Introduction

This Academic Policy and Procedures Manual is a guide to the academic policies and procedures currently in effect at the University of North Dakota. It is intended to be a reference primarily for faculty, academic advisers, and other academic staff in understanding academic policies approved by the University Senate, the University, and the State Board of Higher Education. We hope it will be helpful to anyone who advises students or does other academic work at the University. Please be aware that these policies are under continuous review and subject to modification. Other sources for academic information include the UND Academic Catalog and the Faculty Handbook. Please send any questions or ideas for additions or improvements to this manual to the Office of the Registrar.

Academic Calendar The academic calendar is approved by the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education. The current UND academic calendar can be found at the Office of the Registrar web site by clicking here.

Academic Honors

PRESIDENT’S HONOR ROLL

At the end of each semester, a list of undergraduate honor students is published and designated as the President’s Honor Roll. To qualify, a student must have an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.80 or higher. The student must also have earned a minimum of 30 semester hours and have completed a minimum of 12 hours at the close of the semester, eight of which must be for traditional letter grades. Honors are computed based on grades received at the end of the regular semester. Grades submitted for courses that extend beyond the semester are not considered in honors calculations.

DEAN’S LIST

The Dean’s List, published at the end of each semester, contains the names of students who are ranked in the top 15 percent of their college. The students must have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours at the close of the semester, eight of which must be for traditional letter grades. Honors are computed based on grades received at the end of the regular semester. Grades submitted for courses that extend beyond the semester are not considered in honors calculations.

GRADUATION HONORS

Candidates for the bachelor’s degree who achieve a scholastic average of 3.20 will be graduated cum laude; those with an average of 3.50, magna cum laude; those with an average of 3.70, summa cum laude. A student with transferred credits will be similarly distinguished if his/her cumulative record and record at the University of North Dakota each meet the requirements. A gold seal indicating the honor will be affixed to the diploma upon graduation. The honor will be recorded on the student’s academic record. Because final grades are not available when commencement is held, honors listed in the commencement program are based on the grade average(s) of the previous semester. The honors will be confirmed and recorded based on all grades at the time of the posting of the degree on the transcript.

HONORS MISC.

It is possible for a student to make the President's Honor Roll and not the Dean's List. This happens because the Dean's List is based on the student's performance for that particular semester only. The President's Honor Roll is based on a Cumulative GPA (3.80) once a student has earned 30 or more semester hours (credits) as well as the minimum number of credits required for the semester (12 total with 8 being for letter grade). All honors are based on the grades available at the end of the regular academic term.

Academic Year

The academic year is divided into two semesters, each approximately 16 weeks in length: the first, beginning near the end of August and ending prior to Christmas; the second, beginning in mid-January and extending to mid-May. A Summer Session begins in May and concludes in August. The UND Summer Session offers the variety of four-week, six-week, eight-week, and twelve-week courses and choices of credit and non-credit workshops, institutes, and special programs of various lengths. The academic calendar can be found on the Office of the Registrar web site.

Access to Student Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as amended (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. Information may be accessed by University faculty or staff only if there is a legitimate educational need to know. All personnel at the University have a responsibility to keep student records they may access private and confidential. More information about FERPA is available at http://www.und.edu/dept/registrar/FERPA/index.htm.

While parents understandably have an interest in a student's academic progress, they cannot be granted access to a student's records without consent of the student. We encourage parents to consult with the student if academic information is needed. Students may choose to complete and submit a "Student Consent to Release Educational and Financial Records" form and submit it to the Business Office providing consent to the release of information concerning his or her education records to their parent(s). However, a written request from the parent must be received before any information can be released. Student information is not released over the telephone.

Administrative Procedures Committee

The Administrative Procedures Committee was formed by the University Senate to hear petitions regarding exceptions to University-wide policy. The Registrar serves as the non-voting chairperson of this committee and handles meeting times and petitions. The form to file a petition is available on the Office of the Registrar web site at http://www.und.nodak.edu/dept/registrar/forms/forms.htm.

Admission to the University

Undergraduates may be admitted to the University in one of four categories: Regular Admission (full-time or part-time); Transient Admission; Undergraduate Non-Degree Admission; or Audit Admission. See Types of Admissions for definitions of these admission categories.

