"Academic Policies and Procedures" is published as several files. Use the links above to see the table of contents for the whole chapter, or other files within the chapter.
Any current, former, or prospective University of Texas at Austin student may attempt to earn credit by examination for any undergraduate course provided the student has neither passed nor failed that course. Credit by examination will not be given for a course the student previously passed or failed at the University or any other collegiate institution. (When a student transfers a course from another institution with fewer semester hours than the corresponding University course carries, the student may earn credit by examination for the University course, but only with the symbol CR.) Additional eligibility requirements may be established by the academic department awarding credit with the approval of the dean of the college or school. Information about additional requirements is available at the Measurement and Evaluation Center and at the academic department. Although prospective students may take examinations to establish their eligibility to receive credit, credit is awarded only to officially enrolled[1] students or to former students.
A student enrolled in college-level courses in the Division of Continuing Education may attempt to earn credit by examination under the same rules as students currently or formerly enrolled in resident credit courses at the University. At least one college-level course must be completed before credit by examination can be awarded.
Credit by examination satisfies degree requirements in the same way as credit earned by passing a course, except that it does not count as credit earned in residence. Credit earned by examination does not jeopardize eligibility for scholarships that require freshman standing. The student's official transcript does not reflect unsuccessful attempts to earn credit by examination.
A student becomes eligible for credit by examination by earning a grade of C, B, or A. Credit may be accepted by the student with either the letter grade or the symbol CR (credit only). Credit accepted with a letter grade is used in calculating the student's grade point average.
Credit by examination is not reported to the registrar until the student advises the Measurement and Evaluation Center whether to report a letter grade or the symbol CR; a form for this purpose is available at the center.[2] A fee of $2.00 per semester credit hour is assessed for each report. The student is billed by the Office of Student Accounting.
The choice of CR does not affect the number of semester hours for which a student may enroll on the pass/fail basis. Credit by examination may be accepted with the CR designation in both required and elective courses, except in the College of Communication, where an eligible student must accept a letter grade rather than the symbol CR in the major. After credit has been reported to the registrar, the choice of letter grade or the symbol CR may not be changed.
A student's academic dean may approve an exception to the course placement and credit by examination policies for compelling academic reasons. Where the exception involves the student's eligibility to be tested or to receive credit by examination in a particular course, the exception must also be approved by the department in which the course is offered.
The faculties of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences encourage students enrolled in those colleges to earn credit by examination in as many subjects as possible, including the student's major.
All tests administered at the University of Texas at Austin for course placement and credit by examination require a fee. To obtain information, including the testing schedule, eligibility requirements, test descriptions, sample questions, and the amount of test fees, send the name and address to which the information should be mailed and two first-class postage stamps for each handout requested, to the Measurement and Evaluation Center, Box 7246, Austin, Texas 78713-7246. The academic subject, specific test, and other topics about which information is needed should be stated. The center is located at 2616 Wichita Street. The telephone number is (512) 471-3032, Fax 471-3509.
Examinations required for course placement. The following tests are normally given on the University campus immediately before each semester and the first summer term, during most summer orientation sessions, and at least once each fall and spring semester. The College of Communication Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Test and the Department of Journalism Word Processing Test are not given during summer orientation.
International students whose native language is not English must submit satisfactory scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for admission to a lower-division rhetoric and composition course. The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service. A student who scores at least 600 on the TOEFL must also take the SAT II: Writing Test.
Foreign language placement tests serve not only to determine the level of work appropriate for students but also as the basis for credit by examination, which normally may be earned in as many as four lower-division courses. Credit by examination can be used to absolve a high school unit deficiency or to fulfill individual degree requirements. Credit that exceeds degree requirements often can be used as elective credit.
The University uses the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Subject Examinations in French, German, and Spanish, a Russian Proficiency Test with a UT Austin Russian Grammar Achievement Test, and UT Austin Tests for Credit in Chinese and Japanese for course placement. Information about these tests and sample questions may be obtained from the Measurement and Evaluation Center.
Students who have taken either a College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Examination or an International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher-Level Examination in French, German, or Spanish are not required to take the corresponding CLEP Subject Examination because their Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Examination results can be used for placement. Tests in foreign languages not listed in this section are scheduled on an individual basis; students should contact the Measurement and Evaluation Center for information.
