Diplomas are not issued at commencement; they are mailed out within six weeks after the conferral date.
 Undergraduate Catalog
2000-2001 |
© 2000 University at Buffalo Undergraduate Catalog 2000-2001
Special Registration Procedures1. New freshman students are contacted by advisors during the late spring and early summer to discuss course options; then university representatives will enroll the freshmen into courses which are linked to form smaller learning communities.
2. New transfer students are contacted by advisors during the late spring and early summer, as well, to discuss course options. Then, the students will use the university’s Touch-Tone registration system, BIRD, to register for courses.
3. Continuing students are urged to register for courses during the early registration periods to ensure best selection of classes and to avoid late-registration penalties.
4. Students may change their schedule at any time after the early registration period and until the end of the second week of classes. Courses dropped during this period will not appear on the student’s transcript.
5. Students may resign from one or more of their courses at any time before the end of the eighth week of the semester. Such courses will appear on the student’s record with a grade of "R" (resignation), indicating that the student dropped the course in a timely manner with no academic penalty. However, such courses do count as courses attempted but not completed for purposes of determining academic good standing and satisfactory and timely progress toward a degree. After the eighth week of the semester, a student may not drop or resign from a course except for certain circumstances that arise that are beyond the student’s control. Students in this situation should contact an advisor immediately.
Resignation from Coursework or the UniversityCross Registration
Cross registration permits students to register at another Western New York Consortium college or university without formal application or additional tuition charges. At the semester's end, the grade is automatically forwarded to UB. Students who desire to participate in this program should contact the Office of Records & Registration months before the start of the semester to learn details and obtain the necessary form.Registration in Graduate Courses
All undergraduate students who wish to take a graduate course for undergraduate credit should see their department for the appropriate petition and procedures.Permission to take graduate courses for undergraduate credit must be obtained by the end of the first week of classes for the respective semester or summer session. Prerequisites are:
1. Junior or senior standing and acceptance into an academic major or approved special major;
2. Overall minimum GPA of 3.0, including transfer credit and completion of prerequisites required for the graduate course;
3. Written recommendation from course instructor to clearly show the academic necessity and rationale for taking the course, and the endorsement of the department chair.
Note: Freshmen and sophomores are not eligible to register for graduate courses. Undergraduates who register in graduate courses without having obtained prior permission cannot receive undergraduate academic credit for such courses.
1. Students who choose to withdraw from one or more courses without financial penalty must do so before the end of the first week of classes each fall or spring semester by dropping the courses via BIRD at (716) 645-7800 or SOAR. Students needing assistance should call the Office of Records and Registration at (716) 829-2370.
2. Students who choose to withdraw from the university or from all courses during the second week of classes will have a financial penalty but no grade of "R."
3. Students who choose to withdraw from the university or from all courses after the second week of classes will have a financial penalty and grade of "R" for each course resigned. The last date on which students may resign is the end of the eighth week of classes. Students who choose to resign from courses may do so via BIRD or SOAR. (First-semester freshmen and first-semester transfer students may resign until the end of the eleventh week of classes with the permission of their advisor.)
4. Students who must withdraw from the university after the end of the last date to resign courses should consult with their academic advisors for the appropriate procedures to request an administrative withdrawal (grade of "W").
5. Students requesting a leave of absence from the university should seek academic advisement prior to the semester the leave is to begin. Refer to Leave of Absence Policy and Procedures section that follows for details.
Leave of Absence Policy and Procedures
1. Forms for requesting a leave of absence are available from an advisor.
2. Leaves are granted for a maximum of two semesters but may be extended for an additional year if renewed.
3. Students must be in good standing (i.e., financial obligations met, no disciplinary action, academic good standing).
4. Students requesting a leave of absence from the university should seek academic advisement prior to the semester the leave is to begin. This is especially true in cases where a student intends to visit another college or university. College credits received at other institutions during the leave period will be evaluated as transfer credit.
5. Students attending other colleges or universities during the approved leave of absence period are required to submit official transcripts from those institutions of academic work completed during the leave period. Such transcripts must be submitted to the Office of Admissions no later than the last day of the sixth week of the returning semester.
6. Leaves of absence are not approved retroactively.
Scholarship Reactivation
Students in academic good standing who resign from the university for a semester or school
year must file a Re-Entry Form with the Office of Admissions to request
readmission. State scholarship holders must apply for a Leave of Absence Form from the
Regents Examination and Scholarship Center, State Education Department, Albany, NY 12224
before discontinuing attendance.
Grading Policy
The current grading system provides the following alternatives:
1. Letter grades carrying the respective grade points:
- A = 4.0
- A- = 3.67
- B+ = 3.33
- B = 3.0
- B- = 2.67
- C+ = 2.33
- C = 2.0
- C- = 1.67
- D = 1.0
- F = 0.0
2. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (student-designated option), with "S" indicating credit and "U" indicating no credit.
3. Pass/Fail (instructor-designated option for courses that do not lend themselves to letter grades), failure in the course (grade of "F") will result in the grade being calculated in the GPA.
Note: Prior to fall 1988, letter grades of "A" through "F" without plus/minus designations were used.
Explanation of Grades
Grade Interpretation A, A- High Distinction B+, B, B- Superior C+, C, C- Average D+, D Minimum Passing Grade F Failure < F > F for Academic Dishonesty H Honors I/default grade* Incomplete J Reporting Error (temporary "grade") N No Credit—official audit (arranged at time of registration) P Pass R Resigned Officially S Satisfactory U Unsatisfactory W Administrative Withdrawal *** No Credit/No Points @ Course Repeated for Average #D+ Fresh Start Program- Credit Hours Not Counted #D Fresh Start Program- Credit Hours Not Counted #F Fresh Start Program- Credit Hours Not Counted * See Incomplete Grades section for explanation.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading
1. S/U grading is an option of the student, not of the instructor.
2. Students wishing to select the S/U grading option must do so before the end of the second week of classes of the semester.
3. Students cannot select S/U grading for any course that is required for, or is a prerequisite to, their major(s).
4. Students who are required to fulfill the general education requirements (formerly known as the Arts and Sciences General Education requirements) cannot select S/U grading in any course that is to be used toward satisfying these requirements.
5. Students who are required to fulfill the knowledge area general education requirements may select the S/U option for any course that is to be used toward satisfying these requirements.
6. No more than 25 percent of a student’s UB credit can be graded S/U.
7. Students may recover the letter grade earned in a course graded S/U if: a) that course is required for, or is a prerequisite to, a major(s) to which they have changed; or, b) they can document that a graduate or professional school to which they have applied demands the letter grade earned. (Once recovered, the letter grade will stand; that is, the student will not be able to change back to S/U grading.)
Procedures:
1. Students select the S/U grading option by notifying the Office of Records and Registration on a form available at Hayes B or 232 Capen Hall.
2. Instructors will not be informed that students have selected the S/U option and must submit the letter grades the students earn on the Grade Collection Form.
3. Those students selecting S/U grading will have the letter grade automatically converted to S/U via a computer operation at the end of the semester. The "S" or "U" will appear on the student’s grade report and transcript.
4. Students wishing to recover letter grades (under the procedure described in item [5]) will have to petition their advisor or MFC dean for approval, depending on the division in which the student is enrolled.
5. The letter grades equivalent to "U" (unsatisfactory) are "F," "D," and "D+." Students opting for S/U grading who earn a "D" or "D+" may petition their advisor to recover the letter grade if they wish to use the course toward meeting their degree requirements.
Incomplete Grades
A grade of incomplete ("I") may be given to students who have not completed all of the assigned work in a course if they have a passing average and there exists a well-defined means by which the course requirements can be completed. The grade of "I" must be removed within a period of fifteen months. Students may not repeat a course in which they have a grade of Incomplete.
At the time an "I" is given, the instructor must specify the default grade that the student will receive if no grade change is filed by the instructor before the expiration of the grace period. The default grade is the grade that the student will receive as a course grade if the additional work is not completed. Individual instructors may set shorter time limits for removing an incomplete than the fifteen-month time limit specified above. Students may not graduate with an incomplete on their record.
1. This policy, which became effective September 1984, is not retroactive and does not apply to transfer credit.
2. Applicable dates regarding the fifteen-month provision:
Courses taken in (semester): Will default in 15 months on:
Fall April 1 Spring September 1 Summer December 1 3. The Office of Records and Registration notifies each degree applicant of the date by which the "I" grade must be removed if the student plans to graduate in that semester.
4. A default grade can be "A," "B," "C," "D," "F," or "P/F." (If students selected an S/U grading option, it will replace the default letter grade.)
5. Students must not register again for courses in which they have an "I."
"N" Audit
Students must arrange with the Office of Records and Registration for an audit grade ("N") in a course before the end of the second week of classes. Such an arrangement must include written approval of the instructor. Records and Registration will automatically record the audit grade on students’ transcripts. Instructors, however, may terminate students’ audit status during the semester.
1. Students must elect audit on a form (requiring the instructor’s signature) furnished by Records and Registration by the end of the second week of classes.
2. Instructors may terminate students’ audit status by letter to the Records and Registration. The "N" will be changed to "R." The Records and Registration will notify students of the change. The instructors must communicate to the students the grounds for termination at the time of approval.
3. Students may not repeat for credit courses in which they have received an "N" grade.
Changes of Grade
Changes from one grade to another must be initiated by the instructor
utilizing a Change of Grade Form, which is to be signed by the instructor and the
department chair. Reasons for the change must be fully explained and justified.
Repeat Policy
A student may repeat a given course only once. There is no limit on the number of
different courses that a student may repeat. When a course is repeated, the credits earned
count only once for purposes of satisfying degree requirements and for purposes of
calculating the student’s GPA. When a course is repeated, the grade that is counted
in calculating the GPA is the grade earned the second time, even if that grade is lower
than the grade earned the first time. All courses taken and all grades earned will appear
on the student's transcript. When a course has been repeated, the first grade appears on
the transcript with a symbol or note indicating it has been replaced by the later grade in
the computation of the GPA.
The repeat policy does not apply, except by appeal, to courses that may have different content from semester to semester (e.g. "Special Topics" courses) and which are designed to be taken more than once for additional credits each time. A later grade in such a course may replace an earlier grade only if the content of the two courses is essentially the same.
Students may not repeat courses in which they have a grade of incomplete. However, after the "I" is changed to a grade the course may be repeated.
S/U grading is not an option.
Policy as it applies to Transfer Work
Students may repeat at UB courses they have taken elsewhere and may repeat at other institutions courses that they have taken at UB. For the repeat policy to be effective, transfer courses must be articulated with UB courses (consult http://ARIES.buffalo.edu for proper course selection). When a course first taken at UB is repeated at another institution for transfer credit, the student is still subject to the requirement policy on timely progress toward a degree that states that the cumulative GPA for courses taken at UB be 2.0 or higher. Courses taken at another institution cannot change the number of quality points earned at UB or, therefore, the GPA at UB.
Prior Academic Standing
The Repeat Policy does not entitle any student to a retroactive degree, Latin Honors, Dean’s list, or other award or recognition that would have been forthcoming had the student’s GPA been computed under the new algorithm on a previous occasion. The historical record of students on probation or scholastically dismissed in a past semester will not be changed as a result of the 1999 Repeat Policy.
Financial Aid
In order to maintain full-time status for financial aid purposes, students repeating a course should carry it in addition to 12 credit hours (full-time enrollment) for the semester in question.
The GPA is the ratio of the number of quality points earned to the number of graded credits. The GPA at UB is the ratio of the number of quality points earned at UB to the number of graded credits at UB. Only letter grades of "A," "A-","B+","B","B-","C+", "C","C-","D+","D", and "F" are utilized in determining the GPA. GPA is also referred to as QPA (quality point average).
The overall GPA is the ratio of the number of quality points earned at all institutions (UB and transfer) to the number of graded credits at all institutions.
The number of grade points earned is the sum of the products of the credit hours associated with courses taken and the numerical equivalents of the grades earned for those courses.
Graded credits are the total number of credits for which the student has earned a letter grade.
Access to Grade Information
Students may obtain their semester or complete grades through the university’s
voice-response system, BIRD, by calling (716) 645-7800 and on the Internet via SOAR at http://soar.buffalo.edu.
Student records are confidential and are released only to appropriate faculty and administrative offices. Release of such records to any other college, prospective employer, or agency occurs only with the written permission of the student. Student addresses or telephone numbers are not released by the university unless the student has given permission to be listed in the student directory.
1. Official transcripts of university academic work are sent from the Office of Records and Registration at the student’s request. The fee for each official transcript is $5. Official transcripts will not be released for students who have university financial obligations (including Bursar, traffic, phone, or loan checkstops).
2. Student-copy transcripts are available upon request at 232 Capen Hall or Hayes B Office of Records and Registration counters. These are printed while the student waits, upon identification and the payment of a $2.50 fee. Student-copy transcripts cannot be released to students who owe money to the university. Students may also access their transcript information via SOAR at http://www.soar.buffalo.edu
Application for Degree
In order to be considered for graduation (degree conferral), each student must file an Application for Degree Card with the Office of Records and Registration prior to the published deadline dates listed below:
June 1 graduation: February 1 September 1 graduation: July 1 February 1 graduation: October 1 Students are encouraged to file their applications well before the deadline dates; degree cards received after the above deadlines will be processed for the next conferral date.
A degree auditor from the Office of Records and Registration will perform final evaluations of university degree requirements using the UB DARS report as a guide. The students’ academic departments finalize requirements for academic majors.
Students who find they are not eligible to graduate on their applied degree conferral date will be asked to inform the Office of Records and Registration of their new expected graduation date.
When a degree is conferred, it is noted on the student’s academic record (transcript), and a diploma and a transcript are mailed to the address supplied by the student on the degree card. Except in the case of errors in the transcript, grades will not be changed after degree conferral.
The four-year graduation rate of undergraduate students at the University at Buffalo approximates that of other major public research universities. Consistent with national trends, a number of University at Buffalo undergraduate students extend their graduation date to five years.
Settlement of Obligations
All tuition, fees, late charges, and fines must be paid through the Office of Student Accounts before a student leaves the university at graduation. Students with outstanding debts to the university will not receive diplomas or transcript services, nor will any information about the student’s program completion be released in any form.
Formal commencement exercises are held once every year in May. All students who have graduated the previous September or February, as well as students who have applied for June degree conferral, are eligible to attend the ceremonies. Information about commencement is available directly from the Office of Conferences and Special Events.Diplomas are not issued at commencement; they are mailed out within six weeks after the conferral date.
© 2000 University at Buffalo Undergraduate Catalog 2000-2001