Student Information

Information for Interested Students

• Application and Registration

  Our new application and registration process began July 1, 2026.  OPDE's Fall registration closes on November 15, 2026.

  New students to the College of Charleston must first complete a Graduate School application. Once the application has been submitted, new students and returning students must complete course registration using the OPDE online form. Our office will process your registrations, and if necessary, will contact you with any questions we may have. Please reach out with any questions or concerns to: opde@cofc.edu

  Thank you for your patience and understanding as we update our application and registration systems!

  ↓ Scroll down for registration steps ↓

  Graduate Professional Development Registration Process

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  Please select one of the following two options:

  1. New Students - Complete the Graduate School application

  2. All students (returning and new) Complete the OPDE Registration form.

  Professional development courses do not follow the College's regular semester calendar. Registration generally closes during the first week of each course. Students should submit all required registration documents promptly. Please contact the Office of Professional Development in Education if you have questions about registration deadlines.

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  Professional Development Courses vs. Catalog Courses

  
  

  • Professional Development Course: Courses designated EDPD and offered through the College of Charleston's Office of Professional Development in Education. These courses are used to modernize instructional strategies and offer content enrichment opportunities. Credit earned through these courses does not count toward completion of a College of Charleston degree program. However, credit can count towards certificate renewal, a bachelor's degree plus 18 credit hours, and/or a master's degree plus 30 credit hours.
    
    
  • Catalog Course: Courses that have been approved as a part of a course of study in a College of Charleston graduate-level program. These courses are offered through a contract course arrangement and count toward a graduate degree in a specific discipline area (Examples include M.A.T. and M.Ed. programs). They are awarded graduate credit, reviewed, and accepted by the specific discipline/curriculum involved.

   

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• Enrollment Verification

  Section 17 of the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act (H. 4400, Act 280 of 2008), enacted June 4, 2008, requires South Carolina public colleges and universities to verify the lawful presence in the United States of their students. To attend a public college or university in the state, a student must be a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully present in the United States.

  Students are required to provide proof of lawful presence in the United States before being allowed to enroll or continue enrollment at the College. The Board of Trustees of the College of Charleston has approved a verification process to comply with the law.

  “You must provide a legible copy of your South Carolina driver’s license or identification card if it was issued after January 1, 2002. The College may verify the validity of the license with the SC Department of Motor Vehicles ". If you do not have a South Carolina driver’s license or identification, you must request that a certified original Birth Certificate issued by the Bureau of Vital Statistics indicating you were born in the United States or a territory of the United States, with your given name and surname, date and place of birth, date the birth record was filed, and the seal or other certification of the official custodian of the certificate be sent to Earline White,  School of Education, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC  29424.

  Please note that the certificate will be retained by the College and photocopies are unacceptable. If the name has changed since birth, the applicant must present all legal documents (i.e., adoption records, marriage certificate, certificate of naturalization, court-ordered name change) supporting all name changes from the name which appears on the document presented as proof of lawful presence in the United States.

• Course Withdrawal Policy

  Students who register for a professional development course but wish to discontinue must withdraw from the course formally. Withdrawing students must complete the withdrawal before the first 40% of the class meetings have been held.

  Students who wish to withdraw after this period must formally request a late withdrawal using the late withdrawal form. The grade of “W” may not be awarded after this date except by special permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies, and only in those cases when continued enrollment in the course would be detrimental to the student’s health or has been made impossible by circumstances beyond the student’s control.

• Course Refund Policy

  Because the Office of Professional Development does not adhere to the exact dates of the normal College schedule (course initiators may begin and end courses to suit the needs of their districts), payments and refunds are based on when the course actually begins.

  • A full refund will be given if notice is given prior to the beginning of the first class session.
  • An 85% refund will be given if withdrawing during the first week of class.
  • No refund will be given if withdrawing after the first week of class.
• Missing Information

  Students who complete and submit a pre-registration form no later than the first week of classes but who fail to provide adequate information regarding their undergraduate degree (transcript or teaching certificate), driver's license, or who have an outstanding bill at the College, will receive written notification from the Office of Professional Development requesting the missing information. The last statement on the notification will detail the consequence of not providing the missing information in a timely manner with a statement such as the following:

  "You must resolve the issue(s) stated above, within two weeks of the date of this letter and before the end of the course, whichever comes first. If extenuating circumstances require an extension, you must submit a written request for an extension to the Office of Professional Development within two weeks and before the end of the course. Please understand that by not attending to this matter you will not be able to receive credit for the work you are doing in the course."

  To be enrolled, the applicant must provide the missing information and/or remove the billing hold within two weeks of the date of the notification, and before the end of the course. If extenuating circumstances require an extension, the applicant must submit a written request for an extension to the Office of Professional Development within two weeks and before the end of the course.

• Office Additions to Grade Rolls

  Once a course is completed a request to the Director of Professional Development to add a student to a grade roll will not be approved by the Director and subsequently the Dean of Graduate Studies unless accompanied by appropriate documentation. This documentation must show that an error was made either at the point of registration or at the College of Charleston which resulted in the student not being enrolled in the class. It is anticipated that instructors will check their class rolls early in the life of the class in order to determine and correct such errors.

• Attendance & Incomplete Grades

  Attendance

  For a grade to be awarded, students must attend at least 85% of the class hours. Students may be withdrawn by the instructor for absences that exceed this limit. This is the College of Charleston's School of Education's attendance policy.

  Incomplete Grade

  The grade of "I" indicates that only a small part of the semester's work remains to be done, that the student is otherwise doing satisfactory work in the course, and that an extension of time is warranted to complete the work. The grade of "I" also signifies that an agreement has been established between professor and student as to the quantity of work remaining to be done, the deadlines established for its completion, and a schedule of meeting times. This agreement must be made in writing with the instructor and student and program director having a copy. All work for completion of the course requirements must be submitted by the end of exams in the next major term (Fall or Spring). If the student does not complete the work within the prescribed time period, the "I" is changed to an "F".

  A grade of incomplete “I” must be accompanied by a Course Completion Form. Students have one major semester to complete an “I”. A copy of the Course Completion Form must be mailed to the Office of Professional Development.

  Course Completion Form