2008–2009 - Florida Institute of Technology

Liberal Arts Elective
A liberal arts elective is any course offered by the department
of humanities and communication (HUM, COM, LNG) or any
psychology course (PSY). Certain BUS and EDS courses may
also be considered liberal arts electives as determined by the
student’s academic unit.
Humanities Elective
Courses concerned with human culture, including literature,
history, philosophy, religion, linguistics, professional ethics and
foreign languages other than a student’s native language, meet
the requirements for humanities electives. Courses in art, music
and drama, other than performance courses, also meet these
requirements. These courses are designated as humanities (HU)
or humanities/social science (HU/SS) electives in the Course
Descriptions section of this catalog.
A foreign language is considered to be the student’s native
language if it is the formal or commonly used language of the
student’s country or community, or if it was the language used as
the medium of interaction in all or part of the student’s pre-university
education.
Humanities elective credits may not be granted by equivalency
examinations.
Social Science Elective
Studies of society and of the relationship of the individual to
society, including anthropology, psychology, sociology, economics,
political science, history, linguistics, social responsibility and
foreign languages other than a student’s native language, meet
the requirements for social science electives. These courses are
designated as SS or HU/SS electives in the Course Descriptions
section of this catalog.
Social science elective credits may not be granted by equivalency
examinations.
Restricted Elective
A restricted elective is an elective selected from a specified
academic discipline. The academic discipline is included in the
specification of the elective, e.g., Restricted Elective (Chemistry)
or Restricted Elective (CHM). The level of the elective may be
specified by the academic unit.
Technical Elective
A technical elective is a course in any field of science or engineering,
subject to department or program approval. Courses classified
as mathematics, basic science, applied science, engineering
science, engineering design or some combination of these satisfies
the requirement. These courses should be at a level appropriate
to the level at which they appear in the program.
Engineering Science Elective
Engineering sciences have their roots in mathematics and basic
sciences but carry knowledge further toward a creative application.
These studies provide bridges between mathematics, basic
science and engineering practice. Lists of approved engineering
science electives are included with the program listings.
Engineering Design Elective
Engineering design is the process of devising a system, component
or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making
process, often iterative, in which the basic sciences, mathematics
and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources
optimally to meet a stated objective. Among the fundamental
elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives
and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing and
evaluation. Central to the process are the essential and complementary
roles of synthesis and analysis. Each engineering design
course includes some of the following features: development of
student creativity, use of open-ended problems, formulation of
design-problem statements and specifications, consideration of
alternative solutions, feasibility considerations, detailed system
descriptions and a variety of realistic constraints, such as economic
factors, safety, reliability, aesthetics, ethics and social
impact. A list of approved engineering design electives is normally
available in each engineering department office.
Foreign Languages
Students who have had less than two years of foreign-language
study at the secondary level may enroll in elementary language
courses at Florida Tech. Students who have had two or more
years of foreign-language study at the secondary level and students
who transfer one year of foreign-language study to Florida
Tech from another college or university must enroll in intermediate
courses. Native or multilingual speakers of foreign languages
may not enroll in elementary or intermediate courses; they
may, however, enroll in advanced-level courses. The head of the
department of humanities and communication will make final
decisions regarding the placement of students in foreign-language
courses.
Academic Regulations
The following paragraphs represent an abbreviated presentation
of some of the more commonly encountered regulations affecting
undergraduate students at Florida Tech. (see also other definitions
in this section) For other academic policies and regulations,
the senior vice provost should be consulted. Academic policies
are subject to change effective with succeeding catalogs.
Attendance
Students registered for any course are expected to attend all lectures
and must attend all laboratories, examinations, quizzes and
practical exercises, subject to penalties specified by the instructor
for that course.
Students who miss class must obtain permission from the course
instructor to make up missed work. This permission must be
requested at the earliest possible opportunity, and before the
absence if possible. The student must arrange with the instructor
to make up the missed work. The makeup must be completed
within two weeks after the absence. In the case of missed final
examinations, the policy on Incompletes (I) applies. In mitigating
circumstances, the instructor, with the concurrence of the
academic unit head offering the course, may require an alternative
to making up the missed work.
If circumstances require a student to report late for a class or to
leave before the class is over, prior notification should be given to
the instructor if possible. Repeated occurrences may result in the
student being temporarily denied admission to the classroom.
The professor of military science of the Army ROTC unit has
sole authority to determine attendance regulations in ROTC
classes.
Academic Overview 31