Student Classification

Student classification is based on the number of non-developmental education semester credit hours earned. A freshman is a student who has earned 0-29 semester credit hours. A sophomore is a student who has earned 30-72 semester credit hours. Students who have earned more than 72 hours are considered as "unclassified."

Full-Time Student

A full-time student is one who takes twelve (12) plus semester credit hours in a regular (16-week) semester or six (6) plus semester credit hours during a summer session. This excludes mini-terms (Wintermester and Maymester).

A students suggested maximum course load per regular (16-week) semester is eighteen (18) semester credit hours and eight (8) semester credit hours for a summer session. Students wishing to enroll for more than 18 SCHs for the full term or more than 8 SCHs for a summer term, must request permission from the students advisor and College Registrar.

Attendance Regulations

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of each student in every class. Responsibility for class attendance rests with the student. A student absent from class bears full responsibility for all material covered in class.

Attendance records will be kept for the first twelve (12) class days of a regular (16-week) semester or the equivalent of part of term semesters, during the fall and spring semester, the first two (2) days during the Wintermester and Maymester, and the first four (4) class days during the summer sessions. Attendance records for courses with different beginning and end dates may vary. See 'Part of Term' calendars for specific dates.

Students who fail to attend class during the attendance record period will be administratively withdrawn from the course for non-attendance/no-show by the course instructor. No formal attendance record keeping is required after the official census date of the respective courses, except in cases where a program is required to keep attendance records by their respective accreditation agency.

Absence from Final Examinations: A student who is absent from a final examination receives a grade of zero (0) for the examination and the zero (0) will be weighed according to the final exam percentage established by the course. Any students authorized to be absent from a final examination receive a grade of  incomplete (I) on their transcript until they take the final examination. Such students must take the final exam within four months. Final exams cannot be re-taken. The instructor will submit a Grade Change Form to change the previously submitted incomplete (I) grade to a failing (F) grade if the student does not meet the four month deadline.

Students have the right and the responsibility to withdraw from a course as needed. Requests to withdraw from a course need to be submitted to the Office of the Registrar via an Official Withdrawal form.

Semester Credit Hour (SCH)

Semester Credit Hours (SCHs) are used to determine the number of credits each course awards and used as the unit of measurement for the time of instruction per course, per term. 

One (1) Semester Credit Hour (SCH) is defined as the credit earned by passing a course which meets one 50-minute hour per day, one day per week, of instruction over a 16-week period in a semester. The equivalent is observed for the different terms and courses offered.  

Repeated Courses

For repeated courses, only the highest grade is calculated in the computation of the institutional grade point average (GPA). Regardless of the number of times a course is repeated, the student will earn the semester credit hour only once, however, all grades from repeated courses will remain on the transcript. Semester grade point averages (GPA) and institutional grade point averages (GPA) from past semesters may change as a result of a repeated course.

Students who enroll for courses taken for the third time or more and students who enroll in developmental courses and have already taken 18 or more semester credit hours in developmental coursework will be charged a differential tuition fee per semester credit hour. See Tuition and Fees for additional information. 

Note: This does not apply to courses that were repeated prior to Fall of 1986. Exceptions may apply for Secondary Admissions Program GPA admissions calculation.