For provisions governing admission to the Law School and medical studies in the Medical School, applicants should consult the respective bulletins of those schools.

Graduate students should refer to the graduate section of the UND Catalog.

Types of Admission

Regular Admission is granted to a student who has met the entrance requirements and is enrolled as a candidate for a degree. A student whose entrance units are satisfactory is classified as follows, provided he or she has the hours of credit indicated: a freshman, less than 24 hours; a sophomore, 24 hours; a junior, 60 hours; a senior, 90 hours.

Transient Admission.  A transient student is one who is in good standing at another college or university and who enrolls at the University for a summer session or one semester only and plans to transfer the credits earned to apply toward a degree at the other institution. Transient students do not qualify for financial aid. Credit earned as a transient student may be applied toward a UND degree if the student qualifies for Regular Admission.

Undergraduate Non-Degree Admission.  Students who defer Regular Admission while they enroll in a course(s) for purposes other than the completion of a degree may enroll as undergraduate non-degree students. Students enrolling with this status are not eligible for federal financial aid and may not exceed a total of 12 semester hours of credit as undergraduate non-degree students. Enrollment in courses beyond 12 semester credits will be contingent upon Regular Admission after satisfying all entrance requirements.

Audit Admission. Students who plan only to enroll in university classes as auditors will be admitted as auditors and have a status and responsibility in class distinctly different from that of those taking the course for credit. Students wishing to enroll in university classes as auditors must seek and receive the prior consent of the instructor concerned. Anyone enrolling without such consent may be canceled from the class by the instructor. An auditor is not required to participate in the oral or written work of the class. He or she takes no examinations and receives no credit for the course. He or she is identified to the instructor concerned as an auditor on the official class list. An auditor may not later establish credit in that course by taking a special examination. The course must be repeated as UND institutional credit to earn credit. While a student cannot fail an audit, an instructor may file a “W” (withdrawn) for non-attendance.

Articulation Agreements 

Articulation agreements at UND come in two forms. The first is the course by course equivalency guide. This guide is used to determine course acceptance and course equivalency between UND and another institution. The second type of articulation agreement is the program articulation agreement. This guide lists the courses a student should complete at a transfer partner institution prior to transferring to UND. These courses have been approved for a particular major by the college dean and are guaranteed to transfer as a specific course within that major. Both of these types of articulation agreements may be found on the web site of the Office of the Registrar at http://www.und.nodak.edu/dept/registrar/articulation/transpg.html.

Catalog Editions

The UND Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Catalog is published biennially. The Catalog is available on the web at http://www.und.nodak.edu/dept/registrar/catalogs/catalog/index.htm. Information included within the Academic Catalog is subject to change without notice and is not regarded as a binding contract on the institution or the state. Please refer to the Catalog for full information on this policy.

Students who matriculate to UND but do not complete a degree program and then return to UND may return under their initial Catalog when it makes educational sense to do so. The student’s school or college makes the final determination which Catalog should be used by the returning student.

The graduation requirements of the University and its colleges, schools, and departments, as published in the Catalog in effect at the beginning of the first semester the student is enrolled at the University, are those which must be met for completion of an undergraduate degree program. Subsequent changes in requirements, as published in the Catalog or amended by the University Senate and the State Board of Higher Education, may be substituted by the student’s school or college. The University reserves the right to make changes in curricula at any time, when in its judgment, such changes are for the best interests of students. Courses listed in this Catalog are subject to change through normal academic channels. New courses and changes in existing course work are initiated by the responsible departments or programs and are approved by the appropriate dean and college or school curriculum committee, the University Curriculum Committee, the University Senate, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Board of Higher Education.

Changing a Major

Students request a change of major at the dean’s office of the school or college offering the major.

Change of Registration

Students must be officially registered in the class to attend. Students whose names do not appear on the grade roster should be sent to the Office of the Registrar to add the course and should not be allowed to attend after the last day to attend without registration. After a student has registered, he or she should consult with his or her adviser before changing the registration, although this is not required by all programs. Students should be aware that all drops after the tenth day of class may affect their ability to have financial aid in the future.

The last day to drop a full-term course without a grade for all students is on the Friday five weeks preceding the last class day of each term. After this date, a student may not cancel individual courses but must carry them to completion. Requests for an exception to this policy must be petitioned to the Senate Administrative Procedures Committee. Students should continue to attend class until a decision has been made by the Committee.

