Campus Policies
Undergraduate Policies
AttendanceThe work of the school is intensive; therefore, prompt and regular attendance is required. If at any time a student has a legitimate reason for not attending class, immediate notification should be made to the instructor. Attendance requirements are set by individual instructors. Students should stay informed of these requirements and are held responsible for fulfilling them.
Dean's ListDegree-seeking students in good standing who have a GPA of 3.50 or higher with a course load of 12 or more credit hours for a given semester will be placed on the Dean's List for that semester. Students carrying 12 credit hours and a grade of Incomplete in one or more classes will not be placed on the Dean's List. Student's carrying 12 credit hours and taking a course as Pass/Fail will not qualify for the Dean's List.
Technical Standards PolicyHerron School of Art & Design applicants and enrolled students must be able to fulfill the requirements and demands of the courses for the degree program they have chosen. Reasonable accommodations will be made for students who are registered with IU Indianapolis Adaptive Educational Services.
Research ComplianceStudents and faculty conducting research, including the making of art, must comply with Indiana University policies on the use of human or animal subjects. For research involving human subjects, investigators must receive final approval from the Indiana University Institutional Review Board (IRB) before starting a research study. For research involving animals, investigators must receive approval from the IU School of Medicine's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
Academic ProbationStudents in the Herron School of Art and Design are expected to maintain a cumulative IU GPA of at least a 2.0. If they do not, the Assistant Dean will give them formal written notice of probation. Students will be placed on academic probation for the academic session following the one in which they failed to attain the 2.0 cumulative GPA.They will also be placed on academic checklist, which will prohibit them from registering for future semesters until they meet the requirements set out by the Herron Admissions and Student Services office.
Academic DismissalA student in the Herron School of Art and Design may be dismissed from the school when, in the judgment of the faculty, the student has ceased to make satisfactory progress toward a degree. When an undergraduate student fails to attain a C (2.0) cumulative GPA in any two academic semesters, the student is automatically considered to be making unsatisfactory progress toward a degree and is therefore eligible for dismissal. The student will be informed in writing by the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs. The student will be withdrawn from any courses in which they are currently enrolled and will be placed on academic checklist, which will prevent registration for future semesters. Any student who has been dismissed under these provisions may be readmitted only after one year has passed.
Petition for ReadmissionStudents who have been dismissed may appeal via an electronic form to the Herron Admissions and Student Services office. The assistant dean may readmit the student if they decide that evidence of changed circumstances indicates the probability of improved academic performance. Each petition is considered individually, and a decision is based on the student's academic history and personal circumstances. Petitions are due to Herron Admissions and Student Services Office by October 15 for spring admission and April 15 for fall admission. Students readmitted through this appeal process must earn a minimum cumulative semester GPA of 2.3 or above for the returning semester. Readmitted students failing to achieve the cumulative 2.3 GPA are permanently dismissed from the Herron School of Art and Design. A link to the form can be obtained by emailing herron4u@iupui.edu.
Academic ForgivenessThe Herron School of Art and Design academic forgiveness policy applies to former IU Indianapolis students pursuing a first undergraduate degree who have been away from IU Indianapolis and have not attended any other college or university, including any campus of IU, for at least three years. Only students who meet the three-year requirement and have a GPA not greater than 2.0 will be considered for the forgiveness policy. If the student's petition is approved, all previously taken courses will remain on the permanent record but will not count toward the student's GPA. Only course credits with grades of A through C, P, and S will count toward degree completion but again will not count towards the student's GPA.
If a student's petition for forgiveness is approved, the student enters Herron with a recalculated cumulative GPA of 0.0, after which all the rules of academic probation and dismissal for Herron School of Art and Design will apply. After approval, the student must complete a minimum of 32 credit hours at IU Indianapolis. All eligible students will be admitted under the Herron School of Art and Design curriculum in place at the time of admittance. If the petition is approved, the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs has the authority to impose stipulations or conditions upon the enrollment of the student. Herron School of Art and Design reserves the right to deny the acceptance of credits from obsolete courses when the student has been away from Herron for three or more years. Forgiveness may be invoked only once.
Pass/Fail OptionThe Pass/Fail option is available to Herron undergraduate students in good standing for a maximum of 12 credit hours of academic elective study within the total degree requirements. This option may not be used for studio courses or the required freshman English courses, and it is limited to two courses per year, including summer instruction. Under the Pass/Fail option, a grade of P (Pass) will not be used in computing the GPA, but an F grade will be so used. A grade of P will not be subsequently changed to an A, B, C, or D. Students electing to take the Pass/Fail option in an elective course must complete the required form in the Herron Admissions and Student Services Office before the deadline published each semester in the IU Indianapolis Schedule of Classes.
Grades of I (incompletes)
A grade of I (Incomplete) may be assigned by an instructor when exceptional circumstances, such as illness, prevent students from finishing all work required in a course within the term. The grade of I will be awarded only if the work is mostly complete, and of passing quality. The student must complete all coursework within the time allowed by the instructor with a maximum of one year or the I will be will be automatically changed to an F. For complete information on the Incomplete Grade policies and procedures, visit the Student Central website here.
If students have to retake the course in order to remove the Incomplete, they should not re-enroll in the course. Instead, they should make arrangements with the original instructor and any new instructor to sit in on a portion of or the entire course as required by the instructor(s). In all cases, the original instructor is responsible for assigning the final grade. If he or she is unavailable or no longer with the university, the student should consult with the chair of the department in which the course is offered. If after receiving an Incomplete, students wish to withdraw from the course, they must follow the official IU Indianapolis procedures for withdrawal.
