Undergraduate Academic Policies

Grades

Grades: The following grade scale is used to indicate student performance in each course:

An “I” may be assigned only when the student has been unable to complete a course for sudden, unexpected and unavoidable circumstances at the end of the term. The faculty member must request an “I,” and the provost must approve it. A grade of “I” is considered to be an “F” for grade point average computing purposes until it is removed, and it becomes an “F” automatically if not removed by the deadline. The deadlines for removing an “I” are as follows: fall incompletes by the end of the eighth week of the spring semester; spring incompletes by July 1; summer incompletes by the eighth week of the fall semester.

Grades are available electronically for all students, and are not mailed.

Change of Grade: After a final grade has been reported to the registrar, the only basis for changing the grade is error on the part of the faculty member in calculating or reporting the grade. The grade change must be submitted by the faculty and approved by the provost before the student record is amended. Students appealing a grade should see the Academic Grievance Procedure  section of the Catalog.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Computation: Cumulative GPA is calculated on the basis of total quality points earned divided by total hours attempted. Transfer credits will be calculated into the GPA (except for credit from international schools).

Dean’s List: A Dean’s List is published each fall and spring semester honoring those undergraduate students who achieve high scholarship for that term. To be eligible a student must earn a 3.65 GPA on 12 or more hours of work at Harding and not have any incompletes.

Graduation with Honors: Graduating seniors who achieve at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA graduate cum laude. Those with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.75 graduate magna cum laude, and those with a cumulative GPA of 3.9 or higher graduate summa cum laude.

Academic Warning, Probation and Suspension: Students who make less than satisfactory academic progress will be identified as being on Academic Warning, Probation, or Suspension as defined below. Academic Probation and Suspension appear on the official transcript. In the chart below, cumulative hours attempted refers to the attempted hours used to calculate the cumulative GPA, and appears on the unofficial transcripts as GPA Hours.

Academic Warning: This status applies to students with less than a 2.00 institutional or cumulative GPA on less than 61 cumulative hours attempted. It alerts students who are in danger of being put on academic probation, and does not carry any restrictions.

In addition, first time transfers with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and an institutional GPA of at least 1.5 in their first semester at Harding will be on placed on Academic Warning, not Academic Probation.

Academic Probation: This status applies to students who have an institutional or cumulative GPA below the prescribed minimum for cumulative hours attempted. Academic Probation is removed only at the end of a semester in which the cumulative GPA meets that required. A student may attend summer school to raise the cumulative GPA enough to be removed from Academic Probation for the fall semester.

Students on Academic Probation are limited to 16 credit hours and are not eligible to represent the University in any extracurricular activities, such as, but not limited to, athletics (both intercollegiate and club level), cheer leading, chorus, debate, band, dramatic productions, international programs, Spring Sing and student publications. Representing the University includes public performances and trips but not regular meetings and practices.

Students on Academic Probation are required to participate and complete UNIV 150 . Students who successfully complete this course with at least a “C” will not be required to repeat this course if they are put on Academic Probation in future semesters.

The University Student Handbook details additional restrictions related to Academic Probation.

Students on Academic Warning or Academic Probation are encouraged to repeat courses in which they have earned a grade of “D” or “F” as the fastest way to raise their GPA.

Academic Suspension: Failure to remove Academic Probation by the end of the next semester results in Academic Suspension. However, no student will be suspended at the end of a term in which a 2.25 semester GPA has been attained. The University may also academically suspend any student who fails to earn a semester GPA of at least 1.00 during a given semester.

The first academic suspension is for one semester (not counting summer); the second academic suspension is for two semesters (not counting summer); subsequent academic suspensions are for an indefinite period of time.

An Appeal of Academic Suspension can be made to the Academic Standing Committee using an online “Academic Suspension Appeal” form in the student’s Pipeline account. For more information, contact the Office of the Provost (HU Box 10773 or provost@harding.edu). An appeal committee decision that results in an override allowing the student to register for the next term does not remove the status of suspension.

