The Quick Reference guide may provide answers to some of the more common questions about academic regulations. However, the user is directed to read the official regulations for full details. Advising is required at Missouri S&T and forms available in the Office of the Registrar direct as to the required signatures. Deadlines for the 8-week summer terms are one-half the time intervals of 16-week semesters referenced in the following descriptions.
Absences: Administration of attendance policy lies with the individual instructor for each course. The individual instructor determines the number and nature of absences allowable in each course. Instructors should be sensitive to extraordinary requests from students about absences, such as religious observances, military duty, jury duty, medical, and other similar events. Students are responsible for providing proof of needed absence from the appropriate authority. Instructors make the ultimate decision; however, students have the power to appeal to the department chair or dean. Sanctions may be imposed for excessive absences up to and including dismissal from the course. If the instructor intends to attach a formal sanction (grade reduction or dismissal from the course) to inadequate attendance, they must include in the course syllabus the specific expectations and steps to be taken in such cases. Such steps will include 2 academic alerts initiated in time to provide due warning before the absence which will give rise to the drop.
Academic Forgiveness Policy: Missouri S&T has an academic forgiveness policy to enable those students who did not perform adequately in their undergraduate enrollment at Missouri S&T to be given a second chance to pursue their undergraduate academic goals. Students returning to Missouri S&T to pursue an undergraduate degree after an extended absence may request permission to remove one or more complete academic terms from future degree and GPA considerations. Academic forgiveness is a policy of Missouri S&T and as such may not be recognized by outside institutions or agencies.
Academic Notice: A student is placed on academic notice if their current semester or cumulative GPA is less than 2. If the cumulative GPA is less than 2.000 and the current semester GPA is above 2.200, the student will not be placed on notice. A student on notice is restricted to 13 credit hours and may not hold office in any organization.
Adding Course(s): Instructor approval is required for adding courses. Students are normally not allowed to add courses after the second week of the semester (first week of an eight-week summer session). Students may petition to have this rule waived, but must receive an endorsement from the chair of the teaching department, in addition to the course instructor.
Audit Courses: See Hearer Status.
Deficiency-Scholastic: A student is considered to be scholastically deficient if they have two or more semesters of scholastic probation. Also, the student is immediately considered scholastically deficient at the end of any semester in which they have one or more "U" or "F" grade and no grade higher than a "D". The student’s records will be referred to their academic department for a decision on continued enrollment at Missouri S&T, with the results forwarded to the student by the Office of the Registrar. Students can appeal denied enrollment by the department to the S&T Advising Office. Students that have preregistered and paid fees will be allowed to keep their schedule, with appropriate modifications, if readmitted to the University.
Degree Residency Requirements: Undergraduate students are required to complete the last 60 credit hours in residency at Missouri S&T. Academic departments can approve waivers of up to 15 credit hours. Further exceptions must have the approval of both the department and the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education. All approvals must be on file in the Office of the Registrar prior to graduation.
Directory Information: Student directories are published each fall. Students that wish to restrict their name from appearing in such directories must notify the Office of the Registrar within the first two weeks of class.
Dropping Course(s): No courses can be dropped in the last three weeks of class or during finals week for an 8-week session. See dates and deadlines for further dates on short sessions. No transcript record is made if the course is dropped within the first six weeks; a "WD" is posted on the transcript if dropped after six weeks.
Six-Thousand Level Courses: Undergraduates are not permitted to register for 6000-level courses unless their cumulative GPA is 3.500 or better or if the student is enrolled in the honors program.
Grades: Undergraduate grades are: A, B, C, D and F. Delay grades are permitted for undergraduate research numbered 3099 or 4099. "S" and "U" grades are permitted only for orientation courses, special problems, special reading, seminars, research, independent study courses (numbered 1000, 3000, 4000, 4010 and 4099) and pass/fail courses. “Y” grade represents no grade available. Undergraduate students cannot repeat courses in which they have received a grade of “C” or better, unless the course is a “repeatable course” such as special problems, seminars, undergraduate research, etc.
Grade Appeal: Only students who allege they were subjected to capricious grading may use the grade appeal procedure. It is not to be used to review the judgment of instructors in assessing the quality of students' work or for questioning the stated grading criteria by the instructor.
Hearer Status: Students are required to pay full fees for classes in which they register as a “hearer.” None of the work will be graded and the student is not entitled to credit in the course. The student is required to attend class and may receive a “WD” grade if attendance is not to the satisfaction of the instructor of the class. The course credit will be included in all certifications of enrollment. Hearer status must be declared prior to the end of the first 6-weeks of class.
