Grading and General Information
Academic Advising
The Supplemental Academic Advising Center (S.A.A.C.) is a service
available through the Office of Enrollment Planning and Academic
Services. Its purpose is to serve freshmen who are either undecided
about a major or who need a little extra assistance. The Program
additionally serves students admitted at Level 1 and those admitted
under an admissions contract. The Center attempts to contact incoming
freshmen to provide them with academic advising services. Incoming
freshmen who have not been contacted by the S.A.A.C. or by an academic
department about academic advising are welcome to contact the Center at
(208) 236-3277 for advising or referral. It is located in Room 316 of
the Administration Building.
Some departments assign advisors to incoming freshmen. Other students
are assigned to the S.A.A.C. If students are unsure about whether an
advisor has been assigned to them, contact the S.A.A.C. for information.
Indication of Intent to Major
Each degree-seeking student admitted to Idaho State University will
indicate an intent to major in a subject field in which a degree is
offered by the university. As a part of the admissions process, the
student will select from a coded list of majors the one which most
appropriately applies to his/her educational goal. If a student intends
to pursue a double major or to seek two degrees, the student will select
both of the codes for the two majors or for the two degrees. The major
code (or codes) will be entered by the Admissions Office on the
student's record. The student will be considered a pre-major in the
field selected. A student may elect to change an intent to major by
notifying the college coordinator of the new major code to be entered on
his/her record.
Non-Degree Seeking Status
Each non-degree-seeking student admitted to Idaho State University will
declare himself/herself by selecting the code for this
non-degree-seeking status. This code will be entered by the Admissions
Office on the student's record. The student may change his/her status to
that of a degree-seeking student by notifying the Office of Admissions.
A maximum of 32 credits may be earned under this classification.
Application for Status as a Major in a Field of Study
When a degree-seeking student has completed the prerequisites for
majoring in a field of study, the student should apply to the
appropriate department or college for admission to status as a major and
be accepted as a major by the department or college no later than the
time at which s/he has acquired 90 semester credits. Failure to do so
will block subsequent registration as a degree-seeking student. No
student may graduate from the university without having been accepted as
a major by the appropriate department or college.
The student will initiate the application for status as a major by
filing an application form with the appropriate department or college. A
student who is pursuing a double major or a double degree must apply to
both of the appropriate departments or colleges.
A student may change his/her status as a major by applying to and being
accepted into the appropriate department or college for the new major.
Withdrawal Procedures
Before the Withdrawal Deadline:
Students may withdraw from a class or from the university. To initiate a
withdrawal from a class, a student must obtain a drop/add card from the
Office of Registration and Records.
To withdraw from the university, the student must obtain a withdrawal
permit from the Office of Registration and Records and obtain all
appropriate signatures.
After the Withdrawal Deadline:
Students may withdraw from individual classes for medical or hardship
reasons only. Hardship withdrawals are handled by the student's academic
dean. The procedure is the same as the petitioning process for
considering extraordinary curricular or admissions problems. Students
withdrawing must do so prior to the beginning of closed week each
semester.
Medical Withdrawals
Medical withdrawal because of illness or disability is initiated through
the Medical Director of the Student Health Services. In addition to an
interview with the Medical Director, the individual requesting
withdrawal is required to present a written summary of the problem as
well as documentation such as a letter from the attending physician
describing the problem or a hospital discharge summary. The request for
a medical withdrawal and supporting information is then considered by
the Medical Director and/or University Medical Withdrawal Committee
which may grant or deny the request.
Medical Readmission
Students who have withdrawn for medical reasons may be requested to
petition the Medical Withdrawal Committee for readmission. Readmission
is based upon consideration of: (1) reports of treatment, (2) letters of
recommendation, and (3) personal interview by the Medical Director.
Mandatory Medical Withdrawal
In those instances in which, for medical or psychological reasons, a
student's behavior is disruptive of the institutional purpose or
environment, or a threat to the well-being of himself/herself or others,
the student may, after due process, be mandatorily withdrawn from the
university as outlined in the Student Handbook.