If a full-term course is dropped within the first ten days of the semester, no indication of enrollment is made on the student’s permanent academic record. If a course is dropped after the first ten days of the semester, the enrollment is recorded on the student’s permanent academic record and a “W” is entered in the grade column. However, all courses for which the student is enrolled after the tenth day of the term will count toward their satisfactory progress for financial aid.

No change in registration involving addition of a new course or a change of sections is permitted after the tenth day of instruction of the semester (except during Summer Session). Changes from credit to audit or changes to or from S-U grading are permitted until the last day to drop that course. The specific deadlines for the various types of changes of registration are published in the Schedule of Courses each semester.

Dates for part-term courses are listed in the Schedule of Courses published by the registrar each term. This schedule is also available on the Office of the Registrar web site. Faculty should clearly list all academic dates for adding and dropping part-term courses in their course syllabus.

Class Attendance

Attendance and participation in class activities are considered integral parts of a university education. It is University policy that attendance in classes is expected of all students. While attendance is necessary to demonstrate competence via participation in some classes, attendance itself is not a measure of competence, and therefore, shall not be used as a criterion for evaluation. Students' grades shall be based on recognized academic standards, e.g., scholarly achievement and examination performance. Faculty are encouraged to find appropriate ways to reflect in their grading the quality of participation and contributions of students to their classes. Students shall be informed by their instructors during the first week of classes of the criteria to be used in assigning grades in each course.

Approved: UND Senate, 01-17-74

Common Course Numbering 

All universities and colleges in the North Dakota University System (NDUS) have agreed on common course numbers (CCN’s) for many of the courses they offer. When students transfer from one NDUS institution to another, the CCN transfer courses will fulfill all the same requirements* as would the CCN course at the new school (*transfer CCN courses will not fulfill the last 30 hours in residence requirements nor will 100-level and 200-level courses fulfill upper division requirements.) A full list of common course numbers is available at http://www.und.nodak.edu/dept/registrar/cnn.html.

Curriculum Changes

The Senate Curriculum Committee is responsible for reviewing all curriculum changes at the University. The Office of the Registrar records all curriculum requirements and changes. Curriculum changes may need to be reviewed by different committees before approval. A curriculum routing and approval list may be found on the Curriculum Committee web site.

Deficiency Reports

Individual mid-term reports of unsatisfactory work, i.e., D, F, and U, of students are made by all instructors at the end of the first eight weeks of the semester. A grade of D is considered unsatisfactory although it is a passing grade. The Registrar mails deficiency reports to students who have been reported deficient. Reports of deficiency are also sent to the academic deans and advisers to be used for advisement purposes. Deficiency grades do not appear on the student’s permanent record. It is the student’s responsibility to keep informed of his/her own performance in a class.

Degree Requirements

General policies for degree requirements are found in the Academic Catalog under Undergraduate Degree Requirements or Graduate Degree Requirements.

Double Use of Courses

Courses taken at the University may not normally be used to fulfill the requirements for the total credits needed for the degree requirements of two separate majors, two minors, or a major and a minor.

Courses may count towards major or minor requirements and also fulfill general education requirements. There are a few exceptions to this rule, and these exceptions are listed under departmental requirements in the Academic Catalog.

Grade Point Average

The University records a term, an institutional, and a cumulative grade point average (GPA) for students. The term GPA is based on work taken at UND during a term. The institutional GPA reflects all work attempted at the University. The cumulative GPA includes all postsecondary work attempted at UND and accepted in transfer. To qualify for a degree, a student must achieve a minimum of 2.00 on both institutional GPA and cumulative GPA. Program degree requirements may call for a higher GPA.

Residency Requirements

To receive a degree from UND, students must have 60 semester credits from a four-year institution and at least 30 (normally the last 30) semester credits earned at UND.

Application for Degree

Formal application for degree must be made to the Office of the Registrar or to the dean of the college from which the degree is being earned within the first four weeks of the semester in which the student expects to receive the degree.

