Center for Credit Programs Student Handbook
The Student Handbook has essential information on registration, grading, and your rights and responsibilities as a student. All students enrolled in courses offered through the Center for Credit Programs are expected to know the policies and procedures contained in this handbook. The Center for Credit Programs is a unit within the Division of Continuing Education that administers credit coursework. It includes Distance Education courses, Saturday & Evening Classes, Summer Session and Winter Session. If you are admitted to the Bachelor of Liberal Studies or the Bachelor of Applied Studies external degree program, you should also consult the BLS Student Handbook or the BAS Student Handbook for information specific to your program.
Students
University of Iowa courses and workshops offered through the Center for Credit Programs are open to students admitted to the University and to those who seek professional or personal development opportunities.
Students admitted to The University of Iowa are subject to the policies of their college. They should consult their college or department for information on how course work taken through the Center for Credit Programs applies toward major, minor, and other degree or certificate requirements.
Persons who are not admitted to The University of Iowa may register for most Center for Credit Programs offerings as nondegree extension students or workshop students. Some offerings in the Summer and Winter Sessions may require students who are not pursuing a degree from The University of Iowa to be admitted as graduate or undergraduate nondegree special students. Contact the Office of Admissions (http://www.uiowa.edu/admissions/nondegree/index.html) for information on special student status.
Information for Extension and Workshop Students
You may take most classes offered through the Center for Credit Programs without being a degree candidate at The University of Iowa. Credit earned as a nondegree student will be entered on your permanent record.
If you are interested in earning a degree from the University, you should apply for formal admission. This will allow you to plan your program with an advisor and be sure that the courses you take will satisfy degree requirements.
If you plan to apply University of Iowa courses toward a degree from another institution, you should request approval from that institution before registering.
If you have not been admitted to The University of Iowa, you will be classified as a nondegree extension student or workshop student. Undergraduate registrants are designated either Undergraduate-Extension (AE) or Undergraduate-Workshop (AW). The transcript entry will be “Division of Continuing Education, Undergrad Nondegree Student” (AE) or “College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Transcripts not Evaluated” (AW). Graduate registrants are designated either Graduate-Extension (GE) or Graduate-Workshop (GW). The transcript entry will be “Graduate College, Unclassified Student.”
Previously admitted students who wish to change to the nondegree extension student classification may request this change when registering. If you register under the nondegree extension student classification, you must declare your undergraduate or graduate status each term. You will have to reapply for admission for any subsequent regular-session registration. Admission cannot be assured.
To register as a graduate student, you must have a baccalaureate degree. The University will request verification of your baccalaureate from the institution granting the degree. You may earn graduate credit only for courses numbered 100 or above. Work taken with undergraduate status, regardless of the level of the courses, cannot be accepted for graduate credit at a later date.
Credit earned under the graduate extension student classification is suitable in most cases for teacher certification, salary barrier credit, etc., but does not apply toward the UI Graduate College residence requirement of a minimum of 24 semester hours for a nondoctoral degree. Only credit earned after formal admission to a department or program in the Graduate College will count as residence credit.
Graduate nondegree students are subject to Graduate College policies in all academic matters. For details, see the Graduate College section of the Student Handbook or the Graduate College web site (http://www.grad.uiowa.edu/Students/AcademicPolicies/ ).
High school completion or the equivalent is generally necessary for registration for undergraduate courses.
However, if you are a high school junior or senior, you may be allowed to register for certain courses with written permission from your high school principal and your parent or guardian. Contact the Center for Credit Programs or the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for further information.
If you are an upper-level undergraduate, you may, with proper approval, enroll in some graduate-level courses for undergraduate credit. Work taken with undergraduate status cannot be accepted for graduate credit at a later date.
Undergraduate extension students are governed by the policies of the Division of Continuing Education in all academic matters. If desired, advising is available from Center for Credit Programs advisors.
Academic Policies for Undergraduate Extension Students
If you are admitted to The University of Iowa, check with your collegiate Academic Programs Office for policies governing the use of the pass/nonpass (P/N) option.
Undergraduate extension students in good standing may register for P/N grading with the approval of an advisor in the Center for Credit Programs and the course instructor. The instructor assigns a standard letter grade, which is converted automatically in the Office of the Registrar. An earned grade of C- or above is recorded as a P; an earned grade of D+ or below is recorded as an N. P/N grades and credit hours are not counted in calculating your grade-point average.
Some undergraduate colleges permit students to elect a second-grade-only (SGO) option. If you are admitted to The University of Iowa and are interested in this option, consult your collegiate Academic Programs Office.
Undergraduate extension students may repeat courses taken at The University of Iowa, unless regression is involved, and have only the grade and credit of the second registration used in calculating total hours earned as well as the University of Iowa cumulative and total cumulative grade-point averages. The Office of the Registrar marks the permanent record with the symbol # to show that a particular course has been repeated under the provisions of the second-grade-only option. Both grades remain on the permanent record, but only the second one is used in calculating the grade-point averages and hours earned. Undergraduate extension students who wish to file for this option should contact an advisor in the Center for Credit Programs.
SGO Rules and Restrictions
- The second-grade-only option may be used only for University of Iowa courses, including Saturday & Evening Classes, Guided Independent Study courses and other distance education courses.
- The option may be used only once per course.
- Students may apply the option to a maximum of three courses.
- The option may not be used if regression would occur.
- If the course was taken for a grade the first time, it must be taken for a grade the second time. If the course was taken pass/nonpass the first time, it may be taken pass/nonpass or for a grade the second time.
- Any University of Iowa course taken in any mode of delivery—during a regular semester, summer session, an intensive session, or through the Division of Continuing Education's programs—may be repeated in the same mode of delivery or in another mode of delivery.
- The option became available to students in the fall term 1969. Courses taken or repeated before that time are not eligible.