Credit or Credit Hour
This term, sometimes referred to as semester credit or semester hour, is
a unit of academic work. One credit is defined to require fifty minutes
in class each week for one semester (or the equivalent).
One semester credit hour in academic courses requires (1) fifty minutes
in class each week for one semester (which assumes approximately twice
this amount of time in study and preparation outside the classroom), or
(2) approximately two and one-half hours in laboratory each week for a
semester, or (3) equivalent combinations of (1) and (2). For purposes of
equivalency calculations a semester is assumed to be sixteen weeks.
Short term courses of one week (five days) or more require time in
class, laboratory, and preparation equivalent to the above for a total
of 40 clock hours per credit.
Number of Credits
Students may enroll for up to 18 credits a semester. However, they may
enroll for a larger number with permission of the dean. To be eligible
for participation in student activities, a student must be enrolled for
at least 8 credits.
Course Grades
A five-letter grading system is used to describe the instructor's
evaluation of a student's performance in each course:
A - excellent performance
B - good performance
C - adequate performance
D - marginal performance
F - unacceptable performance
Credits for courses in which an A, B, or C grade is earned are always
acceptable toward graduation. Credits for courses in which a D grade is
earned are acceptable towards graduation unless specifically excluded
for a particular course or degree. No credits are awarded for any course
in which an F grade is earned. At the beginning of each course, the
instructor should inform students of the criteria to be used in judging
their performance.
Other grading symbols used are: I-incomplete; IP-thesis work "in
progress"; W-withdrawal after the close of the registration period;
P-NP-the pass-no pass option; and S-U-satisfactory/unsatisfactory
performance. Each of these grades has special conditions which are
described below.
Incomplete Grades
An incomplete grade, I, may be awarded at midterm or semester end. At
midterm, an I indicates the student, through illness or other excusable
absence, has missed so much work the instructor cannot assign a regular
grade. An incomplete grade may be given at the end of the semester only
when a student has satisfactory performance to within three weeks of the
end-of-semester examination period. An incomplete grade at mid-semester
is not the final grade. It may not be awarded for withdrawal from the
university unless the withdrawal is within the above three-week period.
If an I grade is given, the instructor must send the student and the
dean of the college in which the student is a major a written statement
describing what the student must do to remove the incomplete. A specific
deadline for completion of the course work should be negotiated between
the student and instructor. In no case may the deadline exceed six
years. At the end of the negotiated period, the instructor will request
that the registrar convert the I to the grade earned. An I not removed
after six years will automatically become an F or U grade which cannot
be improved without repeating the entire course. If, during that
six-year period, a student applies to graduate or to transfer credits to
another university, an unremoved I will be converted to an F or U grade.
Withdrawal Grades
A student may withdraw from a course in the first ten days of a semester
and no transcript entry will reflect his/her ever having been in the
course. From the end of the registration period to the end of the
withdrawal period, a student may withdraw at his/her option. After the
withdrawal period, a student may withdraw from individual courses only
by the procedure described in the preceding sections which discuss
withdrawal procedures. In both cases above, a W grade will be recorded.
If a student simply ceases to attend without formally withdrawing from
the university, an F grade will be recorded for each affected class. A
student may be withdrawn from a course or receive a reduced grade
resulting from disruptive classroom behavior.
In-Progress Grades
The number of credits awarded for a graduate thesis and other courses
varies from department to department, and students frequently spread the
registration for those credits over several semesters.
An IP grade to indicate work in progress is automatically recorded for
such credits until the entire thesis or other approved coursework is
approved by the student's thesis committee or course instructor. At that
time, the committee or instructor will request that the registrar
convert the IP to the grade earned.
Pass/No-Pass Grades
P/NP grades are given in courses taken under the pass/no-pass option.
