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Course Information Policies and Procedures

• Adding a Course
  • To add a course, students should first obtain the appropriate add form at the Office of the Registrar or online at the Registrar's website.
    
    Students may add full-semester courses with the signature of the instructor until the second Friday after the first day of classes. Courses meeting for less than a full semester may be added until the first Friday after the first scheduled meeting of the course. Internships, practica, individual enrollment courses and independent study courses, may be added until the tenth Friday after the first day of classes.
    
    Late adds are allowed with the signature of the instructor, but a fee of $50 per course will be assessed. Late adds after the term ends will require a fee of $100 per course.
• Auditing a Course
  • Students, who wish to take a course for their own interest or development but not for credit, may register to audit most courses. Auditors are usually not required to complete normal class requirements. No grades will be issued to students who have registered as auditors. An AU will be entered on the transcript for the audited course. Students wishing to change a graded course to audit must complete the transaction with the Registrar before the end of the appropriate course add period (see Course Adds).
• Course Withdrawal
  • Students may withdraw from full-semester courses any time after the end of the drop period (the second Friday after the first day of classes) until the 10th Friday after the first day of classes. Students may withdraw from internships, practica, individual enrollment courses, independent study, second half, Performance Study, fourth quarter, and auditioned courses from the 10th Friday after the first day of classes until the 14th Friday after the first day of classes. The instructor must sign the course withdrawal form. Students must submit the course withdrawal form to the Registrar after it has been signed by the instructor. A grade of W (withdrawal) will be recorded on the transcript. Withdrawal (W) grades do not contribute to a student's grade point average.
    
    After the withdrawal period has ended, students may petition for withdrawal from a course only under extenuating circumstances such as, but not limited to, the following:
    • Documented learning disability for which evidence has been produced after the withdrawal period has ended.
    • Documented medical circumstances arising after the withdrawal period has ended.
    • Care of family during an emergency, arising after the withdrawal period has ended.
    • Military duty, where activation has occurred after the withdrawal period has ended.
    • Jury duty.
    • Transfer credit which is verified only after the withdrawal period has ended.
    
    The petition is to be presented to the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies and must include a letter explaining the extenuating circumstances, whatever documentation is available and a course withdrawal form signed by the instructor, indicating a grade of W is to be assigned.
• Credit Overload
  • Full-time students taking more than 17 credits during a fall or spring semester are assessed a per credit overload fee. See the Overload Fees in the Tuition and Fees section for details. Students with a 2.67 (minimum) cumulative grade point average are eligible to take up to four credits of overload by completing an Overload Request Form which is available at the Registrar’s Office or may be downloaded from the forms section of the Registrar’s web site. Students with a cumulative grade point average of less than 2.67 and students requesting more than four credits of overload must secure, by the appropriate add deadline, the approval of their advisor and the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies (or designee).
    
    During Winterim students may enroll for 4.5 credits. Students with a 3.00 (minimum) cumulative grade point average may enroll for a maximum of six credits, with permission of the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies (or designee). During summer sessions students may enroll for nine credits. Only students with a 3.00 (minimum) cumulative grade point average and permission from the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies (or designee) may take an overload.
    
    Students who have registered for a music ensemble course (i.e., The Music Theatre Company, University Chorale, etc.) once, for one credit hour; or a theatre performance/production (i.e., Practicum in Production), may request a waiver of the overload fee on the occasion of subsequent enrollments in the same course. Appeals must be made to the Chair of the Music, Theatre, and Dance Department.
• Dropping a Course
  • To drop a course, students should first obtain the appropriate drop form at the Office of the Registrar or online at the Registrar's website.
    