Students should understand that sitting in on a course or otherwise making up the Incomplete does not count as part of the full- or part-time course load for financial aid purposes or for loan deferments. For complete information on the Incomplete Grade policies and procedures, visit the Student Central website here.
Grade Replacement Policy
The IU Indianapolis Grade Replacement Policy (formerly known as the FX policy) was revised effective fall 1996. This policy allows approved undergraduate students seeking their first degree to repeat courses—a maximum of 15 credit hours, subject to school/division approval—in order to improve poor grades, including grades of F. If a student earns the same or a higher grade after repeating the course, only the second grade will be counted in the cumulative GPA. Replacement does not happen automatically, so students must notify the school recorder that the course has been taken a second time and that they wish to exercise this option. Certain restrictions apply, and the grade replacement policy may not be honored by some schools when considering admission to the school or in computing graduation honors. For more information, students should contact their school/division.
The 15 credit hour limit includes any course(s) previously replaced using the FX policy. A student may exercise the Grade Replacement Policy no more than two times for a single course, and once invoked, a student may not reverse the grade replacement granted in a particular course. The replaced grade will be excluded from the IU cumulative GPA, but the course and the replaced grade will remain on the student’s academic record with a notation indicating that the grade exists but is excluded from the cumulative GPA. The use of the forgiveness policy does not preclude a student from using grade replacement for course work taken subsequent to re-enrollment as defined by the forgiveness policy.
To use the grade replacement procedure for a course originally taken on another IU campus, that campus must be willing to place the replacement flag on the course at IU Indianapolis’ request.
Grades of F or other grades assigned due to academic misconduct are not eligible for grade replacement.
Not all IU Indianapolis units accept the general policy as stated above. If a student changes programs, schools, or campuses to a program that does not recognize the Grade Replacement Policy, the original grades will once again be averaged into the student’s GPA.
This policy is not available for graduate students or students seeking any second undergraduate degree. For a copy of this policy, visit the Office of the Registrar’s Web site (registrar.IU Indianapolis.edu/replace.html).
Grades Given Upon Withdrawal from the Course
Withdrawal After Automatic Withdrawal Period
After the automatic withdrawal period a student may withdraw only with the permission of their dean. This approval is given only for urgent reasons relating to extended illness or equivalent distress. To qualify for the grade of W, a student must be passing the course on the date of withdrawal. If the student is failing, the grade recorded on the date of withdrawal will be F.
GraduationStudents expecting to complete a course of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Art Education, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, or Master of Design, must be in good standing and file an application for graduation. Deadlines and electronic processes can be found here. After they file this application, their records will be reviewed, and they will be notified of graduation status.
General Requirements for a Baccalaureate Degree
- Complete the minimum credit hours as required by degree program.
- Achieve a minimum overall GPA of 2.0.
- Achieve a minimum Herron studio GPA of 2.0.
- Be in residence at Herron for at least two semesters, and complete, while at Herron, at least 24 credit hours of studio work at the 300 level or higher.
Holders of bachelor's degrees who have additional academic objectives may, if admitted by the Herron School of Art and Design, pursue a second bachelor's degree. The student must earn a minimum of 24 additional credit hours in residence and meet the requirements of the Herron School of Art and Design and of the program in which they are enrolled.
Student Complaint Procedures
IU Indianapolis has developed guidelines and procedures to address situations when a student believes their rights as defined in the IU Indianapolis Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct (Student Code) have been violated by a member of the university faculty, staff, or administration. The rights addressed in the Student Code include individual rights (for citizenship, discrimination, sexual harassment, harassment based on sexual orientation, and racial harassment) and academic rights.
Herron supports the student rights in the Student Code. Herron’s policy on student complaints against faculty (full-time, part-time adjunct, and graduate student instructors), staff, or administration applies to complaints that a student may have in the pursuit of his or her education.
Student Complaint Policy
A student who believes their rights in pursuit of their education as specified in the IU Indianapolis Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct have been violated by Herron faculty, staff, or administration have the right to file a grievance against the person who they believe has violated these rights with the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs.
The complaint process involves two steps: Informal Complaint and Formal Complaint
1. Informal complaint made by an individual student
- The student should ordinarily attempt to resolve the complaint informally with the person
- If the complaint cannot be resolved informally or if the student has a justifiable reason for not going directly to the person involved, the student may make an informal complaint to the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs.
- A complaint against the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs should go to the Dean.
2. Formal complaint made by an individual student
- When a student makes an informal complaint and perceives the response to be unsatisfactory, they should file a formal complaint to the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs by completing a Formal Complaint Form. These forms are available in the Office of Admissions and Student Services.
- A copy of the complaint will be shared with the immediate supervisor of the individual involved.
- Formal complaints must be filed within 6 months of the issue in question.
- The assistant dean must consider a formal complaint within twenty-one calendar days after it has been received.
- The assistant dean and the individual's supervisor will gather facts and discuss the matter individually with the students and the person involved in the complaint.
- The assistant dean and supervisor may ask the student and person who is the subject of the complaint to meet together in an effort to resolve the complaint.
- The referral must include all documents pertaining to the complaint.
- The Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs should remove themselves from considering a complaint for reasons of bias or personal involvement.
Residency Requirement for Degree Purposes
The institution maintains structures or practices that ensure the coherence and quality of the programs for which it awards a degree. Typically, institutions will require that at minimum 30 of the 120 credits earned for the bachelor’s degree and 15 of the 60 credits for the associate’s degree be credits earned at the institution itself, through arrangements with other accredited institutions, or through contractual relationships approved by the Commission. Any variation from the typical minima must be explained and justified.
Herron minors require at least 6 credits in residency.
Last updated: March 2024