Second Baccalaureate Degree

Students who have majors falling under different degrees may be eligible for a second degree. A candidate for a second degree must have at least 155 semester credits (30 beyond the 125 required for the first degree) and meet all requirements for the second degree. Each successive baccalaureate degree will require an additional 30 semester credits. At least one-half of the additional thirty credits must be institutional credit.

Upper Division Credit Required

A minimum of 36 semester credits must be completed in upper division courses to qualify to receive a degree from UND.

 Dismissal Policy

A student who has earned less than 90 total hours will be considered in good academic standing if he or she maintains a UND grade point average (GPA) of C (2.00) or higher. A student who has earned 90 or more total hours will be in good academic standing only with a 2.00 or higher GPA on both UND and cumulative hours. Any student who does not satisfy these requirements will, at the end of the term in which he or she fails to meet minimum standards, be placed on academic probation. Academic probation and dismissal will be noted on the student’s transcript. Subsequent failure to meet these standards will result in dismissal from the University.

Dismissed students must petition the school or college to which they wish to be reinstated at the University. If the student has been absent from UND for a semester he/she must also apply for readmission to the University. The simple form for readmission is available on the Office of the Registrar web site.

After reinstatement to the University, the student must meet the stipulations from the dean of the school or college to which they are reinstated to be continued on probation. The student must meet the GPA standards listed above to be removed from probation and returned to good academic standing.

Enrollment Verification to Lenders

The University of North Dakota participates in the National Student Clearinghouse. The University regularly submits a report of students' enrollment status to the Clearinghouse which, in turn, supplies verification of enrollment to lending agencies. All deferment loan forms are forwarded to the Clearinghouse. Enrollment verification certificates are available from the Clearinghouse at no charge by using Web ALFI.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records such as files, documents, transcripts, and other materials which contain information directly related to a student’s academic record, financial state, and medical condition which are maintained by the University of North Dakota or any party acting on its behalf. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under programs of the U.S. Department of Education.

In compliance with FERPA, UND has developed policy guidelines for access to the education record with respect to the rights of eligible students and parents of dependent eligible students. This policy is available in the Code of Student Life.

Students have certain rights under FERPA and those include the right to receive annual notification of their FERPA rights, the right to inspect and review their educational records, the right to request amendments to educational records, the right to limited disclosure of personally identifiable information, the assurance that third parties will not disclose personally identifiable information, and the right to know, in most cases, when requests for and disclosures of student educational records are made.

More information about FERPA is available at http://www.und.edu/dept/registrar/FERPA/index.htm.

Final Examination Policy 

An examination is held at the end of most courses according to the published examination schedule. Alternate evaluation methods and schedules may be used when recommended by the departmental faculty and approved by the dean of the college offering the course. Any change in time from the published schedule requires the recommendation of the chairperson of the department and approval of the dean of the college offering the course. Any student who would be disadvantaged by such a change should report this in advance to the dean of the college offering the course, who will ensure that satisfactory alternate arrangements will be made by the instructor. A student who is absent from a regularly scheduled examination without an excuse considered valid by the instructor is normally given an F for the course. If the excuse is valid, the policy on incomplete grades will apply.

No undergraduate student should be obliged to write three or more finals on the same day. If the student has three or more finals scheduled the same day, the student wishing an accommodation regarding final exams should contact his/her instructors to establish a mutually acceptable time to reschedule one or more of the exams. Any student request for the rescheduled final exam must be presented to the instructor before the end of the tenth week of the semester, otherwise, the student’s rescheduling right is forfeited. If an accommodation cannot be reached, he or she should contact the department chair(s) to find a mutually agreeable time. If no agreement is reached, the appropriate dean(s) should be contacted. The final appeal, if no mutually convenient time has been found, will be to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

General Education Requirements Committee

The Senate General Education Requirements (GER) Committee provides faculty guidance and oversight of general education by defining the principles and goals, developing and implementing policies, and setting standards for courses that carry general education credit. The Committee also hears appeals from students on exceptions to University general education policies.

The Senate General Education Requirements Committee web site has more information about procedures.

General Education Requirements Transfer Agreement (GERTA)

In March 1994, the State Board of Higher Education adopted the General Education Requirement Transfer Agreement.   This agreement was created to help students when they transfer between institutions comprising the North Dakota University System. Students who complete their GER’s at one of the institutions which are a part of GERTA (after their institution’s entry date into GERTA) will be deemed to have completed their GERs at any NDUS institution. Students may complete just their GER’s or may earn an A.A. or A.S. degree to qualify for GERTA completion.