    Students may drop full-semester, first half, first quarter courses until the second Friday after the first day of classes. Internships, practica, individual enrollment courses, independent study, second half, fourth quarter, Performance Study and auditioned courses may be dropped until the 10th Friday after the first day of classes. Student must submit drop forms to the Registrar. Courses dropped within the Drop period will be removed from the transcript.
  • 
    To provide early evaluation for first-semester, first-year students (those who have attempted fewer than 12 credits), at the end of the first six weeks of classes, instructors of full-semester courses submit grades on these students' performance. These students are urged to discuss these grades with their advisors and instructors. After consultation with the advisor and instructor(s), these first year students may drop full-semester course(s) within two weeks after notice of the early evaluation.
• Final Grade Reports
  • Final grades may be accessed via myPlymouth. To request a printed copy of a grade report, students must contact the Office of the Registrar in writing. Grades are never given out over the telephone or to third parties because of privacy regulations.
• First Day Drop Policy
  • Students who do not appear for the first class meeting of each course and do not notify the course instructor before that class meeting that they will be absent, may be dropped from the course by the instructor and their place may be given to another student.
    Students should not, however, assume they have been dropped if they miss the first class. This policy is most typically used by instructors of courses in which demand is high and ability to accommodate extra students is low. Students should make a point to verify their academic schedule often during each semester.
• Grade Appeals/Academic Grievances
  • Students who challenge a grade should begin by talking with the instructor of the course involved. If the situation cannot be resolved by that means, or if the nature of the problem precludes discussion with the instructor, students may bring the matter to the attention of the chair of the individual's department. The chair will attempt to resolve the matter either through discussion with the instructor alone or jointly with the student. If these meetings do not provide a solution satisfactory to all parties, the question may be taken to the Associate vice President of Undergraduate Studies where the matter will be reviewed. Regardless of the outcome of these discussions, only the instructor of a course, using her/his professional judgment, can change a student's grade. If the Associate Vice President is not satisfied with the proceedings. the Associate Vice President can ask the Academic Standards Committee to hear the matter as described under Standards of Fair Grading in the academic catalog.
• Grading System
  • Letter grades, with pluses and minuses noted, are used to assess the relative extent to which students achieve course objectives in the vast majority of Plymouth courses. These courses are the ones on which a student’s grade point average is based. A student’s grade point average is calculated on both a semester basis and on a cumulative basis which takes into account all grades earned by a student at Plymouth State University. Grades earned at other colleges whose credits were transferred into Plymouth are not taken into account except translocated courses as described in the academic catalog. Administrative failure: ‘AF’ stands for ‘administrative failure’. This notation is placed on a student’s transcript when an instructor does not have enough information to assign a letter grade in a graded course. The administrative failure is usually a student’s failure to drop a course they stopped attending. An ‘AF’ counts as an ‘F’ grade in the calculation of grade point averages. It is not a reason for a course withdrawal. Grade point average: The following grade point system is used to determine the student’s grade point average.
    

    Grade	Points per Credit
    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

    
    The point equivalent of a grade is multiplied by the credits earned in that course. This results in the grade point average. For example, a student might have the following semester grade point average:
    

    Course	Grade	Points	Credits	Total
    Composition	B	3.00	3	9.00
    General Biology	C+	2.33	3	6.99
    Sociology	A	4.00	3	12.00
    Jazz Band	A-	3.67	1	3.67
    Finite Math	B	3.00	3	9.00
    Macroeconomics	B+	3.33	3	9.99
    			16	50.65

    
    50.65 divided by 16 equals 3.17 or slightly above B average. To calculate a cumulative grade point average, you use the same procedure described above to calculate the semester grade point average. The only difference is that you take into account all graded credits and points earned by a student in their university careers at Plymouth. A student’s Plymouth transcript keeps a running tally of the cumulative grade point average as well as of the semester grade point average.
    
    Major and Minor Grade Point Averages: All students must earn a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in their major by the time of graduation. Some programs stipulate a higher major grade point average that must be earned in the main academic discipline of the major program. A student’s major grade point average will be based on all specific courses listed as required (except EN 120), any other courses elected beyond the required minimum number from an identified group, plus any others in the central discipline which are elected.
    Students may not major and minor in the same discipline. For a second or subsequent minor, at least nine credits must be different from the major or first minor. To earn a minor, students must earn at least a 2.00 grade point average in the minor. One exception is the Pre-law minor which requires a 3.00 grade point average.
    
    Pass/No Pass courses: Some courses at Plymouth are designated in their course descriptions as being pass/no pass (P/NP) courses. Credits earned by passing these courses are added to the total credits earned in graded courses for a grand total of ‘credits earned’. Credits earned in these courses are not added to the transcript column entitled ‘divisor’ because the divisor reflects only the number of credits earned in graded courses. Degree seeking students are not permitted to take any more than one-sixth of their total degree program credits on a P/NP basis. Only courses identified as P/NP in the course description may be graded Pass/No Pass.
    Incompletes: A grade of incomplete (IC) may be entered on a student’s transcript at the discretion of the course instructor when a student has not been able to complete the requirements of the course. The instructor, in consultation with the student, determines the conditions for the granting and completing of the incomplete. ‘IC’ is not a permanent grade; the incomplete must be completed by the date specified by the instructor, or the end of two years, or the student’s graduation, whichever comes first. If the incomplete is not completed by the expiration of this period, a grade of ‘F’ will be recorded unless the instructor stipulates a different grade. Forms required for a student to be granted an incomplete are turned in by instructors when final grades are due. Please note that a student with an outstanding incomplete in a course may not register for that course.
    
