UAS Academic CatalogAcademic Regulations
Class Standing
Based on total credits earned, students are classified as:
| Freshman: | 0 to 29 credits |
| Sophomore: | 30 to 59 credits |
| Junior: | 60 to 94 credits |
| Senior: | 95 credits and above |
Only students who are officially admitted to degree programs have class standing. Incoming transfer students will be given initial class standing based on the number of transfer credits accepted by UAS.
Attendance
Regular attendance is expected in all classes; unexcused absences may result in a failing grade. It is the student’s responsibility to confer with instructors about absences and the possibility of arranging to make up missed work.
Full–Time/Part–Time Status
An undergraduate student who registers for 12 or more semester credit hours will be classified as full–time. However, in order to complete an undergraduate degree in four years, it is necessary for undergraduates to take at least 15 credits per semester. Undergraduates may enroll in up to 18 credits without special permission. To enroll in 19 credits or more, a student will need the approval of the academic advisor and registrar or campus director. A graduate student enrolled in nine or more graduate semester credit hours or its equivalent will also be classified as full–time. Part-time undergraduate students register for less than 12 credits.
Courses that are audited or challenged through University course challenges are not included in the full- and part-time status computation for UAS students. Students receiving financial aid should consult the Financial Aid Office before registering for correspondence courses.
Degree Program Changes
Once formally admitted, in good standing and in attendance, students may request to change their degree, their emphasis, or their assigned advisor. In addition, students may add a second degree. These changes can be made by completing the Change of Major form, available online and at the Student Resource Center or Registrar’s Office in Juneau, the Records and Registration Office on the Ketchikan campus, the Advising Office on the Sitka campus and on the Web.
Students admitted only to an Occupational Endorsement need to apply for admissions if they wish to add a higher level degree. The Change of Major form can be used to add or change Occupational Endorsements.
All catalog requirements for the new major or degree at the time of the admission to the new major must be fulfilled. Students may choose the catalog under which they wish to graduate once they have been admitted to their program (as long as it does not predate the admission year).
Academic Petition
Deviations from academic requirements and regulations for both undergraduate and graduate students must be approved by academic petition. Petition forms are available online and from Registrar’s Office or Student Services on each campus.
The petition review committee reserves the right to request additional documentation and signatures prior to making a final decision regarding the petition request. By providing supporting documents and signatures the committee will be able to make a more informed decision regarding the request.
Changes in course level, grading, or number of credits awarded are not petitionable. Federal financial aid regulations do not recognize academic amnesty (forgiveness), and instead require cumulative measures of satisfactory academic progress, including all attempted coursework. Grades are not allowed to be changed after submission unless a student didn’t commence attendance. These will still be reviewed in the Satisfactory Academic Progress rules.
Academic Appeal: See Dispute Resolution, Student.
Academic Standings
UAS assesses academic standing only for students admitted to a degree program. Students who fall below “good standing” will be notified and directed to seek assistance from an academic advisor. The following four levels of academic standings are:
Good Standing: Students are in academic good standing when they have a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher (3.00 or higher for graduate students) and a recent semester grade point average of 2.00 or higher (3.00 or higher for graduate students). First-semester students are presumed to be in academic good standing during their initial semester unless the student has been admitted on probationary status. Please note that Good Standing is not the same as Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid. See the policies regarding Verification of Academic Progress for students receiving financial aid.
Academic Warning: Any time a student’s semester GPA drops below a 2.00, he or she will be given an academic warning. A registration hold will be placed on the student account, requiring the student to meet with an academic advisor prior to registering for a subsequent semester.
Academic Probation: If a student’s cumulative and/ or semester GPA drops below a 2.00, he or she will be placed on academic probation. A student can only be removed from probation status by raising his or her cumulative GPA to a 2.00 within one semester after being placed on academic probation. A registration hold will be placed on your student account, requiring the student to meet with an academic advisor prior to registering for a subsequent semester.
