Academic Policies and Student Conduct

Grading Policy

The faculty of the School of Information Studies use the following guidelines in their grading:

• A:  4.0 Outstanding achievement. Student performance demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations; nearly flawless work.
• A-: 3.67 Excellent achievement. Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner.
• B+:  3.33 Good solid work. Student performance demonstrates strong comprehension of the course materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course syllabus.
• B:  3.0 Satisfactory acceptable work. Student performance meets designated course expectations, demonstrates understanding of the course materials and performs at an acceptable level.
• B-: 2.67 Marginal work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete, substandard understanding of course materials, or absence of required work; indicates danger of falling below acceptable grading standard.
• C+: 2.33 Unsatisfactory work. Student performance demonstrates unsatisfactory understanding of course materials and inability to meet course requirements.
• C:  2.0 Unacceptable work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of course materials.
• C-: 1.67 Poor work
• F:  0.0 Failing grade

The following symbols are used to indicate special or unusual circumstances:

• AU = Audit. Audit is recorded for a student who registers for a course as an auditor. This student does not submit written assignments or take examinations. Once the student has enrolled as an auditor in a course, no change in the registration to earn credit may be made.
• I = Incomplete. The grade of "incomplete" may be given at the discretion of the instructor for work of acceptable quality that is unfinished at the close of the term. The incomplete must be removed by the end of the following term . At that time, the instructor may report a grade within the ordinary range of scholarship, a grade of F or a grade of "no credit."
• IP = In Progress. This grade is given when a course spans more than one semester, and a grade cannot be awarded until the course is completed.
• NC = No Credit.
• NR = Not Reported. This is a temporary grade assigned by the registrar in those cases where it is impossible to obtain a student's grade from the instructor.
• S = Satisfactory. The grade of "satisfactory" is given for satisfactory work; equivalent to a B or better.
• W = Withdrawal. Withdrawal is recorded for a student who has officially withdrawn from a course . A student may withdraw from a course through the 10th week of the fall/spring semesters.
• WU = Unofficial Withdrawal. This recorded for a student who stopped attending all courses by the end of the sixth week of the semester but who failed to officially withdraw and failed to respond to inquiries from the registrar's office.
• WW = Withdrawal for Nonattendance. This is recorded for a student registered or who stopped attending the course yet failed to officially withdraw from the course and respond to inquiries from the registrar's office.
• WX = Administrative Withdrawal. This is recorded for a student who has had to withdraw from the university due to serious illness or other extraordinary circumstances. It requires the written approval of the dean.

Standard Grading Scale

Approved: S01S Council February 12, 2014

Faculty members may use either an alphabetical or point span grading system. The chart below translates those grades Into a grade on a 4.0 scale.

Reasonable Accommodations

Students who have a specific disability that qualifies them for academic accommodations should contact Accommodations and Disability Access in the Dominican University Dean of Students' office to make an accommodations request. Once eligibility has been determined, Accommodations and Disability Access will provide students with an Academic Accommodation Approval form to give to instructors indicating which accommodations have been approved.

Academic Progress

Students are expected to make appropriate academic progress leading to the successful completion of their degrees. No more than six hours of incomplete grades may be accumulated at one time. Students with incomplete grades that exceed this level will be restricted from further registration until incomplete coursework is completed.

Stop Out

Master's degree and certificate/endorsement students who are not currently enrolled and have not been enrolled in a prior year (three consecutive semesters) will be classified as having "stopped out" and will be unable to continue registering for courses without contacting the SOIS director.

Probation and Dismissal

The minimum 3.0 grade point average required for graduation must be maintained within the 12-course program.

• A student whose GPA falls below this upon taking nine semester hours is placed on probation.
• A student on probation must achieve the minimum GPA by the end of the term when the total hours taken equal or exceed 18.
• Any student who has not achieved the minimum GPA after taking 18 hours will be dropped from the program.
• A student who has been dismissed must wait at least one semester before applying to be re-admitted.
• A student who receives a grade of F may repeat the course only once. The grade of F will be carried on the transcript, but only that grade which replaces the F will be calculated into the GPA .
• Courses for which a passing grade has been received may not be repeated.

Dominican University reserves the right to deny registration to any student who, in the opinion of the administration of the School of Information Studies, is not progressing satisfactorily toward a degree or who, for other reasons is deemed unsuitable for the program.

Academic Integrity Policy

Students of the university must conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and Integrity. Failure to maintain academic Integrity will not be tolerated. The following definitions are provided for understanding and clarity.

Definitions of Plagiarism, Cheating and Academic Dishonesty

Student plagiarism is the presentation of the writing or thinking of another as the student's own. In written or oral work student may make fair use of quotations, ideas, images, etc., that appear in others' work only if the student gives appropriate credit to the original authors, thinkers, owners or creators of that work. This includes material found on the Internet and in electronic databases.

Cheating entails the use of unauthorized or prohibited aids in accomplishing assigned academic tasks. Obtaining unauthorized help on examinations, using prohibited notes on closed-note examinations, and depending on others for the writing of essays or the creation of other assigned work are all forms of cheating.

Students should be aware that it is never acceptable to present someone else's work as your own. Even in cases of open content, such as Wikipedia , and open source such as HTML source code for web design, you must always include attribution and cite your source if you use another person's intellectual product.

Academic dishonesty may also include other acts intended to misrepresent the authorship of academic work or to undermine the integrity of the classroom or of grades assigned for academic work. Deliberate acts threatening the integrity of library materials or the smooth operation of laboratories are among possible acts of academic dishonesty.

Sanctions for Violations of Academic Integrity

Students caught plagiarizing, cheating or committing other acts of academic dishonesty will receive an automatic fail for the assignment, exam or paper. When a sanction has been imposed the instructor will inform the student in writing.

When a sanction is imposed the instructor will send written notification to the director of the School of Information Studies. The director will note whether a student has a pattern of committing violations of the academic integrity policy overtime and in such cases the director may impose further sanctions including suspension or expulsion from the university. The instructor must also inform the student that she/he has the right to appeal this sanction and refer the student to the academic appeals process described below.

SOIS Academic Grievance Policy

Any disagreement with regard to academic procedures, including cases of alleged violation of academic integrity policies and final grades, should first be raised with the instructor. If this does not settle the matter satisfactorily, it should be taken up with the director of the School of Information Studies.

If the issue is not resolved the student has the right to present the issue in writing to the Curriculum/Academic Affairs Committee of the School of Information Studies, which is composed of three full-time faculty members. To do this, the student must provide a written statement of the issue to the director, who will then place it on the agenda for the Curriculum/Academic Affairs Committee for review. The faculty member involved in the appeal may also choose to present a written statement. If the faculty member involved In the dispute is a sitting member of the Committee, s/he will recuse her/himself from the review of the dispute and the director will appoint a third faculty member to participate in the review. The decision of the Curriculum/Academic Affairs Committee will be provided in writing to the student and copied to the director.

In the event of a successful appeal of an alleged violation of academic integrity, the original letter of notification from the instructor will be expunged from the student's official file kept in the director's office.

All appeals must be initiated before the last day of the semester following the term in which the disputed issue arose. Decisions will be made within six weeks after the beginning of the following semester or, if necessary , before the student can be cleared for graduation.

Records Retention Policy

Students may view the Dominican University Records Retention Policy here.