want your directory restriction removed?  Come into the Registrar’s Office and let us know.

See your chair or program director to declare a major, minor, or concentration. They will make a note on your Degree Works record and the Registrar’s Office will process the declaration.

You should declare your major as soon as you know what it will be, but you will be required to declare one once you will reach 64-credits. You will not be allowed to register for classes for the first semester of your Junior year until you have declared a major.

Degree Works tracks your degree progress and requirements–you will want to keep it up-to-date. If you are making changes in the courses that you want to use in fulfilling your major, you can speak to your chair or program director about an exception, such as using a topics, transfer, or study away course for a requirement. A note will be entered in Degree Works and the Registrar’s Office will process the exception.

Notify us by email and include the following: your name, Mac ID#, and program to be dropped.

Concentrations are a collection of courses across departments and/ or programs. A current list of concentrations can be found here: Academics.

For the fall and spring semesters the regular grading option is: A, A-,B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, NC (no credit); the alternate grading option is S (satisfactory), SD (passing), N (no credit). The grade of S is equivalent to a C- or better. Courses taken on the alternate grading option do not compute in the Macalester grade point average. For January or summer independent study, registered at Macalester, the options are the same.
Activity Courses: S (satisfactory) and N (no credit) will be the only grades in physical education courses and forensic practicum courses. Music majors and minors will be graded on the regular grading option for ensembles and performance courses; non-music majors and minors should refer to the music department section of this Catalog.

S/SD/N Option Regulations: The number of elective courses students may designate as S/SD/N grading option is unrestricted. (In this context, “elective courses” refer to those courses not on a student’s major, minor, or concentration plan). The deadlines for students to select their grading option will be the last day of classes for the semester. Specific dates are published in the academic calendar. Courses taken under this grading option may not be included on major, minor, or concentration plans without prior specific departmental approval. Students must earn an S (S/SD/N option) in a course for it to satisfy a distribution, general education, or second-language proficiency requirement.

Time of Selection of Grading Options: The declaration of grading option is made by the student from the available options during a designated period in the fall or spring semester. You must make this declaration no sooner than the beginning of the 10th week of classes and before the last day of classes for the semester. Specific dates are published in the academic calendar. There are no exceptions beyond the deadline and all grading designations are considered final and will not be changed.

Grades are available in 1600grand. Refer the Academic Calendar for dates grades are available to students.

A Course Completion Agreement form is required between the student and instructor. This form must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by the last day of classes.

Fall semester: incomplete work is due no later than the first day of classes of the Spring semester. Spring semester: incomplete work must be done on or before July 1. The instructor may require an earlier completion date.

To receive credit for ensemble or private instruction participation, you must take the same class in two consecutive semesters. Take African Music Ensemble in two consecutive semesters and you get the credit for both at the end of the second semester. You can earn a maximum of eight credits through ensemble and private instruction—additional participation is noted on your record, but not for credit. Completed credit counts in the GPA. Study away does not disrupt a sequence.

A J grade is assigned only during midterm grading. It means that the instructor for the course did not have enough information to assign you a midterm grade.

The GPA is calculated by dividing total grade points by the number of semester hours attempted on the regular grading system. Transfer work does not factor in the GPA.

To be eligible for the Dean’s List a student must have been registered as a full-time, degree-seeking student and may not have been on a study away program. Furthermore, a student must have achieved a semester grade point average of at least 3.75, twelve or more credits on a regular (A, A-, B+, etc.) grading option, no grades below C-, and no withdrawal or incomplete grades for the semester. Grades for activity, practicum, and technique courses in dance, music, and physical education are not factored into eligibility for the Dean’s List. In addition to the requirements above, designating more than 1 course as S/SD/N per semester will make you ineligible for the Dean’s List.

Full-time registration is between 12- and 18-credits. Credit overloads are charged per credit for any credit(s) beyond 18.credits (see Tuition and Fees for current rates). Students cannot exceed 20-credits in either Fall or Spring terms.

Students may audit one class per semester. Instructor approval is required and the registration must be completed by the Add/Drop deadline. Audited courses will appear on your transcript with a grade of “AU.” It is the student’s responsibility to establish expectations for the class with the instructor.

Students may register for either a 1– or 2–credit sponsored program, independent study, or internship in January with required permission.

Macalester does not offer summer classes. Students may register for a sponsored program, independent study, or internship with required permission.

View our Transcripts page for details.

Current students (requires access to 1600grand) may retrieve an enrollment verification for current and past terms from the National Student Clearinghouse. On the Student tab of 1600grand, navigate to the “Order Enrollment Verification” box.

If you don’t have access to 1600grand, please download and print an enrollment verification form by clicking this link (will open as a .pdf). You can submit that in person, through the mail, by fax or email to registrar@macalester.edu. This form must include your written signature. Our contact information is at the top of the form.

Unlike transcripts or verifications of enrollment, we can verify that you graduated from Macalester without a signature—degree information is directory information. Give us a call, write us a note or send us an e-mail requesting verification that you did indeed graduate from Macalester College and we’ll take care of that for you.

Contact us at registrar@macalester.edu for assistance with this process.

You may request a replacement diploma via Parchment for $30.00. Once your order is processed you will receive an immediate digital diploma followed by a mailed hard-copy diploma 7-15 business days later. It is not possible to order a digital or hard-copy only—it is a package deal! If you are unable to place an order online using Parchment, you can mail in a written request and payment ($30.00 US check or cash) to the Registrar’s Office at the address at the bottom of this page.

Check our Names policy page.

If you cannot remember your PIN, navigate to the login page, enter only your email address, and click Forgot PIN. An email will be sent with instructions on how to reset your PIN.

Old PIN is actually the action password. The system regrettably doesn’t use consistent terminology.

Try using a different browser or clearing your browser’s cache and cookies.

A proxy will only see the pieces of information they have been authorized to view. Students select which information pages will be viewable when they set up the account, and can grant and remove access through the Proxy Management page.

You will not be able to see billing information and/or pay bills while logged in as a proxy user. In order to access billing information and/or pay bills you need to be set up as an authorized user within the secure bill payment system. Your student should follow the instructions at KI 0145 1600grand: Set up Authorized user for student billing. If you have already been authorized, please follow the link in the email you received, or go to https://secure.touchnet.com/C23333_tsa/web/login.jsp and follow the instructions for Authorized Users.

The information pages that you can access as a proxy depends on the authorizations set by the student. Since each individual student can choose what information to share with their proxy, the information available for viewing may vary.

The Registrar cannot change the permission settings for proxies. Only the student establishing proxy access can change the permissions that are granted.

Students have the ability to add or remove access at any time. If the student has removed your access to that information page, it will no longer appear in the list. Alternatively, students set the “Start” and “Stop” dates for proxy access when they set up the account. If the stop date is reached, all access will be removed. If you feel you should still be able to see the pages, check with the student who set up your account. He or she can increase the “stop” date to return access.

To log in as a proxy, go to: https://oci-macxe.macalester.edu/StudentSelfService/login/auth

If a proxy would like to update their email address, they need to log in to their proxy account with the current login information, enter their new email address into the email address field, and click save. The proxy will then need to use that updated email address to log into their account in the future.