Academic Program Removal: Any student who remains on academic probation for two consecutive semesters of attendance or students admitted on probation not making a 2.00 will be removed from his or her degree program. Notify the Registrar's Office or Admissions to be placed back into your degree program; an application fee for readmission will not be required.
If a student’s cumulative GPA is less than a 2.00, but he or she earns a semester GPA above a 2.50, the University will recognize the student’s attempt to reach academic good standing and the student will continue on probation until both the semester and cumulative GPAs are above a 2.00. A registration hold will be placed on the student account, requiring the student to meet with an academic advisor prior to registering for a subsequent semester.
Graduate Probation: When a student’s cumulative graduate program GPA has dropped below 3.00, the student is placed on academic probation and dropped from candidacy status (if applicable). Terms and conditions of the probation are determined by the program dean or program advisor. These may include specific conditions and/or credit limitations the student must meet during his or her next enrollment at UAS. When the student is removed from academic probation, the student should contact his or her advisor to reapply for advancement to candidacy if applicable.
A student who has not been removed from academic probation within two consecutively enrolled semesters or two summer semesters in succession will be removed from the program. Should the suspended student wish to continue to pursue a degree, the student must submit a new application for admission (including supporting documents but not including the application fee).
Honors Lists
Dean’s Honor List: Undergraduate students on all campuses who are admitted to certificate and degree programs at UAS and whose grade point average for the semester is 3.5 or better on a four–point scale are placed on the Dean’s Honor List in recognition of academic excellence. Eligibility is based on a minimum of 12 credits of graded (letter grades A, B, C, D and F) course work for the semester through the UA system. However, you must be enrolled in at least one graded course through UAS. Incomplete grades, deferred grades, late grade changes and non-submitted grades will prevent the calculation of honors.
Chancellor’s Honor List: Undergraduate students who are admitted to certificate and degree programs at UAS and whose grade point average for the semester is 4.0 on a four–point scale are placed on the Chancellor’s Honor List in recognition of academic excellence. Eligibility is based on a minimum of 12 credits of letter graded (letter grades A, B, C, D and F) course work for the semester through the UA system. However, you must be enrolled in at least one graded course through UAS. Incomplete grades, deferred grades, late grade changes and non-submitted grades will prevent the calculation of honors.
Grades
All UAS grades are letter grades unless otherwise specified in the class schedule. Instructors are expected to state their grading policies, including whether + or - grades will be employed, at the beginning of each course. Grades appearing on academic records at UAS are as follows:
| A | (4.00) | "A" (including A-) Outstanding work, measured by the thorough mastery of the course content and the outstanding completion of all course requirements. |
| A- | (3.70) | |
| B+ | (3.30) | |
| B | (3.00) | "B" (including B+ and B-) An above-average level of acquired knowledge and work performance in both course content and completion of course requirements. |
| B- | (2.70) | |
| C+ | (2.30) | |
| C | (2.00) | "C" (including C+ and C-) A satisfactory or average level of acquired knowledge and work performance in both course content and completion of course requirements. Some courses and prerequisites may require at least a 'C' (2.00) or higher. |
| C- | (1.70) | |
| D+ | (1.30) | |
| D | (1.00) | "D" (including D+ and D-) The lowest acceptable level of acquired knowledge and work performance in both course content and completion of course requirements. |
| D- | (0.70) | |
| F | (0.00) | Failure to meet a minimal level of understanding of course content and/or performance in completion of course requirements. |
The above grades carry grade points and are used to calculate student GPAs.