Students on disciplinary suspension may not appeal academic suspension.

Reinstatement after Academic Suspension requires readmission through the Office of Student Life and an academic progress contract with the director of Academic Advising in the Center for Student Success. A reinstated student will be on Academic Probation.

Students that have either appealed their Academic Suspension and are allowed to return or have been reinstated following an Academic Suspension may be required to participate in the College Success program offered through the Center for Student Success. Suspended students that have not successfully completed UNIV 150  may be required to complete this course upon their return instead of the Student Success program.

Students on Academic Suspension following the spring semester may appeal their suspension and be approved by the Academic Standing Committee for a program of summer courses, and if satisfactory progress is achieved, they may be readmitted for the fall semester.

Courses taken at other schools by students on Academic Suspension will not be accepted for credit at Harding.

Examinations

Course Examinations

Students are expected to take all scheduled examinations. If they miss an examination because of illness confirmed by the school nurse or a family physician, participation in a school-sponsored activity, or other cause sanctioned by the provost, they may make up that examination. Procedures for making up examinations differ from teacher to teacher, and these are subject to the approval of the provost. Teachers are under no obligation to give make-up examinations for unexcused absences.

Final examinations in lecture classes may not be taken before final examination week (labs, kinesiology activity and 600-level and above classes are exceptions). Exams may be changed within that week, subject to the approval of the teacher. The change of exam form may be found on the homepage of Pipeline in the Quick Links menu. A change of examination fee, listed in the special fees section, is charged except for confirmed illness and official school representation.

Special Examinations

Harding requires 96 hours of credit by formal course instruction, including classroom instruction, independent study, co-op and field work, online courses, contract courses, and correspondence courses (maximum of 18 hours). Beyond this, students may earn course credit by taking examinations outside the formal classroom environment. Often these are taken prior to or at the time of initial enrollment. There is no limit to the number of credits that may be earned by special examinations. All credit earned serves to advance academic classification and progress toward a degree. Once credits are recorded on the student transcript they cannot be removed, and the recording fee will not be refunded.

The Harding Testing Office offers many of the standardized tests such as ACT, SAT, CLEP, PRAXIS, etc. For the most current test schedule or to register for an exam, view www.harding.edu/testing on the Web. In general, tests administered in the Testing Office are subject to an administrative fee (see Special Fees  section).

Advanced Placement (AP): Harding grants credit to incoming freshmen for courses completed in the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board. A table of available AP exams, minimum qualifying scores accepted by Harding, courses for which qualifying scores may earn credit, and number of hours which may be earned, is printed below. No grade is assigned and no tuition is charged. A non-refundable fee is charged for each course recorded on the transcript (see Special Fees  section), to be paid in cash or by check at the Harding Business Office. Freshmen earning AP credit may take sophomore-level courses in the subject where credit was earned.

Students may be awarded credit for scores on other AP exams; inquiries should be directed to the Testing Office.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP): Harding is a CLEP test center and awards credit through General and Subject Examinations. Credit is awarded for specific courses. No grade is assigned and no tuition is charged. A fee is charged for each course recorded on the student’s transcript (see Special Fees  section), to be paid in cash or by check at the Harding Business Office.

A student may not take a CLEP examination for a course in which the student has previously enrolled.

Students should consider taking CLEP exams if their ACT score is 27 or higher or if their SAT critical reading and math score is 1200 or higher. CLEP General Examinations test knowledge in general subject areas. At Harding up to 9 credit hours may be earned on the General Examinations in English, Humanities and Natural Science as follows:

The CLEP Subject Examination table contains cutoff scores for credit in courses at Harding. Students may be awarded credit for scores on other CLEP subject exams; inquiries should be directed to the Office of Testing.

Students may not take a CLEP examination after they have enrolled in a college course for which it might award credit or a higher level course in that subject area.

