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 and other relevant information in this catalog. 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.” In most cases, 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. If a course ends with a character of ‘X’, this denotes that the course uses a non-degree grading basis (does not factor into the GPA). If a course ends with a character of ‘V’, the credit hours of the course are variable. For variable-credit classes, the 2nd digit will be a zero.
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 for a total of 750 minutes per credit hour. Two to four 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 in a non-accelerated program 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 per 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 three 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 to make enrollment changes must follow the deadlines published in the academic calendar for the applicable semester and session. Please note that changes of level (upper and lower division) or changes to the grading basis (graded, audit, pass/fail, etc.) should be completed by the Last Day to Add Classes deadline. Adds, drops and change of section Enrollment changes should be completed online using myStThom.
For fall and spring semesters, courses officially dropped through the 12th class day are not recorded on the transcript. During the withdrawal period from the 13th class day and ending with the last day of the 11th week of each regular semester (or as specified on the Academic Calendar for courses in other sessions), official drops are recorded as “W,” a grade not computed in the GPA. Students are advised to complete all drops before the withdrawal period deadline by using myStThom.
The University reserves the right to modify courses listed, to add courses to the list of offerings and to cancel scheduled courses with insufficient enrollment.
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 completes the course. 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. 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. Incomplete grade requests can only be submitted after the end of the formal withdrawal (“W”) period. Upon the completion of the work within the next regular semester at the time prescribed by the faculty member, 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 by the end of the grade deadline in the subsequent regular semester 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 grade deadline of the semester in which it expires will automatically become a grade of “F.” |
| FN | = | Failure, Never Attended. Same grade point calculation as “F.” Denotes that student never attended but did not officially withdraw. This is an internal classification for tracking purposes, and the official grade will appear as an “F’ on the transcript. |
| FS | = | Failure, Stopped Attending. Same grade point calculation as “F.” Denotes that student never attended but did not officially withdraw. This is an internal classification for tracking purposes and will appear on the transcript as an “F”. |
|
S |
= |
Satisfactory progress. This grade is reserved for a course that typically goes beyond one semester. A final grade is posted upon completion of the work. |
|
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, or as specified on the Academic Calendar for courses in other sessions. Failure to withdraw officially from any or all courses within the specified period to withdraw with a ‘W’ can result in a grade of “F.” |
|
WF |
= |
Withdrawal or drop from a course after the end of official withdrawal period, ending on the last day of classes for the term. Equivalent to “F’ grade, earning 0.00 grade points per credit hour and impacting term and cumulative GPA. |
|
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 their myStThom account or the official 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, FS, FN, WF |
= |
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.