Family Resources: Academics | Grinnell College
Source: https://grinnell.edu/families/academics
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:25
Family Resources: Academics | Grinnell College
Skip to main content
Family Resources: Academics
Academic Resources
Resources and opportunities to support your student’s academic experience.
Jump to section:
Academic Planning and Registration
Student Information and Privacy
Academic Resource Centers
Academic Opportunities for Students
Frequently Asked Questions
Academic Planning and Registration
Parents and families often play a key role in the college planning process. Here are resources to help you support your student's academic journey at Grinnell.
Academic Calendars
Five-Year Calendar
Student Dates to Remember — 2023–24
Final Exam Schedule
Academic Catalog
A general summary of rules, policies, and procedures for the academic programs of the College, plus major requirements
Schedule of Courses
Search for information on current and upcoming courses
Registrar
Students can find FERPA waiver forms, review academic records, verify enrollment, and more
Contacts
Email
641-269-3450
Textbooks and Course Materials
Required textbooks are provided by the
Grinnbooks program
and included in the comprehensive fee.
Contacts
Email
641-269-3424
Commencement
Celebrate the achievements of the graduates and their time at Grinnell
Student Information and Privacy
Several laws and policies determine the academic information that parents and families may access. Here are resources to help you learn about the laws that apply, the information that is available to you, and how to request access to student information.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, details the federal rights afforded eligible students with regards to their education records and prohibits institutions of higher education from disclosing the education records of students to most third parties without the students’ written consent.
Transcripts and Diplomas
STUDENTS order official transcripts or replacement diplomas through
National Student Clearinghouse
Academic Resource Centers
General and content-specific support in the form of peer tutoring and professional consultation
Academic Success Center
Offers a variety of academic support including learning development, coaching, policy options, and humanities and social studies tutoring
Contacts
Email
641-269-3713
Libraries
Students can drop in or schedule a meeting with the TRCs (Technology, Research & Circulation) peer educators for help with academic research. Kistle Library
provides individual and group assistance with academic projects in the sciences.
Contacts
Email
641-269-3350
Accessibility and Disability Resources
Provides accommodations and support for Grinnellians with disabilities such as learning, psychiatric, physical, or sensory disabilities including mentoring, technology, academic skills training, and career services
Contacts
Email
641-269-3089
Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center
Provides one-on-one instruction or feedback on writing, reading, and speaking projects, for any course, at any point in the process
Contacts
Email
641-269-3117
Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab (DASIL)
Drop-in assistance with data analysis and data visualization for courses and independent projects across the curriculum
WordPress Site
Contacts
Email
641-269-9734
Science Learning Center (SLC)
Offers course-embedded and small group tutoring for biology, chemistry, biological chemistry, neuroscience, and physics
Contacts
Email
641-269-3015
Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication (CLIC)
Drop-in peer tutoring for foreign languages, and resources for peer-guided and self-guided study of languages not offered at Grinnell
Contacts
Email
Digital Liberal Arts Collaborative
Develop and infuse digital resources into scholarship, teaching, and learning
Contacts
Email
641-269-3020
Vivero Digital Peer Mentoring
Drop-in support for help with digital projects and digital tools (websites, digital mapping, and more)
Contacts
Math Lab
Offers drop-in, lab-based tutoring for mathematics and statistics
Contacts
Email
641-269-3060
Psychology Tutoring
Students may request individual tutoring for psychology courses via GrinnellShare
Computer Science Learning Center
Offers drop-in, lab-based and individual tutoring in computer science and upper-level statistics
Contacts
Academic Opportunities for Students
Explore additional ways to enhance the liberal arts curriculum
Institute for Global Engagement
Learn about course-embedded travel opportunities, connect with the Global Kitchen, and meet the Global Envoys
Contacts
Email
641-269-4790
Off-Campus Study (OCS)
Browse study abroad programs, consult with OCS advisors, calculate anticipated costs, submit applications
Contacts
Email
641-269-4790
Mentored Advanced Projects (MAPs)
Find policies, procedures, and application guidance regarding mentored research projects
Frequently Asked Questions
College students’ records are protected by the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
, which restricts institutions from releasing grades and other educational records without the student's written permission. Students may view their grades online through the Colleague Self-Service after the grades have been submitted and recorded by the Office of the Registrar. Since the system is student-controlled, students are encouraged to share grade information with their parents. Grinnell College does not mail grade reports home. If a student wants the College to disclose grade information to parents/family members, they must first sign a FERPA waiver.
