Matriculated students are those who have applied, been accepted, and enrolled in a degree program of the University during the semester for which they were admitted.
Completion of course credits before becoming a matriculated student does not assure the acceptance of those credits into the program of matriculation.
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Non-matriculated students are those who have not been admitted formally to a degree program.
DEGREE SEEKING STUDENTS
Undergraduate, non-matriculated students are not allowed to take more than 11 credits during their first semester. Prior to their enrollment, degree-seeking students are required to take the University placement test. Some transfer students may be exempt from this requirement. To find out if they are exempt or not, they are strongly encouraged to seek guidance from a Continuing Education academic adviser prior to taking this test.
Degree-seeking undergraduate students are required to apply for admission before they complete 30 credits in Continuing Education.
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL ENRICHMENT
Students interested in personal or professional enrichment courses are not required to take a placement test. College transcripts showing prerequisite courses may be required prior to their enrollment.
For more information and academic advising for non-matriculated students see the Continuing Education section of the Bulletin and the list of locations for Academic Advising Services.
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Temple University awards limited academic credit and course placement to students based on previous academic, employment, and/or other learning experience, in addition to credit earned in a traditional classroom setting.
Advanced Placement Tests. Temple University's advanced placement testing policies are under review and subject to change. For current information, students should consult academic advisers, Dean's offices, or the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. As this Bulletin is being published, however, Temple awards college credits to students who in high school participated in the advanced placement program sponsored by the College Examination Board as follows:
- Chemistry, Economics, English, History (American and European), Physics -- Minimum score of 4
- Other subjects -- Minimum score of 3
Students who receive the minimum score in the English Advanced Placement test will receive English elective credit, not Composition credit.
Students should have taken these tests in high school and should have their scores sent directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Transfer students must request Educational Testing Services to send their Advanced Placement Test scores to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, even if they have requested them for a previously attended college.
College Level Examination Program (CLEP). CLEP provides a mechanism for students to meet the requirements of a class through examination. Credit is granted for acceptable performance on the following sections of the General Examination: Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences and History. Credit evaluation should be requested through the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Students must obtain permission to take any CLEP test from the dean of the college in which they are matriculated students and the dean of the college which offers the course equivalence. Below is a list of the subject examinations and the number of the course equivalent for which Temple grants credit.
All literature, history, and political science examinations require an essay.
Students planning to take CLEP tests are urged to do so no later than the semester before they expect to graduate. Information about test dates, fees, and the application process may be obtained from the Measurements and Research Center, 2nd floor, Sullivan Hall, phone: 204-8611.
Assessment of Prior Learning. Semester hours that credit toward the minimum requirement of a college or program occasionally may be earned through cooperative work experience and prior learning. Decisions to assess learning experiences are made by the individual colleges. An evaluation or work experience may be based on the submission of papers, presentation of a portfolio of completed work, and/or a demonstration of acquired skills.
Credit so granted is based on a faculty evaluation of the respective learning experiences in terms of their identified relationship to the knowledge and skills required, either in the pursuit of educational programs in the college or in the performance of tasks related to the substance of study. Semester hours credited toward the minimum number for a degree are always granted relevant to a specific program. If students change their programs of study, semester hours credited toward an earlier program of study may not be recognized in the new program.
Credit for relevant prior learning will be granted after completion of a minimum of 30 credits of formal coursework.
Approval of relevant prior learning credit must be in writing over the signature of at least one sponsoring faculty member, the appropriate department or committee chairperson, and the Dean of the college that is granting the credit.
The total number of semester hours granted by all non-traditional means seldom exceeds eight semester hours; and individual colleges or programs may grant substantially less (including no credits) than this number.
Grades are not assigned to academic and prior learning credit.
Each college engaged in the assessment of academic and work experiences determines its own procedures for review and testing; students should contact the appropriate Dean's office for information about the procedures for assessment.
International Baccalaureate
Temple awards college credits to students who pass the International
Baccalaureate Program's (Higher-level course) exams with grades for each
exam (five and above) set by the appropriate Temple department. The IB
exams are currently being evaluated for appropriate scores, which will be
available in the Undergraduate Admissions Office and IB transcripts should
be sent directly there.
CLEP equivalencies chart.
