- Course Registration - Enrollment in any course is subject to approval of the department offering the course in order to ensure that students are adequately prepared for the course level and content. Students should pay careful attention to published course prerequisites. Decisions of the department may be appealed to the Academic Committee.
Students should meet with their advisors appropriately and/or consult the Director of Academic Advising to verify that they are registering in accordance with their degree plans. However, students have the ultimate responsibility for all decisions regarding course registration. - Explanation of Course Numbers - Courses are identified by subjects and four-digit numbers. The first digit indicates the level of a course. A “1” indicates first-year or entry level, while “3” and “4” indicate upper-division and typically presume prior completion of courses beginning with “1” or “2.” The second digit indicates the number of credit hours earned for successful completion of the course. The final two digits indicate the departmental sequence. Thus, Chemistry 1341 is a first-year chemistry course carrying 3-credit hours, and Chemistry 1141 is a first-year course carrying 1-credit hour. These two courses are lecture and lab for first-year General Chemistry and together, total 4-credit hours.
- Credit Hours - The unit of measurement for academic work is the credit hour, representing fifty minutes of class lecture or contact time per week for one semester. Two (2) to four (4) laboratory clock hours are usually required for earning 1-credit hour in a laboratory course.
- Semester Load - The minimum load an undergraduate student must carry to be considered full-time is 12-credit hours in each regular (fall or spring) semester. There is no minimum load for summer sessions.
The maximum load for an undergraduate student is 19-credit hours in each regular semester and 12-credit hours (adjusted if a course carries a laboratory requirement) in the summer term, but no more than two courses in any summer session. A student with a cumulative institutional GPA of 3.00 or higher may request permission to take an overload of not more than 3-credit hours per semester. Permission must be recommended by the student’s academic advisor and approved by the dean of the appropriate school. - Adding, Dropping, Changing Courses - Students wishing enrollment changes, such as adds, drops, change of section, change of level (upper and lower division), or change of grading basis (graded, audit, and pass/fail) must follow the deadlines published in the academic calendar for the current semester. Adds, drops and change of section should be completed online using myStThom. All other changes require the appropriate form and must be completed in the Registrar’s office no later than the deadline for 100% refund.
For fall and spring semesters, courses officially dropped through the 12th class day are not recorded on the transcript. From the 13th class day and ending with the last day of the 11th week of each semester, official drops are recorded as “W,” a grade not computed in the GPA. Students should transact all drops before the withdrawal deadline by using myStThom. - Audit Students - Auditors of courses at UST are classified as non-degree seeking students. Enrollment in a course as an audit student is on a noncredit basis, and a grade of “AUD” will be issued for the completed course. A record of the course audited appears on the transcript if the student course completes. Change in status between audit and credit is not permitted after the 100% refund deadline. An audit student who misses more than four weeks of classes, consecutively or not, will be reported to the Registrar, and no record of the course will appear on the student’s transcript.
Courses are available for audit at the discretion of the instructor and on a space-available basis. Students may complete and submit an audit registration form at any time during the registration period, but space availability will not be determined until the Friday before the start of the term. The Registrar’s Office will notify students by phone if they have been assigned an audit space. Spaces will be assigned on a first-come/first-serve basis.
Tuition for auditing a course must be paid by the last day of Late Registration for the term in which the course is being offered. - Classification - A student’s classification is based on the total number of credit hours successfully completed: freshman, 0 through 29 hours; sophomore, 30 through 59 hours; junior, 60 through 89 hours; senior, 90 hours and above.
- Grading and Point Equivalents
- A = 4.000 grade points per credit hour
- A- = 3.700 grade points per credit hour
- B+ = 3.300 grade points per credit hour
- B = 3.000 grade points per credit hour
- B- = 2.700 grade points per credit hour
- C+ = 2.300 grade points per credit hour
- C = 2.000 grade points per credit hour
- C- = 1.700 grade points per credit hour
- D+ = 1.300 grade points per credit hour
- D = 1.000 grade points per credit hour
- F = 0.000 grade points per credit hour
- P = Credit earned without affecting on the student’s GPA. See the policy on Pass/Fail Option.
- I = Incomplete. At the discretion of the faculty member, a grade of “I” may be assigned to a student who has successfully completed [i.e., with at least a passing grade] a majority of the work of the class and who has an unavoidable and compelling reason why the remainder of the work cannot be completed on schedule. Upon completion of the work within the next regular semester at the time prescribed by the faculty member (no later than the end of the following regular semester), the faculty member will award the student a letter grade, including the possibility of an “F.” An “I” grade that is not replaced by a letter grade or an “IE” grade will automatically become a grade of “F.”
- IE = Incomplete Extended. At the discretion of the faculty member, a grade of “IE” may be assigned to a student for one semester if the situation warrants. The “IE” grade that is not replaced by the end of the semester for which it was issued will automatically become a grade of “F.”
- W = Withdrawal or drop from a course without jeopardy or effect on GPA, in the period beginning with the 13th day of classes and ending with the last day of the 11th week of a regular semester. The student must complete an official form from the Registrar’s Office within the specified timelines. Failure to withdraw officially from any or all courses can result in a grade of “F.”
- AUD = Audit only; no credits earned.
- NGS = No grade submitted. This is a temporary notation used when a faculty member has not submitted a grade by a prescribed deadline. The course grade is pending. The faculty member will report the actual course grade by means of the official Request for Grade Change Form. NGS has no effect on a student’s term or cumulative GPA.
The description and interpretation of the letter grades is as follows:
- A, A- = Excellent (unusual and superior achievement)
- B+, B, B- = Good (above average, articulate achievement)
- C+, C = Satisfactory (average work)
- C-, D+, D = Passing (below standard)
- F = Failing
The GPA is calculated by adding the total number of grade points earned and then dividing by the total number of hours attempted at the University.
To achieve the minimum GPA required for a degree, the student must have obtained at least twice as many grade points as hours attempted at the University of St. Thomas. Courses taken outside the University of St. Thomas are not calculated in determining grade point averages.
- Final Semester Grades - Semester grades and cumulative statistics are available at the end of each semester on myStThom. Faculty members are not authorized to post final grades or release them to students by any other means. Students should review their grades carefully. A course grade may not be changed after one year following completion of the course.
- Classroom Behavior - A faculty member has the right to require that students observe reasonable norms of conduct and good manners in class. Smoking, eating and drinking by students or faculty are not permitted in classrooms and laboratories. Any breach of discipline in the classroom and/or inappropriate classroom behavior will be reported to the Vice President for Student Affairs and the dean of the school, so that the behavior may be addressed through the conduct process.