If you have questions about how your student is doing academically, you should talk first with your student. It is best not to contact faculty members, as it is important that the faculty-student relationship be built directly by those individuals. In addition, because of
FERPA
, faculty members generally cannot speak with anyone outside the college about a student’s academics.
A typical course load is 16 credits (usually comprised of four 4-credit courses. A student’s first semester often consists of the First-Year Tutorial (a one-semester course required of all new students), plus one course from each of the three academic divisions: Humanities, Social Studies and Science. The minimum allowed course load is 12 credits, and the maximum is 18 credits (with some exceptions for music lessons and PE courses).
During the summer, your student will have the opportunity to select a
First-Year Tutorial
and learn about the rest of Grinnell’s course offerings to prepare for fall registration. Registration for the remaining fall courses happens on campus during
New Student Orientation
. Your student’s Tutorial professor serves as their faculty adviser until your student declares a major.
We place high value on this advising relationship. The faculty adviser is not just someone to approve course registration. A student’s academic plan is a negotiation between the student and the faculty adviser, weaving the student’s goals with the College’s vision of a
liberal arts education
. Both the adviser and the student have responsibility for creating a productive advising relationship. As such, we believe that advising should be done in person and benefits over time by the instructor-student connection established in the tutorial. Through the tutorial, the adviser will get to know your student well.
Encourage your student to read
Academic Planning for New Students
this summer, published by the Academic Success Center and follow the Academic Onboarding directions in the New Student Checklist.
Grinnell has an individually-advised curriculum. That means that we do not have general education or specific distribution requirements (for example, a certain number of credits or courses in Humanities, Social Studies, and Sciences). Still, we have requirements and expectations! In order to graduate students must complete 124 credits, including the
First-Year Tutorial
and a major (typically eight to ten courses, that is, 32 to 40 credits), and they are expected to complete a program of study that embraces the liberal arts.
Students should plan to create an individualized academic program in collaboration with their adviser, which reflects both breadth and depth in the liberal arts. We encourage work in a variety of disciplines for the development of diverse skills – linguistic, literary, quantitative, artistic, and analytical.
Your student should rely on
Academic Planning for New Students
and the
Grinnell College Academic Catalog
for specific major requirements, course prerequisites, and other academic policies.
Your student will be notified by the Office of the Registrar of pre-matriculation credit awarded for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) of A Level scores. Generally, a score of four for AP and five for IB and a grade of B or better for A-levels, warrants credit but rules vary by department. Your student may see
Grinnell’s AP Policy
on the Registrar’s website . Grinnell will accept a combined maximum of 24 credits of pre-matriculation (AP, IB, A-level, transfer) and post-matriculation (transfer) credits toward graduation. A word of caution – if your student receives AP, IB, or A-level credit for a course, usually they will lose AP/IB/A-level credit if they repeat the same course here. Occasionally a student will decide to forego the AP, IB, or A-level credit and choose to start over in an introductory level course at Grinnell. The best rule of thumb on these matters: have your student consult with the Registrar and with their faculty adviser.
Students must declare a major during their fourth semester, prior to registering for their fifth semester. We do not encourage students to declare their major early, because we want them to explore as many fields as possible during their first two years at Grinnell.
Highly likely. While it is possible to finish in fewer than eight semesters or to request a ninth semester, Grinnell’s academic program is based on a residency requirement that assumes eight semesters. If students want to graduate early or extend their academic program into a ninth semester, they must apply, in writing through the Registrar, to the Committee on Academic Standing. (Have your student visit the Office of the Registrar’s GrinnellShare site.)
Your student is entirely responsible for attending class and doing their work. This is potentially a major shift from high school. If your student misses class, the professor can share their concern using an ‘academic alert’ communication tool. You student will then receive outreach for coaching to discover the issues preventing them from attending class and support their return to class.
We strongly encourage students to talk with their faculty members outside of class if they are experiencing difficulty. This usually requires a change in thinking and habit, since many students did not seek out their teachers in high school. We also urge students to contact their faculty advisers for support and counsel.
In addition, the staff in the
Academic Success Center
(ASC) are experts at working with students in academic difficulty. The staff in the ASC can help with study skills, time management strategies, interventions with faculty, and referrals to other academic resources (for tutoring) and to health services or personal counseling.
Most academic problems can be resolved if a student seeks help in a timely way and engages responsibly in the process. Grinnell is a resource-dense campus, so encourage your student to explore those resources!