It is recommended that students planning to use CLEP for credits toward graduation take the exam no later than the semester previous to the one in which they plan to graduate; credits earned through CLEP must be recorded in the Registrar’s Office no later than mid-term of the graduation semester in order for the student to participate in the graduation ceremony.

International Baccalaureate (IB): Credit for other IB courses with minimum HL scores of 5 may be granted after consultation with the appropriate department chair. No credit is awarded for the subsidiary exams, and no tuition is charged. A fee is charged for each course recorded on the student transcript (see Special Fees  section), to be paid in cash or by check at the Harding Business Office.

Credit by Department Examination: To encourage independent achievement, Harding offers students the opportunity to earn credit by taking comprehensive course examinations. Entering freshmen with outstanding high school records and examination scores may receive credit by examination for courses which largely duplicate completed high school work. Enrolled students with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher may also earn credit. Any student enrolled or previously enrolled in a course would not be eligible for credit by examination in that area.

Student must apply on a form supplied by the Registrar’s Office and obtain approval of the instructor, department chair, and vice president for academic affairs. A Credit by Examination fee (see Special Fees  section) is due at the time of application. A grade of “C” or higher must be achieved in order to earn credit; the grade earned is recorded on the student’s transcript. A fee is charged for each course recorded on the student’s transcript (see Special Fees  section), based on the credit hours awarded, to be paid in cash or by check at the Harding Business Office.

Validation: Students who have taken courses of study at non-accredited institutions or in non-collegiate programs such as hospitals, business schools and vocational schools may validate college credit for such study through comprehensive examinations for comparable courses offered at Harding.

There is a Validation Examination fee (see Special Fees  section) for each course attempted. A grade of “C” or higher must be achieved in order to earn credit; the grade earned is not recorded on the transcript. A fee is charged for each course recorded on the student’s transcript (see Special Fees  section), to be paid in cash or by check at the Harding Business Office. Validation credit counts toward the 96-hour course instruction requirement for graduation.

Exemption Examination: Students may earn exemption from most required Liberal Arts courses by passing appropriate comprehensive examinations. There is an Exemption Examination fee (see Special Fees  section) for each course attempted. No credit is awarded. Any student enrolled or previously enrolled in a course would not be eligible for an exemption exam in that area.

Click here to view the Special Fees  section.

Academic Clemency

Act 1000 of 1991 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas requires that state colleges and universities establish policies for academic clemency for undergraduate students. Harding University has a policy whereby students may petition the University to have previously earned grades and credits removed from the calculations of their cumulative grade-point averages. To be considered for academic clemency, the student must meet the following criteria:

Eligibility

1. The student must not have been enrolled in any institution of higher education for a minimum of five consecutive years.
2. Students who have a cumulative grade point average greater than 1.99 in the semester(s) for which academic clemency is requested are not eligible.
3. Students who have completed a degree are not eligible for clemency.

Conditions

1. The student may submit a written request for academic clemency at the time of admission and no later than the completion of 12 semester hours at Harding University. This request is to be submitted to the Registrar’s Office. Upon verification by the registrar that the student has met all requirements, the student will be granted academic clemency.
2. Academic clemency can be granted only once.
3. Academic clemency will be granted when a student completes a minimum of 12 semester hours at Harding University and earns a minimum 2.00 grade-point average for those hours.
4. Academic clemency will cover all credits earned during the semester(s) for which it is granted. The student may not choose partial semesters or courses. All courses will be affected. Although these credits will not count toward graduation requirements, they will remain on the student’s comprehensive transcript. Courses on which academic clemency is granted will not be used in the computation of the cumulative grade-point average. The courses will be indicated on the transcript as zero credit hours.
5. The comprehensive transcript will contain a notation indicating the date that academic clemency is granted.
6. Federal and state financial aid regulations and requirements for veteran’s benefits will prevail over institutional academic clemency policy if there is a conflict.
7. Policies related to academic clemency pertain only to Harding University and students should understand this may not be honored by other institutions.