Honors at Graduation: Honors at graduation are printed in the commencement program and shown on the student’s diploma. Honors are based on the University of Missouri cumulative GPA are:
- Summa Cum Laude — 3.800 or better
- Magna Cum Laude — 3.500 to 3.799
- Cum Laude — 3.200 to 3.499.
Incomplete Grades: Incomplete grades are only to be used to assist the student in completing the course in the case of illnesses or unavoidable absence in the last 3 weeks of class and during finals week. Students must complete the work in which they are deficient within one calendar year from the close of the semester in which the “I” grade was recorded. Incomplete grades that are not removed within one calendar year will be changed to an "F" grade by the Office of the Registrar.
Late Registration: Students registering after the period designated for that purpose will be charged a late fee equal to one undergraduate credit hour.
Major Changes: Undergraduate students requesting to change majors (degree programs) should fill out an application with the Office of the Registrar. Graduate students should make an application with the Admissions Office. Records will be forwarded to the receiving department for approval.
Maximum Schedules: The normal maximum schedule is 19 credit hours per semester for undergraduate students. Additional hours can be taken according to the following schedule:
- 1 extra hour if cumulative GPA is 2.500 or above
- 2 extra hours if cumulative is 2.750 or above
- 3 extra hours if cumulative is 3.150 or above
Additional hours require approval of the student’s department chair.
Pass/Fail Course(s): Grading options cannot be changed after the end of second week of class. "S" and "U" grades are used for pass/fail courses and are not used in GPA calculations. Only one pass/fail course per semester is permitted. Degree requirements specified by discipline cannot be taken pass/fail. Graduate students cannot take courses pass/fail. See departmental policy for other possible restrictions.
Repeated Course(s): If a course is repeated, the last grade will be used in determining satisfaction of degree requirements. Undergraduate students cannot repeat courses in which they previously received a grade of “C” or better.
Repeat Course GPA Adjustment: Missouri S&T coursework repeated Fall of 2001 or later, when a grade of “D” or “F” is received in a Missouri S&T course, the grade may be replaced in the calculation of the GPA if the course is repeated at Missouri S&T. No more than 15 semester hours will be dropped from the calculation of the student’s GPA and a repeated course may only be used to replace one previous grade in that same course in the GPA calculation in which the student is registered. Grades of “I”, “W”, “HR” or “Pass/Fail” will not replace the previous grade. Course must have the same subject and catalog number. All grades earned will appear on the student’s transcript. A statement of the repeat policy will be included on the transcript to explain the calculation of the GPA. After repeating a course, the student must submit a Repeat Course GPA Adjustment form to the Registrar’s Office to have the GPA changed. The new grade will replace the old grade in all GPA calculations in which the previous grade was used, with the exception of the UM GPA used for calculation of graduation honors. If a student does not submit the Repeat Course GPA Adjustment, both grades will be used in GPA calculations. The scholastic standing of a student for a past semester will not be changed as a result of repeating a course. This policy applies to undergraduate students only and may not be applied once the student has graduated.
Transfer Credit Policy: Missouri S&T accepts college-level (not remedial) course credits. All grades, quality points and credit hours are transferred and computed in the cumulative GPA. Grades not included in the transfer institution’s GPA due to a repeat or forgiveness policy may be removed from the Missouri S&T cumulative GPA upon verification to the Registrar’s Office. No more than 15 semester transfer hours will be dropped from the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA.
College level (not remedial) course credit earned while enrolled in high school (dual- credit) shall follow the same policy as transfer credit.
Undergraduate Grade Point Averages: Students earning a degree from Missouri S&T must have a GPA of at least 2.000 in courses taken at Missouri S&T and an overall cumulative GPA in all courses of 2.000. Students in engineering departments also have a GPA requirement in their major field of study of 2.000. All courses and grades from other institutions are shown on the Missouri S&T transcript and used in the calculation of the cumulative GPA.
Undergraduate Honor Roll: Students completing at least 12 credit hours with all passing grades and a semester GPA of at least 3.200 are placed on the semester honor roll.
Withdrawals: If a student leaves school without officially withdrawing, they will still be considered enrolled in all courses in which they are registered. Withdrawals cannot be made in the last 3 weeks of the semester or during final exam week. Special rules apply to students who are called to active military service. The withdrawal process begins in the Office of the Registrar.
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