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Academic Record Policies and Procedures

• Applying for In-State Residency
  • The residency status of undergraduates is determined upon admission to the University and may be changed only by applying for reclassification. Currently enrolled undergraduates may pick up information from the Office of the Registrar or read the information in the Residency section of the Registrar’s Web site. (Graduate students should contact their program director in their Graduate Office. Students applying for admission to PSU should contact the Office of Admissions.)
    
    After reading this information, currently enrolled undergraduates should make an appointment to talk to the Registrar, who is PSU’s residency officer. Students will be given an application along with other help and instructions.
    
    Current students are urged not to file an application until they have met with the Registrar.
    
    Reclassifications are effective only at the beginning of a regular term. Applications for reclassification for a Fall term are due no later than September 1 of that term, and for a Spring term, no later than January 1 preceding that term.
• Catalog Policy
  • To plan a curriculum, students should use the Catalog printed the year they entered the University or any subsequent Catalog. It is the students' responsibility to use this Catalog to outline course requirements in their curriculum. The University reserves the right to add, change or delete curricular offerings.
    
    The Catalog to be used to determine graduation requirements may be no older than the academic year of official admission, nor more than seven years old. Readmitted students seeking teacher certification need to follow the most current catalog to satisfy state teacher certification requirements. Readmitted students, in programs other than teacher certification, may use the catalog of original admission if the catalog is less than seven years old and if it is possible for students to complete the degree before the seven-year limit on that catalog expires. If these two conditions do not exist, a more recent catalog must be used. Readmitted students will receive a Catalog Memo from the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies, at the time of readmission, stating the catalog to be used to determine graduation requirements.
    
    Students who have not earned a bachelor’s degree at Plymouth State University and who are readmitted after an absence of seven or more years may wish to exercise their option to declare academic bankruptcy. The full academic files of non-graduated students are kept for seven years; transcripts are always available.
• Changing to Full-Time Status
  • Part-time matriculated students who wish to change to full-time must complete the Request for Change in Student Status form available at the Office of the Registrar or at the Registrar's Web site.
    
    For currently admitted degree-seeking (matriculated) students, an on-time request to change to full-time is automatically granted. Students not currently admitted to the University should contact the Office of Admission regarding readmission.
• Changing to Part-Time Status
  • Full-time undergraduates who wish to change to part-time must request a change of status from the Vice President for Student Affairs office (Speare 305) by the end of the semester add period in the term in which the change is to be effective. Students should consult the Time & Room Schedule or the web calendar for the add deadline.
    
    A change to part-time may affect a student’s eligibility for financial aid, on-campus housing, and intercollegiate athletics, as well as eligibility for loan deferments, insurance, and the like. A part-time student may enroll in no more than 11.5 credit hours of course work each semester.
• Changing Your Address or Telephone
  • The principal student address file is maintained by the Mail Center in the Hartman Union Building.
    
    To change an address or telephone, students should access the "Personal Information" option in myPlymouth, Banner Self Service. Students may apply the new address to one or more of the following: home address, local address, billing address and parents' addresses.
    
    Please note that students must not set their home or local address to their HUB mail box. In particular, it is university policy that students living off-campus must provide a physical location at which the student may be contacted in an emergency.
• Changing Your Academic Advisor
  • If students wish to change their advisor, they should first ask the faculty member whom they would like to have as their new advisor. After securing the approval of the faculty member, students should go to the Office of Undergraduate Studies and complete a change of advisor form.
• Changing Your Name or Social Security Number
  • If a student’s legal name or social security number has changed, he or she should officially notify the Office of the Registrar so that academic records can be updated to reflect the correct name and/or SSN. A Change of Name or SSN may be printed from the web or picked up at the Office of the Registrar.
    
    When presenting this form, students should have some official or legal document which shows their new name or SSN -- such as a driver's license, marriage certificate, SSN card, or military ID or orders.
• Declaring Majors/Minors and Options
  • Students may declare an academic major when applying for admission to the University or they may enter without having chosen a specific major. In the event that a student chooses a major or changes a major after being admitted to Plymouth, the student needs to file a Declaration or Change of Academic Major and/or Option form with the Registrar's Office. This form requires the signature of the department chair of the new major. Once this form is complete, the student should return the form to the Registrar's Office for processing. Typically, a new advisor from the new major department is either chosen by the student or assigned.
    
