Office of the Provost: Memorandum
To: Students on the Quarter System (except School of Law)
From: N. John DiNardo, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Subject: Key Policy Reminders for the Summer Quarter
Date: 19 June 2009
Key Reminders for Students: Summer 2008-2009
Welcome to the Summer Quarter at Drexel!
- Summer Quarter classes begin on Saturday, June 20th for Saturday Scholars.
- Summer Quarter classes begin on Monday, June 22nd for all other full-time and part-time students.
Please review the key policies and dates for the upcoming quarter.
CRITICAL DATES
• Course Add
• Course Drop
• Course Withdrawal
• Closed Section Override
• Holds
IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENTS
• DegreeWorks – Powerful Degree Audit Tool
NEW POLICIES
• Absence from Class
• Audit Option
• Class Cancellation due to Unexpected Instructor Lateness or Absence
IMPORTANT POLICY REMINDERS
• Grade of Incomplete (INC)
• Grade Not Reported (NGR)
• Classes During Co-op
• Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Policy
• Final Examinations
• Late Add/Drop/Withdraw Form Submission After Week 6
KEY PRACTICES
• Code of Conduct and Academic Honesty Policy
• Disability Accommodations
• Religious Observances
• Promoting a Diverse and Fair Learning Environment
CRITICAL DATES
Course Add
• The last day to add a course via DrexelOne is Sunday, July 5th at 11:00 PM. Students whose accounts are on "hold" will not be able to add courses until the hold is removed.
Students on hold have until Tuesday, July 7th by 5:00 PM to resolve their hold in time to add courses.
Please note that a student who has not registered for a course by the add deadline will not be permitted to attend that course after the end of the second week.
Special dates for accelerated courses:
- The last day to add an accelerated course (part of Term A) with Academic Advisor Assistance is Friday, June 26th at 5:00 PM or Sunday, June 28th at 11:00 PM via DrexelOne.
- The last day to add an accelerated course (part of Term B) with Academic Advisor Assistance is Friday, July 31st at 5:00 PM or Sunday, August 2nd at 11:00 PM via DrexelOne.
Special dates for Saturday Scholars:
- The last day for students enrolled as Saturday Scholars (part of Term A) to add a course is the close of the adjustment period, Friday, June 26th at 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance or 11:00 PM via DrexelOne.
- The last day for students enrolled as Saturday Scholars (part of Term B) to add a course is the close of the adjustment period, Friday, August 7th at 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance or 11:00 PM via DrexelOne.
Special consideration for Students enrolled in Saturday sections:
Students enrolled in Saturday classes who wish to add/drop a course may also submit a completed Add/Drop/Withdraw form to the SRC by dropping it into the after hours box. Add/Drop requests (for Saturday courses only) that are in the SRC after hours box within two days of the established deadline will be accepted effective the opening of business on Monday morning at 8:00 AM.
• The last day to drop a course via DrexelOne is Sunday, July 5th at 11:00 PM or Monday, July 6th by 5:00 PM with advisor assistance. Dropping a course will result in all evidence of it being removed from the student's transcript. Approval of the instructor is not required for students to drop a course.
Those students whose accounts are on "hold" will not be able to drop courses using DrexelOne. Students seeking to drop a course while on hold will need to coordinate an appeal with their Academic Advisor by Tuesday, July 7th. Please review the hold policy.
Special dates for accelerated courses:
- The last day to drop an accelerated course (part of Term A) with Academic Advisor Assistance is Friday, June 26th at 5:00 PM or Sunday, June 28th at 11:00 PM via DrexelOne.
- The last day to drop an accelerated course (part of Term B) with Academic Advisor Assistance is Friday, July 31st at 5:00 PM or Sunday, August 2nd at 11:00 PM via DrexelOne.
Special dates for Saturday Scholars:
- The last day for students enrolled as Saturday Scholars (part of Term A) to drop a course is the close of the adjustment period, Friday, June 26th at 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance or via DrexelOne by 11:00 PM.
- The last day for students enrolled as Saturday Scholars (part of Term B) to drop a course is the close of the adjustment period, Friday, August 7th at 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance or via DrexelOne by 11:00 PM.
Special consideration for students in Saturday courses:
Students enrolled in Saturday classes who wish to add/drop a course may submit a completed Add/Drop/Withdraw form to the SRC by dropping it into the after hours box. Add/Drop requests (for Saturday courses only) that are in the SRC after hours box within two days of the established deadline will be accepted effective the opening of business on Monday morning at 8:00 AM.
Withdrawal from a course will be reflected by a "W" on the student transcript; courses from which students have withdrawn will count as attempted credits on the transcript. Thus it is important for students to explore the financial aid implications of withdrawal on their financial aid eligibility. Please review federal financial aid guidelines for Satisfactory Academic Progress at http://www.drexel.edu/financialaid/academic_progress.asp.