The GERTA agreements are published in a document known as the GERTA Gold and Silver Guide. This guide is available on-line at http://www.ndus.edu/student_info/transfer_info.

General Education Requirement Transfer from Minnesota
Mn Transfer Curriculum Policy

In 2002, the Senate General Education Requirements Committee approved a request to accept the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institution (MnSCU) general education requirement curriculum (MnTransfer) as equivalent to UND’s general education requirements. Students matriculating to UND with a BA, BS, or AA degree earned during or after the spring semester of 2002 from a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institution (MnSCU) will be deemed to have completed UND’s general education requirements. Students may also complete the MnTransfer Curriculum without earning a degree. Students fitting this description will be asked to obtain a letter from their institution’s Registrar’s Office indicating completion of this program.

Grade Changes

Submitted grades, except for grades of incomplete, are final and may only be changed to correct an error. Grades may not be changed by additional work or submitting additional materials. Students should report any error to their instructor within 90 days of receipt of the grade. The instructor must file a change of grade form to the Registrar signed by the instructor, the department chair, and the dean of the course. Reasons for the change must be fully explained and justified.

Grade Forgiveness

Currently enrolled undergraduate students who have interrupted their college/university education for a period of seven years or more, may petition to exclude all previous grades from GPA calculations. The student may not select certain courses to be part of the seven-year rule, but must include all courses which are seven years or older. Such courses and their actual grades would appear on the student’s academic record, but letter grades would not be calculated for GPA purposes. Excluded courses could not be used to satisfy any academic requirements.

A student requesting this option must have a written petition approved by the student’s academic adviser, department chairperson, and dean of the college from which the degree is sought. If the student changes degree college after approval of this petition, the student would be required to petition again.

Please note that this policy applies only to currently enrolled undergraduate students. Former students attending other institutions may not petition to have their grades removed from their UND GPA.

Grade Reports

Students may check their grades on the World Wide Web using Web ALFI at www.und.edu/dept/registrar or by calling Phone ALFI at (701) 777-3693. The University of North Dakota does not mail grade reports at the end of each semester.

Incomplete Policy

It is expected that students will complete all requirements for a course during the time frame of the course. For reasons beyond a student's control, and upon request by the student or on behalf of the student, an incomplete grade may be assigned by the instructor when there is reasonable certainty the student will successfully complete the course without retaking it. The mark “I,” Incomplete, shall be assigned only to the student who has been in attendance and has done satisfactory work up to a time within four weeks of the close of the semester, including the examination period, and whose work is incomplete for reasons satisfactory to his or her instructor. Incompletes are entered on the final grade sheet. Incomplete grades convert to grades of “F” if a grade change is not submitted by the instructor within two calendar months after the month in which the course ends after the next semester of the regular academic year (fall or spring semester) or by an earlier date specified on the incomplete form by the instructor. An incomplete may be extended for up to twelve calendar months by submitting a petition to the Office of the Registrar with the approval of the instructor of the course and the dean of the college offering the course for undergraduates and the Dean of the Graduate School for graduate students. An incomplete grade must be changed by twelve calendar months from the ending date of the class. An “I” may be converted as indicated above but cannot be expunged from the record. Students may not register in courses in which they currently hold grades of incomplete, except for courses that allow repeated enrollment. A student will not be allowed to graduate with an unconverted incomplete grade on the academic record.

This policy was adopted Fall Semester 2003. Previous semester incomplete grades fall under an earlier policy. Contact the Office of the Registrar for questions concerning administration of previous incomplete grades.

In-Progress Grade Policy

The Graduate School or the Honors Program may assign a grade of “SP” Satisfactory Progress or “UP” Unsatisfactory Progress, to Honors Thesis (489), Thesis (998), Dissertation (999), Independent Study (997), Research Design (Engineering 595), English 591, Professional Exhibition (VA 599), or Research (leading to the thesis or dissertation). The “SP” or “UP” grade for these activities, which usually span several sessions, need not be replaced until the conclusion of the activity, usually a student's final semester. Grades of “SP” or “UP” are not calculated into the term or cumulative GPA values and will be expunged from the record upon submission of final grades for the course.

