Credit Load
Classification
Independent Study
Attendance
Audit
Final Examinations
Declaring a Second Major in Letters and Science While Enrolled in an SoHE Degree Program
Residence Requirements
Summer Course Equivalency
Pass/Fail Privilege
Credit Through Special Programs and Exams
Placement Testing
Scholastic Actions
A full-time student will carry a minimum of 12 credits to a maximum of 18 credits, with the usual or average credit load being 15-16 credits per semester. A student requesting to take more than 18 credits in a semester needs a signed request with department approval and approval from the SoHE Student Academic Affairs Office. Students requesting this credit load must have earned a grade point average of at least 3.0 during the preceding semester on a program of at least 12 graded credits. "Graded credit" does not include courses taken on the pass/fail basis or Incompletes. Requests will be considered on an individual basis.
A student may drop a course without indication of a "Drop" on their transcript within the first eight days of classes. Or, courses may be dropped with an indication on the transcript within the first eight weeks of the semester. It is recommended that any reduction in program be made within the first four weeks. See the registrar's Web site at www.registrar.wisc.edu for specific dates.
A student must have earned at least 24 credits and 48 grade points to be classified as a sophomore; at least 54 credits and 108 grade points as a junior; and at least 86 credits and 172 grade points as a senior. Freshman and sophomore students are permitted to take courses in the university for which they meet the prerequisites; courses numbered 1 to 299 may be taken for credit by undergraduates only; those numbered from 300 to 699 are open for credit to both undergraduates and graduates; those numbered from 700 to 999 are open only to graduate students.
An independent study is an additional opportunity for individualized study. Although the independent study is by nature flexible in design, there are regulations that must be observed and requirements that must be met. A student must have the consent of the instructor under whose supervision the student wishes to study before enrolling in an independent study course. The student is expected to develop a tentative plan and submit it to the sponsoring faculty member for advice and refinement. Once the plan has been approved by the faculty member, the student should formally arrange for the independent study. A middle digit of 9 in a course number designates an independent study, research, or thesis course. Undergraduates below the rank of senior are not permitted to carry topical work (course 699). Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors may earn independent study credit through course 299.
It is expected that every student will be present at all classes. In the School of Human Ecology, the instructor shall determine the validity of excuses and the measures to be taken, if any, to make up absences. The Office of Student Academic Affairs does not provide letters verifying illnesses or other situations leading to absences from classes or examinations.
Students may audit a course with instructor and advisor consent and if no laboratory or performance skills are involved. Auditors may not recite or take examinations but are expected to attend classes regularly and do some assigned work. Audit courses carry no academic credit, do not fulfill degree requirements, and may affect a student's classification as a full-time student. The credit value of audited courses is included in the semester load for determining fees and the maximum number of credits carried each semester. The deadline to change a course from credit to audit is the end of the fourth week of classes, although changing an audited course back to a credit course must be done within the first two weeks of the semester.
The seven days of the summary period are pre- scheduled to include one two-hour summary instructional period for each course of 2 or more credits. The period shall be used for an examination or for other instructional activities as deemed appropriate by the instructor and as approved by the instructional unit offering the course.
Take-home final examinations are due at the scheduled period. Final examinations or other summary period activities cannot be scheduled during the two weeks preceding the summary instructional period.
The summary instructional period schedule as published in the Timetable must be adhered to by faculty. The time of a two-hour block for a class and due date for a take-home examination may be changed only with the prior approval of the Dean. If a student has more than two summary periods within 24 hours, the student may request that one exam be moved to a later date.
The policy of the College of Letters and Science is to permit undergraduates currently enrolled in a degree program in the School of Human Ecology to complete an undergraduate major offered by the College of Letters and Science. This is not a second degree. Rather, it is an additional area of study that will be noted on the student's official transcript. Students must contact the Student Academic Affairs Office for guidance and procedural information before declaring the second major in Letters and Science.
Students must satisfy all requirements of the Letters and Science major to have the major noted on the transcript. Students who have not completed the Letters and Science major requirements at the time they have completed the School of Human Ecology degree program will not be permitted to have the additional major noted on the transcript.
Student requests for course substitutions or program modifications within the Letters and Science major must be approved by a Letters and Science dean.
