Policies & Procedures

Please read carefully the summary of the academic procedures and norms outlined in this section. You'll be better prepared for your studies if you do.

For more information about our course offerings, please see our Schedule of Classes—available on-line at this link. And for complete information about Saint Louis University's academic policies and procedures, see the Undergraduate Catalog 2006-2007-available on-line at www.slu.edu.

You can review your course schedule, access your transcript, and complete course evaluations through the SLU Banner Self-Service link on our homepage. To access personal information in Banner, you will need your SLU Net ID and initial password, both available from the Registrar (registrar@madrid.slu.edu). Please provide your full name, date of birth and Banner ID (if available), when contacting the Registrar.


- Academic Advising
- Semester System
- Classes
- Registering for Classes
- Changing Your Schedule
- Attendance Policies
- Credits
- Examinations
- Grades
- Repeating Courses
- Academic Standing
- Counseling Services
- Dean's List
- Honors
- Withdrawal from the University
- Academic Conduct
- Academic Honesty Policy











Semester System

The academic year is divided into two fifteen-week semesters and two optional summer sessions:

• Fall Semester (September to December)
• Spring Semester (January to May)
• Summer Sessions (five-week programs in May, June and July)

<Back>




Classes

In general, classes are offered in one of the following combinations:

• Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - three 50-minute classes per week
• Tuesdays and Thursdays / Mondays and Wednesdays - two 75-minute classes per week
• Introductory-level language courses: Mondays through Thursdays – four 50-minute classes per week
• Intensive summer courses: Monday through Thursday – four 110-minute classes per-week

<Back>




Registering for Classes

You can register for Summer and Fall 2008 starting Monday, April 7, 2008, and Spring 2009 starting Thursday, November 6, 2008. Register early! Some courses fill up right away.

If you are a visiting student, the best way to reserve places in classes is to e-mail your selections directly to the registrar (registrar@madrid.slu.edu). Continuing students and those visiting from Saint Louis University in Missouri should meet with their academic advisors to gain permission to register on-line using the SLU Self-Service Banner (available from our homepage). New degree-seeking students should send their course selections to our first-year student advisor, (advising@madrid.slu.edu).

Most students sign up for five classes (15-16 hours), indicating two or three alternates. For more details, see the "How to Register" section in the Schedule of Classes. Be sure to note that many courses have prerequisites and some have special fees for trips or art supplies; note also, some sections of courses are taught in Spanish.

Students enrolled in courses with required trips who do not make the additional required payment found in the Schedule of Classes by the first day of class will be dropped from the course.

<Back>




Changing Your Schedule

To change your academic schedule, you must discuss the change with your academic advisor and submit the signed “Change of Registration” form to our Registrar.

The first ten days of the term is the official "Add-Drop Period." You may add or drop classes from your schedule if you wish. During the first twenty days of the term, you may also change a course to Pass/No Pass or Audit (see below). Specific deadlines are listed in the Academic Calendar.

It is still possible to drop a class after the Add-Drop Period has ended. In this case, you will receive a "W" grade (withdrawal-see below). The deadline to drop a class and receive a "W" is listed on the Academic Calendar. You cannot drop a class after this deadline.

<Back>




Attendance Policies

Attendance policies vary according to department. Generally speaking, however, attendance at all lectures and labs is compulsory. Professors may lower your grade or fail you for the semester if you have too many unaccountable absences.

<Back>




Credits

Each class carries a number of credits that reflects the number of hours that the class meets per week. Most classes carry three credits. Some, with required laboratories, carry four; others (music lessons, first-year engineering, for example), one or two.

For permanent students, the number of credits you accumulate over the course of your academic career determines your classification at the University:

• Freshman 0-29 credits
• Sophomore 30-59 credits
• Junior 60-89 credits
• Senior 90 or more credits

Full-time status means that you are taking twelve or more credits per semester. Part-time status means you are registered for fewer than twelve credits per semester.