    Major/Option Declaration forms are available outside the Registrar's Office or may be downloaded from the forms section of the Registrar's Web site. Please note that students wishing to enter the Interdisciplinary Studies major must have a minimum of 45 credits remaining to be fulfilled in their degree program. Major/Option Declaration forms are also used to declare options within a major. Options must be chosen within some majors whereas in others, the options are entirely elective. In either event. the procedure for completing the form is the same as that outlined above in regard to declaring the major itself. Where there are several options available within a major, it is advisable for students to choose the one that best suits their interests rather than to pursue several overlapping options jointly. The completion of options is notes on students' transcripts.
    
    To declare an academic minor, the student needs to file a Declaration of an Academic Minor form. This form requires the signatures of the student's advisor and an appropriate representative of the department or council offering the minor. Completed forms are returned to the Office of the Registrar.
    
    To drop an academic minor or option, students should submit a Request to Remove an Academic Minor or Option form. Completed forms are returned to the Office of the Registrar.
• Degree Requests
  • Plymouth State University graduates students three times per year; December, May and August. Diplomas will be printed three times a year; December, May and August. Students who are completing their degrees need to file a Degree Request. The deadlines for submitting the Degree request are:
    
    

    Students completing their degree in	Submit their Degree Request no later than
    May	October 1st
    August	October 1st
    December	March 1st

    
    Degree Requests will be accepted up to one month beyond the deadline; however, there will be a $50.00 late fee. Degree request received after this time will be interpreted as requests for graduation in the subsequent year. A Degree Request form may be printed from the web or picked up at the Office of the Registrar.
• Dual Majors, Dual Degrees, and/or Second Degree
  • Students may pursue two Bachelor of Science or two Bachelor of Arts majors as long as they meet the requirements of both programs. To accomplish this goal, within the minimum number of credits required, requires close communication with advisors from both majors.
    
    It should be noted that the major requirements of one program will satisfy the upper division general education requirements for the other program and vice versa. This is true in the case of dual majors, dual degrees or second degrees.
    
    If the student wishes to receive two different degrees (i.e., a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Science degree), the student needs to complete at least the equivalent of 30 credits of coursework beyond those required for the first degree. The degrees must be from different disciplines, i.e.; students may not earn both a BA in Mathematics and a BS in Mathematics. To ensure that the student can adequately handle the increased demands of seeking two different degrees, it is strongly suggested that the student consult with advisors within the Undergraduate Studies Office.
    
    If a student already holds a Bachelor of Science degree or a Bachelor of Arts degree from Plymouth, students may apply for readmission for the purpose of retroactively adding a major to that degree; they will follow the Academic Catalog current at the time of readmission. The idea of retroactively adding a major pertains to Plymouth graduates whose second program is a degree program of the same type (i.e., a second major in a Bachelor of Science program or a second major in a Bachelor of Arts program). If the second major is in a different degree program (i.e., a Bachelor of Arts major degree program when they already hold a Bachelor of Science degree or vice versa), students must meet the following requirements. The student must complete at least 30 credits of coursework at Plymouth subsequent to the completion of the first bachelor’s degree. All of the requirements of the second degree program, including general education requirements that were not fulfilled in the first degree program, must be fulfilled. At least half of the courses in the new major must be completed at Plymouth.
    
    Students, who already hold a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts degree, from any other college or university, are allowed to pursue any of Plymouth’s degree programs once admitted. At least half of the courses in the new major program must be taken at Plymouth and the student must complete a minimum of 30 credits while at PSU. Students who already hold a degree from elsewhere are allowed to transfer in credits just as any other students are allowed to do (see ‘Transferring Courses to Plymouth’ below).
    
    Plymouth graduates may also apply for readmission for the purposes of retroactively adding a minor or option. Students seeking a new minor will follow the catalog current at the time of readmission. Since options are based on major degree programs, students will follow the original catalog whenever possible. When it is not possible, they will follow the catalog current at the time of readmission and will have to complete any outstanding major and general education requirements.
• Privacy and Disclosure of Information
  • A federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (popularly known as the Buckley Amendment), establishes certain rights for students with regard to their education records. In brief, the Act provides students the right to inspect their personal education records (with some exceptions), the opportunity to contest the contents of their records and protection from unauthorized disclosure of their education records to third parties outside the College. Basically, the University is not permitted to disclose personally identifiable information from the student’s education record without the prior written consent of the student.
    
