1. The Organization of Ramapo
2. Understanding the Schedule of Classes
3. Graduation Requirements
4. General Education Requirements for Transfer Students
5. Gated Majors
6. Teacher Education
7. Maximum Transfer Credits
8. Final Transfer Evaluation
9. Advisement Information for Continuing Students
10. Degree Evaluation
11. Ramapo College Placement Testing
12. Typical First Semester Schedules
13. Academic Calendar
    

1. The Organization of Ramapo

Ramapo College is uniquely organized into schools, rather than departments.  The five schools offering majors and minors are:

• Anisfield School of Business (ASB)
• American and International Studies (AIS)
• Contemporary Arts (CA)
• Social Sciences and Human Services (SSHS)
• Theoretical and Applied Science (TAS)

The choice of School does not restrict your choice of courses.  Barring all prerequisites, all courses from all schools are available to all students.

2. Understanding the Schedule of Classes

The Schedule of Classes is organized on the Web for Students site by discipline. Select the term you want, then scroll through the alphabetical listing of disciplines, beginning with Accounting (ACCT) and ending with Writing (XWRT).  Select the discipline, then choose the specific course.

Courses are listed by Course Reference Numbers and Course IDs.
Example: HIST 10103 is the Course ID for Introduction to US History I

NOTE: An "Override" is necessary to enroll in courses requiring Permission of the Instructor, closed courses, or when prerequisite is being waived by the faculty. Contact the faculty or Unit Secretary for instructions. An "Override" does not register the student in the class! After it is granted, the student must still register for the class.

The first numeral indicates the level of the course:
100=freshman, 200=sophomore, 300=junior, 400=senior, 500+ =graduate

The number of credits earned indicates a student’s class standing:
Freshman 0-31, Sophomore 32-63, Junior 64-95, Senior 96+

[ return to top ]

To be eligible for a Bachelor’s degree at Ramapo College, each student must:

• Complete a minimum of 128 credits
• Have a 2.0 cumulative GPA and a 2.0 GPA in the major
• Have a 2.0 in the minor. Minors are optional
• Complete a minimum of 48 credits at Ramapo
• Complete the last 32 credits at Ramapo
• Complete at least half of the major and minor at Ramapo
• Satisfy all General Education, School Core, and Major requirements

Academic Standing: Students must have at least a 2.0 cumulative Grade Point Average to be in good academic standing.  All students, including non-degree-seeking students, are reviewed at the end of each semester.

Students must affiliate with one of the College’s five schools.  Each of the schools has its own required core program that emphasizes the school’s theme and provides context for the major.  The core programs vary in number of requirements and can double count toward fulfilling General Education and in some cases major requirements.

A=AS=AIS=School of American and International Studies
B=AB=ASB=Anisfield School of Business
C=CA=School of Contemporary Arts
M=SS=SSHS=School of Social Science and Human Service
S=TS=TAS=School of Theoretical and Applied Science

Each student must complete a major program of study. Specific requirements are available on line at in the online College Catalog, on major sheets available outside of the Advisement Center. Some majors are gated, meaning a students must meet certain requirements for admittance.

Although not required for graduation, students are strongly urged to complete a minor program as a means of adding range, depth and diversity to the student’s chosen field of study.  At least half of the minor must be completed on campus.

All students must satisfy the General Education requirements.  These are distributed throughout the 4 years of study. 

General Education Requirements

lower level
INTD 101                   First Year Seminar
ENGL 180                 College English
Select one                 HIST 101-110, 100 level History
Select one                 BADM 115 Perspectives of Business and Society or
                                    SOSC 101 Social Issues
Select one                 MATH 101-121 Check your major requirements
Select one                 Science with experiential component (does not have to have a lab)

upper level
AIID                            Readings in Humanities
Select one                Intercultural North America
Select one                International Issues
Select one                GE Topics: Arts and Humanities or Social Science or Science
                                   Your topics requirement must be outside of your area of study

[ return to top ]

4. General Education Requirements for Transfer Students

• Some of the General Education requirements are waived for transfer students with an Associate of Arts (AA) or an Associate of Science (AS) or over a specified number of credits.  General Education courses required are noted on the audit.
• Any General Education requirement can be fulfilled with the appropriate transferred course.
• An Associate of Applied Science (AAS) does not waive any General Education requirements.
• The fact that a course is waived from a student’s General Education requirements does not mean it is also waived from a School core or major requirement.  Only the convener of the major can waive a course from the major.  Only the Dean can waive a course from the School core.

Double counting: In many instances, a course may fulfill more than one requirement.  A course may count in a major and/or minor and/or General Education and/or School core.  Although the course may fulfill two requirements, its credit value does not double.

