CORNELL PHYSICAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Waiver of Requirements     Transfer Students     Swimming Requirement
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All undergraduate students admitted to Cornell as freshmen are required to take physical education in each term of their freshman year. Circumstances permitting exemption from, or postponement of, those requirements are outlined below.

Waiver of Requirements
A waiver or postponement of physical education requirements may be granted if the student:

1. has a physical handicap or medical affliction, certified by university medical staff, that precludes participation in any physical education activity (the department is willing to adapt a physical education program to the individual needs of a student with a physical disability whenever possible), or

2. is committed to twenty hours or more of employment per week (the director of financial aid must issue the request for postponement, certifying the necessity for such employment obligations).

Permission for postponement of, or exemption from, the physical education requirements is issued only by the University Faculty Committee on Physical Education or the director of physical education. Final authority for interpreting and ruling on requests for exemption rests with the committee.     top

Transfer Students
Students who transfer to Cornell from another college or university will be awarded one term of physical education credit for each full term of academic transfer credit they are granted by Cornell. Transfer students entering Cornell as sophomores or juniors are not usually required to take physical education classes for credit. Each student should clarify his or her transfer status with the appropriate college office. Transfer students subject to the credit requirement must take the swim test before signing up for an elective.     top

Swimming Requirementming Requirement
The University Faculty Committee on Physical Education has established a basic swimming competency requirement for all entering freshman undergraduates. Women take the test in the Helen Newman pool and men in the Teagle pool as part of their fall orientation process. The test consists of entering the deep end of the pool with a feet-first jump and making a continuous seventy-five-yard swim using front, back, and optional strokes. Any student who cannot pass the swim test is required to include swimming in his or her program of physical education before choosing electives. Students who have not passed the swim test or fulfilled the requirement by satisfactory attendance in two terms of beginning swim classes will receive a grade of "incomplete" in physical education. Students unable to meet the swim requirement for medical, psychological, religious or other reasons acceptable to the University Faculty Committee on Physical Education will be required to take either Advanced First Aide or Wellness and Fitness as an alternative to the swimming requirement.    top

Course Fees
Information about fees for physical education courses is available at course registration and on our web site. Normally fees are billed through the bursar's office. Non-student participants in courses that charge fees usually must pay when they register. Only the person paying the fee will be allowed to use the participation time allotted by the fee. Payment may be waived for refund made only if:

1. The participant withdraws from the course during the designated two-week drop-add period (the withdrawal must be made at the physical education office in Teagle Hall, or at the drop-add location);

2. The participant fails to pass preliminary course requirements; or

3. The participant accumulates a significant number of medically excused absences from the course (the director or assistant director of the physical education program will make the decision in this situation).

All fees charged for the Greek Peak ski programs are subject to the regulations outlined in the respective program brochures and information. Please refer to the information sheet supplied by Greek Peak.     top

Credit
Physical Education credit is granted for

1. satisfactory completion of a course offered through the physical education program;

2. satisfactory participation on an intercollegiate team as a competitor or manager;

3. satisfactory participation in the marching band (fall term only ) and the cheerleading squad;

4. satisfactory participation in approved ROTC courses; or

5. satisfactory completion of a physical education course at a recognized institution provided that a written request to enroll is submitted to, and approved by the director of physical education at Cornell and a transcript of the in absentia credit is forwarded to the physical education office at Cornell. Students receive credit for only one course per term. If a student enrolls in more than one course per term, credit will be given only for the first course the student has enrolled in as recorded in the physical education office. A grade of incomplete received in a course taken for credit must be made up before the end of the following term.     top

Absences
Students enrolled for credit are allowed three absences without penalty in each twelve-week course. Proportional adjustments will be established by the instructor for courses that meet for more than forty-five minutes at each session or that meet over a period of less than twelve weeks. Each absence because of illness or medical problems exceeding the three absences allowed must be made up. All medical problems and illnesses that cause absence from classes must be reported to the Gannett Health Center at the time of occurrence. A maximum of eight illness-related absences will be allowed per term before a medical postponement is imposed.

Students enrolled for credit in the Greek Peak ski program will be permitted to make up only one absence; six attendances are required to receive credit for the program. The allowable absence must have been made up by the program's ending date.     top

Elective Enrollment
Elective (noncredit) enrollment is allowed and encouraged. A maximum of five absences is allowed per twenty-four class sessions. Penalty for noncompliance is a $20 fee. Faculty, staff, their spouses, and their college-age dependents are welcome to participate in the physical education program. A general registration fee of $50 is charged for all courses that do not list additional course fees. Fees must be paid by check at the time of course registration.     top

Waiver of Requirements     Transfer Students     Swimming Requirement
Course Fees     Credit     Absences     Elective Enrollment     HOME