Academic Services

The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) at College of the Atlantic is charged with overseeing all aspects of the academic program. This includes approving all new courses, new faculty positions, arranging for classes to be taught by visiting faculty, major changes in academic direction and programs, and academic policies and procedures. The Committee also serves an important advisory role to the Academic Deans with regard to administrative procedures within their areas of administrative responsibility, and to the President and Development Office with regard to establishing and communicating priorities for fundraising and gifts.

Community members (students, faculty, and staff) are encouraged to participate in AAC meetings as members or observants. Those interested in joining the AAC should attend several meetings as a visitor and should consult with the chair. It is expected that members will attend most meetings, serve on occasional small task forces, and do necessary work between meetings. Members are usually most valuable if they commit to participating in the committee for at least several consecutive terms.

Resource area faculty representation

Arts & Design (AD): Jonathan Henderson
Human Studies (HS): Jamie McKown, Todd Little-Siebold, Heather Lakey
Environmental Science (ES): Laurie Baker, Suzanne Morse

Please contact the current committee chair, Jamie McKown, if you have general questions about the committee and its role in COA’s governance structure, or if you are interested in joining.

Incoming students are assigned an academic advisor when they first arrive on campus. The working relationship between the student and their advisor is very important because of the self-directed nature of study at the college. The freedom of students to plan individual programs carries with it the responsibility to develop coherent courses of study. The academic advisor serves as the primary resource for this planning process. The advising relationship is critical to the success of students’ academic programs and students are encouraged to change advisors as their academic interests and needs evolve. The best advisors are those who share intellectual and educational interests with their student advisees. It is hoped that through class contact and campus events, students will develop collegiality with several faculty or staff. It is from these connections that students can build advising relationships with faculty who can support their educational and career pursuits. The advisors serve as both professional mentors and guides as students work their way through their college experience. Advising meetings may include discussing resource area requirements, considering further educational or career planning, or simply serving as a sounding board for a student’s academic and personal concerns. Students are highly encouraged to meet with their advisors regularly. Students may also change advisors using the change of advisor form link on the college’s website. As there is an atmosphere of collaboration at College of the Atlantic, students are encouraged to seek connections with other faculty, staff, and students to broaden their advising experience. For questions or further information on the advising system, please contact Ken Hill.

COA advising team

Advisors are assigned by the Advising Team to new students during the weeks
preceding their arrival on campus. The Team makes every effort to place new
students with a faculty member who teaches coursework in the student’s field of
interest. You can find the name of your advisor on your portal, under “My
Grades”. If you have not yet been assigned an advisor and have questions pertaining to your selection of courses and/or college life at COA in general, please feel free to
contact a member of the Advising Team.

Ken Hill
Provost
khill@coa.edu | 207-288-5630

Lothar Holzke
Academic Services Administrator
lholzke@coa.edu | 207-288-5631

Jeffry Neuhouser
Director, Internships & Career Development
jneuhouser@coa.edu | 207-288-5633

Students who receive a D, F, or NC (fails to receive credit in a class taken credit/no-credit) in a given term, or have two or more extensions, are automatically placed on academic probation. There are three levels of academic probation, and the changes to the criteria for getting off of academic probation require more consistent academic success in subsequent terms. Students on academic probation are notified in writing (as are their advisors) and the student must attend a mandatory meeting with the academic probation officer or the provost within the first three weeks of the subsequent term. Such meetings are used to identify and address the issues causing the student to get probationary status and to ensure successful future terms. Failure to attend a probation meeting will result in blocked registration for the upcoming term. Although academic probation is a serious issue, the tenor of this meeting is to be constructive and supportive, not punitive.

In order to be removed from academic probation, the student must pass all of their classes in the subsequent term with grades of C or higher and receive no new extensions. Students on academic probation are not considered in good academic standing. Students on academic probation are not eligible for independent studies, residencies, EcoLeague, or other consortium exchanges. If a student remains on academic probation for a second consecutive term, the student will have an academic contract created for them. Academic contracts are individually constructed and have carefully defined outcomes targeted to enhance the student’s success. Example contract conditions may include, but not be limited to:

Reduced course load for the subsequent term
Mandatory attendance at study skills group
Mandatory check-in meetings with advisors/teachers/counselors
Required work with a writing tutor
Requirements that students turn in no late work and/or miss no classes

Included in the academic contract will be clearly spelled out consequences for failing to meet the terms of the contract. International students and the academic probation officer should be attentive to the consequences academic probation has for maintaining F-1 student status and for eligibility to remain in the United States.

The academic probation officer is appointed by the provost. The academic probation officer has discretion to interpret the above procedures to support student success while maintaining high academic standards. Decisions made by the academic probation officer may be appealed to the provost or their designee, whose decision is then final.

After three consecutive terms on academic probation, or accumulating a total of five Fs, students will be suspended from the college for one academic year.

Students who return from the one-year academic suspension will be on level-three probation. Failure to receive grades of C or above and any course extensions will lead to expulsion.

Questions? Contact COA’s Academic Probation Officer, Lothar Holzke.

The senior project is a three-credit, independent effort required for the human ecology degree. It is a significant intellectual endeavor, experiment, research project, or original work which is intended to advance understanding in a particular academic area and bring together the skills and knowledge acquired during the student’s college career. It is a major work at an advanced level, occupying at least one term, earning three credits. The three credits of a senior project may be spread over two or more terms if the research requires more than 10 weeks or if the student wishes to combine the senior project with course work in their final terms. Many approved senior projects take place primarily off campus.