In addition to engaging faculty members for academic support, all students may use the many academic resource centers at Grinnell, including the
Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center
,
Science Learning Center
,
Math Lab
,
Computer Science Learning Center
,
Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication
, and the
Library
. These offices are staffed by professionals and offer students one-on-one assistance through appointments and walk-in visits. These resource centers are
not
remedial in nature, and it is expected that all Grinnellians will engage with these resources when needed. For classes that are not supported by academic resource centers, students may request a tutor. All of these services are provided as part of a student's tuition.
Your student may make the necessary adjustments to college with no difficulty, but if you sense that is not the case, advise your student to go directly to the Academic Success Center
or to one of the other
academic resource centers,
such as the
Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center
. Their staff offer excellent evidence-based study strategies tailored to your student.
Realistic expectations help. We expect students to study and engage in independent coursework about 20 hours outside of class time each week. After all, being a student is their full-time job.
No, the Academic Success Center will contact your student and will notify their adviser. Students admitted to Grinnell have the ability to graduate. When students experience difficulty, the reasons are as diverse as the students. We do everything we can to help students identify problems, accept responsibility for them, and actively engage in solving them. Should you have a concern about your student, we welcome your call, though
federal regulations
(with some exceptions) limit the extent to which we can share information about your student.
It happens, unfortunately. Sometimes life presents challenges and students need support to resolve crises without leaving school. If your student is having a personal or family problem, please urge them to contact the
Office of Student Support and Advocacy
or the Academic Success Center . We try very hard to create a plan so that students’ grades don’t suffer unduly while they are trying to resolve a personal difficulty.
Sometimes a student is well advised to reduce their course load or to take a leave of absence from school to address a major problem. Students may contact the Academic Success Center to discuss emergency course withdrawals, personal leaves of absence, or emergency/medical leaves of absence.
Matriculated students must complete a Transfer Course Approval Form (available from the
Office of the Registrar’s GrinnellShare site
[login required]) before they enroll in the summer or winter course.
These courses cannot overlap with the Grinnell semester. Additionally, students must petition the department if they wish to use a transfer course to complete a requirement in the major. Generally, departments want major requirements to be completed at Grinnell. Students are not permitted to repeat a course at another institution in which they received a D or F at Grinnell; instead, they are encouraged to repeat it here. Grinnell will accept a combined 24 credits of AP, IB, A-level and transfer credits toward graduation. When in doubt, your student should contact the
Office of the Registrar
.
Students who
study abroad
(approved off-campus study) take an academic leave , but two other types of
leaves of absence
are available to students. Students experiencing medical difficulties may apply for an emergency/medical leave of absence by contacting the Dean for Student Success and Academic Advising
.
Some students benefit a great deal from taking a semester or two of personal leave sometime during college. They may suffer from a lack of motivation, they may be uncertain of their career goals and want a semester or two to explore them, or they may have a unique opportunity to work or travel. A student may apply for a personal leave by contacting the Academic Success Center. A personal leave reserves their place at the college for one or two semesters.
If you would like to talk with someone at the College about your student’s academic situation and learn about college resources and policies, feel free to call the Academic Success Center. Know that
federal regulations
(with some exceptions) limit the extent to which we can share information about your student. We do believe that your most important source of information about your student’s progress is your student, and we hope that you will foster open and honest communication with your student about their academic work.
Your student will be assigned an exploratory adviser from the
Center for Careers, Life, and Service
(CLS) upon arrival at Grinnell to help them assess their values, strengths, and interests; connect them with alumni and others to build a professional network; explore professional, personal, and civic options; and engage in experiential learning experiences to gain skills to prepare them for life after Grinnell. Although the CLS resources and programs are available to all students, it is the responsibility of your student to take advantage and reap the short- and long-term benefits. CLS advisers are here for your student through every step of their professional, personal, and civic development, so that your student (and you!) can feel confident with their initial plan to embark on a purposeful life following graduation.
We hope that your student will ask questions of everyone on campus. People are our best resources at Grinnell. In addition, important written sources of information regarding academic policies are
Academic Planning for New Students
and the
Grinnell College Academic Catalog
, both available online. They should lead students directly to answers to most academic questions or helpful people to consult with. When in doubt, reach out to the Academic Success Center to get connected to resources.
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To accept the use of cookies and continue on to the site, click "I Agree." For more information about our use of cookies and how to opt out, please refer to our website privacy policy.