    Temporary Grades: An ‘NG’ on a grade report stands for ‘no grade submitted’. It means that the Registrar’s office did not receive a grade from the instructor by the time grade reports were created. The student is welcome to contact the instructor in this case. When the grade is received by the Registrar’s Office, student transcripts are updated. ‘E’ stands for ‘extended evaluation’; it denotes a course whose completion stretches across more than one semester. NGs and Es must be completed by the end of two years, or the student’s graduation, whichever comes first. If NGs and Es are not replaced with permanent grades by that time, a grade of ‘AW’ will be recorded on the student’s transcript.
    
    Credits Attempted: If a student fails a course by earning either an ‘F’, or an ‘AF’ in a graded course or a ‘NP’ in a P/NP course, the credits that would have been earned if the course had been successfully completed are added to the transcript column entitled ‘credits attempted’. ‘Credits attempted’ reflects the grand total of credits earned through successful completion of courses and credits not earned because of unsatisfactory performance. ‘Credits attempted’ is the number upon which a student’s academic standing is based, as described below. Students should be aware that if a minimum number of credits are not successfully completed each semester at Plymouth, financial aid awards may be in jeopardy.
    
    Repeating failed courses: Students are allowed to retake any course in which a grade lower than C is received. Credits and grade points for the first grade will be deleted from the cumulative record, while the grade itself will remain on the transcript and the repeat noted. The course information will be listed in the usual manner the second time it appears on the transcript. The most recent grade counts even if lower than an earlier grade.
    
    If the course grade is ‘F’, ‘AF’ or ‘NP’, students may also repeat the course at another university and transfer the credit into Plymouth. In such a case, the grade of ‘F’ or ‘AF’ may be removed from the grade point average calculation with the permission of the Chair of the department sponsoring the Plymouth course. The transfer course must be equivalent to the course failed at Plymouth. The procedure that needs to be followed is detailed above in the section entitled ‘Transferring Courses to Plymouth’.
    
    Academic bankruptcy: An undergraduate student who is seeking readmission to the university may choose to have all Plymouth State University course work which is at least seven academic years old be exempt from the calculation of the grade point average. In choosing this option, such a student would receive credit for courses in which a grade of ‘C’ or better was earned; the grades for such courses, however, would not be included in the computation of the grade point average. The declaration of academic bankruptcy must be made to the Office of Undergraduate Studies at the time of re-enrollment and can be claimed no more than once in a student’s career at the University.
• Registration for Continuing Education Students
  • Continuing education students are allowed to take a maximum of 11.5 credits during the main fall and spring semesters; they are, by definition, part-time students. Winterim and summer session credit loads, mentioned in the ‘academic calendar’ pertain to all students whether they are degree-seeking (matriculated) students or continuing education students. Continuing education registration and drop forms are available at the Continuing Education office or the Office of the Registrar. Continuing education students are not eligible for financial aid.
• Registration for Matriculated Students
  • Newly matriculated students register for courses at New Student Orientation after having had an introduction to Plymouth’s degree programs and registration procedures. Currently enrolled and matriculated students register for upcoming fall classes the previous April and for upcoming spring classes the previous November. This process is known as Initial Registration. The Time and Room Schedule is published by the Office of the Registrar in early April and mid-October. Included is a daily schedule of registration appointments, a calendar of important dates, notices regarding clearance of holds and payment of tuition, instructions, and the schedule of classes.
    Students register according to the total number of credits earned on their transcript, including credits transferred by the time the registration forms are printed. Students with no credits earned register according to computerized randomization. Registration times are available on line in myPlymouth. WebReg access codes are required to access the registration system. Only a students advisor may provide them with this code.
    
    Students should consult their catalog and ,if available, make use of tools such as curriculum guides and CAPP compliances as they begin to plan their schedule. During the week before registration, students should consult with their advisor.
    
    The daily schedule of registration is printed on the front page of the Time and Room Schedule. Students are not excused from class to attend registration; those with conflicts may register during their free time.
• Undergraduates Registering for Graduate Work
  • Information about the graduate programs available at Plymouth may be found in the Plymouth State University Graduate Catalog. Seniors with a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average may take up to six credits of graduate work at Plymouth. The credits count towards completion of the undergraduate degree as well as towards the graduate degree. Permission of the instructor, the advisor, the Department Chair or designee, the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Community Outreach and the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies is required prior to course registration, using a Student Request Form; these forms are available at the Undergraduate Studies Office.