The university requires that the last 30 credits be earned in residence at UW-Madison for students to be recommended for a degree, unless the student's major program requires completion of the degree at a cooperative institution. Permission of the Assistant Dean must be secured in advance to take any portion of the senior year at another institution or by correspondence.
Enrolled students who plan to complete summer course work at another institution should determine that the course will transfer back to UW-Madison as intended. Course equivalencies to UW System schools and Wisconsin Technical Colleges can be accessed on the Transfer Information System (TIS) Web site at www.uwsa.edu/tis. Students planning to take a course at a school outside the UW System or Wisconsin Technical colleges should submit a Course Equivalency Form to the UW-Madison Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The form is available online at www.admissions.wisc.edu/summerequiv.php or may be picked up from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (Armory/Gymnasium, 716 Langdon Street; 608/262-3961). The service is available March 1 through May 1 and provides information about how course work will transfer back to UW-Madison.
Please note that grades earned at other colleges or universities will not factor into the GPA at UW-Madison. Upon completion of the course, it is the student's responsibility to have the institution send an official transcript, with grades earned, to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, 716 Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53706. It is also the student's responsibility to meet with an advisor to have summer transfer credits applied to the appropriate degree requirement on the DARS report upon returning to campus.
The privilege of electing courses on a pass/fail basis is extended to second semester freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the school. Students who are in good standing academically (not on probation) may elect one course on the pass/fail basis each semester. A course taken pass/fail must be an elective. A student may not take a required course or a prerequisite to a required course under this privilege. A maximum of six pass/fail courses may be counted toward a B.S. degree from the School of Human Ecology. A student must be a full-time student, carrying a minimum of 12 credits in order to exercise the pass/fail privilege. Courses taken pass/fail will count toward degree credits but will be excluded in the computation of grade point average and honors.
Application forms for taking courses under the pass/fail privilege are available on the Web at registrar.wisc.edu/registrar. The assistant dean's approval is required on the certified application submitted to Room 135, 1300 Linden Drive, no later than the end of the fourth week of classes (by the end of the first week of classes in summer session). Students may not cancel pass/fail privilege past the deadline for adding pass/fail privilege.
Students who elect work under this privilege should make certain they are eligible and meet the pass/fail requirements above. Students are urged to check with their advisors if they have any questions. Because it is impossible to make an immediate administrative check, students found during the semester to be ineligible or to be taking a course not meeting pass/fail requirements may be required to carry the course on the conventional grading system.
The registrar will convert final grades submitted by the instructor, who is not informed of the student's pass/fail status, to an S (pass) for grades A, AB, B, BC or C, and to a U (fail) for a grade of D or F. The grade is excluded from the GPA.
AP/IB/CLEP. UW-Madison offers the possibility of degree credit based on a student's performance on the Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams. Please refer to the Office of Admissions Web site at www.admissions.wisc.edu/APIB.php for a list of current AP, IB, and CLEP credit policies.
Attainment Examinations. Attainment examinations, written and/or oral, or an appropriate substitute, may be taken to demonstrate mastery of a course required for graduation upon application to the advisor, the course instructor, and to the chair of the department in which the course is offered. The examination must be taken during the time period specified by the program area. Passing the examination exempts the student from a specific requirement and permits registration in an advance course, or substitution of a subject of choice for the required subject, but does not reduce the total number of credits required for graduation.
SoHE Examinations for Credit. Upon recommendation of the advisor, the course instructor, and the chair of the program area in which the course is offered, a student may take a special examination for credit in a course in the school. These examinations may be written and/or oral. In some instances, other means of assessing a student's ability may be required. Examinations for credit are normally based on work equivalent to that in a university course, with credit granted correspondingly. Evidence of work justifying such an examination must be presented during the time period specified by the program area, and the examination taken at a time specified by the program area. The number of credits by examination that may be counted in a program area is determined by the program area. The number of such credits that may be counted as degree credits will be individually determined by the curriculum committee. (See chair of each program area for courses open to examination for credit.)