Skip to main content
Family Resources: Academics
Academic Resources
Resources and opportunities to support your student’s academic experience.
Jump to section:
Academic Planning and Registration
Student Information and Privacy
Academic Resource Centers
Academic Opportunities for Students
Frequently Asked Questions
Academic Planning and Registration
Parents and families often play a key role in the college planning process. Here are resources to help you support your student's academic journey at Grinnell.
Academic Calendars
Five-Year Calendar
Student Dates to Remember — 2023–24
Final Exam Schedule
Academic Catalog
A general summary of rules, policies, and procedures for the academic programs of the College, plus major requirements
Schedule of Courses
Search for information on current and upcoming courses
Registrar
Students can find FERPA waiver forms, review academic records, verify enrollment, and more
Contacts
641-269-3450
Textbooks and Course Materials
Required textbooks are provided by the
Grinnbooks program
and included in the comprehensive fee.
Contacts
641-269-3424
Commencement
Celebrate the achievements of the graduates and their time at Grinnell
Student Information and Privacy
Several laws and policies determine the academic information that parents and families may access. Here are resources to help you learn about the laws that apply, the information that is available to you, and how to request access to student information.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, details the federal rights afforded eligible students with regards to their education records and prohibits institutions of higher education from disclosing the education records of students to most third parties without the students’ written consent.
Transcripts and Diplomas
STUDENTS order official transcripts or replacement diplomas through
National Student Clearinghouse
Academic Resource Centers
General and content-specific support in the form of peer tutoring and professional consultation
Academic Success Center
Offers a variety of academic support including learning development, coaching, policy options, and humanities and social studies tutoring
Contacts
641-269-3713
Libraries
Students can drop in or schedule a meeting with the TRCs (Technology, Research & Circulation) peer educators for help with academic research. Kistle Library
provides individual and group assistance with academic projects in the sciences.
Contacts
641-269-3350
Accessibility and Disability Resources
Provides accommodations and support for Grinnellians with disabilities such as learning, psychiatric, physical, or sensory disabilities including mentoring, technology, academic skills training, and career services
Contacts
641-269-3089
Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center
Provides one-on-one instruction or feedback on writing, reading, and speaking projects, for any course, at any point in the process
Contacts
641-269-3117
Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab (DASIL)
Drop-in assistance with data analysis and data visualization for courses and independent projects across the curriculum
WordPress Site
Contacts
641-269-9734
Science Learning Center (SLC)
Offers course-embedded and small group tutoring for biology, chemistry, biological chemistry, neuroscience, and physics
Contacts
641-269-3015
Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication (CLIC)
Drop-in peer tutoring for foreign languages, and resources for peer-guided and self-guided study of languages not offered at Grinnell
Contacts
Digital Liberal Arts Collaborative
Develop and infuse digital resources into scholarship, teaching, and learning
Contacts
641-269-3020
Vivero Digital Peer Mentoring
Drop-in support for help with digital projects and digital tools (websites, digital mapping, and more)
Contacts
Math Lab
Offers drop-in, lab-based tutoring for mathematics and statistics
Contacts
641-269-3060
Psychology Tutoring
Students may request individual tutoring for psychology courses via GrinnellShare
Computer Science Learning Center
Offers drop-in, lab-based and individual tutoring in computer science and upper-level statistics
Contacts
Academic Opportunities for Students
Explore additional ways to enhance the liberal arts curriculum
Institute for Global Engagement
Learn about course-embedded travel opportunities, connect with the Global Kitchen, and meet the Global Envoys
Contacts
641-269-4790
Off-Campus Study (OCS)
Browse study abroad programs, consult with OCS advisors, calculate anticipated costs, submit applications
Contacts
641-269-4790
Mentored Advanced Projects (MAPs)
Find policies, procedures, and application guidance regarding mentored research projects
Frequently Asked Questions
College students’ records are protected by the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
, which restricts institutions from releasing grades and other educational records without the student's written permission. Students may view their grades online through the Colleague Self-Service after the grades have been submitted and recorded by the Office of the Registrar. Since the system is student-controlled, students are encouraged to share grade information with their parents. Grinnell College does not mail grade reports home. If a student wants the College to disclose grade information to parents/family members, they must first sign a FERPA waiver.
If you have questions about how your student is doing academically, you should talk first with your student. It is best not to contact faculty members, as it is important that the faculty-student relationship be built directly by those individuals. In addition, because of
FERPA
, faculty members generally cannot speak with anyone outside the college about a student’s academics.
