General Grading Policies

The letter grade “A” is an honor grade indicating superior achievement; “B is a grade indicating commendable master; “C” indicates satisfactory mastery; “D” indicates substandard progress and insufficient evidence of ability to succeed in sequential courses; “E” (failing) indicates inadequate performance in a course; “UW” indicates an unofficial withdrawal and is issued when a student fails to complete any work in a course or did not finish enough requirements to pass.

Incomplete (I) Grades

Students are required to complete all courses for which they are registered by the end of the semester/term. In some cases, a student may be unable to complete all of the course work because of extenuating circumstances. The term “extenuating circumstances” includes:

1. An incapacitating illness which prevents a student from completing classes (usually more than three consecutive weeks)
2. A death in the immediate family
3. Other emergencies deemed appropriate by the instructor

“I” grades should not be requested nor given for lack of completion of work because of procrastination or dissatisfaction with the grade earned.

If circumstances are deemed appropriate, the student may petition the instructor for time beyond the end of the semester/term to finish the work. If the instructor agrees, an “I” grade will be given. An Incomplete Grade Form indicating work completed and work to be completed must be signed by the department chairperson, and turned into the Records Office with the instructor’s final grades.

Specific arrangements to remove an “I” grade must be made between the student and the instructor. In most circumstances, work to be completed should be finished in the first two or three weeks following the end of the semester/term in which the “I” was given.

The incomplete work cannot be completed by retaking the class. If such an option is preferred, the student should take the grade earned and then retake the class for a better grade. The grade for the later class will be calculated in the GPA. In all cases, the “I” grade must be made up within one year. If it is not, the “I” grade will change to an “E” on the transcript. “I” grades are not computed in the GPA.

Repeating a Course

No additional credit is allowed for repeating a course in which the initial grade was passing unless the course number for the course ends in the letter suffix “R,” (a course designed to be repeatable for credit). For other repeated courses, the last grade will be used in the calculation of the GPA. Upon successful completion of the repeated courses, the remark “included in GPA” is placed next to the last class taken and the previous class(es) will show “Repeat (excluded from GPA).”

Courses are not accepted from other institutions for the purpose of posting a repeat of a course already taken at UVSC.

Full-Time Student Status

UVSC considers students registered for 12 credits or more per semester or term to be full-time students. A 12 credit hour minimum load is generally accepted by sponsoring agencies for certifying fulltime status. Financial aid recipients receiving full benefits and students on scholarships are required to carry a minimum of 12 credits.

In order to complete an aviation degree in the suggested amount of time, an average of 15 or 16 credits per semester is generally required assuming all prerequisites are satisfied.

Credit Hour Loads in Excess of 20

Students who enroll in 21 or more credit hours for Fall or Spring semester or the equivalent hours for Summer term, must have approval from the Department Director.

Academic Dishonesty

The Global Aviation Degree Center does not tolerate dishonesty in academics. Dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication in any of their forms. If a student has been found in violation of this policy, the instructor will determine the appropriate penalty based on the seriousness of the offense. The following policies are not a replacement for the policies already established by Utah Valley State College but are a supplement.

Definitions (UVSC Policies and Procedures, 1995, Student Rights and Responsibilities Code)

    

Cheating is the act of using or attempting to use or providing others with unauthorized information, materials or study aids in academic work. Cheating includes, but is not limited to passing examination answers to or taking examinations for someone else, or preparing or copying other’s academic work.

Plagiarism is the act of appropriating any other person’s or group’s ideas or work (written, computerized, artistic, etc.) or portions thereof and passing them off as the product of one’s own work in any academic exercise or activity.

• Representation as one’s own the work or knowledge of another person, regardless of the form in which that work or knowledge had originally appeared (e.g. in the form of a book, article, essay, lecture, website, speech, photograph, chart, graphic, or any other form);



• Incorporation into one’s work the words or ideas of another person without clear attribution that appears at the point the words or ideas have been incorporated, to an extent substantial enough that the origin of the words or ideas has been misrepresented;



• Failure to acknowledge clearly the partial or full authorship of someone else when submitting work;



• Consistent failure to cite or quote textual resources properly, despite the instructor’s attempts at educational intervention.

• Warning: A verbal or written notice that the student’s conduct is in violation of policy and further penalties may be issued.



• Failure on assignment: The student receives a failing grade on the corresponding assignment or test.
• Failing grade in course: The student receives a failing grade in the course for the semester.
• Suspension from Program: The student is temporarily or permanently suspended from the Global Aviation Program.
• Expulsion from College: The student is permanently separated from the college.

In most cases, intentional plagiarism or cheating will result in a failing grade in the course for the semester. Repeated instances may result in penalties beyond a failing grade. Since plagiarism may be unintentional, the instructor may allow an assignment to be re-submitted.

Withdrawals

For Fall and Spring Semesters, if a student officially withdraws from a semester class during the first three weeks of the semester, no grade entry will appear on the permanent record. For Summer term, and block classes, no grade entry will appear on the permanent record of students who officially withdraw from classes through the 100% tuition refund date.

For Fall and Spring Semesters, if a student officially withdraws after the third week, but prior to the last day to drop classes, the withdrawal will appear on the permanent record as a “W.” For Summer Terms and block classes, if a student officially withdraws after the 100% tuition refund date, but prior to the last day to drop classes, the withdrawal will appear on the permanent record as a “W.”

