What About ... ?
Placement
Prerequisites
Closed Sections
Adding a Course
Dropping a Course
Retroactive Credit
Second Language Requirement
Multimedia Resources
Final Exams
Resources and Opportunities
Placement
Placement in the appropriate course is critical for making the most of your learning experience. Placement information for French is available on the CLA Language Testing website. If you have further questions regarding which class to register for, please contact:
- Jonathan Fulk , fulkx006@umn.edu , Coordinator, first-year French
- Trina Whitaker, whita006@umn.edu, Coordinator, second-year French
- Patricia Mougel, mouge001@umn.edu, Director, French language instruction
- Susanna Ferlito , ferli001@umn.edu , Director, Italian language instruction
- Kathleen Rider, ride0002@umn.edu, Coordinator, second-year Italian
For credit transfer to the University of Minnesota, please contact your college advising office. For upper division credit transfer (3xxx-level courses) towards a minor or major, contact Betsy Kerr (French) bjkerr@umn.edu or Susanna Ferlito (Italian) ferli001@umn.edu .
Prerequisites
Courses 1001 to 1004 follow one another sequentially. You must successfully complete 1001 to go on to 1002, 1002 (or 1022) to go on to 1003, and 1003 to go on to 1004. If you have studied French or Italian elsewhere before coming to the University of Minnesota, please refer to the “Placement” section.
If you want to enroll in a second-year French course and did not complete Fren1002 or Fren 1022 here, you are required to take the Entrance Proficiency Test (EPT). You can register online for the test.
You must meet all course prerequisites for every course. The department requires that you earn a grade of S or C- or better to enroll in the following course in the sequence. Although the registration system may not automatically restrict you from registration based on prerequisites, it is your responsibility to ensure that all appropriate prerequisites have been met. If you do not, you will be removed from the course by the instructor at the start of the term with no guarantee of a substitute course.
Closed Sections
If a desired course is full or closed, you can add your name to a waiting list for that course through the online registration system (Onestop). It is your responsibility to go to the first day that course meets to talk to the instructor about getting a permission number to join the class. Permission numbers can be obtained from the course instructor only—not from the department. Instructors cannot give permission numbers before the start of the term.
Adding a Course
A permission number from the instructor is required to add a course that has closed or to add a course during the second week of the semester. Permission numbers are available only from the course instructor, not from the department. Joining a course after the second week of instruction is allowed only in exceptional situations and requires that you initiate a petition through your college advising office.
Dropping a Course
Once you have registered for a course and received confirmation in person or by e-mail, you will be held responsible for tuition and fees for this course even if you never attend it. If you do not attend a course but fail to formally cancel it, a grade of F will be entered on your transcript. It is your responsibility to drop a course officially when you decide not to attend or stop attending. Beginning the Monday of the third week of classes, cancellations will result in a W (for "withdrawal") on your transcript.
You can cancel a course using the online registration system (Onestop) or by processing the Registration and Cancel/Add form at the Onestop office (200 Fraser Hall).
If you know before the end of the eighth week of class that you will be unable to complete a course, you will be expected to drop the course.
If you must drop the course due to serious medical illness (or a circumstance out of your control), you are encouraged to appeal to Student Relations (150 Williamson Hall) for a tuition refund.
If you are canceling a course after the end of the eighth week of the semester for extenuating circumstances, you must initiate a petition with your college advising office. The Student Scholastic Standing Committee reviews petitions. Written verification of the extenuating circumstance (e.g., family death, serious illness) is required.
All undergraduate students may receive by petition a one-time-only discretionary cancellation of one course after the eighth-week deadline but no later than Study Day. This discretionary cancel may be used only once during your undergraduate enrollment on the Twin Cities campus.
Retroactive Credit
Retroactive credit can be granted upon successful completion of a 1002, 1003 or 1004 class in French or Italian. No retroactive credits are granted for 1001 classes in French or Italian. See your college advising office for questions about retroactive credit. The Department of French and Italian does not govern retroactive credit.
Questions regarding credit by special exam should be directed to the Language Testing Program in 52 Folwell Hall (612-624-0862). Please note that qualifying circumstances for credit by special exam are very limited.
Second Language Requirement
To satisfy the second language graduation requirement for the B.A., B.F.A., and B.I.S. degree programs in the College of Liberal Arts, you need to pass your fourth semester (French or Italian 1004) course with a C- or better, or pass the Language Proficiency Exam (LPE). For more information about the LPE, visit the CLA Language Testing Office website.
If you pass the LPE, you earn a text line on your transcript endorsing your proficiency in speaking, writing, listening, and reading.
If you want to continue on in a 3xxx course, you must take French or Italian 1004. You may not skip 1004 if you passed the LPE in 1003. Please also note that you do not earn any credits for passing the LPE. (Transfer students who want to enroll directly in a Fren 3xxx course are strongly advised to take the LPE.)
Multimedia Resources
Learners of French and Italian have free access to the CLA Language Center facilities and resources. The Language Center houses a multimedia lab (with CD-ROMs, laserdiscs, etc.) located in 148 Folwell Hall. Audio and video materials are available from the Language Center main office (51 Folwell Hall) for use in the lab. You can browse the Language Center online catalogue of multimedia resources. Several links to French and Italian websites and web-based learning resources are also available from this site.
Final Exams
Common final examinations are given for all first- and second-year courses. Consult the final exam schedule on Onestop.
Room locations will be announced in class.
The make-up exam for each course is only for students who have another exam scheduled between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on the day of the scheduled final exam for that semester or who have more than two exams scheduled that day. Documentation of the conflict will be required. If you have not been preauthorized by your instructor to take the make-up exam, you will not be allowed to take this exam on the day of its administration.