Academic Regulations (2024)

Policy

Procedures/Clarification

Form(s)

Access to the registration system is based on the student's earned hours, which include transfer hours and completed ASU hours but NOT currently enrolled courses. The Registrar's Office posts information regarding early registration access, accessing PIN numbers, registration toubleshooting, etc athttps://registrar.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/registration. There are links to the class schedule search tool as well.

An undergraduate is considered full time if they register for at least 12 hours in the fall/spring or 6 in a summer term. If they want to register for anything over 18 hours in the fall/spring semester or 7 in a summer term, they will need to request an overload. Overloads are requested through AppalNet and will be approved in the following manner:

2.5 cumulative GPA required for a 1 hour overload in a standard or summer term
3.0 cumulative GPA required for a 2 hour overload in a standard or summer term

The Drop/Add form is used to drop parts of linked courses (i.e., lectures with labs) or to move students to another section of the same course.

The Exception to the Drop Policy requires documentation which is specified on the form.

Prior to submission to the Registrar's Office, forms are reviewed by the Dean's Office designee in the college where the course was offered.

Drop/Add Form

Request for Exception to Drop Policy

A student's catalog year must be the same for all majors, minors, concentrations etc. that are included on their record, as well as for general education.

All students may elect to graduate in accordance with the degree requirements as recorded in the catalog/bulletin that is current at the time of their first registration, or any subsequent edition under the following conditions:

1. The student is enrolled during a period in which the catalog/bulletin is in force.
2. Any catalog chosen must not be more than ten years old (for example, the 2011-2012 catalog is valid through summer of 2021).

To change catalog year a student must contat the dean's office of the school/college in which they are enrolled.

Classification

• Students admitted as degree-seeking and who have earned less than 30 semester hours are classified as freshmen.

• Students who have earned at least 30 semester hours are classified as sophom*ores.

• Students who have earned at least 60 semester hours are classified as juniors.

• Students who have earned 90 semester hours are classified as seniors.

Commencement Walkers

• Spring Commencement includes:
  Undergraduate students who have applied for graduation and will complete their requirements in either May or August
• Fall Commencement includes:
  Undergraduate students who have applied for graduation and will complete their requirements in December.

Credit by Exam

Credit for Life Experience

Assessment of prior learning can commence only after a student has been admitted to the University and has declared a major. The student will first meet with the designated Academic Advising representative who will help in defining the areas or disciplines in which appropriate creditable learning may have occurred. Actual assessment is conducted by a faculty member in the appropriate academic area. A $100.00 fee for each area of assessment will be charged.

For more information please contact University College Advising.

Credit Limitations

Credit for Military Service

Appalachian may grant up to eight semester hours of academic credit to current or former members of the United States Armed Services who have completed initial entry training.

Students seeking academic credit should present a DD214, DD220, or Joint Services Transcript to the Office of Transfer Services. More information can be found here.

Drop/Add

Drop for Extenuating Circ*mstances

When a student is out of town and unable to return to campus due to hospitalization, death in the family, or other extenuating circ*mstances, the student or the student’s parents may contact the Office of Student Development to request that professors be notified as to the reason for the absence. This notification is conveyed as a matter of information only and does not serve as an official excuse for class absence.

If a student is in town, that student is responsible for notifying the individual faculty members that she/he will be missing class.

FERPA

FERPA gives students the right to have control over the disclosure of information from their education records. This covers all university students, including those who are under 18 years of age.

Information for Students and Parents

A transfer student who provides sufficient evidence to demonstrate that she or he has completed the general education requirements at another of the 16 campuses in the University of North Carolina system will be considered to have fulfilled the lower-division general education requirements at Appalachian.

For more information contact the Office of General Education.

The first four courses a student repeats will fall under the grade forgiveness policy. The grade earned in the initial attempt will be excluded from computation in the student’s GPA automatically.

Students wishing to exempt a course from this automatic grade forgiveness must complete a Grade Forgiveness Exception Form and receive approval from their dean’s office.

The Gamma Beta Phi Society is a national honor and service organization for students who have earned at least 14 semester hours with a cumulative 3.25 grade-point average.

Alpha Chi, a national scholastic fraternity, is open to not more than the top ten percent of the junior and senior classes who have a grade-point average of not less than 3.50. Phi Kappa Phi, a national scholastic fraternity, honors outstanding scholarship among graduating seniors in each of the colleges who have attained at least a 3.70 grade point average. Occasionally, Phi Kappa Phi taps several outstanding junior scholars for membership.

Only those courses earning credit toward graduation will be used in determining eligibility for honors.

Information will be disseminated via the ASU home page, AppalNET, campus e-mails, and local radio and regional TV stations. “Classes are cancelled” means that no classes will be held on the day or night indicated

Adverse Weather Policy Explained

Adverse Weather Policy

Instructors may assign a grade of "I" (incomplete) if a student cannot finish the course for some unavoidable reason (illness, accident, internship that extends beyond the end of the term, death in family, etc). An Incomplete becomes an F if no grade is submitted within one semester. The instructor and student agree on the date for completing the course (not to exceed one semester) and when the work is completed the instructor submits a grade. This can be done as a grade change on the faculty portal any time within the next semester.

Students do NOT re-register for a class in which a grade of "I: was earned in order to complete the incomplete.

All students are required to earn a minimum of 122 hours to graduate, even if all course requirements are complete. Some majors require up to 128 hours. All students earning a baccalaureate degree are required to earn 50 hours at a four-year institution. Students who transfer in more than 72 hours from a 2-year institution will require more than 122 hours to graduate.

Students who want to register for more than 18 hours in the fall/spring semester or 7 hours in a summer term will need to request an overload. Overloads are requested through AppalNet and will be approved in the following manner:

2.5 cumulative GPA required for a 1 hour overload in a standard or summer term
3.0 cumulative GPA required for a 2 hour overload in a standard or summer term

Overloads Procedure

• Repeat: any course taken more than one time. Students only earn credit hours ONCE for a course, regardless of the number of times the course is taken; all repeated courses are included in attempted hours. If a student repeats a course that they originally passed, and fails that repeat, they will lose ALL credit for the course.
• Grade Forgiveness: removing the grade from the GPA calculation once a course is repeated. The grade stays on the transcript, but the GPA calculation excludes the course. The hours are included in attempted hours. There is a limit of four grade forgiveness courses (must be different courses) and the first grade is always the one excluded.The first four courses a student repeats will AUTOMATICALLY be processed as grade forgiveness courses.

Repeat Policy

Students who have a break in enrollment or who graduate and wish to return for a second degree must apply for readmission to return to ASU. The student must submit on online application through the Registrar's Office. There are deadlines for applying for readmission.

Returning Students/Readmission Procedure

Students may request to take courses away from ASU and transfer the coursework back for degree requirements. Approval must be requested through the Office of Transfer Services PRIOR to enrollment at the other institution. Failure to secure prior approval may result in the coursework not being accepted by ASU.

Instructions and request forms are accessable through the Office of Transfer Services website.

Reduction in Courseload Policy

Students must have any coursework that is in excess of ten years old validated at the time of entry or re-entry into ASU. The Office of Transfer Services can provide information about the approval process for transfer coursework.

For coursework that was taken at ASU more than ten years prior to re-entry, the student should email the chair of the appropriate academic department to request a review of any coursework within that department. The chair will need to know the course number, year taken and grade earned. The chair may also request a course description or syllabus or other documentation