If a student stops participating in a course (but does not officially withdraw) before the last day to drop, he/she should receive a “UW.”

If a student stops participating in a course (but does not officially withdraw) beyond the last day to drop, he/she may receive the grade earned up to that point or an “E.”

“UW’s” are calculated into the grade point average (GPA) as 0.00, the same as “E’s” (failing grades).

Administrative Withdrawal

Students may be withdrawn from classes by the administration if they: 1.) Register, but do not attend equipment-related courses within the first three days of a semester, 2.) Register for courses for which they have not completed prerequisites, 3.) Default on short-term loans, or 4.) Neglect to pay tuition and fees for any given semester/term by the end of the third week. Such changes to a student’s schedule could affect financial aid, scholarships and/or refunds.

Graduation

In order to qualify for graduation with any of our degrees, a student must obtain a Commercial Pilot Certificate. For specific information about graduation, including application, requirements, scholastic recognition, and commencement, please visit the following page on our website: http://www.uvscaviation.com/_deg/graduation.php

Academic Standards

The mission of Academic Standards at UVSC is to help students succeed academically. Students are considered to be succeeding academically if they continue in good standing (defined as earning at least a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale), graduate, or leave UVSC in good standing. To this end, the following policies have been established:

Academic Warning
A student with a current GPA below 2.0 will be on academic warning and will be required to complete a short workshop before the hold will be removed from his/her student record. This workshop can be found at https://www.uvsc.edu/careeracad/workshop/ .

Academic Probation

1. A student with a cumulative GPA below the 2.0 minimum will be on academic probation.
2. A student will be removed from academic probation when their cumulative GPA and current GPA are 2.0 or above.

Suspension

1. A student who fails to acheive both a current and cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 after two semesters of probation will be suspended from UVSC.
2. A student who has been suspended must petition the Academic Appeals Committee in order to register for a subsequent semester.
3. If a student's petition is granted, the conditions and length of probation will be determinded by the Academic Appeals Committee. When the student has completed the terms of probation and his/her grades are consistently above 2.0 for at least two semesters, the student will be returned to good standing at UVSC.

Dismissal

When a student fails to comply with the terms of probation, as determined by the Academic Appeals Committee, the student will be dismissed from UVSC. Such a student has exhausted his/her opportunity to study at UVSC in a degree-seeking program until he avails himself of the appeals process.

Re-Admission

Students who withrdraw from UVSC with a final semester GPA of less than 2.0 but have a cumulative GPA higher than a 2.0, will be readmitted on probation and must meet with their advisor to establish an academic plan.

Any student with a cumulative GPA below 2.0 who withdraws from UVSC must petition the Academic Appeals Committee in order to be readmitted.

Appeals from Suspension or Dismissal Status

A student subject to suspension or dismissal may petition the Academic Appeals Committee for an exception to the Academic Standards Policy. To do so, he/she must submit a written appeal to the Appeals Coordinator. In the petition the student may request that he/she be granted a hearing before the Academic Appeals Committee. The petition should set forth the extenuating circumstances that would warrant the granting of a waiver of the student suspension, or dismissal status. Evidence should be presented which would indicate that the student has carefully considered and reassessed education objectives and has eliminated those factors which let to suspension or dismissal status.

If a student is dissatisfied with the decision of the Academic Appeals Committee, the student has the right to present a written appeal to the Vice President for Student Services, within two weeks following notification of the committee's decision. Following a review of the appeal, the Vice President for Student Services will make the final decision.

Academic Renewal

To facilitate graduation and future academic pursuits for students who have had a period of student that does not reflect their academic potential, UVSC will allow a student to petition the Registrar for academic renewal once during his/her enrollment at the college. The process will allow the removal of some previous academic work for the computation of GPA or from credit towards graduation. To be eligible, the following conditions must be met:

1. The student must be currently enrolled at UVSC.
2. At the time the petition is filed, a minimum of two years must have elapsed since the most recent course work to be eliminated was completed.
3. Before the petition may be filed, the student must have completed at least 30 semester hours of UVSC course work within a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50. This course work must have been completed after the course work being considered for elimination.

The student may have a maximum of two semesters/terms of academic course work disregarded in all calculations regarding the computation of total credits and cumulative GPA. The petition to be filed by the student will specify the semesters/terms to be disregarded.

If the petition qualifies under this policy, the student's permanent academic record will be suitably annotated to indicate that no work taken during the disregarded semester(s) and/or term(s), even if satisfactory, may apply toward the computation of credits, GPA, academic standing, and/or graduation requirements. However, all work will remain on the records, ensuring a true and accurate academic history. The word "Academic Renewal" and the affected semester(s)/term(s) will be annotated on the student's transcript.

This policy will not be used for individual courses, or for students already holding associate or baccalaureate degrees. Since this is already a policy of exception, no exceptions will be made to the aforesaid conditions. Students should be aware that this policy MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED at transfer institutions. Academic renewal may be requested only once during a student's academic career at UVSC.

Academic Distinction

The Dean's list recognizes those who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance during a term or semester. To be eligible:

1. The student must complete 12 semester hours or more in any semester and a commensurate number of hours in any term.
2. The student must earn a semester GPA of 3.6 or above.