| CR | Credit. Indicates credit was awarded under the credit/no credit option and the student's work was equivalent to a 'C' (2.00) or higher. Credit carries no grade points. Courses may be used to fulfill only elective requirements. They may not be used for General Education Requirements or Major Course Requirements. |
| P | Pass. Indicates satisfactory completion of course requirements at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Satisfactory level of work is equivalent to 'C' (2.00) or higher in an undergraduate course and 'B' or better in a graduate course and carries no grade points. |
The following are non-grade designations:
| AU | Audit. Indicates registration status of a student enrolled for informational instruction only. No academic credit is granted. |
| DF | Deferred. Indicates that course requirements cannot be completed by the end of the semester and credit will be withheld without penalty until the course requirements are met within an approved time. The designation will be used for courses such as thesis and special projects that require more than one semester to complete. DF applies to the course and may not be used to grade individuals. This may affect your eligibility to receive Financial Aid or semester honors. |
| NB | No Basis. Indicates that student has not attended or has stopped attending early in the semester without officially withdrawing and there is insufficient student progress and/or attendance for evaluation. No credit is given, nor is NB calculated in the GPA. This is a permanent grade and may not be used to substitute for the Incomplete. Grades of NB cannot be changed to letter grades or incompletes. (See Faculty Initiated Withdrawal) |
| NC | No Credit. Indicates no credit was awarded under the credit/no credit option and the student's work was equivalent to a 'C-' (1.7) or lower. No credit carries no grade points. |
| NP | No Pass indicates non-passing in a professional level (500-599) course. No credit is given, and NP is not calculated in the GPA. |
| W | Withdrawn. A registration status that indicates withdrawal from a course after the official drop period. Course will appear as 'W' on transcript. A faculty member may initiate a withdrawal for students or auditors who fail to meet specified course prerequisite or attendance requirements. |
| I | Incomplete. A temporary grade status used to indicate the student has satisfactorily completed (C 2.00 or better) the majority of the work in a course, but for personal reasons beyond the student’s control has not been able to complete the final requirements of the course. Incomplete work must be completed within one (1) year or the date stipulated by the instructor for completion of course work is at his or her discretion, and cannot exceed one year. A change of grade needs to be submitted by the faculty member or the I (incomplete) will become permanent. The instructor must submit a Course Completion Contract signed by the student along with the grade report for that class. |
For each Incomplete Grade, a Course Completion Contract must be signed between the student and the instructor stipulating the assignment(s) required to finish the course within the allowable time period. A copy of the contract is to be given to the student, and the original is retained in the program office for Juneau students and at the Sitka and Ketchikan registration office for students enrolled at those campuses. Forms are available from each program or campus registration office. Students who receive financial aid must contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss the effect of I grades on future funding.
Grade Changes: All grades, other than incomplete and deferred grades, are assumed to be the student’s final grades and they become part of the student’s permanent records. A grade may not be changed unless a legitimate error has been made on the part of the instructor in calculating the grade. Such changes must then be approved by the dean of the program or campus director and the registrar (or the provost after one year).
Grading System: The grade point average (GPA) is a weighted numerical average of the grades a student has earned while taking courses at UAS. To compute the GPA, the total number of credits a student has taken is divided into the total number of grade points a student has earned. Grade points are calculated by multiplying the number of grade points awarded, according to the chart below, by the number of credits attempted for the course. The sum of the grade points is then divided by the total number of credits. Only letter grades are weighted. Grades of I, DF, W, P, AU and CR do not carry grade points and do not affect the GPA.
Letter grades are weighted as follows:
| A | = 4.00 |
| A- | = 3.70 |
| B+ | = 3.30 |
| B | = 3.00 |
| B- | = 2.70 |
| C+ | = 2.30 |
| C | = 2.00 |
| C- | = 1.70 |
| D+ | = 1.30 |
| D | = 1.00 |
| D- | = 0.70 |
| F | = 0.00 |
Courses graded P (pass) or CR (credit given) and credits earned by credit-by-examination carry no grade points and are not included in the grade point average computation. These courses are also not included in the GPA computation for Dean’s and Chancellor’s Honor Lists.
Repeated Courses
All courses and grades (original and repeats) for a course completed at UAS are included on the academic record, but only the last grade earned for a course is calculated in the GPA unless the course is one that can be repeated for credit.
Students receiving Financial Aid are only eligible to retake a passed class (D- or better) once with funding, after which they may retake it at their own expense. There is no exception to this rule for individual course prerequisite requirements to move to the next level for example: MATH S105 to MATH S151 must have a (C 2.00 or better).