- The last day to withdraw from a course is the close of the sixth week of classes, which is Friday, July 31st, at 5:00 PM. Approval of the instructor is required. In order to make a reasonable judgment about withdrawal, students should have information regarding performance on their first midterm by the close of the fifth week of classes.
- Students who have received federal financial aid or loans (Work Study, Perkins, PLUS and Stafford Loans) may be impacted by the decision to withdraw from courses at the institution. The federal government requires that students who receive aid or loans make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Please refer to http://www.drexel.edu/financialaid/academic_progress.asp for more information. Students are strongly encouraged to confer with their financial aid representatives to determine if SAP is met prior to withdrawal from courses.
Special dates for accelerated courses:
- The last day to withdraw from an accelerated course (part of Term A) is the close of the third week of the course that is Friday, July 10th at 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance.
- The last day to withdraw from an accelerated course (part of Term B) is the close of the third week of the session that is Friday, August 14th at 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance.
Special dates for Saturday Scholars:
- The last day to withdraw from classes for Saturday Scholars (part of Term A) is the close of the third week of the course that is Friday, July 10th by 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance.
- The last day to withdraw from classes for Saturday Scholars (part of Term B) is the close of the third week of the course that is Friday, August 21st by 5:00 PM with Academic Advisor Assistance.
Special consideration for Students enrolled in Saturday courses:
Students enrolled in Saturday classes who wish to withdraw from a course may submit a completed Add/Drop/Withdraw form to the SRC by dropping it into the after hours box. Withdrawal requests (for Saturday courses only) that are in the SRC after hours box within two days of the established deadline will be accepted effective the opening of business on Monday morning at 8:00 AM.
In the event that a course has reached its maximum capacity as established by the Office of the University Registrar and the Department offering the course, a student must appeal to be added into the course, that is appeal to override the established maximum capacity for the course section. Authorization to add a student to a section that has exceeded maximum enrollment capacity must be secured by Thursday, July 2nd.
The appeal to be overridden into a course must be advanced to the collegiate advisor/Dean's Office/Graduate Studies office. The appeal will be reviewed against established criteria for override consideration (click here to review criteria for override consideration). If the student meets the Criteria, he or she must then complete an Add/Drop/Withdraw form and obtain the instructor's signature for the course.
The instructor's signature on this form is provided as an indication that the addition of the student will not negatively impact his/her ability to achieve learning goals for the course and that the seating capacity of the room has not been exceeded. An instructor's signature is not final approval.
Once the instructor's signature is obtained, the student must return the Add/Drop/Withdraw form to his/her Advisor.
Please note that a student who has not registered for a course by the add deadline will not be permitted to attend that course after the end of the second week. Accordingly, students must resolve all "holds" on their accounts by the deadline. Please review the hold policy.
Those students whose accounts have been placed on hold are prohibited from sitting in courses for which they are not registered. Students placed on hold cannot add courses or participate in co-op until the circumstances contributing to the hold are resolved. Students on hold have until Tuesday, July 7th at 5:00 PM to resolve their holds in order to add courses or participate in co-op by the deadline.
"Being on hold" during the adjustment period is not considered an acceptable reason for a late or retroactive add.
To resolve a financial hold, students are encouraged to visit the Student Resource Center in Main Building, Room 222.
DegreeWorks – Powerful Degree Audit Tool
The University has implemented DegreeWorks, a web-based academic advising system for degree audit and course planning. DegreeWorks is a powerful tool to assist students in reaching their academic goals and better understand degree requirements. All undergraduate students entering the university in September 2007 or later have access to DegreeWorks.
Students, faculty and professional advising staff access DegreeWorks through Banner Self-Service. There are graphic advising worksheets within DegreeWorks allowing students to see how courses they’ve completed apply to the requirements for their majors, helping students and advisors to determine academic progress and providing information to help with registration decisions. Students contemplating major changes can run what-if scenarios to see how completed courses apply to other majors.DegreeWorks provides access to multiple services through hyperlinks: SRC, Drexel BlueLine, Term Master Schedule, AskDrexel, DegreeWorks help, catalog pages and lists of Writing Intensive Courses.
For more information, please reference the Student DegreeWorks Manual or email askdrexel@drexel.edu.
IMPORTANT POLICY REMINDERS
At the discretion of an instructor, the grade of "INC" (Incomplete) may be reported in place of a letter grade for any course in which the instructor deems that the work has not been completed and that the student can complete the work within an agreed upon time (which must be in accordance with University policy and the statute of limitations governing grade changes). A grade of "INC" may be entered for a student at the time grades are submitted for the course. The conditions and terms for the completion of the course are at the discretion of the instructor and are to be mutually agreed upon by the instructor and the student. It is recommended that a written agreement be developed between the student and instructor to clarify expectations and process. If the grade is not submitted within one full academic year, the "INC" will turn into an "F" on the student's record and be reflected in the student’s GPA. The grade of "F" will be considered a permanent grade.