[ return to top ]

5. Gated Majors

Some majors have requirements that must be met before acceptance in the major.  Students can be provisionally accepted until they become eligible for review.  These majors are:

• Accounting
• Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, Management, or Finance
• Economics
• Information Systems
• International Business
• Social Work
• Nursing
• Biology with Physical Therapy
  
• Teacher Education is also gated, though it is not a major but rather a certification program.  See the Online Catalog for details

NOTE: Students who wish to major in one of the business majors must have at least a 2.5 GPA when they reach 48 credits. For more information visit the ASB home page. The 48 includes transfer credits, but only Ramapo credits are used to calculate the GPA for those students who transfer in with less than 48 credits.  Students who transfer in with more than 48 credits must have a 2.5 at time of transfer.  If a student decides to change to one of these programs after earning 48 credits, the student’s GPA will still be evaluated at 48 credits.

Anisfield School of Business

[ return to top ]

6. Teacher Education

Teacher Education is a certification program for either secondary or elementary education. Students interested in this program must contact the Teacher Education office directly for specific assistance regarding choice of classes and permission to enroll.  All Teacher Education classes require special permission.

Teacher Education

7. Maximum Transfer Credits

Ramapo accepts a maximum of 64 credits from a two-year college and 80 credits from a four-year college.  Coursework must come from accredited institutions.  Courses completed with a grade of 2.0 or better will be accepted provided they are consistent with a liberal arts education.

[ return to top ]

8. Final Transfer Evaluation

Often the transcript sent with an application to Ramapo does not include the grades from the final semester.  Final transcripts must be sent.  Once Ramapo has received the final transcript, any additional credit will be added to your evaluation.  It is your responsibility to make an appointment with the Advisement Center to re-evaluate your General Education requirements. Questions regarding major coursework are directed to the convener.  School Core questions are directed to the School Dean.

It is highly recommended students see an advisor prior to each registration at Ramapo.  Students are assigned an advisor upon acceptance in the College and after declaring a major.

The School Dean or the Advisement Center contacts new students with directions for receiving advisement for the first semester.  Please view the Advisement Center’s web page for further information.
 

• Seminar instructors advise freshmen enrolled in First Year Seminar for both the Fall and Spring semester.
• Freshmen not enrolled in First Year Seminar are advised by the Advisement Center.
• Students who have earned 32 credits or more and have a declared major are assigned faculty advisors in their majors.  This includes Evening/Saturday students.
• Students who have not declared a major are advised by the Advisement Center.

Registration for Continuing Students
Registration priority is governed by the amount of credits a student has earned. Seniors with the highest number of credits have first access to web registration.  Once a registration window opens, it remains open until a designated date just after bills are due.  Because registration is on the web, students can register or make schedule adjustments from remote sites all over the globe. 

The First Year Seminar
INTD 101 First-Year Seminar (FYS)
Designed especially for first-year students, First-Year Seminar (FYS) provides a comprehensive introduction to college-level learning. FYS courses are developed around an academic theme or topic based on the expertise of each course instructor, providing students with the opportunity to select a seminar that best suits their interests. FYS encourages new students to participate in a community of learners, to strengthen their critical thinking skills, and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

[ return to top ]

10. Degree Evaluation

The CAPP Degree Evaluation is available to each student on the web.  The audit is an advisement tool, not an official transcript, which tracks a student’s academic progress in the chosen major, school, and General Education.  It is maintained by the Advisement Center. Click here for additional information.  The audit should be downloaded and brought to each advisement appointment.

READ THIS!  Transfer students should be aware that the audit does not assess elective credits (courses ending in 98 or "-- ") for applicability to the major.  The convener of the major must evaluate these credits.  The convener must then fill out a Course Equivalency form and give it to the transfer evaluator in Admissions.  Occasionally an elective course ending in 99, 98 or -- will be applicable to the major.  In this circumstance, a Course Substitution form must be filled out and returned to the Admissions. In general, transfer students should view their audit with caution.  Any suspected errors should be brought to the attention of the Advisement Center.

Audit

[ return to top ]

11. The Ramapo College Placement Test

This test is administered to all students unless they have college credit in English or Math or are waived from the test based on their SAT scores.  Each freshman receives information about the placement test from the Admissions Office. Students can also access the Placement Testing web site.  The test is used to diagnose a student’s skill level in Math and English.  A student is then placed in the appropriate level course.  In some cases, those courses are pre-college level so do not count as credit toward a college degree.  However, these courses do count in the Grade Point Average and in the semester’s course load. Transfer students who have any credit in Math or English use those courses to determine placement.  Transfer students can also transfer their test scores from another school if the scores are less than three years old.

Testing

[ return to top ]

12. Two Typical First Semester Schedules

First Year Seminar
College English
Elementary Probability and Statistics
Intro. to Psychology

First Year Seminar
College English
Transitional Math
Social Issues

The Advisement Center’s Web site has Suggested Schedules (link below) available from the First Year Student’s link.  These schedules give specific recommendations based on probable majors. All students should visit this web site before choosing their first semester’s classes.

Suggested Schedules

[ return to top ]

13. Academic Calendar

Academic Calendars

[ return to top ]