Instructor’s Drop Policy

An instructor may submit a list of students to be deleted from class rolls who have neither attended class nor notified the instructor of withdrawal within the first five days from commencement of University instruction. The Registrar will delete from the class rolls the names of students received and mail to the current local address a revised class schedule to each student dropped from a course in this manner. Not all instructors follow this policy since it is not mandatory. Students, therefore, are strongly advised not to assume that they have been dropped from a course. Students should review their registration status in a course in question with the Office of the Registrar.

Probation

A student who has earned less than 90 total hours will be considered in good academic standing if he or she maintains a UND grade point average (GPA) of C (2.00) or higher. A student who has earned 90 or more total hours will be in good academic standing only with a 2.00 or higher GPA on both UND and cumulative hours. Any student who does not satisfy these requirements will, at the end of the term in which he or she fails to meet minimum standards, be placed on academic probation. Academic probation and dismissal will be noted on the student’s transcript. Subsequent failure to meet these standards will result in dismissal from the University.

Readmission

Students who leave the University for at least one complete semester (excluding summer terms) are required to submit an application for readmission to the Office of the Registrar. Readmission to the University does not guarantee readmission to a particular degree program at UND. The Request for Readmission Form is available from the UND Office of the Registrar web site or upon request from the Office of the Registrar. Students who were previously dismissed from the University must be reinstated by the dean of the school or college to which they wish to be admitted before applying for readmission.

Students who have enrolled in courses from other institutions during their time away from UND must have official transcripts sent from each institution attended. Failure to declare attendance at another institution is cause for dismissal and may result in cancellation of registration or any earned degrees to be revoked. Students whose institutional and cumulative GPAs are below 2.00 based on all postsecondary work accepted by the University may be denied readmission or may be readmitted on probation. Students whose GPA is under 2.00 will be allowed readmission to UND only upon the approval of the dean of their prospective school or college.

Refund for Class Changes (Drop/Add)

Students dropping a class during the first seven instructional class days of the semester will receive a 100% refund of tuition and fees. After the seventh class day of the semester there is no refund for a class which is dropped. However, classes of the same or fewer credits may be substituted at no additional tuition/fee charge. If the substituted class requires a special course fee, the student will be assessed that charge.

Repetition of Courses

A student who receives a grade of D or F in a course may repeat the course without special permission. Courses in which grades of C or better are earned may be repeated upon written approval of the department concerned and the dean of the college offering the course and the student’s academic adviser. Without this approval, both grades will be recorded on the student’s permanent record, with the last grade being marked as duplication and not being counted in the student’s GPA. If a course repetition is taken for traditional A through F letter grading, the last grade achieved in the course will be used in calculating the student’s grade point average. Repeating an approved course with S-U grading will eliminate the effects of previous credits from the student’s GPA if the achieved result is an S, but repetition which results in a U will leave the effects of the earlier grade intact.

Scholastic Honesty

Students are expected to maintain scholastic honesty. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion, or forging academic documents. For detailed policy statements and procedures dealing with scholastic dishonesty, see the Code of Student Life, Section 3.

Special Exams for Credit

A regularly enrolled student may apply to take ‘‘special’’ (challenge or validating) examinations to establish credit for approved University courses. Requests to take an examination must be made to the chair of the department offering the course. Approval of the department chair, the instructor of the course and the dean of the college offering the course(s) are required. A petition with the appropriate signatures must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office prior to examinations. A committee of three appointed by the chair of the department offering the course will administer and evaluate the examinations, a majority being necessary to award a grade. Special examinations must be searching and comprehensive. Grades of ‘‘Satisfactory’’ or “Unsatisfactory” will be recorded on the student’s permanent record upon recommendation of the committee, but will not be used to compute scholastic average. The fee per credit hour for a validating or challenge examination is one-half the regular credit hour fee for the course to be challenged. Receipt of payment must be presented to the instructor prior to examination.

Students may apply to take challenge or validating examinations to establish credit in University of North Dakota courses which correspond to work taken at unaccredited and non-degree granting institutions, or for courses in which they have superior preparation or knowledge gained through independent study. These exams are offered for courses which have no equivalent CLEP subject exams. Students who have audited a course, or who have previously enrolled in a course and then dropped it, will not ordinarily be permitted to take a special examination in that course.

