Academic Policies

Adding, Dropping and/or Withdrawing Courses

Students may add courses for the first 7 calendar days (beginning with and including the first day of classes) of the fall and spring semesters as indicated on the academic calendar. Students may make these changes electronically without instructor signatures. Students may not add any courses, except modular courses, after the first 7 calendar days (as defined above) of the fall and spring semesters.

Students may drop courses without academic or financial penalty with the exception of non-refundable fees for the first 7 calendar days (as defined above) of the fall and spring semesters. Students may make these changes electronically without instructor signatures. Students who withdraw from courses after the first 7 calendar days of the semester (as defined above), but prior to 21 calendar days before the last day of classes, will receive grades of “W” and will be financially responsible for the class. Students may not withdraw after this deadline.

Students should consult the current Academic Calendar to confirm the specific dates for the current semester.

Students should consult with Student Administrative Services if they have questions regarding the impact of the add, drop or withdraw process on their financial aid.

Program Changes in 8 Week Courses

•    The deadline to drop an 8-week course without academic or financial penalty with the exception of non-refundable fees is for the first 7 calendar days (beginning with and including the first day of classes)

•    Students who withdraw from 8-week courses after the first 7 calendar days (beginning with and including the first day of classes) will receive a grade of “W” and will be financially responsible for the class.

•    The latest time to withdraw from 8–week course is by the end of the seventh week of class.

Program Changes in 2, 4, and 6 Week Courses

•    The deadline to add 2, 4, and 6 week courses is by 11.59 p.m. of the first class day.

•    The deadline to drop 2, 4, and 6 week courses without academic or financial penalty with the exception of non-refundable fees is 11.59 p.m. of the first class day.

•    The latest time to withdraw from 2, 4, and 6 week courses is 11.59 p.m. on the day before the course ends.

Advising System

All graduate students who have completed the application process are assigned academic advisors who help them plan a program of study. Although advisors assist students with academic planning, students are responsible for determining their own goals and for completion of all degree requirements that were in effect at the time of their initial enrollment.

Attendance Policy

Course instructors determine attendance policies for their classes. They should explain their attendance policy on the first day of each class, and should include the attendance policy in the course syllabus.

Instructors may notify Student Administrative Services (SAS) of students who are absent excessively. SAS will inform those students that additional absences will result in their being dropped from the course. If the students continue to be absent from class, the instructor notifies the SAS, which informs the students that they have been removed from the course. (Grades of “W” will be assigned if students are dropped before the term’s published withdrawal date; if students are dropped after the withdrawal deadline, grades of “F” will be assigned.)

Auditing

Students are encouraged to visit classes and lectures with the permission of the instructor.

Students may audit any course with the approval of the advisor and the course instructor, provided that they, as auditors, do not displace students enrolled for credit. SAS will record “audit” on student transcripts when, in the judgment of course instructors, students have met minimal requirements.

To change from audit to credit status, students must inform Student Administrative Services within the first seven calendar days (beginning with and including the first day of classes) of the fall and spring semesters as indicated on the Academic Calendar OR before the start of the 3rd class date for summer classes. Students must pay all the usual fees, complete all work and pass all examinations.

Students may also receive credit for a course either by auditing the course, waiting a semester, then taking the final exam during the time regularly scheduled for such exams each semester or by taking a special exam for credit.

Part-time students pay reduced tuition for auditing classes. Special alumni and senior citizens programs also are available for auditing undergraduate courses in the fall and spring semesters.

Course Cancellation

The University reserves the right to withdraw any course that fails to meet minimum enrollment criteria.

Course Numbering

The course number indicates the level of academic maturity expected of students enrolled in the course.

Non-credit special courses have numbers of 099 or lower. Courses numbered 100 through 199 are introductory courses open to all. Courses numbered 200 through 299 are open to sophomores and higher; 300 through 399 to juniors and higher; and 400 through 499 to seniors. (See course prerequisites for exceptions.)

Courses numbered 500 through 599 are offered for graduate credit to students with bachelor’s degrees and other designated prerequisites. Courses numbered 600 through 699 are open only to students admitted to one of the graduate degree programs, MBA certificate program, or Reading Specialist program.

Course Syllabus

In each class students should receive a course syllabus that provides information on the objectives, methods, standards, assignments, schedule, and attendance plus grading policies for that course.

Grading Practices

Rockford University uses a 4.0 grading system, with specific numeric values assigned to each grade for calculating grade point averages:

Note: Not all faculty members award plus and minus grades. The course syllabus provided at the beginning of the course will indicate the grading used in the course.

Mid-Semester/Mid-Term and Final Grades

Faculty members must report mid-semester letter grades for all students. Pass (“P”) or fail (“F”) may be given in any course that does not lend itself to a letter grade at mid-semester. Generally, mid-semester and final grades must be reported 48 hours after each examination. In some cases, grades (notably those for exams given on the last day of the examination schedule and for seniors) may be requested in less than 48 hours.

Students may check their mid-semester and final grades through Self-Service, where grades will appear as soon as the faculty members submit them.

Prerequisites

Students should not select courses for which they have not completed the prerequisites stated in the catalog. Exceptions may be granted in writing only by the appropriate instructor or department chair.

Repeating Courses

A student may repeat a course only once. Only the course credits and, provided the repeated course is taken at Rockford University or as part of an approved Rockford University program, the grade earned for taking the course the second time will count toward graduation. Both courses, if taken at Rockford University or as part of an approved Rockford University program, and grades will be recorded on a student’s transcript.

All students must inform Student Administrative Services (SAS) when they are repeating courses.

Student Records

The academic record of every student is on file in the Student Administrative Services (SAS). Faculty members do not have direct access to these files, but information from the files may be provided to Faculty by SAS.