<Back>




Examinations

In most lower-division courses there are two mid-term exams and one final exam. Upper-division courses have at least one mid-term exam, a written assignment or project and a final exam.

Mid-term exams are scheduled according to individual professors; final exams, however, follow an official university schedule published in the Schedule of Classes and on the web. Please note that the time of the final exam may differ from that of the normal class time (though the final exams are usually held in the same classroom as the class). You cannot change your final exam time, and if you miss the final exam, you could fail the course. Please check all details carefully and thus avoid the expense and inconvenience of having to change your ticket and travel arrangements.

<Back>




Grades

Your professors will make clear on their syllabi how they calculate your final grade for the course. Keep in mind, though, that your final grades usually aren't just the average of your mid-term and final examinations: nearly all professors factor in shorter tests or quizzes taken during the term, homework assignments, written essays, lab reports, oral presentations, class participation, and so forth. If you have a question about your final grade or you wish to appeal it, first consult with the professor. If you're not satisfied with this result, then contact the chair of the professor's department. If you're still not satisfied, you may bring your appeal to the Associate Dean or Dean of the Madrid campus.

Midterm Grades
All instructors submit midterm grades for all students twice a term based on the work done up to that date. You can access your first midterm grades via the SLU Banner Self-Service link; to access your second midterm grades, contact your professors or the Office of the Registrar. Summer Program courses do not issue midterm grades.

Final Grades
Final grades are available via the SLU Banner Self-Service link. You can also request an official copy of your transcript via Banner Self-Service. The official copy will be mailed to the address selected by the students.

Grading System
Grades awarded at Saint Louis University are shown below. Each grade is associated with a set number of grade points, which are used to calculate your grade point average (GPA).

Grade		Equivalent Grade Points
A	High Achievement and intellectual initiative	4.0
A-		3.7
B+		3.3
B	Above average	3.0
B-		2.7
C+		2.3
C	Average achievement	2.0
C-		1.7
D	Inferior but passing achievement	1.0
F	Failure	0.0

Other Grade Classifications

AF	Failure due to unauthorized withdrawal or excessive absences
AU	Audit
W	Authorized withdrawal
I	Incomplete
NP	No pass
P	Pass
X	Not Reported (for students who do not take the final exam; after one month, "X" becomes "F", if final exam is not taken)

Pass/No Pass (P/NP)
No more than one course per semester can be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis, which means that you must earn the grade of "C" to pass the course. The grade has no effect on your grade point average, but the credits you earn count toward graduation. Business students cannot take courses on a Pass/No Pass basis.

Audit (AU)
Auditing a course means that the course will appear on your transcript, but you don’t receive credit towards graduation.

The Grade of Incomplete (I)
At times, extenuating circumstances arise that make it impossible for you to complete the class requirements by the end of the semester. If you find yourself in such a position, please speak with your professor before the final exam period. The professor may be able to assign you an "I" (Incomplete) for the class. Both you and the professor must sign an Incomplete form, which explains how the "I" grade will be resolved. The signed form is a contract, the conditions of which you must fulfill to receive a grade.

You have one year (or the amount of time established in the contract) in which to complete the requirements and receive an official grade. If you fail to do so within this time period, your "I" will automatically change to grade "F." If you are taking a new course for which the "I" grade is a pre-requisite, you must remove the "I" grade within the first week of the new semester.

The Grades of Withdrawal (W) and (AF)
The deadline to drop a class and receive a "W" is listed on the Academic Calendar. You cannot drop a class after this deadline. If you fail to complete a course, you'll be assigned an "AF" grade, which counts as an "F" in the calculation of your GPA.