General Examinations: On the basis of the CLEP General Examinations, an unaffiliated student (one who has been out of high school or college for at least two years) may be eligible for credit without a grade in one or more subjects. Eligibility for credit depends on an evaluation of CLEP test scores in relation to college coursework, if any, in the areas covered by the CLEP General Examinations.
Subject Examinations: The CLEP Subject Examinations in American Government, American Literature, Calculus with Elementary Functions, College Algebra, English Literature, French, German, Principles of Macroeconomics/Introductory Macroeconomics, Principles of Microeconomics/Introductory Microeconomics, Introductory Psychology, Introductory Sociology, and Spanish are used as the bases for credit by examination. Subject examinations are not restricted to unaffiliated students. The tests in American Government, American Literature, English Literature, College Algebra, and German are supplemented with items prepared by University faculty members; these items are available only on the Austin campus. Information about locally prepared items may be obtained from the Measurement and Evaluation Center. A registration guide for the CLEP Subject Examinations may be obtained from College Board CLEP, Box 6601, Princeton, New Jersey 08541-6601. Most CLEP subject examinations used by the University for credit are given on campus immediately prior to registration for each semester and the summer session and at least once during the spring and fall semesters. The University also serves as a nationwide testing center offering the CLEP Examinations once a month.
In addition to the administration of testing programs, the Measurement and Evaluation Center conducts studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the University in achieving the goals of its educational programs. The center assists faculty members with the construction, processing, and analysis of tests and other measuring instruments, with system design and data processing services involving automatic document scanning, and with related data processing activities. By means of Course-Instructor Surveys, the center enables faculty members to obtain student opinions of their courses and their teaching methods.
Subject to these requirements, a registered student may add a course through the twelfth class day of a long-session semester or the fourth class day of a summer term. Through the fourth class day of the semester or the second class day of the summer term, the approval of the chairman of the department offering the course may be required; after these dates the approval of the chairman is required. In some colleges and schools, the approval of the student's adviser and dean are also required. The student must consult the regulations of his or her college or school before adding a course.
Although a college or school may permit the addition of courses through the twelfth class day of the semester or the fourth class day of a summer term, the student is expected to be settled in his or her courses by the fourth class day of the semester or the second class day of the summer term. After the twelfth class day of a long-session semester or the fourth class day of a summer term, the student may add a course only in rare and extenuating circumstances as approved by the student's dean and the chairman of the department offering the course.
Dropping a course through the twelfth class day. The following rules apply from the first class day through the twelfth class day of a long-session semester and from the first class day through the fourth class day of a summer term.
To drop a course during this period, the student must have the approval of the chairman of the department offering the course. In some colleges and schools, the student must also have the approval of his or her adviser and dean; each student must consult the regulations of his or her college or school. If the student is allowed to drop the course, the course is deleted from his or her academic record and applicable fees are refunded.
Normally, the approval of the chairman of the department during this period is routine, and the student may initiate the drop on the telephone registration system (TEX). However, in some circumstances a department may disapprove requests to drop certain courses. If a drop request is not accepted by TEX, the student should consult the department that offers the course for more information.
Dropping a course through the fourth week of classes. The following rules apply from the thirteenth class day through the twentieth class day of a long-session semester and from the fifth class day through the tenth class day of a summer term.
To drop a course during this period, the student must have the approval of the chairman of the department offering the course and the student's adviser and dean. If the student is allowed to drop the course, the symbol Q appears on his or her academic record to indicate a drop without academic penalty. No refund is given.
Dropping a course after the fourth week of classes. The following rules apply from the twenty-first class day through the midsemester deadline in a long-session semester and from the eleventh class day through the last class day of a summer term.
To drop a course during this period, the student must have the approval of the instructor, the chairman of the department offering the course, and the student's adviser and dean. If the instructor approves the drop, he or she will assign the symbol Q or a grade of F. The symbol Q indicates that the student has a grade of at least C in the course, that no grade has yet been assigned, or that no academic penalty is in order because of the student's performance and the nature of the course. In compelling circumstances, the student's dean may assign the symbol Q for nonacademic reasons.
Dropping a course after midsemester. After the midsemester deadline for dropping courses in a long-session semester, an undergraduate may not drop a course except with the approval of his or her dean and then only for urgent and substantiated, nonacademic reasons.
