DePauw University Academic Policies I

		DePauw University Catalog Academic Policies

SECTION ONE

DePauw University's academic calendar consists of a fall semester, a Winter Term during the month of January and a spring semester. Degrees are awarded in May and December.

Credit

The unit of credit for standard semester-long classes is a course which is equivalent to four semester hour credits. Some classes carry 1/2 or 1/4 credit. Students generally enroll in four courses, although they may take from three to 4.5 courses in a semester.

Classification of Students

Students are classified under one of three groups: undergraduate, special or auditor.
Undergraduate students are candidates for degrees. The classification of students is determined by the amount of academic credit earned.

First-year--fewer than seven course credits
Sophomore--seven to 14.75 course credits
Junior--15 to 22.75 course credits
Senior--23 or more course credits

Special students are those not pursuing degree programs. Special students may take any subject for which they are eligible without regard to requirements for a degree.
Auditors are registrants who attend classes as listeners and do not receive credit or grades for their work. The instructor and student are to agree on the amount of participation required in order for the student to have the audit appear on the transcript. If the class is not completed to the instructor's satisfaction, the class will not be recorded for degree students. Special and audit students who do not complete the class will receive a W (withdraw) grade. There is no refund for withdrawal from an audit class after the adjustment period. Students enrolling in classes for credit have priority over audit students.

Course Numbering System

The course number is indicative of the minimum classification of students who should enroll in the class. Students with classification beyond the course number are also eligible to take the course.

001-099 Noncredit courses and physical education- activity classes
100-199 Introductory courses at the first-year level
200-299 Courses at the sophomore level
300-399 Courses at the junior level
400 Teaching Methods courses at the senior level (open to juniors by permission)
401-499 Courses at the senior level
500-599 Courses at the graduate level-not a part of the regular undergraduate curriculum
900-949 Group music lessons in the School of Music

Generally, odd numbers (101, 203, etc.) designate courses offered the first semester and even numbers (104, 306, etc.) are second semester courses. Hyphenated numbers (101-102) indicate that the course is sequential and offered throughout the year.

Grades

According to the grading system adopted by the faculty, the grades recorded when courses have been carried throughout the semester are:

A, A-: Achievement of exceptionally high merit
B+, B, B-: Achievement at a level superior to the basic level
C+, C, C-: Basic achievement
D+, D, D-: Minimum achievement that warrants credit
F : Failure: the achievement fails to meet course requirements. The student receives no credit.
I : Incomplete indicates that a student has not completed the requirements of the course. An I may not be given for failure to submit work on time because of inadequate planning or to extend time to improve a grade. There must be extenuating circumstances (such as illness or equipment failure in the case of laboratory classes).
When the student completes the work, a letter grade is recorded. However the I grade remains on the transcript. The student must complete the work within the first eight weeks of the following semester in which the student is enrolled at DePauw.
If the I is not completed within the time limit and the student has not been given an extension, the grade becomes an F. Students may not graduate with an incomplete grade on their record.

W : Withdrawal indicates that the student withdrew from a course before the end of the semester; no credit is given. A student may withdraw with a grade of W through the sixth week of classes of the semester. The Petitions Committee will approve withdrawals after the sixth week of classes only under extraordinary circumstances. A student must also have permission of the Petitions Committee to withdraw, when doing so means changing to a part-time status or not completing a competence course within the required time period.
In a case involving an allegation of academic dishonesty, the student in question may not withdraw. If, however, the case is resolved in the student's favor, the student may petition to withdraw from the course even after the close of the semester in which the course was taken.
L : Deferred (L) indicates that the final grade is deferred because evaluation is dependent upon work being done the succeeding semester. Permission to give an L in a course must be secured in advance from the Office of the Registrar. The L should be changed to a final grade as soon as the subsequent coursework makes it possible to determine the grade. It may be changed to any grade from A to F.

P-D-F : A Pass (P) grade indicates that the student has done C- work or better in accordance with grade standards of the class. Pass-Fail courses are not counted in computing the student's scholastic average. A grade of D indicates work is of below average quality, but credit is granted for the class. A Fail (F) grade indicates that the student has not successfully completed the work in the class. The student receives no credit for an F, but it does not enter into computing the cumulative grade point average.
S-D-U : Satisfactory, D or Unsatisfactory grades are reported for on-campus Winter Term projects. S-U grades are also used for other Winter Term projects, internships, and non-credit courses, such as music ensembles.
# : A # is recorded when no grade has been reported.
X : An X indicates that a course has been taken for audit. There is no credit or other grade designation for a class taken as an audit.

Letter grades translate into grade points for each class. The cumulative grade point average determines the scholastic standing of all students.

A 4.00

A- 3.67

B+ 3.33

B 3.00

B- 2.67

C+ 2.33

C 2.00

C- 1.67

D+ 1.33

D 1.00

D- 0.67

F 0.00

I 0.00

W 0.00

L 0.00

P-D-F 0.00

S-D-U 0.00

# 0.00

X 0.00

A student's cumulative GPA includes all grades recorded on the transcript except for grades in courses:
1. taken Pass-Fail;
2. not applicable toward the degree; and
3. taken while studying on approved off-campus programs (except the DePauw program in Vienna). These off-campus grades are recorded on the transcript but not calculated into the DePauw GPA.

Change of Grades Grades reported to the Office of the Registrar may be changed by one of two procedures.
1. A grade of I, L or W may be changed as set forth in the preceding paragraphs.
2. A grade of A, B, C, D or F may be changed only upon the instructor's request and with the approval of the Registrar. Approval to change a grade will be made for such reasons as: calculation error or material that was turned in on time but was not considered. Students are not to be given additional time to complete or re-do work after the semester has ended to improve their grade.

Competence Certification

DePauw students learn and demonstrate writing, quantitative reasoning and oral competence by successfully completing designated upper-level courses across the curriculum. Certification in each of the competence areas will be recorded upon completion of the designated courses. The following designations will show on the student's record after the course credit:

W Writing Competence
Q Quantitative Reasoning Competence
S Oral Communication Competence

Grade Reports

Progress Reports. Instructors submit progress reports to the Registrar's Office at the mid-point of each semester for all first-year students, students on academic probation and upperclass students who are making grades of C- or lower.
Mid-semester progress reports are not permanent or final but serve as a basis for advising students of their progress. Copies are sent to students, parents of first-year students or students on academic probation who receive any grade of C- or below, and to faculty advisers.
The Office of the Registrar may release information on academic progress to the parents or guardian of dependent students.
Final Grade Reports. The Office of the Registrar sends grades to students at their home addresses at the end of the semester. Students may also access their grades through the web as soon as grade reports are processed. Winter Term grades are sent to campus addresses.

E-mail questions or comments to: eypma@depauw.edu