General Information: College Terms

General Information: College Terms

Catalog

The St. Thomas University Catalog is the book where you will find ALL of the academic policies and procedures. It also has the requirements for graduation in all majors. You can find a copy of the Catalog on the Academic’s webpage

Student Handbook

The Student Handbook informs students of their rights and responsibilities while engaged in classes and activities at St. Thomas University. It is meant to guide and direct you in the values exemplified by our patron, Universidad de Santo Tomas de Villanueva. You will receive a copy and it can be found on the Student Affairs website.

Academic Advisor. A faculty member in your major area who will help you select courses, assist you with academic issues and help you meet the requirements for graduation.

Academic Calendar. Calendar for the academic year that shows all the important academic deadlines and college breaks.

Academic Probation/Warning/Suspension. Students who do not meet the cumulative grade point average (GPA) required to main in good standing will be placed on academic probation or warning for the next semester or session. If students on probation fail to bring up their GPA, they can be suspended from STU. You can find GPA requirements for good standing in the St. Thomas University Catalog.

Add/Drop. Students are allowed to drop and add courses from their schedules. You may drop a class during the first eight class days of the semester without the class showing on your transcript. See the academic calendar on the Academic’s webpage for more details on dates.

Bachelor’s Degree. A four-year degree and your academic goal here ate the University. The minimum amount of credit hours to receive a Bachelor’s degree is 120. CANVAS. St. Thomas University’s learning management system (LMS) for all digital course content for both online and on-ground courses. Canvas provides an interface from instructor to student and provides additional supplements for all modalities of instruction including items such as: syllabi, forms, tutoring, video, documents, gradebook, and more. Additional information is provided on St. Thomas University’s Canvas portal at https://www.stu.edu/OIT/Canvas-Learning-Guide.html

Core Requirements. Classes considered to be general education courses that you must take to graduate. You can find the specific requirements in the St. Thomas University Catalog.

Degree Audit. A report you can see online that shows you all the classes you need to graduate and which ones you have completed. Your advisor or someone in the Registrar’s office can help you read it.

Graduation Requirements. In order to graduate from St. Thomas University, you must complete all the coursework and have good academic standing. You can find information on graduation requirements in the St. Thomas University Catalog.

Letter Grading System. All courses listed as requirements for a major or satisfy core requirements must be taken under the letter grading system.

Major. The major you declare will be your primary field of study for your bachelor’s degree. You can declare more than one major.

MyBOBCAT. The system you will uses to register for classes, view your degree audits, and see your course and fee statements.

Pass/Fail. Some courses can be taken as pass/fail courses (e.g., co-ops, internships, service learning). If you pass the course, it does not count in your GPA but will still give you credit hours toward your graduation requirement.

Pre-Requisites. Some upper-level courses require that you take specific courses in preparation for them. For example BSC 1010 must be taken before you can take BSC 1011. Requirements for courses can be found in the St. Thomas University Catalog.

Syllabus. An outline of important information about a course written by the professor. It usually gives you important dates, assignments, expectations, and policies related to that specific course.

The Bobcat. Our mascot. You can see him at University functions and athletic events.

Withdraw. A W grade will be issued when dropping a course during the second through fifteenth week or assigned by the instructor when dropping a course after the fifteenth week while passing. The credits will count toward attempted credit and not credit earned. This does not affect your GPA but will be seen on your transcript.