This option is offered as an inducement for students to take courses
outside their major curriculum. The following restrictions apply: the
option is available only to undergraduate students; the option must be
declared at the original registration of classes, not later; credits
earned under the option will not satisfy specific graduation
requirements except that they may be counted towards total credits
required; students taking a course under this option must comply with
the established prerequisite or obtain the permission of the instructor;
students may not register for more than one P/NP course per semester.
Instructors will report ordinary letter grades on the grade list. The
Office of Registration and Records will affix to the student's
transcript a P for letter grades A, B, C, or D, or an NP for a letter
grade of F. The P or NP may be changed on the transcript to the original
letter grade only on the approval of the student's college scholarship
requirements committee. The intent of this provision is to accommodate
students who declare majors which require one or more courses previously
completed on the P/NP option.
No credits are awarded for any course in which an NP grade is earned.
Departments must designate in the class schedule those courses offered
for P/NP option.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
S/U grades are awarded in such courses as religion, student teaching and
special projects to which the regular performance grades are not
applicable. The use of S/U grades must be specifically approved by the
University Curriculum Committee. All students in such courses are graded
either S or U. There is no method for incorporating these grades into a
student's grade point average. No credits are awarded in any course for
which a U grade is earned.
Auditors
An auditor is a person who is permitted to attend a course without
participating in the discussions or submitting work for a grade.
Permission to audit must be attained for all classes not listed for
audit in the class schedule. Such permission is given by the instructor
and academic dean. This request will be made by petition. Students must
then make payment of an auditor's fee. The fee is waived in the case of
regularly enrolled students. The audit fee is the same as for part-time
credit hours. Attendance as an auditor does not entitle one to credit or
admission to examination. Auditor privileges are extended in the cases
of activity or laboratory courses only by university petition.
If, in the judgment of the instructor, an auditor has not attended
sufficiently, the audit will not be recorded on the student's
transcript.
Grade Point Average
Numerical grade points for each course credit are assigned as 4 for an
A, 3 for a B, 2 for a C, 1 for a D. No grade points are assigned for any
other letter grades.
A grade point average (GPA) is computed each semester by dividing the
sum of the products of grade points and credits for each course by the
sum of the credits for the courses. Only course grades of A, B, C, D, or
F are included in this computation.
An accumulated grade point average (Accum. GPA) is computed by the same
process, but the student's entire record, including transfer credits, is
covered by the computation.
Courses in which an F grade is earned must be repeated if that course is
required for graduation. Courses in which a D grade is earned must be
repeated if the major department so requires. Also, a student may elect
to repeat a course provided he/she has not completed a course for which
that course was prerequisite. If a course is repeated, the latest grade
is used in computing grade point average.
Grades for Transfer Courses
When students transfer credit to Idaho State University, the university
reserves the right to reclassify credit designated as correspondence,
extension, credit by examination and repeated credit according to its
own policy governing the acceptance and limitations of such credit.
Grades transferred from other institutions will be converted to the
equivalent grades at Idaho State University by the registrar. Where
there is a question as to whether transferred courses satisfy specific
departmental requirements, the head of the department concerned will
make the interpretation.
Transfer students may be required to repeat transfer courses in which a
grade equivalent to a D or F was received.
Midterm Grades
Only D, F, U, NP, or I grades are reported at midterm. Students
receiving such grades will be notified by mail. Those grades are not
recorded on the student's transcript and are not used in grade point
average computations.
Examinations
Regular final examinations are held during an examination period at the
end of the semester in accordance with a schedule published by the
registrar. They shall not be rescheduled outside of the period, nor to a
different time within it except by permission of the counsel of Academic
Deans. No examination shall be longer than the scheduled time.
Special examinations may be arranged for individual students within the
examination period. Except in the case of sickness or other unavoidable
cause, the student is required to pay a fee of $5 to the Business Office
to take a special final examination.
A student who is absent from a regular final examination without valid
excuse receives an F. If the excuse is valid and the work of the
semester is satisfactory, the student receives an incomplete, which may
be removed by taking a special final examination.