A typical course load is 16 credits (usually comprised of four 4-credit courses. A student’s first semester often consists of the First-Year Tutorial (a one-semester course required of all new students), plus one course from each of the three academic divisions: Humanities, Social Studies and Science. The minimum allowed course load is 12 credits, and the maximum is 18 credits (with some exceptions for music lessons and PE courses).
During the summer, your student will have the opportunity to select a
First-Year Tutorial
and learn about the rest of Grinnell’s course offerings to prepare for fall registration. Registration for the remaining fall courses happens on campus during
New Student Orientation
. Your student’s Tutorial professor serves as their faculty adviser until your student declares a major.
We place high value on this advising relationship. The faculty adviser is not just someone to approve course registration. A student’s academic plan is a negotiation between the student and the faculty adviser, weaving the student’s goals with the College’s vision of a
liberal arts education
. Both the adviser and the student have responsibility for creating a productive advising relationship. As such, we believe that advising should be done in person and benefits over time by the instructor-student connection established in the tutorial. Through the tutorial, the adviser will get to know your student well.
Encourage your student to read
Academic Planning for New Students
this summer, published by the Academic Success Center and follow the Academic Onboarding directions in the New Student Checklist.
Grinnell has an individually-advised curriculum. That means that we do not have general education or specific distribution requirements (for example, a certain number of credits or courses in Humanities, Social Studies, and Sciences). Still, we have requirements and expectations! In order to graduate students must complete 124 credits, including the
First-Year Tutorial
and a major (typically eight to ten courses, that is, 32 to 40 credits), and they are expected to complete a program of study that embraces the liberal arts.
Students should plan to create an individualized academic program in collaboration with their adviser, which reflects both breadth and depth in the liberal arts. We encourage work in a variety of disciplines for the development of diverse skills – linguistic, literary, quantitative, artistic, and analytical.
Your student should rely on
Academic Planning for New Students
and the
Grinnell College Academic Catalog
for specific major requirements, course prerequisites, and other academic policies.
Your student will be notified by the Office of the Registrar of pre-matriculation credit awarded for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) of A Level scores. Generally, a score of four for AP and five for IB and a grade of B or better for A-levels, warrants credit but rules vary by department. Your student may see
Grinnell’s AP Policy
on the Registrar’s website . Grinnell will accept a combined maximum of 24 credits of pre-matriculation (AP, IB, A-level, transfer) and post-matriculation (transfer) credits toward graduation. A word of caution – if your student receives AP, IB, or A-level credit for a course, usually they will lose AP/IB/A-level credit if they repeat the same course here. Occasionally a student will decide to forego the AP, IB, or A-level credit and choose to start over in an introductory level course at Grinnell. The best rule of thumb on these matters: have your student consult with the Registrar and with their faculty adviser.
Students must declare a major during their fourth semester, prior to registering for their fifth semester. We do not encourage students to declare their major early, because we want them to explore as many fields as possible during their first two years at Grinnell.
Highly likely. While it is possible to finish in fewer than eight semesters or to request a ninth semester, Grinnell’s academic program is based on a residency requirement that assumes eight semesters. If students want to graduate early or extend their academic program into a ninth semester, they must apply, in writing through the Registrar, to the Committee on Academic Standing. (Have your student visit the Office of the Registrar’s GrinnellShare site.)
Your student is entirely responsible for attending class and doing their work. This is potentially a major shift from high school. If your student misses class, the professor can share their concern using an ‘academic alert’ communication tool. You student will then receive outreach for coaching to discover the issues preventing them from attending class and support their return to class.
We strongly encourage students to talk with their faculty members outside of class if they are experiencing difficulty. This usually requires a change in thinking and habit, since many students did not seek out their teachers in high school. We also urge students to contact their faculty advisers for support and counsel.
In addition, the staff in the
Academic Success Center
(ASC) are experts at working with students in academic difficulty. The staff in the ASC can help with study skills, time management strategies, interventions with faculty, and referrals to other academic resources (for tutoring) and to health services or personal counseling.
Most academic problems can be resolved if a student seeks help in a timely way and engages responsibly in the process. Grinnell is a resource-dense campus, so encourage your student to explore those resources!
