Additional Credit and Requirement Policies

Grade Point Average Requirements

To be eligible for Rockford University degrees, students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all work at Rockford University and an average of 2.00 in the field of the major(s) and minor(s) unless otherwise stated in the departmental major and minor requirements listed in the Program Descriptions and Courses section of this catalog. Transfer students must have a GPA of 2.00 in hours taken at Rockford University toward the degree.

Other grade-point average requirements are:

*The International Education Committee has the authority to grant conditional admission for study abroad to students whose cumulative GPA falls between 2.00 and 2.50.

In the determination of graduation honors, GPAs are calculated to three decimal places and rounded to two. Those equal to or greater than x.xx5 are rounded up; others are rounded down. For other purposes, GPAs are rounded down to two decimal places.

Transferring Credit After Matriculation

After official matriculation for Rockford University degrees, students must complete a Transfer of Credit form and obtain approval from their advisors and from the appropriate departmental or program chair or college dean to take course work at another college or university for transfer to Rockford University. Students must get approval in advance of taking the class to ensure that course work will transfer. Completed application forms must be submitted to Student Administrative Services (SAS). All course work (outside of a compact agreement) with grades of “C” or better (grades of “C–” are not accepted) from regionally accredited colleges and universities will be evaluated and, if applicable to a bachelor’s degree, applied to the student’s degree plans. Coursework graded a “P” is only transferrable if “C” is considered Pass under the previous institution’s grading system. Coursework taken under the 100 level is not accepted.

SAS will bill students for the transfer credit acceptance fee (see fee schedule) after the Registrar receives official transcripts from the colleges or universities at which the course work was completed.

Rockford University accepts credit for transfer work but does not include the grade for such course work in the Rockford University grade point average. See the Honors Granted at Commencement section for more information on the final calculation of transfer work.

Upper-Division Rhetoric Requirement

This is required of all students after the completion of 45 credits of college work and must be done at Rockford University; the requirement cannot be met by work taken at another college or university. To meet the requirement, students take RHET 351 (3 credits) for which the prerequisite is completing RHET 102 or equivalent with a grade of “C” or better.

Waiver of Degree Requirements

Waiver of any degree requirement must be approved in advance and filed in writing with the Registrar. Department chairs may waive major, minor and supporting requirements.

All-University degree requirements with the exception of physical education may be waived only by petition to and action of the Academic Standards Committee. Petitions for waiver of general education requirements should be supported by the student’s advisor and recommended by the appropriate academic college.

The chair of the Physical Education department must approve a waiver of required physical education courses.

Petitioning for Waiver of Degree Requirements

All petitions must be presented in writing to the chair of the Academic Standards Committee and must be accompanied by a letter of support from the academic advisor. A general petition must be received at least two weeks before the meeting at which it is to be considered. Seniors requesting a waiver of graduation requirements should petition at least one month before commencement.

The chair of the committee may, if necessary, request additional information from the student petitioners, advisors, other faculty members or administrators. Ordinarily, student petitioners do not have the privilege of a personal appearance before the committee. If students are allowed to appear in person, the committee members may ask any questions they consider pertinent.

Petitioners will be informed of the committee’s decision in writing by an appropriate officer of the University. All petitions and discussion about petitions will remain confidential within the committee.