General Policies
Academic Year
The academic year consists of two semesters — August through December and January through May — and a summer session in June and July.
Semester Hour
A semester hour consists of one class period per week in a subject for one semester, with the exception of laboratories, practicums, or physical education activity classes in which two periods per week equals a semester hour. In the summer session, the period of class contact per semester hour is doubled. It is the University’s policy that each semester hour represents sixteen faculty-student contact periods per term, or thirty-two hours of regularly scheduled laboratory or other formal course activity per term.
Course Numbering System
Courses are numbered to indicate the degree of advancement. In general, courses numbered lowest are those which should be completed first. Zero-level courses (e.g., MATH 0123) are remedial and do not count as college credit hours in meeting academic or degree requirements. Courses with numbers in the 1000 and 2000 series are lower-division and designed for freshman and sophomore students. Courses in the 3000 and 4000 series are upper-division level to be taken by junior and senior students. Courses numbered in the 5000 series are for graduate students only.
The last digit of the course number indicates the number of semester credit hours awarded for course completion. For example, ENG 1113 is a three-hour course; THTR 3432 is a two-hour course.
Student Classification
Students are classified according to their earned college-level credits as follows:
| Classification | Earned Semester Hours |
|---|---|
| Freshman | 0–29 semester hours |
| Sophomore | 30–59 semester hours |
| Junior | 60–89 semester hours |
| Senior | 90 semester hours and above |
Academic Load
A regular undergraduate student is classified as full-time if enrolled in twelve (12) or more hours. A summer term undergraduate student is classified as full-time if enrolled in six (6) or more hours.
The maximum load that an undergraduate student will normally be permitted to carry is 18 hours per semester. Students attaining a retention/graduation grade-point average of at least 3.0 and having completed a minimum of 15 semester hours will be permitted to carry up to a maximum of 21 hours during the next semester. Verification that the above criteria have been satisfied will be provided by the Office of the Registrar.
During the summer session, nine hours of work is the normal maximum load. Twelve hours may be taken provided the student has attained an overall grade-point average of 3.0 and has completed a minimum of 15 semester hours. A maximum of 9 hours may be taken in any 7-week term within the semester.
Permission of the Department Chair of the student’s major will be required for overload requests of 19 to 21 hours in a regular semester and 10 to 12 hours in a summer session with less than a 3.0 retention/graduation grade point average. All other overload situations must be approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Grades and Grade-Point Calculations
| Grade | Description | Grade Points per Semester Hour |
|---|---|---|
| A | Excellent | 4 |
| B | Good | 3 |
| C | Average | 2 |
| D | Below Average | 1 |
| F | Failure | 0 |
| P | Passed | GPA Neutral |
| NP | No Pass | GPA Neutral |
| S | Satisfactory | GPA Neutral — used for zero-level courses only |
| U | Unsatisfactory | GPA Neutral — used for zero-level courses only |
Other Grade Symbols
I — Incomplete: An incomplete may be used at the instructor’s discretion to indicate that additional work is necessary to complete a course. To receive an “I”, the student should have satisfactorily completed a substantial portion of the coursework for the semester but be unable to complete the remaining work due to extenuating circumstances. The “I” will become permanent within one year of the date of its posting. An “I” is GPA neutral.
AU — Audit: Audit status is used for the student not interested in obtaining a course grade, but who is enrolled simply to gain course information. Enrollment in a course under audit status requires permission of the academic department offering the course. The allowable time to change enrollment status from audit to credit or from credit to audit is within the first five class days of a regular semester and within the first three class days of the summer term. An “AU” is GPA neutral.
N — Grade Not Submitted: A grade of “N” is used to indicate that the semester grade was not submitted by the instructor by the appropriate deadline. The “N” must be replaced by the appropriate letter grade prior to the end of the subsequent semester. An “N” is GPA neutral.
W — Withdrawal: Withdrawals transacted during the first five days of a regular semester or during the first three days of a summer term will not be recorded on the student transcript. A “W” will be recorded on the transcript for all withdrawals occurring during the sixth day through the twelfth week in a regular semester or during the fourth day through sixth week in a summer session. No course withdrawals, including complete withdrawals, are permitted during the last two weeks of the term. These deadlines are for regularly scheduled, full-term courses. All other courses will have proportional withdrawal timelines. A “W” is GPA neutral.
AW — Administrative Withdrawal: An administrative withdrawal may be assigned by the Office of Academic Affairs to indicate that a student has been involuntarily withdrawn for disciplinary or financial reasons or for inadequate attendance. An “AW” is GPA neutral.
X — Thesis/Dissertation in Progress: Indicates that a graduate thesis or dissertation is in progress; will be subsequently replaced by an appropriate grade. An “X” is GPA neutral.