Policy

The minimum and maximum number of students who may enroll in any given course section is based on pedagogical, spatial, fiscal, and safety considerations.

Reason for Policy

To ensure an optimal learning experience for all students.

To Whom Does the Policy Apply

All Deans, Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, Professional Staff who teach, Enrollment Management, Registrar

Related Documents

Procedure

Contacts

Office of the Provost – 201-684-7532

Minimum and Maximum Course Enrollment

Procedure

To ensure an optimal learning experience for all students.

The maximum and minimum number of students enrolled in a course is set by the dean in consultation with the faculty and is determined by pedagogical, spatial, financial, and safety reasons.

The following guidelines are usually applied to undergraduate courses.

• 100 and 200 level courses are generally set at 35 maximum, and 300 and 400 level courses are generally set at 30 maximum, except those courses that fall in special categories below:
• The capacity of equipment-defined course sections (by laboratory seats, computer equipment, sculpture studio, etc.) will normally be set at between 20-25 students depending on available equipment/space.
• The capacity of course sections that require extensive social interaction or are based as part of the program requirements on public presentations will be set at between 20-25 seats depending on program requirements as determined by the dean in consultation with faculty.
• The capacity of course sections whose topic is writing may be set at 18.  These courses are characterized by multiple writing assignments, multiple opportunities to receive feedback and rework assignments, high levels of individual attention both during and outside of class, and intense interaction between faculty and students during class.
• The capacity of course sections with a 50+ hour fieldwork component indicated in the course description and approved by the convening group and dean will ordinarily be set for 25 students.
• The capacity of 100-level First-Year Seminar course sections will be 25 students, and the capacity of Critical Reading and Writing course sections will be 21 students,

Writing-intensive course sections at 25 students.

• 100-level science courses with labs may have a capacity up to 40 students in the lecture part of the course.
• The minimum capacity of course sections designated as capstones and 400-level seminars will be set at 17.
• All sections of the same course typically have the same capacity. An exception is online course sections, which must have a minimum enrollment of 10 and a capacity of 25.
• The minimum enrollment for all undergraduate course sections is 10 students for courses taught by full-time faculty and 12 students for courses taught by adjunct faculty.

Graduate Courses – minimum enrollment for graduate course sections, both face-to-face and online, is 10 students; capacity is generally set at 25.

Any exemptions to any of the above procedures are to be decided by the dean in consultation with the Provost.

This policy is to be reviewed regularly.