- The option may not be used by a student who has been awarded a degree from The University of Iowa on a course taken before the degree was awarded.
- The second-grade-only option is not permitted for graduate students.
Undergraduate extension students must maintain a grade-point average of 2.0 to remain in good standing. Students’ academic records are reviewed each term; if their grade-point average falls below 2.0 they are placed on probation and may be subject to dismissal. Generally, students are continued on probation if they have attempted fewer than 12 hours, their grade-point average is 1.95 or better, they have been on probation for only two terms, or they have shown improvement in their academic performance.
Students not continued on probation, or restored to good standing, are considered for dismissal. A committee reviews the academic records of students being considered for dismissal on a case-by-case basis and makes recommendations to the Dean, who makes the final decision. Students on probation undergo the same review each term until they are restored to good standing or dismissed.
Dismissed students who can document that their unsatisfactory academic records were the result of extenuating circumstances, such as a disabling illness or personal crisis, may appeal for revocation of a dismissal.
Students dismissed for unsatisfactory scholarship for the first time are not permitted to register again for one year. Students dismissed for the second time may or may not be granted a second reinstatement.
Students who are permitted to register following dismissal are registered on academic probation and ordinarily are allowed two terms to achieve good standing. Very poor academic work in the first term of a reinstatement, however, may result in dismissal at the close of that term.
Policies and Procedures—All Students
Registration and Grading
You are responsible for registering accurately and making changes in a timely way. You may not attend and cannot receive credit for any class for which you are not properly enrolled.
Maximum Schedule
Each college has a maximum number of hours for which you may register each term without dean’s approval: Graduate College--15 s.h.; undergraduate colleges--18 s.h. During the Summer Sessions: Graduate College--8 s.h.; undergraduate colleges--9 s.h.; an additional 3 s.h. is allowed during the May 3-week session. During the Winter Session: 3 s.h.
Changes in Registration
Students must abide by the stated deadlines for all registration changes and obtain permissions required by their college. Staff at the Center for Credit Programs can provide advisor’s signature for extension students. Undergraduate extension students who need dean’s signature should contact the Center for Credit Programs.
Instructors or departments have the option to administratively drop students from a course for which they do not have required prerequisites that were correctly listed on ISIS. These administrative drops must take place during the first two weeks of the term.
Instructors have the option to administratively drop a student who has missed the first two class periods, unless the student has offered acceptable reasons for beginning the course late.
These drop actions are made without the assignment of a W. Students should not assume that they have been dropped automatically from a course because they do not have the prerequisites or because they have not attended.
Withdrawal of Registration
To withdraw is to terminate enrollment in every course (even if enrolled in only one course) by submitting a Student Withdrawal Card. Consult the “Academic Deadlines” calendar based on your college of enrollment for each term’s withdrawal deadline. Extension students should notify the Center for Credit Programs in writing of their request for withdrawal.
Auditing
To audit a course, you register for 0 s.h. credit after gaining approval from your advisor and the course instructor. Tuition and fees are assessed based on the minimum semester-hour credits for which the course is offered. The instructor assigns a grade of “R” (registered) if your attendance and performance are satisfactory; if unsatisfactory, a “W” (withdrawn) is assigned. Audited courses do not meet any college requirement and carry no credit toward graduation.
All credit courses delivered through the Center for Credit Programs are subject to the grading policies of the college that administers the course. Students taking courses through the Center for Credit Programs are responsible for reading the grading system information available under the relevant collegiate section in the Student Handbook on ISIS or on the web site of the administrative home college.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Students enrolled in courses offered through the Division of Continuing Education’s Center for Credit Programs have both rights and responsibilities. If you have questions about your rights or responsibilities as a student, contact the Academic Programs Office of the college to which you are admitted. Undergraduate extension students who have questions may contact the Center for Credit Programs; graduate extension students should contact the Graduate College. All students enrolling in Center for Credit Programs courses are governed by the administrative policies of the Center in such matters as registration, course and refund deadlines, and withdrawal and refund appeals. Students wishing information on appeals procedures should contact the Center for Credit Programs.
Plagiarism and cheating in courses offered through the Center for Credit Programs may result in grade reduction and/or other severe penalties. An instructor who suspects a student of plagiarism or cheating must inform the student in writing or by e-mail as soon as possible after the incident has been observed. While the Center for Credit Programs will be informed of such reports, collegiate policies determine the process followed by instructors and departments. If a student wishes to appeal a finding of plagiarism or cheating, information on the process is available though the appropriate college.
Student Complaints About Faculty Actions
Complaints about faculty actions in courses offered through the Center for Credit Programs may concern inappropriate faculty conduct (including inappropriate course materials), incompetence in oral or written communication, inequities in assignments, failure to provide disability accommodations, or grading grievances, including failure to grade in a timely fashion. Students who have complaints about faculty actions should ordinarily attempt to resolve the question with the instructor first. If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved, the student should take the matter to the appropriate departmental official(s) in the college in which the course is administered. If not satisfied with the result, the student may take the matter to the Associate Dean for academic programs. Only in extraordinary cases may a procedure involving a complaint begin more than six months after the time of the incident. Further information on complaint procedures may be obtained from the appropriate collegiate Academic Programs Office.
Policy on Student Academic Accommodations
In matters relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it is the responsibility of the Center for Credit Programs to facilitate the provision of reasonable accommodation according to the policies established by the various academic units. Students who wish to inquire or complain about academic accommodations or facilities and logistical support may contact either the instructor of the course involved or the Center for Credit Programs.
All inquiries or complaints are considered according to the policies and procedures of the appropriate academic units. Copies of collegiate policies are supplied upon request.
© The University of Iowa | All Rights Reserved
Contact the Division of Continuing Education | Updated
March 27, 2009