Grade Point Average (GPA)
The Grade Point Average (GPA) is a number that is calculated based on your grades for any given semester. Each grade you receive has a per-credit value defined as "quality points." Consider the following example:

Course	Grade	Grade Point	x	Credits	=	Quality Points
ECON-190-M01	C	2.0	x	3	=	6.0
ACCT-220-M01	B+	3.3	x	3	=	9.9
SPAN-115-M01	A	4.0	x	3	=	12.0
MATH-142-M01	C+	2.7	x	4	=	10.8
ARTH-100-M01	C+	2.7	x	3	=	8.1
TOTAL				16		46.8

In order to calculate the GPA, the total number of quality points is divided by the total number of credit hours. Thus, in the above example: GPA = 46.8/16 or 2.925.

To calculate the cumulative GPA, simply divide the total number of quality points you have accumulated since the beginning or your studies, by the total number of credit hours you have accumulated. All grades received during a student's enrollment, for which grade points are indicated in the "Undergraduate Grading System" table, are included in the cumulative GPA. Grades for courses transferred from other colleges/universities are excluded.

<Back>




Repeating Courses

A course can only be counted once for graduation. If you do repeat a course, though, both grades earned are included in your cumulative grade point average: in other words, if you repeat a course and receive a higher grade, the new grade doesn't erase or replace the original grade you received.

If you receive a grade of "F" in a required course, that course must be repeated. Subsequently, both the initial grade of "F" and the grade earned after repeating the same course are considered in calculation of the student's grade point average.

<Back>




Academic Standing

You must maintain a GPA of at least 2.0 to remain in good academic standing at Saint Louis University. If you receive a cumulative GPA of less than 2.0, you are automatically placed on probation. You then have one semester to raise your GPA to 2.0 or higher. If you fail to raise your GPA, you may not be allowed to continue your studies with us.

<Back>




Dean's List

If your GPA is 3.70 for 12 credit hours for a semester, we recognize your achievement by placing you on our Dean’s List.


<Back>




Honors

If your GPA is 3.50 or higher, you may apply to enroll in Honors classes, special sections of many core courses and innovative seminars that lead to an Honors degree from Saint Louis University.


<Back>




Withdrawal from the University

If you come to Spain and decide to withdraw from the University, you must fill out a formal withdrawal form and obtain the signature of the vice-provost of the Madrid campus to be eligible for a tuition refund.

Students who withdraw from the University after the beginning of the semester receive tuition refunds according to the refund table found in the Schedule of Classes. Students who withdraw after the third week of classes normally are responsible for paying the full-semester tuition rate.

<Back>




Academic Conduct

The following is a statement of minimum standards for student academic integrity at Saint Louis University.

The University is a community of learning, whose effectiveness requires an environment of mutual trust and integrity, such as would be expected at a Jesuit, Catholic institution. As members of this community, students, faculty, and staff members share the responsibility to maintain this environment. Academic dishonesty violates it. Although not all forms of academic dishonesty can be listed here, it can be said in general that soliciting, receiving, or providing any unauthorized assistance in the completion of any work submitted toward academic credit is dishonest. It not only violates the mutual trust necessary between faculty and students, but also undermines the validity of the University’s evaluation of students and takes unfair advantage of fellow students.

Further, it is the responsibility of any student who observes such dishonest conduct to call it to the attention of a faculty member or administrator.

Examples of academic dishonesty would be copying from another student, copying from a book or class notes during a closed-book exam, submitting materials authored by or editorially revised by another person but presented as the student’s own work, copying a passage or text directly from a published source without appropriately citing or recognizing that source, taking a test or doing an assignment or other academic work for another student, tampering with another student’s work, securing or supplying in advance a copy of an examination without the knowledge or consent of the instructor, and colluding with another student or students to engage in an act of academic dishonesty.

Where there is clear indication of such dishonesty, a faculty member or administrator has the responsibility to apply appropriate sanctions. Investigations of violations will be conducted in accord with standards and procedures of the school or college through which the course or research is offered. Recommendations of sanctions to be imposed will be made to the dean of the school or college in which the student is enrolled. Possible sanctions for a violation of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, disciplinary probation, suspension, and dismissal from the University.

<Back>