In addition to engaging faculty members for academic support, all students may use the many academic resource centers at Grinnell, including the
Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center
,
Science Learning Center
,
Math Lab
,
Computer Science Learning Center
,
Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication
, and the
Library
. These offices are staffed by professionals and offer students one-on-one assistance through appointments and walk-in visits. These resource centers are
not
remedial in nature, and it is expected that all Grinnellians will engage with these resources when needed. For classes that are not supported by academic resource centers, students may request a tutor. All of these services are provided as part of a student's tuition.
Your student may make the necessary adjustments to college with no difficulty, but if you sense that is not the case, advise your student to go directly to the Academic Success Center
or to one of the other
academic resource centers,
such as the
Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center
. Their staff offer excellent evidence-based study strategies tailored to your student.
Realistic expectations help. We expect students to study and engage in independent coursework about 20 hours outside of class time each week. After all, being a student is their full-time job.
No, the Academic Success Center will contact your student and will notify their adviser. Students admitted to Grinnell have the ability to graduate. When students experience difficulty, the reasons are as diverse as the students. We do everything we can to help students identify problems, accept responsibility for them, and actively engage in solving them. Should you have a concern about your student, we welcome your call, though
federal regulations
(with some exceptions) limit the extent to which we can share information about your student.
It happens, unfortunately. Sometimes life presents challenges and students need support to resolve crises without leaving school. If your student is having a personal or family problem, please urge them to contact the
Office of Student Support and Advocacy
or the Academic Success Center . We try very hard to create a plan so that students’ grades don’t suffer unduly while they are trying to resolve a personal difficulty.
Sometimes a student is well advised to reduce their course load or to take a leave of absence from school to address a major problem. Students may contact the Academic Success Center to discuss emergency course withdrawals, personal leaves of absence, or emergency/medical leaves of absence.
Matriculated students must complete a Transfer Course Approval Form (available from the
Office of the Registrar’s GrinnellShare site
[login required]) before they enroll in the summer or winter course.
These courses cannot overlap with the Grinnell semester. Additionally, students must petition the department if they wish to use a transfer course to complete a requirement in the major. Generally, departments want major requirements to be completed at Grinnell. Students are not permitted to repeat a course at another institution in which they received a D or F at Grinnell; instead, they are encouraged to repeat it here. Grinnell will accept a combined 24 credits of AP, IB, A-level and transfer credits toward graduation. When in doubt, your student should contact the
Office of the Registrar
.
Students who
study abroad
(approved off-campus study) take an academic leave , but two other types of
leaves of absence
are available to students. Students experiencing medical difficulties may apply for an emergency/medical leave of absence by contacting the Dean for Student Success and Academic Advising
.
Some students benefit a great deal from taking a semester or two of personal leave sometime during college. They may suffer from a lack of motivation, they may be uncertain of their career goals and want a semester or two to explore them, or they may have a unique opportunity to work or travel. A student may apply for a personal leave by contacting the Academic Success Center. A personal leave reserves their place at the college for one or two semesters.
If you would like to talk with someone at the College about your student’s academic situation and learn about college resources and policies, feel free to call the Academic Success Center. Know that
federal regulations
(with some exceptions) limit the extent to which we can share information about your student. We do believe that your most important source of information about your student’s progress is your student, and we hope that you will foster open and honest communication with your student about their academic work.
Your student will be assigned an exploratory adviser from the
Center for Careers, Life, and Service
(CLS) upon arrival at Grinnell to help them assess their values, strengths, and interests; connect them with alumni and others to build a professional network; explore professional, personal, and civic options; and engage in experiential learning experiences to gain skills to prepare them for life after Grinnell. Although the CLS resources and programs are available to all students, it is the responsibility of your student to take advantage and reap the short- and long-term benefits. CLS advisers are here for your student through every step of their professional, personal, and civic development, so that your student (and you!) can feel confident with their initial plan to embark on a purposeful life following graduation.
We hope that your student will ask questions of everyone on campus. People are our best resources at Grinnell. In addition, important written sources of information regarding academic policies are
Academic Planning for New Students
and the
Grinnell College Academic Catalog
, both available online. They should lead students directly to answers to most academic questions or helpful people to consult with. When in doubt, reach out to the Academic Success Center to get connected to resources.
We use cookies to enable essential services and functionality on our site, enhance your user experience, provide better service through personalized content, collect data on how visitors interact with our site, and enable advertising services.
To accept the use of cookies and continue on to the site, click "I Agree." For more information about our use of cookies and how to opt out, please refer to our website privacy policy.