Undergraduate Students and Graduate Work. Undergraduate students with a minimum institutional grade point average of 2.75 who are within six semester hours of completing the baccalaureate degree from Columbus State University may register for graduate courses upon recommendation of their advisor. The total course load may not exceed 12 semester hours. A grade of B or better in the graduate course is required for use toward a master's degree. No more than nine semester hours of graduate credit may be earned before completion of the baccalaureate degree. Under no circumstances may a course be used for both graduate and undergraduate credit. Students must submit an application for graduation prior to registering for graduate courses; the registrar will verify eligibility for enrollment. Students desiring to take College of Education courses must fulfill graduate admission requirements and be accepted for graduate studies in their desired program area prior to enrollment.

Class Attendance and Withdrawal

Attendance policy. Attendance policy is ordinarily established by individual faculty. If an instructor does not provide a written attendance policy statement during the first week of classes, a student is permitted to accumulate a total of nine hours of absences in a three credit-hour course, or the equivalent in courses carrying other credit hours. Regular attendance at class or laboratory is a student obligation. Students are expected to account to individual instructors for absences and, at the discretion of the instructors, to make up all work missed because of absence. Students absent from a previously announced quiz or test may be given a zero on the quiz or test. To be permitted to take a final examination at a time other than the date and time published on the Web at http://academics.colstate.edu/exams/, students must have permission of the instructor and the dean of the college offering the course.

Student members of an official Columbus State University organization or students whose attendance is required by the faculty or staff person in charge of the group are officially excused from classes when traveling to university-sanctioned events (e.g., athletic event, band competition, etc.) and are to be given the opportunity to complete exams or other assignments missed as a result of this absence provided that no more than 15% of the class hours (INCLUDING other absences) per course per semester are missed. Any absences that exceed the 15% allotted must be approved, in advance, by the faculty member in charge of the class. Exceptions to this policy (i.e., where make-up assignments will NOT be allowed) include programs whose accreditation won't allow 15% as well as interactive classes or laboratory classes where points for attendance and participation are lost due to absences of any kind. Affected students must submit an Event Participation Form, provided by the faculty sponsor, to their instructors at the beginning of the semester, in order to obtain consideration for the make-up work. (The Event Participation Form can be found on the Web at http://academics.colstate.edu/eventform.pdf.)

Excessive absence policy. Anytime during the semester a student exceeds the total number of hours of absences allowed, an instructor may drop the student for excessive absences with a grade of WF. Students may regain admittance to a course only by permission of the instructor. A student auditing a course who fails to meet class participation and assignment requirements or who exceeds the total number of allowed absences may be dropped from the course by the instructor and assigned a grade of W.

Absence for military duty. Military reservists who are called to active duty or active duty military personnel who receive change-of-station orders during an academic semester may officially withdraw with a full refund of matriculation fees upon showing official orders. Those who have completed sufficient work may be awarded a grade and credit or an I (Incomplete) grade.

Course withdrawals. Students who wish to drop a course after the last official day of schedule change must officially withdraw from the course. Students must withdraw through CougarNet using the Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) on the university's Web. Prior to the W grade deadline as published on the Web under Registration Information on the Class Schedules page, a grade of W will be assigned by the registrar unless a grade of WF has already been assigned by the instructor for excessive absences. A grade of WF will be assigned when a withdrawal form is submitted after the deadline. A student may appeal the assignment of a WF grade by submitting to the Academic Advisor, documentation of non-academic hardship. The Academic Advisor will then forward the appeal to the Academic Standards Committee for review.  Students may not withdraw from a required learning support course with a grade of W while remaining in degree level courses. To remain in degree level courses, the grade in the learning support course must be a WF and would be considered a learning support attempt. A grade of W will not affect a student's GPA. However, withdrawing from classes could affect a student's future enrollment status, especially for those receiving financial aid. It is the student's responsibility to determine the impact withdrawing from classes would have on academic standing and degree progress. Refer to the Registration, Policies, and Services section on the Web at http://registration.colstate.edu for specific dates and additional information regarding course withdrawal.

Administrative withdrawal. An academic dean may withdraw a student from a course when, in consultation with the instructor, the dean determines that the student has not satisfied the prerequisites for the course.

Grades and Grade Point Averages (GPA)

Grades Averaged in the GPA
Grades Not Averaged in the GPA
How to Compute a GPA
Explanation of Grade Point Averages
Grade Changes
Grade Reports and Transcripts

Columbus State University uses a 4.0 grade point system.