    Access without prior approval of the student is permitted to PSU faculty and staff with a need to have access to educational information, to appropriate federal and state officials with statutory authorization, to accrediting agencies and educational testing organizations, to the parents of dependent students and in an emergency, to other appropriate persons acting to protect the health and safety of the student and others. At PSU the education records of students are released to parents only upon written request by the student or by the parents of dependent students with proof of dependency.
    
    
    Some educational records maintained by the University are not open to access by students: these include confidential letters of recommendation to which the student has waived access, the financial records which parents have submitted to the University, medical and counseling records used in providing treatment to the student, the records of the University security unit, records containing information on more than one student and records in the possession of the maker which are not accessible to other individuals. This last exception includes, for instance, the grade books of instructors and the desk files of faculty and administrators.
    
    The University is permitted to release the following "directory information" without the prior consent of the student: name, place and date of birth, enrollment status, confirmation status, most previous educational institution attended, parent’s name, home and campus address, e-mail address, phone number, dates of attendance, degree, date awarded or anticipated and curriculum, participation in recognized activities and sports, and height and weight of athletic team members. Grades are considered "directory information" to the extent of publishing honor rolls and in selecting students to honor sororities or to receive academic scholarships. Students have the right to restrict disclosure or release of any or all "directory information." Request must be submitted in writing to the Dean of Student Affairs within five weekdays after the beginning of fall or spring term. See the current Student Handbook for further information.
• Transcripts
  • The University transcript is the student’s permanent academic record. Ordinary transcript notations list courses taken and grades, as well as semester and cumulative grade point averages.
    
    Transcripts are provided without charge, though some restrictions apply. A statement of the transcript policy is posted at the Registrar’s Office and on the Registrar’s website. A transcript order form is available at the Office of the Registrar or may be downloaded from the web. Transcript orders must be in writing, or by fax, (603) 535-2724, and must include the following: full printed name, former names (if any), Student ID, Social Security Number, approximate dates of attendance at PSU, address(es) to which the transcript should be mailed, current address and phone number, and the student’s signature.
    
    Transcripts cannot be faxed; they will be mailed to the address(es) students provide or students may pick them up. Official transcripts are sealed and stamped ‘Official Transcript — Void If Opened’. The use of official transcripts is usually restricted to the transferring of credit from one institution to another or to the formal verification of a student’s University career at Plymouth for some official purpose. If a student merely wishes to see their transcript for their own purposes, they may print an informal copy at any time Banner Self Service— a computer-based student information system contained within the University Web Portal, myPlymouth
    
    Please note that official transcripts cannot be sent if a student has a financial hold. If this proves to be the case, the student will be notified of the hold and the proper office to contact to clear the hold.
• Transferring Courses to Plymouth
  • The university will allow transfer credit from accredited degree-granting institutions for courses which are appropriate to the curriculum desired and are graded C or above or its equivalent (a grade of P in a Pass/No Pass course). Academic credit for life experience and previous work experience is not given. A grade of C- or CD is not equivalent to a C. Only the credits will be transferred. Grades from other institutions will not appear on the PSU transcript nor will they be included in the student’s grade point average. The only exception to this is PSU courses taught through the University for Lifelong Learning (CLL) within the UNH system (translocated courses). When translocated courses are transferred into PSU, these courses are placed on the Plymouth transcript and treated as non-transferred courses. Grades earned in PSU courses, taught through CLL, are averaged into the student’s grade point average at PSU, regardless of grade.
    
    Transferred courses may be equivalent to Plymouth general education courses. However, in no case, will transfer credit satisfy the Integrative component of Plymouth’s general education program. Transferred courses may or may not satisfy the Writing course requirement within each of Plymouth’s major degree programs. This judgment is made independently of the judgment as to whether the transferred course is equivalent to the subject matter of a Plymouth course. The student wishing to transfer an acceptable course as a ‘W’ course should petition the chair of the major department and document that the transferred course did have a significant writing component.
    
    A course from a two-year university ordinarily transfers to Plymouth as lower level only. A course from a two-year university may transfer as upper-level only if equivalency to a Plymouth upper-level course can be documented. Students will have to supply course syllabi, sample texts, and other documents for evaluation by the appropriate department chair.
    
    No Plymouth course for which credit was received may be repeated at another institution. Only a course failed at Plymouth may be repeated elsewhere. Permission of the department chair in which the failed course is taught must be procured for the Plymouth ‘F’ grade to be removed from the grade point average calculation; the transfer course must be equivalent to the course failed at Plymouth.
    
