CORNELL PHYSICAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
Waiver
of Requirements Transfer
Students Swimming Requirement
Course Fees Credit
Absences Elective
Enrollment HOME
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,adaptation or postponement of physical education requirements may be
granted if the student:
1. Has a physical
handicap or medical affliction, certified by a competent medical authority,
which precludes participation in any physical education activity. The department
will adapt a physical education program and/or the swim test to the individual
needs of a student with a physical disability whenever possible. The department
offers a wide array of alternative classes where the level of physical activity
is less strenuous than most of the classes. A meeting with one of the professional
Physical Education staff members is required before any waiver,adaptation or
postponement will be considered.
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. A waiver request would only be
accepted for the term in which the student is employed 20+ hours per week. The
PE requirement must still be fulfilled in another term in which the student
is employed less than 20 hours per week.
Permission for postponement of, or exemption from, the physical education requirement 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.
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.
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Swimming
Requirementming Requirement
The University Faculty Committee on Physical Education has established a basic
swimming competency requirement for all entering freshman undergraduates.
The test is normally taken 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.
If a student does not pass the swim test in his/her first Beginning Swimming
PE class, then the student must take a second Beginning Swimming PE class. Successful
completion of two Beginning Swimming classes (based on attendance requirements)
with the instructor's recommendation will fulfill the University's swim test
requirement.
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 the Certified First Responder
or Wellness and Fitness Physical Education class as an alternative to
the swimming requirement. A meeting with the Director of Physical Education,
documentation of the condition and a waiver request are required for the University
to consider an alternative to or adaptation of the swim test. There are also
some exceptions for transfer students. 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 );
4. satisfactory participation in approved ROTC courses; or
5. satisfactory
completion of a physical education course, previously approved at a recognized
institution. A written request to enroll must be submitted to, and approved
by the Director of Physical Education at Cornell. Also, a transcript of
the in-absentia credit must be 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.
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Absences
Students enrolled for credit are allowed four absences without penalty
in each twelve-week course meeting twenty four times per semester. 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 four 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 through the Physical
Education Office (visit the PE Office in order to do this.).
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
Waiver
of Requirements Transfer
Students Swimming Requirement
Course Fees Credit
Absences Elective
Enrollment HOME