Undergraduate Catalog - University of Louisiana at Monroe

2012-2013 UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG
hours during a term or more than six semester hours
in any part-of-term less than ten weeks. Under special
circumstances, students with a cumulative GPA of at least
3.25 may request an extension of this limit to 21 semester
hours through the Registrar’s Office. Other students with
special circumstances may request a similar extension
through their dean’s office.
Undergraduate students registered for six or more
hours of student teaching are limited to 15 semester hours
in a term except as approved by the Dean of the College
of Education and Human Development.
Undergraduate students who schedule 12 or more
semester hours for credit during a term are considered full
time students. Audited courses are excluded from these
totals. Because other agencies may define full-time status
differently, students who receive any type of financial aid
(including aid awarded by the Veterans Administration or
other agencies) are encouraged to contact the respective
agency to determine the number of semester hours
required to receive that aid.
The University does not guarantee that a student will
be able to schedule every class which he or she may be
required or wish to take during a given enrollment period.
AUDITING COURSES
Students may be admitted to regular classes for
audit by meeting admission requirements, receiving the
approval of the instructor’s academic dean, and by paying
tuition for the class. An audit may not be changed to
credit, or vice versa, after registration closes. Students
auditing courses will not receive credit, nor will they be
permitted to take a credit examination (departmental
exam) on work audited. Credit hours for courses audited
are figured in fee assessment, but not for certification of
enrollment status (full-time/part-time). Any student using a
fee waiver cannot register for audit.
GRADING SYSTEM
Grades and the grading process are major
components of a university’s academic standards. An
important professional obligation of a university professor
is the determination of grades. Grades accomplish
two essential purposes: (1) they communicate to the
academic community and to the community at large a
certified level of academic achievement, and (2) they
provide realistic and reliable feedback for students to use
in evaluating individual progress and making decisions
about future behavior.
Prerequisites to effective grading are (1) appropriate
scope, depth, and degree of difficulty for each course;
(2) controls to ensure that students have proper
academic qualifications for enrolling in each course;
and (3) adequate measures of performance. Taking into
account all students who would properly and typically
enroll in a given course (not just those in one course),
professors assign grades according to the following
general guidelines:
UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS 71
A— EXCELLENT—Performance approaches complete
mastery of the course requirements.
B— GOOD—Performance is above the level expected
from most students, but does not approach
complete mastery of the course requirements.
C— AVERAGE—Performance is about the level
expected from most students.
D— BELOW AVERAGE—Performance is at or above
the minimum level to pass, but does not allow for
progression in some programs.
F— FAILURE—Performance is below the minimum
level to pass the course.
NOTE: See College of Health Sciences-School of
Nursing for additional grades assigned to
professional nursing students.
The grades “A” (excellent), “B” (good), “C” (average),
“D” (below average), “F” (failure), “AU” (audit does not
imply class attendance), “W” (withdrew), “I” (incomplete),
“IP” (in progress), “CR” (credit), and “NC” (no credit) are
given to indicate the quality of a student’s work.
Each semester hour with the grade of “D” carries one
quality point; each semester hour with the grade of “C”,
two quality points; each semester hour with the grade of
“B”, three quality points; and each semester hour with the
grade of A, four quality points. Grades of “F” and “I” carry
zero quality points and are used to determine the grade
point average. Grades of “CR”, “NC”, and “IP” carry no
quality points and are not used to determine the grade
point average. Therefore, a “C” average is a 2.00 average.
An “I” grade is computed as an “F” grade unless changed
to a final passing grade. Also, + and - grade designations
are not recognized.
Instructors are encouraged to abide by the
University Calendar by offering courses within the
established enrollment period dates. Instructors must
discuss in advance with the Registrar the reasons for
the award of “IP” grades. Valid reasons for considering
the issuance of “IP” grades may be when an instructor
anticipates that either the nature of a specific graduate or
undergraduate course or the expectations of all students
(not an individual student) cannot be completed within the
established enrollment period dates. Letter grades must
be awarded by an agreed upon deadline between the
instructor and the Registrar in the event that “IP” grades
are issued.
Students in developmental courses shall be eligible
to earn grades of “A”, “B”, “C”, “NC”, “F”, “W”, or “I” in
such courses. However, successful completion of a
developmental course requires a grade of “A”, “B”, or
“C”; students receiving any lower grade must repeat
the course. A student who has excessive unexcused
absences or who is guilty of cheating/plagiarism in a
developmental course will receive an “F” for the semester
grade. Those courses defined as developmental are
English 0090 and Mathematics 0093.