2021-22 Undergraduate Academic Catalog

Credit/No Credit Program The grade designation “credit/no credit” may be assigned by faculty members in courses such as student teaching, laboratories, independent studies, electives, and one-hour courses in physical education and music. The opportunity to take elective courses on a credit/no credit (CR/NC) basis offers students the opportunity to develop background in new areas of study without threatening cumulative GPAs. The following guidelines govern involvement in the program: 1. A student of any classification may choose to earn credit/ no credit or a letter grade in one semester hour, non-major physical education courses. This choice may be made at the end of the semester. 2. To earn credit, a student must maintain an average of “C” or better in the course. 3. A student must be at least a junior in classification (have earned at least 61 semester hours) to take an elective course on a credit/no credit basis. An elective is a course that will not count toward the student’s general education, major, minor, or cognate requirements. 4. A student may take just one elective course per term under the credit/no credit designation. 5. The total number of courses (other than one-hour physical education courses) that may be taken under the credit/no credit designation is determined by the student’s cumulative GPA: 2.0–2.49 one course 2.5–2.99 two courses 3.0–3.49 four courses 3.5 and above six courses 6. A student taking an elective course who wishes to change from the credit/no credit designation to the regular grading designation must do so before the end of the fourth week of the semester. 7. A student who wishes to change an elective course to the credit/no credit designation must do so before the end of the first full calendar week of the semester. Grade Points and Point Averages Cedarville University uses the “four-point system” to determine academic averages. Grade points are awarded as follows: Grade Grade Points A 4.0 A- 3.7 B+ 3.3 B 3.0 B- 2.7 C+ 2.3 C 2.0 C- 1.7 D+ 1.3 D 1.0 D- 0.7 F 0.0 The GPA is computed by dividing the total grade points earned by the total hours attempted. Grades are issued at the end of each semester. The student is responsible for discussing their academic achievement with their instructor. Grade Appeal Process A student who believes that a grade received is incorrectly recorded, inaccurate, unfairly awarded, or based on criteria different than that applied to other students in the same class may initiate a grade appeal. The process for grade appeals is available on the website of the Vice President for Academics ( cedarville. edu/vpa ) using the “Policies” link from that page. Students may also obtain the same information directly from the office of the Vice President for Academics. Petitions and Student Complaints Student complaints about any aspect of an undergraduate program or requests for exceptions to an academic regulation should first be discussed with the appropriate office, faculty member, dean or department chair. If those discussions fail to resolve the complaint, a written request must be initiated by the student and must be submitted to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Repeating Courses While adjusting to academic life at Cedarville, some new students earn grades they consider to be unsatisfactory. Consequently, any first year freshmen students who earn an unsatisfactory grade in their first two regular semesters of enrollment may repeat the course at Cedarville University before the end of their fourth consecutive semester of enrollment. Under this freshman repeat policy, the cumulative GPA will be recalculated using the second grade instead of the first, even if the second grade is lower. A similar policy applies to a transfer student. Under the transfer repeat policy, courses taken during the first semester of attendance may be repeated within the succeeding two regular semesters. The cumulative GPA will be recalculated using the second grade instead of the first. Under these repeat policies, any course may be repeated. Although the first grade is no longer calculated into the cumulative GPA, the course and grade information does remain on the student’s transcript. In all other cases when a student repeats a course, both grades are calculated into the cumulative GPA. However, credit hours for a repeated course may count only once toward the credits needed for graduation. Academic Progress, Warning, and Suspension To satisfy the minimum graduation requirements, a student must earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0. The minimum cumulative GPA needed to maintain good academic standing is also 2.0. The University recognizes that some students may have difficulty earning and/or maintaining the minimum cumulative GPA required for good standing and for graduation. To assist them, the following academic progress chart outlines the minimum cumulative GPAs needed according to the credit hours earned. Page 32 2021–22 Undergraduate Academic Catalog Academic Information Registration for Courses