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Payment is due depending on when students register. Dates of registration periods, billing, and due dates vary from semester to semester. For specific dates and more payment details, see Academic Calendar for 1999-2000 and Registration sections; and Directory of Classes, published each semester.
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Permission to Take Courses at Another Institution
To receive credit for courses taken at another institution or for study abroad during the regular academic year or summer sessions, matriculated students in good academic standing should obtain a permission form from their adviser and, during the semester prior to taking the course(s) elsewhere, fill out the form and return it with a copy of the catalog of the other school or study abroad program with the course description(s) circled.
Approval is limited to students taking the courses outside of commuting distance to Temple. Courses intended to fulfill requirements in a student's major must be approved by the departmental coordinating adviser. Written approval must be submitted with this form. Permission is rescinded if the student's GPA falls below 2.0, or the student is placed on academic warning or probation.
As with all courses accepted in transfer, only a grade of C- or higher is acceptable; an official transcript from the institution to be attended must be forwarded to the student's advising office before the beginning of the following semester; individual schools and colleges within Temple University may not grant credit for courses taken at another institution; 30 of the student's last 45 credits must be taken at Temple University. See Transfer Credit.
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Most newly admitted students are required to take placement tests upon admission to Temple. These tests are designed to help assess mastery of certain basic skills, to point out particular strengths and weaknesses, and to assist in designing a program of study for the student. Placement tests are offered in English, Mathematics, and Foreign Languages.
- All freshmen are required to take the English and Math Placement Tests and many freshmen are also required to take the Foreign Language Placement Test.
- Transfer students who are transferring a credit-bearing, college-level course in Mathematics/ Writing/Foreign Language are not required to take the Mathematics/Writing/Foreign Language Placement Test.
When scheduled for New Student Orientation, each student receives a Placement Test Information booklet which contains descriptions of the tests, information as to the specific tests the student must take, and helpful hints for the test day.
Demographic Questionnaire (25 minutes)
This is a personal data collection survey that must be completed by all students. Temple uses the results of this questionnaire to develop programs and procedures to serve the needs and interests of its students.English Examination (135 minutes)
The English Placement Exam is required for all freshmen and for transfer students who are not transferring a credit-bearing, college-level writing course. The English Placement Exam consists of an essay and a multiple choice component. The multiple choice test scores are used in conjunction with the student's SAT verbal score and high school percentile to develop a base score. The essay score and the base score are then combined to determine the appropriate English course placement (English 0040/41, English C050/51, or exempt).Mathematics Placement Examination (60 minutes)
The Mathematics Placement Examination is required for all freshmen and for transfer students who are not transferring a credit-bearing, college-level Math course. In addition, any student who is considering taking a higher-level Math course should take the Mathematics Placement Exam.The Mathematics Placement Exam is a three-part test consisting of 50 items. The first part (21 items) measures elementary computational skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers; decimals and fractions; and ratios. The second part (22 items) consists of algebra problems. The third part (7 items) measures calculus readiness.
Advisers have information concerning conditions under which a student may retest.
Foreign Language Placement Examination (60 minutes)
The Foreign Language Placement Test is required 1) for freshmen who have previously studied a foreign language and 2) for transfer students who have previously studied a foreign language, but are not transferring a credit-bearing, college-level foreign language course. In addition, any student who has previously studied a foreign language and either has questions about his/her readiness to take additional courses in that language, wants to try to qualify to take an upper-level course, or wants to be exempted from additional foreign language requirements should take the Foreign Language Placement Test.Tests are offered in French, German, Modern Greek, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. Each is a multiple choice test and consists of approximately 90 items. Students who wish to be tested in a language other than these, or whose first language is not English, should contact their adviser.
Advisers may request that a student retest if there is strong evidence (e.g., good grades in foreign language courses, intensive study abroad, etc.) that the student's test performance was not typical.
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Plagiarism and Academic Cheating
Temple University believes strongly in academic honesty and integrity. Plagiarism and academic cheating are, therefore, prohibited. Essential to intellectual growth is the development of independent thought and a respect for the thoughts of others. The prohibition against plagiarism and cheating is intended to foster this independence and respect.