Before enrolling in classes at UW-Madison, most students must take placement tests in English, mathematics, and foreign language. The results of the placement tests are used by academic advisors at Student Orientation, Advising, and registration (SOAR) to help students enroll in appropriate course levels. ACT, SAT, TOEFL, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) scores do not fulfill this requirement or replace the need for placement testing in a specific area. For further details, please refer to the placement testing information found in this catalog under the heading Admission.
The grade point average for a student is derived by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of grade point average credits taken, whether the course was passed or not, exclusive of credits reported as incomplete or progress and credits reported for courses (S/U) and for specially approved courses designated as Cr/N (Credit/No Credit).
Semester grades are reported by letter only. For convenience in computing weighted averages, each letter grade carries a specific number of points per credit. For a detailed explanation, please see the section on Grading System in the opening section of this catalog.
Failures. Every course grade of F counts as 0 grade points, and as any other grade, remains permanently on the transcript. A student who fails a course required for a major or a degree requirement must repeat the course and secure a passing grade as soon as the subject is again offered during the student's residence at the university. A Failure shall take precedence over other courses in being fitted into the student's study schedule when it is next offered. The Failure may not be addressed by repeating the course at another colege or university. After the course is repeated, the original F will remain on the transcript and will be included in computing the GPA.
Incompletes. An Incomplete may be reported for a student who has carried a course with a passing grade until near the end of the semester. Once an Incomplete is given, the missing work must be finished or the grade becomes Failure (F). An Incomplete may be granted when a documented illness or other substantiated hardship causes the student to be unable to take final examinations or complete a substantial portion of the course. The student must complete the course no later than the close of the next semester of residence at UW-Madison. If not completed in the required time, the grade will lapse into a Failure (F). With documentation of extenuating circumstances, the student may seek permission to extend an Incomplete beyond the semester in which the course was scheduled to be completed. An extended Incomplete must be removed within the next semester in residence or the grade will lapse into Failure (F). Incompletes incurred during the summer session must also be completed no later than the close of the next semester in residence under the same rules.
Students are ineligible for the dean's list for the semester in which a grade of Incomplete is submitted. An Incomplete is not permitted when a student misses classes or stays away from a final examination, unless the student provides documented proof that he or she was prevented from attending. In default of such proof the grade shall be F; even with such proof, if the term work has convinced the instructor that the student cannot pass, the grade shall be F.
Failure to earn at least a C average (2.0 GPA, under the system outlined above) will result automatically in academic action placing the student in the status of Probation, Continued Probation, Must Obtain Permission to Continue, Strict Probation, Continued Strict Probation, or Dropped from the university. Such actions are based on (1) the status of the student as a result of any previous academic action, (2) the cumulative GPA including the current semester, and (3) the GPA for the semester just completed. Students can readily determine their status and the probability of being subjected to action.
Probation. A student who has no previous action with semester or summer session GPA less than 2.0 but 1.0 or more will be placed on probation.
Continued Probation. For a student whose overall GPA remains below 2.0: A student on probation whose semester or summer session GPA is 2.0 or above will be placed on continued probation.
Students on continued probation whose semester or summer session GPA is 2.0 or above will be placed again on continued probation.
Strict Probation. A student with no previous action but with a current semester or summer session GPA below 1.0 will be placed on strict probation. A student on probation whose semester or summer session GPA is less than 2.0 but 1.5 or above will be placed on strict probation.
Continued Strict Probation. A student on strict probation or continued strict probation who earns a semester or summer session GPA of 2.0 or above but whose cumulative GPA remains below 2.0 will be placed on continued strict probation.
Dropped from the University. A student on probation whose semester or summer session GPA is less than 1.5; dropped for one year.
A student on strict probation whose semester or summer session GPA is less than 2.0; dropped for at least one year.
Removal from Probation. Students on probation or strict probation will be automatically removed from probation when their cumulative GPA reaches 2.0 or more.
Dropped Status. In applying for reentry to the university, students whose GPAs place them in dropped status must make an appointment to meet with the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Affairs. The student may return on strict probation after being away the required length of time and upon presentation to the assistant dean of evidence of ability and desire for scholastic work.
Appeals. The student who is in dropped status due to unusual and substantiated circumstances may appeal for readmission in writing to the Student Awards and Academic Affairs Committee of the School of Human Ecology.