About Whitman

Fall

This web page contains information and links to the resources needed for students attending Whitman College for the first time in Fall 2012.

Additional information is also included in the orientation packet that has been sent to you.

NOTE: It is important to activate your Whitman College email account as soon as possible to obtain access to useful web resources and so you can receive current information in a timely manner. Follow the link and instructions below to activate your new Whitman College email and network account. You will need your Whitman ID number, which was included in the orientation packet that has been sent to you. 

Activate Whitman College email and Network Account

General Information:

The academic program at Whitman College provides students with a breadth of knowledge through completion of Distribution Requirements and a depth of knowledge through concentrated study in a major. Whitman believes this focus on a liberal arts education meets two important objectives: preparation for intelligent living and preparation for a successful career.

It is important that you plan your academic coursework carefully. To help you plan your first semester's schedule, the college provides you with the online Whitman College Catalog, this website, and the Registration Preparation Booklet. The booklet is designed to be a basic introductory guide to selecting your first semester classes.  Along with these items, many academic departments and programs have additional information on their individual websites. The catalog is the primary source of information about courses, requirements for graduation, majors and special programs, and general college policies. You should read through the catalog carefully and familiarize yourself with its contents. Another important resource is "Search for Sections" which is only available online. It is here that you will find course times and other information on current course offerings.

Contents:

 

Pre-major Advising

As an incoming student at Whitman College, you will be assigned a pre-major adviser who will help you plan your academic coursework. This faculty member or administrator may or may not be in your main field of interest, but he or she will be familiar with the overall curriculum and will be able to help you fulfill the college’s requirements. If you want more specialized information about a particular department, you are always welcome to consult members of that department.

You will have a pre-major adviser until you declare a major (no later than the spring semester of your sophomore year) at which time you will select an adviser in your major department. Please note that the major requirements you will follow will be those of the Whitman College Catalog of your sophomore year (2013-14).

To assist us in assigning you a pre-major adviser, it is important that you complete the Advising Questionnaire as soon as possible after "activating" your Whitman College email account.

Advising Questionnaire

Student Academic Advisers (SAs)

The college also provides a group of student academic advisers (SAs), who live in residence halls with first-year students. SAs are specially trained returning students who are available to help you select courses, navigate through the catalog, and find answers to your questions. They will help you with paper writing, and may even provide some tutoring assistance if you are having trouble with your coursework or if you need to improve your time management or study skills.

Academic Resources

General Studies 145, 146 Encounters (The First-Year Experience)

All first-year and transfer students with fewer than 58 approved credits are required to take the two semester series Encounters, General Studies 145, 146 (GENS-145, 146). All are automatically registered for these classes. Organized around a variable theme, these courses take as their broad topic the examination of encounters between peoples and cultures as well as the formation and transformation of dominant and competing world views. The study of primary sources, discussion, writing, and the construction of knowledge across academic fields of study will be emphasized. The theme for the 2012-13 academic year will be Encounters: Transformations.

This year-long series explores questions, concepts, and issues that have long fascinated and challenged humanity. Rather than follow a chronological development of ideas, Encounters investigates concepts and problems across times, periods, and cultures. The series is divided into modules, each of which includes a variety of genres and tackles key questions about our current world and its past. Within the overarching theme, modules address specific topics such as Origins and Beginnings, Revolutions, and Trauma and Transformation. For example, the Origins and Beginnings section explores transformation as creation, asking where one locates the creative source for human life and meaning.  It moves from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through selections from Darwin’s Origin of Species, the book of Genesis and the Qur’an to Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, considering the importance thinkers have given to a sovereign God, nature, or human will as locations of creative force. Trauma and Transformation asks how the past marks individual and collective lives.  How do people adjust themselves to new surroundings and cultural expectations?  What are the ethical, political and personal questions involved in representing trauma and pain verbally or visually?  Close reading of texts such as Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel, Maus, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and Bill McKibben’s Eaarth encourages students to form their own ideas and opinions.

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

Credit and course equivalency may be awarded for certain scores achieved on specified College Board Advanced Placement exams. Please refer to the "Credit Earned Through Exams" information in the “Academics” section of the online catalog to find scores required for individual exams to receive Whitman credit. There is a limit of 30 total credits that may be awarded for combined AP and IB exam scores. Please also note that you cannot receive credit for a Whitman class for which you have previously received AP course equivalency and credit. For example: If you score a 4 or 5 on the Calculus BC exam, you will receive six math credits which are equivalent to MATH-125 and MATH-126. Therefore, you cannot take either MATH-125 or 126 for credit. If you wish to take a course at Whitman for which you received AP credit, you must contact the Registrar’s Office to relinquish that credit.

If you believe you are eligible for AP credit, you must request that an official report of your scores be sent directly from the College Board to Whitman as soon as possible. If you do not do this prior to starting classes at Whitman, you must do so soon afterward.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit

Credit and course equivalency may be awarded for certain scores achieved on specified International Baccalaureate exams. Please refer to the "Credit Earned Through Exams" information in the “Academics” section of the online catalog to find scores required for select individual exams, all of which require Higher Level (HL) results. There is a limit of 30 total credits that may be awarded for combined AP and IB scores. Please note that you cannot receive credit for a Whitman class for which you have previously received IB course equivalency and credit. For example: If you score a minimum 5, HL, for Physics, you will receive eight physics credits which are equivalent to Whitman's PHYS-155 and PHYS-156. Therefore, you cannot take either PHYS-155 or 156 (or PHYS-165 or PHYS-166) or credit. If you wish to take a course at Whitman for which you received IB credit, you must contact the Registrar’s Office to relinquish that credit.