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person's labor, another person's ideas, another person's words, another person's assistance. Normally, all work done for courses -- papers, examinations, homework exercises, laboratory reports, oral presentations -- is expected to be the individual effort of the student presenting the work. Any assistance must be reported to the instructor. If the work has entailed consulting other resources -- journals, books, or other media -- these resources must be cited in a manner appropriate to the course. It is the instructor's responsibility to indicate the appropriate manner of citation. Everything used from other sources -- suggestions for organization of ideas, ideas themselves, or actual language -- must be cited. Failure to cite borrowed material constitutes plagiarism.
Academic cheating is, generally, the thwarting or breaking of the general rules of academic work or the specific rules of the individual courses. It includes falsifying data; submitting, without the instructor's approval, work in one course which was done for another; helping others to plagiarize or cheat from one's own or another's work; or actually doing the work of another person.
The penalty for academic dishonesty can vary from a reprimand and receiving a failing grade for a particular assignment, to a failing grade in the course, to suspension or expulsion from the University. The penalty varies with the nature of the offense, individual instructor, the department, and the school or college.
Students who believe that they have been unfairly accused may appeal through the school or college's academic grievance procedure. See Grievances.
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In most academic units and programs, students must achieve at least a 2.0 (C) Grade Point Average (GPA) for all work carried each semester or summer session; students also must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA for all work completed at Temple University.
Probation. Students are subject to probation:
- if they earn lower than a 2.0 cumulative GPA, or
- if their records show repeated withdrawals or incompletes, regardless of GPA, or
- if they fail to make progress toward a degree.
Dismissal. Students are subject to dismissal:
- if they earn lower than a 1.0 semester GPA, or
- if they are placed on probation a second time, or
- if they fail to make progress toward a degree.
Some academic units may require a minimal GPA higher than 2.0. See Architecture Program; Fox School of Business and Management; College of Education; College of Engineering; School of Tourism and Hospitality Management; and School of Social Administration.
The Tyler School of Art and the Esther Boyer College of Music and Department of Dance both have performance review standards under which students may be subject to dismissal regardless of their grade point averages.
See Academic Standing.
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If students who have voluntarily withdrawn or were dismissed from the University wish to return, they must file the Application for Undergraduate Readmission form with the Dean of the school or college in which they were formerly enrolled. The student is requested to supply information, indicate any course taken since leaving Temple, and to have available a copy of an official transcript from each institution attended.
Consideration for readmission as a result of academic dismissal should be based on the quality of the student's previous records and the student's potential to succeed in the coming semester. At least one semester must elapse between academic dismissal and readmission.
Both the academic adviser and the student have the right to request an interview as part of the readmission procedure. Some academic units require that students applying for readmission be interviewed.
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Registration
See the Registration section of the Bulletin.
Students may wish to repeat a course in order to earn a higher grade, either to raise their grade point average or to receive a grade required by their major or other requirement, such as achieving the minimum C- required for successful completion of Core curriculum courses.
The decision to repeat a course for a higher grade must be made in consultation with an adviser, and a request form must be filed with the Dean's Office and submitted to the Office of Student Academic Records. A repeated course must be graded using the same grading system (pass/fail, credit/no credit, or letter grade) as when originally taken.
If an undergraduate student takes a course more than once, all occurrences of the course will appear on the student's transcript. Only the highest grade received will be used in calculating the student's grade point average. If subsequent attempts produce an identical grade, whether it is an F or a passing grade, only one occurrence is to be included in the calculation of the student's GPA. Except for courses designed to be taken multiple times, such as independent study, research, or other courses, credit for a given course will be granted only once. This policy will apply only when one or more of the repeated courses is taken after September 1, 1993.
No change in a student's grade point average is made after the baccalaureate degree is awarded.
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Satisfactory Academic Progress
A student's academic progress is reviewed at the end of each semester and is noted in the semester grade point average and cumulative grade point average. These may be used in determining a student's continuing eligibility for financial aid or for continuing in a program or major.
Students should be advised that course withdrawals and incompletes will affect their progress and thus their academic standing. See Probation and Dismissal and Grade Point Average.
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See Schedule Revision (Drop/Add) in the Registration section of the Bulletin.
See Late Registration and Withdrawal from Classes.
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