Closed/Final Week Policy
Any final examination must be conducted during the officially scheduled
time slot except in laboratory courses or sections where the final
examination may be conducted during the last regularly scheduled class
session. Any exception to this policy may be allowed only on an
individual student basis, to be arranged between the professor and the
student.
Other required tests or quizzes on which the professor bases any part of
the course grade are prohibited during the 7 calendar days immediately
preceding the first day of final examinations week except in performance
sections, night classes, 8-week courses, and summer sessions.
Graduate-level courses and activities are exempt from this closed week
and final exam policy.
Academic Study Day Policy
The University annual calendar includes two academic study days each
semester. The academic study days are scheduled during the two calendar
days directly following Closed Week and directly preceding Final
Examination Week. When the last two calendar days directly following
Closed Week fall on Saturday, Sunday, or both, those days will be
designated as academic study days. No undergraduate classes are held
during academic study days. For academic study days falling on Monday
through Friday, faculty will schedule office hours.
Scholastic Probation and Dismissal
At the end of any semester or summer session, undergraduate students may
be placed on probation if the accumulative ISU grade point average does
not meet the minimum requirement as stated in the scholastic probation
scale.
Scholastic Probation Scale
Credits Attempted Minimum ISU
(Including Transfer Accumulative
Credits ) GPA
1 through 6 1.00
7 through 32 1.60
33 through 64 1.80
65 and up 2.00
Students on scholastic probation who attain a GPA of 2.0 or higher
during the next or subsequent semester after being placed on probation,
but whose accumulative GPA is still below the minimum required for their
rank, remain on academic probation.
Students on scholastic probation who attain an accumulative GPA higher
than the minimum required on the scholastic probation scale are
automatically removed from probation.
A student on probation will be dismissed at the end of any probationary
semester or summer session in which the student obtains a GPA of less
than 2.0 unless the grades earned in that semester or summer session are
sufficient to take the student off probation. Students will be notified
at mid-semester as to whether they are doing D or F work in any class.
The students' advisors will also receive this information so they may
work with the students to try to prevent probationary status. (Refer to
Academic Dismissal and Reinstatement under Petitions, below.)
A student who has been academically dismissed under scholastic probation
rules may not take any course for credit at Idaho State University. Such
a student is allowed to audit courses with approval of the instructor
and academic dean. This request shall be made by petition.
Graduation, Progression, and Probation Requirements for Students in the
School of Applied Technology. See the School of Applied Technology
section of this catalog.
Petitions
A student may petition to the appropriate college dean or committee for
consideration of problems of curricula or admission which are not
covered by stated procedures. Curricular petitions must: 1) include a
recommendation from the student's advisor, 2) a recommendation by the
chair of the department offering courses in the subject field or by a
special committee overseeing the requirement, and 3) catalog copy of
descriptions of courses transferred from other institutions if the
course is to be considered in a test of course equivalency. All copies
of the petition are to be advanced to the Registrar's Office for action
after all signatures are affixed. Decisions may require several weeks,
and notice of the result will be mailed to the student. A student may
petition:
1. Deletion of Idaho State University grades from computation in the
grade point average (GPA) under the conditions which follow:
a. When a student changes to a radically different curriculum, lower
division courses which are not required in nor appropriate to the new
curriculum may be eliminated from computation of grade point averages
for the purpose of determining probation or graduation at the
discretion of the dean who has responsibility for the new curriculum.
b. Elimination of computation of courses from grade point average by
petition also results in the elimination of the corresponding course
credits.
c. This adjustment will not be made until the conclusion of one
semester in the new curriculum.
d. Courses that satisfy any general education requirements in the
university cannot be removed from GPA computation, even if alternate
courses meeting the requirement have been taken.
2. Academic dismissal and reinstatement.
Students will be notified at
mid-semester as to whether they are doing D or F work in any class. The
students' advisors will also receive this information so they may work
with the students to try to prevent probationary status.