    Transfer Credit Approval Forms are available from the Office of Undergraduate Studies. A Transfer Course Database is available on Plymouth’s web site. This database shows all courses that have been transferred into Plymouth from other colleges and the way that that credit has been applied to Plymouth’s degree programs. If a course appears in the Plymouth State University database, as having transferred in and applied in the way the student wishes to apply it, the Transfer Credit Approval Form merely provides a way to link the incoming transcript to the student’s request.
    
    In the event the course has never been transferred into Plymouth, or in the way the student wishes, the Transfer Credit Approval Form provides an opportunity for that course to be evaluated by Plymouth prior to the student taking it. A copy of the catalog course description must accompany the approval form. The department sponsoring the major determines the applicability of transfer credits to a student’s major. The Undergraduate Studies Office is responsible for assessing whether transferred courses meet any of Plymouth’s general education requirements. Appeals are addressed to the associate dean of academic affairs.
    
    Transfer agreements exist between Plymouth and many institutions to facilitate the transfer of credit for specific bachelor’s degree programs. A complete list of colleges and programs is available from the Office of Undergraduate Studies. All questions pertaining to the transfer of credit should be directed to Mary Campbell, Director of Curriculum Support, in the Undergraduate Studies Office.
• Ways to Earn Credit
  • tStudents may earn credit applicable to Plymouth degree programs by taking conventional classroom courses at Plymouth or by taking approved courses at other colleges and transferring in the earned credits as outlined above. Alternately, students may earn credit through independent study, individual enrollment, or by examination.
    
    Independent Studies are 4000 level, special individualized projects available only during the fall and spring semesters; students may earn one to four credits in any given independent study. This opportunity is intended to provide a capstone experience for upper-level students. Independent Study Forms are available at the Registrar’s Office and online. Completing the form involves receiving approval of the professor, appropriate department chair, advisor, and the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies (or designee) whose office is in the Undergraduate Studies Office. Once all signatures have been obtained, the student must bring this form in person to the Registrar’s Office to register for the course.
    
    Individual Enrollments are a way for a matriculated student to be able to take a required course not currently being offered during any given fall or spring semester. The student must demonstrate extenuating circumstances as to why the course could not be taken in the regular sequence. No individual enrollment will be granted for a course currently being offered. Individual enrollments are not available to non-matriculated continuing education students. Individual Enrollment Forms are available at the Registrar’s Office. Completing the form involves procuring the approval of the professor, appropriate department chair, advisor, and the associate Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies (or designee) whose office is in the Undergraduate Studies Office. Once all signatures have been obtained, the student must bring this form in person to the Registrar’s Office to register for the course. Credits earned are treated exactly as conventional classroom courses in regard to tuition and fees. There will be only one course offered by individual enrollment per faculty member in the fall and spring semesters; in Winterim and summer an individual enrollment comprises part of a faculty member’s teaching load.
    
    Credit by Examination is a way that students may earn a maximum of 30 credits. The examinations may be nationally standardized examinations or ones composed by Plymouth State University faculty. When students earn credit by examination, a notation is made on students' transcripts next to the pertinent credits.
    
    The nationally standardized examinations recognized by Plymouth are the AP (Advanced Placement), CLEP (College Level Examination Program), and Dantes examinations; grade reports for all are handled by the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. AP exams are typically given to juniors and seniors in high school. CLEP and Dantes exams can be taken on or off the Plymouth campus at official testing sites. If Plymouth is specified as a school to receive an official grade report, no further action is required of the student. In the case of AP exams, the appropriate academic department(s), acting in conjunction with the Undergraduate Studies Office, will determine whether credit and/or placement in advanced courses is to be granted. Scores on CLEP and Dantes exams will be assessed to see whether the standards for the conferring of credit have been met. If they have, credit will be given for courses in which students have not already received university credit. Information about nationally standardized examinations is available in the Undergraduate Studies Office where arrangements can be made to take either CLEP or Dantes exams.
    
    Students who believe they have adequate background in a particular subject may seek to obtain credit by taking an appropriate examination determined by Plymouth State University Faculty. The faculty member(s) and the academic department involved determine whether or not a course is open to credit-by-examination. They are responsible for administering, assessing and reporting the results to the Registrar if such an examination is given. Grades are not awarded. A credit-by-examination fee is required.