An NGR is recorded when an instructor does not report a grade normally. Typically, this should only be used if the student is known not to have attended the course.
This is not a grade, but a temporary indicator that requires prompt resolution leading either to the removal of the course from the student’s record or the assignment of a grade.
If a final grade is not reported by the end of the following term, an administrative grade of F will be reported and recorded on the student’s transcript. If the "NGR" notation is left unresolved by the last day of classes of the next term immediately following the term that the original NGR was reported, it will become an F. This grade will be calculated as a failure in the student’s GPA and is considered a permanent grade.
The Classes During Co-op policy affords students on co-op the privilege of taking one course (up to four (4) credits face to face) at no charge. Registration for the Summer term opens on June 15th and remains open until the end of the add/drop period. It is important to understand the guidelines that apply to the policy so that you do not incur additional charges to your bill.
For more information on the policy and guidelines, please reference the Classes During Co-op policy at http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/ug_classes_coop.asp and contact your academic advisor.
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Policy
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") affords a student certain rights with respect to his/her Education Records.
Please take a moment to review the FERPA policy.
During finals week, no student is obligated to take more than two finals on any given day. The Final Examination policy states that students may appeal to the Office of the Provost for accommodation at least three (3) days before the examination date. Students may download the appeal form and submit it to the Provost's Office in Main 308.
- For the Summer 2009 term, courses instructors for those courses with the lowest course number will be asked to give a special exam.
Please take a moment to review the Final Examinations policy.
Late Add/Drop/Withdraw Form Submission After Week 6
All Add/Drop/Withdraw or late appeals should only be advanced in the event of exigent circumstances. All submissions after Week 6 must be coordinated with the student’s academic advisor. All form submissions after Week 6 should be sent by the advisor to the Office of Academic, Advising, Retention, and Diversity in Main 308.
KEY PRACTICES
Code of Conduct and Academic Honesty Policy
Undergraduate Students
We encourage students to review and abide by the University policy on Academic Honesty. The Academic Honesty policy is written in support of the University's strong commitment to high academic standards and integrity and has been endorsed by the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA). The Academic Affairs Committee of the USGA has authored a Statement of Honor, which furthers these ideals; the Statement of Honor was approved by the USGA on August 4, 2006.As members of the Drexel University undergraduate student body, we seek to uphold a learning environment that embraces preeminent standards of education, integrity, and community. We strive to conduct ourselves in a manner that is beyond reproach, adhering to the University's Code of Conduct and Academic Honesty policies. Devoted to the principles of mutual respect, equality, and honor, we assume an obligation to serve one another.
Graduate Students
As a Drexel University graduate student and aware of the University’s mission, I commit myself to excellence in research, teaching, and service. In furtherance of that aim and because I understand that my actions affect all members of the Drexel community and my profession, I pledge to conduct myself with the highest integrity, honor, and respect in all my endeavors.
It is the University's policy to provide a learning environment that provides all students with the opportunity to realize their full potential. To this end, the goal of the Office of Disability Services ("ODS") is to assist students with disabilities in becoming self-sufficient, independent, and successful members of the University's community and to provide students with disabilities with equal opportunity of access to University courses, programs, facilities, services, and activities.
Students seeking reasonable accommodations for their disabilities must first register with ODS. The staff of ODS will work closely with students to review medical documentation, assess their individual needs, and link them with the services necessary to ensure them the opportunity to participate fully in college life. The Office of Disability Services website can be found at http://www.drexel.edu/ods.
The University is committed to promoting an environment that supports cultural and spiritual diversity.
It is essential that students contact their instructors at the beginning of the term for religious observance accommodation requests.
For more information, please review the Office of the Provost Statement on Religious Observances
Promoting a Diverse and Fair Learning Environment
The mission of the Office of Equality and Diversity is to promote, support, and sustain a living, learning and working environment of diversity, equality, fairness, inclusion, and respect. The Office of Equality and Diversity is responsible for ensuring equality of opportunity and compliance with University policies and federal, state and local laws prohibiting discrimination based upon race, color, religion, gender (sex), marital status, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability and veteran status. University policy and the City of Philadelphia also prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation, identity and expression. The Office of Equality and Diversity investigates and attempts to resolve complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
Students, faculty and staff with questions about or complaints concerning discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation should contact Michele M. Rovinsky, J.D., Executive Director of Equality and Diversity at 215-895-1403 or mrovinsky@drexel.edu. The Equality and Diversity website can be found at www.drexel.edu/oed.
Drexel University Office of the Provost | 3141 Chestnut Street | Philadelphia, PA 19104 | 215-895-2200
This message to Drexel Official Mail was approved under the authority of
Dr. Mark Greenberg, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs