JCU Undergraduate Bulletin 2005-2007: Academic Policies & Procedures -- Course Load

Course Load

Student Course Loads
The normal course load for full time students is 15 to 18 hours per week, but will vary with students’ curriculum and scholarship record. Additional tuition is charged for a course load of more than 18 hours. Permission to carry excess hours (more than 18) requires, among other considerations, at least a 3.0 average in the previous semester, and permission of the dean. The minimum course load for full time students is 12 hours.

Students on probation are required to take a reduced schedule (normally 12 semester hours in full time programs) while their probation lasts. Students who are employed are expected to take proportionally lighter schedules in order to safeguard their health and academic progress. Students are responsible to the appropriate dean for judging the prudent ratio between credit hour load, co curricular activities, and outside employment in order to allow sufficient time for academic preparation. Academic responsibilities are expected to have first priority.

Certain programs requiring more than 128 semester hours (e.g., some programs in education or science) cannot be fulfilled in the usual eight semesters of full time attendance. In entering these programs, students must plan to fulfill at least some of the added course requirements by attending summer sessions if they wish to graduate in four years.

Credit
The unit of instruction is one hour a week for one 15 week semester, or its equivalent. This unit is called a credit hour and is the measure of university work. Academic credit is given only in accordance with the course descriptions as published in this Bulletin.

Pass/Fail Option
Students who have obtained sophomore status are permitted to take up to six courses on the Pass/Fail basis with the following restrictions:

Students wishing to take the P/F option or change from the P/F option to regular grading registration should so indicate at the time of final registration or no later than the end of the second week of class. Any change in registration must be made formally at the Student Service Center, once an academic petition has been approved by the appropriate dean.

Students selecting the P/F option must earn a grade of C or higher to be eligible for the Pass grade. Courses completed with the Pass grade (designated "CR" for Credit) will not be included in the computation of the overall average. However, students who are registered for a course on the Pass/Fail basis but earn any grade below C will receive that grade, and it will be included in the computation of the overall average.

Students planning to enter graduate or professional schools are reminded that in many schools their admission may be jeopardized by a substantial amount of P/F course work.

Auditing
Students who audit a course do not receive credit toward graduation or a grade for the course, but the fact that they audited the course is recorded on the transcript. Such students must register for the course as "Audit" – after obtaining permission from the appropriate dean – and pay the same tuition as those who take the course for credit. Audit students are required to attend regularly. Failure to do so can result in a grade of AW.

Change of registration from credit to audit status must be carried out through the Registrar's Office during the first two weeks of the semester. Freshmen (those with fewer than 25 hours completed) must have the approval of the academic advisor and the associate or assistant dean.

Audit for Dean's List Students. Dean's List students who have earned 60 semester hours of credit at John Carroll toward graduation, and who attain the distinction of being on the Dean's List in any given semester, may during the course change week of the following semester, with permission from the appropriate dean, register to audit one course without fee. Such students are required to attend audited courses faithfully.

The Dean's List audit privilege may not be used for any course for which students have already registered.

Audit for Honors Program Students. All Honors Program students in good standing, who have completed at least 32 hours of course work at John Carroll University, are eligible to audit one course a semester without fee. Permission to audit a course must be obtained from the director of the Honors Program and from the appropriate dean. Students are expected to meet the normal attendance requirements of the audited course. A student must register for the course to be audited during the first week of classes. Any earlier registration for the course to be audited invalidates the privilege of a free audit for that course.