With the exception of the spring term prior to graduation, senior project enrollment may be combined with course enrollment even if the total load is four credits. If a student wishes to conduct a senior project, in whole or in part, in the spring term and enroll for one or more classes, registering for more than three credits total, they must gain approval through an appeal to the Review and Appeals Committee prior to the end of the add/drop period for the spring term.

Once a student registers for their senior project, they will have one academic year (three consecutive terms) to complete it, barring extensions. If at the end of that time period the project is not completed the student will be withdrawn from the institution. When a student re-enrolls to complete their project, they must reapply through the office of admission and pay all applicable admission fees, as well as a one-time senior project registration fee. The project must be completed by the end of the term. If the student does not complete the project in the allotted time, the next enrollment will be at the full rate of three credits with a new proposal required and with one academic year to complete the project.

A COA faculty member or a non-COA expert may serve as the senior project director. This person is responsible for the final evaluation and may or may not be the faculty member on a student’s permanent advising team. In addition, resource persons outside the college may be used. Non-COA project directors are eligible for a $400 honorarium.

The review and appeals committee posts deadlines for submission of senior project proposals; the deadlines are listed on the back cover of this catalog and online. Students wishing to register for senior project credits must obtain a signature from the chair of the review and appeals committee on their registration form. In order to obtain a signature from the chair of Review and Appeals, a student must have submitted a complete proposal to the committee for review.

Proposals should be readable by the general community and free of jargon. The relevance of the project within the context of a COA education should be clear. A completed proposal should be submitted to the review and appeals committee before registering for senior project credits. Project proposal cover sheets are available in the registrar’s office and online with a checklist of required elements included.

The following elements must be included in a senior project proposal:

Statements describing purpose, methodology, schedule for completion, criteria for evaluation, manner of final presentation, and the role of the project director
Detailed description of the way in which this project is a culmination of the student’s work at COA, including academic background, career goals, and qualifications to do this work
Documentation of how the student will achieve 450 academically engaged hours
Bibliography and/or other references which place the work in a theoretical context, demonstrating what will be new learning or original synthesis
A cover sheet bearing signatures of the permanent advising team members and the project director, including the preliminary project title

Note: Senior projects without completed and approved proposals cannot receive credit, which may result in a student not being able to graduate.

Request project space here

Questions? Contact Barbara Carter.

A residency is a three-credit, term-long educational experience designed by an advanced student. In order to do a residency students must have earned at least 18 COA credits and be in good academic standing. A maximum of two residencies may be used toward graduation requirements. Residencies offer students the opportunity to put together their own cohesive program of study in order to explore areas which may not be provided in either the content or structure of the regular academic curriculum.

Students should have a developed interest in an area that cannot be satisfied by the regular curriculum and have the motivation, work habits, and creativity necessary to pursue this interest in an academically responsible manner. Students must have an excellent academic record and be in good standing to participate in a residency.
Students have used the residency term to explore topics as diverse as: women’s health issues; the history of Western thought; physical, cultural, and intellectual approaches to dance; issues in psychology and the treatment of mental illness. A recent residency used quilting as a theme to explore color theory, organic and chemical fabric dyeing, computer-aided design, and three quilting cultures. A residency allows a student to learn first hand the educational value inherent in interdisciplinary study.

A COA faculty member must be the primary director of a residency and have scheduled contact with the student throughout the term. This may be done by office visits (if the residency is local or on campus), or remotely by phone, email, or internet. Any outside director to the project will assist the primary director in completing final evaluations. Residencies are taken for credit/no credit only. While students are encouraged to do one residency only, a maximum of two can be allowed.

Students must submit a proposal to do a residency. The residency application form may be downloaded from the registrar’s page online or picked up at the registrar’s office. The application for the residency must be submitted to the review and appeals committee by the registration deadline for the term in which it is to occur (See schedule of deadlines in the back of this catalog and online). Late residency applications will NOT be considered. Students are advised to register for alternate classes in the event that their residency application is not approved. All residency applications will be approved or rejected by the review and appeals committee before the end of the term prior to when the residency is to occur.

Questions? Contact Barbara Carter.

The office of internships and career services reflects the college’s mission by guiding students to be empowered through the mastery of intellectual and practical skill development. Students enrolled at the college have selected human ecology as the lens through which they explore the world by recognizing its problems, studying the issues, and being motivated to make the world a better place. Career guidance is an integral part of a student’s experience at COA. Students are encouraged to contact the director early in their educational trajectory to discuss their options for fulfilling COA’s undergraduate internship requirement and career objectives post-graduation.

Visit the Internships & Career Services page to learn more.

Expeditionary funds (maximum $1,800) are available to any currently enrolled College of the Atlantic students* to be used for COA credit-bearing activities or requirements. Qualifying expenses or activities include lab fees for off-campus classes, travel expenses, residencies, independent studies, for-credit and not-for-credit internships that fit within the COA internship requirement, senior projects, and attendance at off-campus conferences or meetings. Funds cannot be used toward fees or payments to other schools and non-COA programs (unless within the EcoLeague consortium or NOLS), food, local (MDI) mileage, or long-term housing. *Students who have taken a non-medical leave of absence are not eligible to apply for COA expeditionary funds; mental health related absence may qualify as medical.

Students must be in good academic and financial standing and have completed at least three (3) terms at full-time enrollment (or have accumulated nine [9] or more COA credits) without disqualifying leave of absence to submit application for expeditionary funds. Qualifying students with less than eighteen (18) credits have a maximum eligibility of $1,000 until their Junior year (or equivalent credit), after which time the full $1,800 may be requested.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; however, funds are disbursed only once per term. Students may apply retroactively one term, for use of funds in the current term, or for the upcoming term.

Questions? Contact Lothar Holzke.

Academic Services