International students must obtain written permission from the International Office, in addition to other required approvals, to drop a course.
On the recommendation of the instructor, and with the approval of the student's academic dean, a student may be required to drop a course at any time because of neglect or for lack of preparation.
If the student drops the course from the thirteenth through the twentieth class day of the long-session semester or from the fifth through the tenth class day of the summer term, the symbol Q appears on his or her academic record to indicate a drop without academic penalty. No refund is given. After these dates, the course instructor assigns the symbol Q, a grade of F (if the student is registered on the letter-grade basis), or the symbol NC (if the student is registered on the credit/no credit basis).
A student who is in warning status for failing to maintain a B average may not drop a course without the recommendation of his or her graduate adviser and the approval of the graduate dean.
International students, in addition to obtaining the required approvals, must be advised by the International Office before dropping a course if their remaining course load will be fewer than nine hours.
Students employed as assistant instructors, teaching assistants, assistants (graduate), and graduate research assistants may not reduce their course load to fewer than nine hours during a long-session semester without the written recommendation of the graduate adviser and the approval of the graduate dean.
A graduate student may change the basis of registration in a course (from letter grade to credit/no credit or credit/no credit to letter grade) until approximately midsemester.
After the last day for withdrawing (approximately midsemester), an undergraduate student may petition for withdrawal only for urgent, substantiated, nonacademic reasons. Nonmedical withdrawal by an undergraduate student on scholastic probation may affect the student's scholastic standing. (See Scholastic Probation and Dismissal.)
A graduate student in good standing may withdraw through the last class day of the semester. A graduate student who is in warning status may not withdraw without the recommendation of the graduate adviser and the approval of the graduate dean.
A student who withdraws as a result of being called to active military service may choose (1) to receive a refund of tuition and fees for the semester; (2) to be assigned an incomplete (temporary delay of final course grade, symbol X) in all courses if eligible; or (3) as determined by the instructor, to be assigned a final grade in courses where he or she has completed a substantial amount of coursework and demonstrated sufficient mastery of the course material.
Medical withdrawal. A medically ill student whose illness precludes class attendance may be withdrawn from the University effective the date and under the conditions specified at the time of the withdrawal. A student who requests medical withdrawal must submit adequate written documentation from the treating physician to the associate director for clinical services of the Student Health Center who will instruct the registrar to withdraw the student under specified conditions.
A student who is absent from a class or examination for the observance of a religious holy day may complete the work missed within a reasonable time after the absence, if proper notice of the planned absences has been given. Notice must be given before the absence and no later than the fifteenth class day of a semester, or the fifth class day of a summer term; it must be personally delivered to the instructor and signed and dated by the instructor, or sent certified mail, return receipt requested. A student who fails to complete missed work within the time allowed will be subject to the normal academic penalties.
Special regulations of colleges and schools, required by the unique nature of their programs of study, may be enacted through the normal legislative process and printed in The Undergraduate Catalog. These special regulations may not conflict with University regulations on class attendance and absence.
Classes that meet at the same time during a semester also have a common examination time. Examinations should begin promptly at the scheduled hour and should not continue beyond the three hours allocated in the official schedule.
No final examinations may be given before the examination period begins, and no change in time from that printed in the official schedule is permitted. An instructor with a compelling reason to change the time of an examination must obtain the approval of the department chairman and the dean of the college or school in which the course is taught before announcing an alternative examination procedure to the students. No examinations may be given during the study days (no-class days) included in the final examination period. A change in the room assignment for an examination may be made only with the approval of the registrar.
With the approval of the department chairman, an instructor may choose not to give a final examination. However, if an examination is given, all students must take it and no exemptions may be allowed except pursuant to a uniform exemption policy announced to the class.
For good cause, an instructor may give a student permission to take an examination with a different class section than the one in which the student is registered.
For good cause, a student may petition his or her academic dean for permission to change the time or place of an examination from that specified in the official schedule. If permission is given by the dean and the instructor, no penalty (such as a reduction in grade) may be assessed.
In a course extending over two semesters, when the subject matter is continuous, the second-semester final examination may include the subject matter of the first semester.
A student may address complaints related to the final examination procedures in a course to the chairman of the department or the dean of the college or school in which the course is offered, or to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The following instructions govern the conduct of final examinations as well as other examinations given during the semester:
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28 August 1996. Registrar's Web Team
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