Student Load

Full time status is accorded to a student enrolled in 12 hours in a Fall or Spring semester. A part-time student is enrolled in less than 12 semester hours. For a member of the freshman class, 16 hours a semester is considered a normal schedule. Outside work or activities may necessitate a reduction of the student’s academic schedule. The class load of any freshman who ranks in the lower half of his or her high school class may be restricted to 12 semester credits. The minimum amount of work in which a student shall be enrolled is left to the discretion of the academic adviser. For most undergraduate colleges from 15 to 17 hours of class work a week is the normal load. A student wishing to enroll in more than 21 semester hours must obtain approval from his/her adviser and the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled.

Student Records

The student records maintained by the University fall into two general categories—directory information and educational records. As the custodian of student records and in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, the University assumes the trust and obligation to ensure the full protection of these student records. The University practices the policy of maintaining the confidentiality of educational records. It also guarantees that all records pertaining to a student (with the exception of those specifically exempted in the Code of Student Life) will be produced, with reasonable notice, for inspection by that individual student. The administrative procedures on student records as outlined in the Code of Student Life are adhered to by University personnel who have or accumulate educational records which are in a personally identifiable form.

Directory information, which may be released publicly in printed, electronic, or other form, is defined to include the following: the student’s name, home address, local address, telephone listing, e-mail address, date and place of birth, major field of study, class level, participation in officially recognized activities, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of enrollment, degrees and awards received, and the most recent educational institution attended by the student. The student may request that directory information not be made public by completing an appropriate form in the Office of the Registrar no earlier than the first day of class and no later than the 10th day of class in a semester (or fifth class day in the eight week summer session). This request will remain in effect for one academic year. In the event of such a request, these data will be treated as educational records information.

Educational records are those documents, records, files, and other materials which contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by the University of North Dakota or a person acting on behalf of the University. Educational records include more than academic records. Educational records, with the exception of those designated as public directory information, may not be released without written consent of the student to any individual, agency or organization other than authorized personnel. Directory Information may be released publicly in printed, electronic, or other form. See the Code of Student Life, Section 8, for details on the various ramifications of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), its implementing federal regulations, and UND policies. Students have a right to file a complaint regarding a violation of FERPA with the Affirmative Action Office, 101 Twamley Hall, P.O. Box 7097, Grand Forks, ND 58202-7097, or with the Family Policy and Regulations Office, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202.

S-U Grading 

Grades of S or U rather than the traditional grades of A through F are used by the University in courses approved for S/U grading. A grade of S grants credit toward graduation but does not affect a student’s grade point average except as outlined below in item number 5. A grade of U also does not affect the grade point average and does not grant credit toward graduation.

Elective S-U Enrollment. A student of sophomore, junior or senior standing (as determined by the Registrar) may elect to enroll in one or more courses per semester for S-U grading subject to the following regulations:

Class rolls and grade sheets will not identify students who are enrolled for S-U grading. Grades of A, B, and C will be converted by the Office of the Registrar to a grade of S. Grades of D and F will be converted to U. Changes in registration to or from S-U grading for fall and spring semesters may be made during the first five weeks of the semester. The deadline for that same activity during the Summer Session is determined by using a time guideline which is proportionate to that for the academic year (see Academic Calendar).

Students who utilize the S-U grading system are cautioned that they may encounter difficulty in having such credit accepted or evaluated, should they attempt to transfer credit to another university, change majors, or make application for graduate or professional study.

Required S-U Courses. Some courses, as approved by the University Curriculum Committee, will be offered by S-U grading only. These courses may be taken in excess of the 30-hour limitation if they are required for that student’s program. Students who do enroll in a required S-U class, which is not a program requirement for them, must include it in the 30 hour maximum and comply with all other elective S-U regulations.

Transcripts of Academic Records

Transcript requests must be submitted in writing. Either a completed “transcript request’’ form or a letter bearing the student’s signature is acceptable. Telephone requests cannot by federal law be honored nor can requests by relatives or friends of a student. A request for a transcript of credits by a student who is in debt to the University will not be honored until the indebtedness has been paid. The written request by the student should be sent to the Office