Policies and Procedures for Undergraduate Students

The policies listed below are designed to guide your academic progress. The complete policies are available on Temple’s Policy and Procedures and/or further information is available in the Undergraduate Bulletin.

1. Temple E-Mail: All students are required to obtain a Temple e-mail address and follow guidelines for University use of e-mail. The policy establishes your Temple e-mail account as an approved channel of communication for sending you official University notifications and important information. (policy #04.74.11)

2. Registration: Students must be appropriately registered for courses. Students not on the published grade list may not receive a grade or credit for a course. Use your OWLnet screens to confirm your billing and registration status. If you add or drop a course or revise your class schedule, check OWLnet to make sure that your registration record is accurate. Be warned, if you are registered for a course, but don’t attend, you will be billed for the course and your instructor should post a final grade of “F.” (www.temple.edu/bulletin)

3. Course Syllabus: Instructors are required to supply a detailed syllabus explaining course rules and expectations for courses in which you are enrolled. The content requirements for course syllabi are enumerated on the policy web site. (policy #02.78.13)

4. Prerequisites and Co-Requisites: All course prerequisites and co-requisites must be clearly indicated in the course syllabus. They are also indicated in the online Undergraduate Course Descriptions. The University has the right to cancel the registration of any student who has not satisfied the prerequisites or co-requisites for any course in which the student has enrolled. When in doubt, consult with your advisor. (www.temple.edu/bulletin)

5. Instructor Office Hours: Faculty members should hold regular weekly office hours, ideally three per week. A smaller number of office hours may be scheduled with the approval of the dean. For instance, for faculty teaching in studio or clinic settings, extensive in-class consultation may serve instead of office hours. A greater number of office hours should be held by a faculty member when circumstances warrant. Faculty members should also see students by special appointment as needed. To meet the needs of commuting students, faculty members are urged to hold office hours immediately before or immediately after a scheduled class meeting in each course if at all possible. Faculty members should hold office hours at all campuses where they teach. Faculty members teaching online courses should arrange specific times when they will be available online for consultation. Office hours should be posted at a faculty member’s office, studio, or other location of work; on the course syllabus; and on Blackboard or any other course web site. Faculty members should inform their department and dean’s office of their scheduled office hours. Faculty members should notify students of both planned and emergency changes to scheduled office hours. (policy #02.78.12)

6. Lower Division Student Academic Progress: Instructors in lower division freshman and sophomore courses (i.e., those numbered 1999 and below) will provide evaluations of student progress by the end of the fifth week of class. It is the instructor’s responsibility to complete and return an early report indicating satisfactory or unsatisfactory progress for each student. Students will receive their mid-semester ratings on their OWLnet account. (policy #02.10.15)

7. Withdrawal from Classes: No student may withdraw from a course after the ninth week of classes or week four of a summer session. A student may not withdraw from the same course more than once. A student may withdraw from no more than five courses during the duration of an undergraduate career. Students thinking about withdrawing from a course should consult with their instructor and must receive approval from their academic advisor. (policy #02.10.14)

8. Incomplete Course Work: Instructors submitting a grade of “I” (Incomplete) for students must file, with the department, a written agreement describing the nature of the work to be completed and the completion deadline. An instructor will file an “I” (Incomplete) only if the student has completed the majority of the work of the course at a passing level, and only for reasons beyond the student’s control. The instructor must report a default grade that will be entered if the student’s work is not completed or if the instructor does not change the “I” grade within one year. (policy #02.10.13)

9. Repeating a Course: All grades for the repeated course, except the lowest, will be used for GPA calculation. All grades will appear on the transcript. (policy #02.10.12)

10. Student Feedback Form (SFF): Each course (with few exceptions) is required to employ a standard form for student evaluation of courses and teaching. Please fill out the SFF forms thoughtfully at the end of your course. (policy #02.78.14)

11. Academic Warning: Students are in academic good standing if they have not been dismissed. A student with a cumulative grade point average below 2.0 and fewer than 30 cumulative credits—or a semester grade point average below 2.0 with any number of cumulative credits—will be placed on Academic Warning. Students on Academic Warning will not be permitted to register online and must receive approval from their academic advisor for course registration. (policy #02.10.11, revised September 2007; refer to policy for Associate Degree requirements.)

12. Academic Probation: Academic probation is a sanction given to students whose cumulative grade point average (CGPA) is below 2.0 after having accumulated 30 credits or more. (policy #02.10.11, revised September 2007; refer to policy for Associate Degree requirements.)

13. Academic Dismissal: Academic dismissal will be determined by a system of grade point deficiencies that will allow you to track your academic performance more easily. Students dismissed for the first time may continue to take classes on Conditional Status. Such students are not in academic good standing and are not eligible for financial aid. Please review material on the policy web site or in the Undergraduate Bulletin to familiarize yourself with this way of representing academic performance. (policy #02.10.11, revised September 2007)

14. Reinstatement and Readmission: Students who complete course work on Conditional status may apply for reinstatement to degree candidacy to the school or college from which they were dismissed when they achieve a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Students may apply only once for reinstatement. A dismissed student may apply for readmission after five years from the date of last enrollment at Temple. (policy #02.10.11, revised September 2007)

15. FERPA Waiver: An online waiver process under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows students to use OWLnet to elect to keep their parents or other designees informed about their academic progress and disciplinary record. You can exercise your waiver and sign-up using your OWLnet account. (policy #03.20.11)

16. Student Services Office Hours: All University offices directly serving students will maintain uniform business hours (8:30 AM to 5:00 PM). (policy #04.31.11)

17. Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities. (policy #03.70.02)

18. Student options for fulfilling the University’s Core International Studies (IS) requirement have been revised effective for the first summer session 2007 and subsequent terms. Any student with remaining University Core International Studies requirements can satisfy those requirements based on the revised options. Details can be accessed on the web site of the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies