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ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
COURSE EXAMINATION The academic calendar of the College provides for mid-term and final examination periods in each term. Faculty members are expected to provide for initial evaluation of student progress and to notify the Academic Support Office of those students whose progress is unsatisfactory (below 2.0) by the time stipulated on the calendar. All faculty are expected to give final examinations on the officially designated examination days. Any deviation from the official schedule must be approved by the department chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Faculty members may not give exams early or waive the final exam without the express consent of the department chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and then only under unusual circumstances. COURSE WITHDRAWAL Students who withdraw from a course after the first week, but before the end of the seventh week of each term will receive a ‘W’ for the course. There will be no withdrawal after the end of the seventh week. Students seeking waiver of the rule because of a confining illness or a serious emergency must file a letter with the Office forAcademic Affairs explaining the special circumstances. Before students withdraw from or drop a course in any term, they should check with the Office of Student Financial Services. VOLUNTARY WITHDRAWAL FROM THE COLLEGE Students who wish to withdraw officially from the College must complete the cease enrollment form (available in the Office for Academic Affairs) and also obtain the necessary signed approvals. Students who officially withdraw before the close of the term will receive course grades based on the course withdrawal policy of the College. Students who have officially withdrawn and are in good academic standing may apply to the Office of Admissions for readmission during the next regularly scheduled term or session. TAKING A COURSE OFF-CAMPUS For students enrolled at Mercyhurst, written permission must be obtained before taking courses at another accredited institution for transfer back to Mercyhurst. Full approval including the submission of the off-campus course approval form to the Registrar must occur prior to enrolling in a course. Continuing students are not permitted to take more than six credits per academic year at another institution. COURSE OVERLOAD Freshmen are not permitted to take more than 12 credits per term. Any exceptions to this rule must be approved by the Office for Academic Affairs. Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors need approval from either their academic advisor or academic counselor in order to take more than 12 credits per term, and the Office for Academic Affairs must approve registration for 15 or more credits per term. Typically, only students who maintain a 3.0 GPA for three consecutive terms will be granted permission to take 15 or more credits per term. Students should also consult with the Student Financial Services Office before attempting to register for more than 12 credits. INCOMPLETE GRADES The Incomplete Grade (I) is a temporary grade indicating that work in the course was acceptable, though a significant or critical part of it was not completed due to illness or other serious circumstances beyond the student’s control. It is the student’s responsibility to verify these conditions. The I grade may not be used to extend time for course work or for the convenience of student or faculty member. Incomplete coursework must be submitted to the instructor no later than 30 days after the end of the term in which the I is given. If not completed, the I grade is changed to a grade of F. Students who are working on special projects that carry into other terms or on theses should not register for credit until the term when completion appears likely. While on the transcript, I grades will carry no penalty.
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
GRADE APPEALS In all cases it shall be assumed that the grade assigned is correct; the student appealing the grade must justify the need for a change of the grade assigned. A grade may only be appealed if the final grade issued for a class does not reflect what the student has earned according to the grading criteria outlined by the course instructor. Grade appeals may not be based upon a request to have submitted work re-evaluated by the instructor. An appeal must be initiated within 45 days after the close of the term in which the grade was earned (or 45 days into the fall term for grades issued during the previous spring term). If a student believes that a final grade issued is not reflective of the grading criteria outlined by the course instructor he/she should first meet with the instructor to discuss the final grade. If this meeting does not resolve the issue satisfactorily the student should submit a formal grade appeal to the appropriate School Dean and to the Office for Academic Affairs. The appeal should be word processed and should clearly state the basis for the appeal and all pertinent facts related to it. A copy of the course syllabus and copies of all pertinent assignments and exams should be attached to the appeal. Once the appeal has been received the instructor involved will be informed of the grade appeal and must submit a written statement in response. After considering both statements, the School Dean will make a recommendation to the Vice President for Academic Affairs who will make the final decision. The Office for Academic Affairs will notify both the student and instructor of the final decision. ACADEMIC HONESTY Students are expected to contribute actively to the development of an atmosphere of academic integrity. Mercyhurst College assumes, therefore, that students will not resort to plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty. Students found guilty of willful academic dishonesty may be subject to a broad range of sanctions. At the discretion of their instructor, they may be required to redo the plagiarized assignment, or they may receive an automatic F for the exam/assignment and/ or course. Students found to be in collaboration with other students involved in willful academic dishonesty are also subject to disciplinary action. With reference to class assignments: Academic integrity is an extremely important virtue in students and it is to be maintained in class assignments. Students should follow the directions given by faculty members about assignments. Assignments should be read in full. Students are expected to do their own work; students are not permitted to submit work partially or totally done by another student or documents downloaded from the internet. Use of computer-assisted translation on assignments to be submitted in a language other than English is likewise prohibited. Group work is permitted only when a collaborative effort is assigned; only those who actually worked on the assignment should have their names on the submission. With reference to citations in formal writing: Students are expected to uphold generally recognized standards of citation in order to avoid plagiarism. Though individual instructors may alter the expectations somewhat, general principles include: the necessity to provide citations for any direct quotation, the need to provide citations for any paraphrased material, the need to credit theories or concepts to their authors through citation, and the need to provide full and accurate citations. Mercyhurst College considers acts of forgery on academic documents to constitute academic dishonesty. With reference to taking exams: It is expected that Mercyhurst College students will exhibit academic honesty when they take exams. Failure to do so is a form of deception that is unacceptable at Mercyhurst. Any action that misrepresents the extent to which a student has mastered material assessed on an exam constitutes academic dishonesty or cheating. Cheating includes, but is not limited to the following types of activities: copying from another student’s test or assignment or allowing another student to copy from your test or assignment; collaborating during a test with any person without explicit faculty permission; stealing, buying or otherwise improperly obtaining all or part of a test before the exam; taking a test for someone else or allowing someone else to take a test for you; altering
2010-2011 Mercyhurst College Course Catalog • www.mercyhurst.edu