Following dismissal, under the scholastic probation ruling, a student on
first dismissal may be reinstated after a one-semester layout by
petitioning the college dean. A student on second dismissal may be
reinstated after a one-year layout by petitioning the college dean. No
more than two reinstatements will be permitted. A third dismissal is
final. Students seeking reinstatement prior to expiration of the
mandatory layout period may petition their Dean. The summer session does
not qualify for a semester layout.
3. Substitution of departmental requirements.
A student may petition to
substitute courses in lieu of departmental requirements. The course or
courses the student wishes to substitute must be approved by the
departmental chairperson.
4. Substitution of the general education requirements.
A student who
transfers from another institution may petition to have courses with
similar content but different titles than those offered at ISU
substituted for courses listed in the general education requirements.
Petitions must be approved by the department chairperson of the
discipline in which the course being petitioned is offered.
5. General education requirements deficiencies.
A transfer student may
petition to waive a maximum of one credit hour in the area of
humanities, social science, or natural science to fulfill the general
education requirements. This normally pertains to students transferring
to Idaho State from an institution which uses the quarter system rather
than the semester system.
6. Pass-No-Pass option.
A student may petition to have a P or NP
converted to a letter grade. The petition must contain the grade
assigned in the class and must be signed by the class instructor.
(See Section on Pass-No Pass Grades.)
Class Rating
Sophomore. To be rated a sophomore, a student must have 26 hours credit.
Junior. To be rated a junior, a student must have 58 hours credit.
Senior. To be rated a senior, a student must have 90 hours.
The classification under which a student registers at the beginning of
the academic year will continue through the year.
Course Numbering System
Courses numbered 1-99 do not carry academic credit. Courses numbered
100-199 and 200-299 are lower division courses for freshmen and
sophomores, respectively.
Courses numbered 300-399 and 400-499 are upper division courses for
juniors and seniors, respectively. Courses above 300 are open without
restrictions, except specific prerequisites, to students who have
completed 58 credits. Other students may take such courses on approval
of the instructor, advisor, and dean. No one, juniors and seniors
included, may take any upper division course if the basic requirements
in English have not been completed or if high school deficiencies have
not been removed.
Courses prefixed by a "g" may be taken by students in the graduate
school for graduate credit. In such cases additional work will be
required. Graduate students should register for such courses under a 500
number, e.g. ART g441, Painting and Composition, would be indicated as
ART 541. Courses numbered 600 and above are open only to graduate
students. Courses with odd numbers usually are given the first semester;
those with even numbers, the second semester. Courses numbered 101-102,
etc., continue through the year. A course covering the same subject
matter in either semester has an odd number.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all meetings or classes in which they
are registered. Each instructor may, consistent with departmental
policy, establish such specific regulations governing attendance as may
seem suited to a particular course. No one is authorized to excuse a
student from a class meeting except the instructor in charge of the
class.
No student may be absent from the campus in connection with
extracurricular activities more than sixteen college instructional days
per semester. No one extracurricular activity may take students away
from the campus more than twelve college instructional days.
Student Outcomes Assessment
All undergraduate academic programs at four year public institutions in
Idaho are required to assess student learning in the major and general
education programs. Similar requirements for assessment also appear in
the new guidelines issued by the Northwest Association of Schools and
Colleges which provides ISU's institution-wide accreditation.
Idaho State University's goal is to encourage students to develop
abilities and acquire knowledge that will be of lasting benefit in their
personal and professional lives. To ensure that this goal is met, a
program of student outcomes assessment has been implemented to improve
the teaching and learning process.
Comprehensive information that includes student performance and student
opinion is vital to the success of the assessment program. To provide
this information, undergraduate students in the academic division may be
required to participate in a variety of assessment activities which may
include formal and informal examinations, interviews, surveys and
follow-up studies after graduation.
Privacy Rights
In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974, Idaho State University has developed policy guidelines which (1)
provide that eligible students will have access to inspect and review
their educational records, and (2) protect the rights of a student to
privacy by limiting access to the educational record without express
written consent.