If you believe you are eligible for IB credit, you must request that an official report of your examinations sent directly from the International Baccalaureate Programme to Whitman as soon as possible. If you do not do this prior to starting classes at Whitman, you must do so soon afterward.

Transfer Credit

All transfer credit is evaluated on a course-by-course basis. Transfer credit includes courses taken through Running Start, concurrent high school-college enrollment, and any college or university programs. For specific regulations and more information concerning transfer credit, please refer to the “Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit” information in the “Academics” section of the online catalog, and review the information available via the Transfer Credit Information link on the Whitman Registrar’s Office home page.

If you have completed college coursework anywhere, you must request of the Registrar of the institution attended that an official transcript of all your previous college or university coursework be sent directly to the Whitman Registrar’s Office as soon as possible. Such coursework includes:

  • Any college coursework you have completed prior to the current academic year (if you have not previously provided an up-to-date transcript to the Admission Office).         
  • Any college coursework you have taken or are taking during the current academic year.
  • Coursework you plan to complete during the summer before your first term at Whitman.

Please note: If you do not request that a transcript be sent prior to starting classes at Whitman, you must do so soon afterward.

Once we have evaluated your official transcript(s), we will provide you with a Transfer Equivalency Report or Academic Evaluation before you register for the first time at Whitman. These will be sent via your Whitman College e-mail account, thus it is very important that you promptly establish your Whitman e-mail account, since this will be the primary method of communication between you and the Registrar’s Office. You will also receive a copy in the Advising and Registration Packet if the needed transcripts have arrived well before orientation. Otherwise, a transfer report will be sent to you after you begin classes at Whitman.

The Transfer Equivalency Report and Academic Evaluation will provide the following information, which will help to plan your schedule:

  1. The total number of college credits accepted from previously-attended institution(s).
  2. An analysis of how those credits apply toward the Whitman distribution requirements.   
  3. Your class standing first-year: (0-26 credits), sophomore (27-57 credits), or junior (58-89 credits). Your class standing determines your status with respect to the General Studies requirement at Whitman College, housing, financial aid eligibility, and more.

Information about how to read Transfer Equivalency Reports and Academic Evaluations can be found on the Registrar’s website.

Finally, if you completed any college credit while you were enrolled in high school, you will also need to complete and electronically submit a Transfer Credit Eligibility Form. 

Running Start or Similiar Programs, and Financial Aid

The following is a brief overview of the policy regarding the impact on financial aid for transferring Running Start credits to Whitman College. Credits earned from Running Start or similar programs are credits earned prior to earning a High School diploma. The following does not apply to any credits earned post-high school. (Please refer to the "Academics" and "Financial Aid" sections of the online catalog for more detailed information.) Students who earned Running Start credits will choose one of the following two options:

            Choice 1. Transfer ALL Running Start coursework accepted by Whitman and qualify for available financial aid consistent with the class-level determined by the total number of credits transferred to Whitman. See “Classification of Students” in the "Academics" section in the online catalog. 

            Choice 2. Transfer no more than 14 Running Start semester-equivalent credits accepted by Whitman and be considered a first-year student for purposes of financial aid if General Studies 145 and 146 (i.e. “Encounters” GENS-145 and GENS-146) is completed during the initial year of enrollment at Whitman.

Important note! All students who transfer fewer than 58 credits must complete General Studies 145 and 146 (GENS-145 and GENS-146) within their initial year at Whitman College.


Students with Running Start credit must declare option 1 or 2 during initial registration using the Running Start Options Selection Form that will then be available. Students will be given the opportunity to reconsider their decisions at the end of the second semester of coursework by submitting such changes in writing to the Registrar’s Office. Should option 2 be chosen at this point, the completion of General Studies 145 and 146 must be completed within the next two semesters of enrollment at Whitman. This rule will apply to those who previously planned to keep 58 or more credits.

Registration Process

The following link takes you to the web page with all the detailed information concerning the Registration Process for incoming students at Whitman College.

Common Questions

This link takes you to a web page that has answers to some Common Questions asked by students who will be attending Whitman College for the first time.

If you need Assistance

The staff in the Registrar's Office will be available during the summer months to provide answers to your questions about registration (phone 509-527-5983 or email firstyear@whitman.edu).  In addition, the Academic Resource Center staff will be available to answer questions about course selection and advising (phone 509-527-5213 or email arc@whitman.edu).  

This year-long series explores questions, concepts, and issues that have long fascinated and challenged humanity. Rather than follow a chronological development of ideas, Encounters investigates concepts and problems across times, periods, and cultures. The series is divided into modules, each of which includes a variety of genres and tackles key questions about our current world and its past. Within the overarching theme, modules address specific topics such as Origins and Beginnings, Revolutions, and Trauma and Transformation. For example, the Origins and Beginnings section explores transformation as creation, asking where one locates the creative source for human life and meaning.  It moves from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through selections from Darwin’s Origin of Species, the book of Genesis and the Qur’an to Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, considering the importance thinkers have given to a sovereign God, nature, or human will as locations of creative force. Trauma and Transformation asks how the past marks individual and collective lives.  How do people adjust themselves to new surroundings and cultural expectations?  What are the ethical, political and personal questions involved in representing trauma and pain verbally or visually?  Close reading of texts such as Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel, Maus, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and Bill McKibben’s Eaarth encourages students to form their own ideas and opinions.