Policies and Procedures
Academic Policies
Campus Policies
Grade Replacement
Undergraduate students pursuing your first bachelor’s degree can use grade replacement for a maximum of 15 credit hours. You can request a grade replacement no more than twice for a single course, and each attempt counts toward your 15-credit limit. Grade replacement is available only for courses taken at Indiana University. Once a grade replacement has been put on your record, it can’t be reversed.
To use grade replacement, the repeated course grade should be the same as or higher than your previous attempt at the course. Any replaced grades will be excluded from your cumulative GPA, but will still appear on your academic record with an X to show that the grade was excluded.
Residency Requirement for Degree
A minimum of 30 credit hours must be completed after formal admission to IU Indianapolis.
A minimum of 21 credit hours of major coursework must be completed in residence in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis. Course work completed on an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program counts as residential credit.
Incomplete Process
An incomplete (I) can be granted if a student satisfactorily completed 75% of the coursework, but extenuating circumstances during the term prevented the student from completing all coursework as of the end of the semester.
The instructor has the right to set a specific date, up to one year, by which you must complete all unfinished work.
In some cases, the instructor may recommend or require a student to attend another term (or portion of a term) of the course to remove the I. In this case, don’t register for the course a second time. Instead, make arrangements with the instructor to sit in on the course as required. Note that sitting in on a course does not count as part of your full-time or part-time load for financial aid purposes or for loan deferments. If the original instructor isn’t available or is no longer with IU Indianapolis, contact the chair of the school or department that offers the course for assistance.
Once you’ve completed the work, the instructor will change the I to the appropriate letter grade. Students can track the progress of a request or check the academic record for grade information.
If a student fails to complete the coursework and turn it in to the instructor in the time allowed, the I will automatically become an F.
Post Auto-W (Late withdrawal)
Requests for withdrawal after the automatic withdraw deadline require the approval of the instructor, advisor, and the student's dean. Late withdraw requests are considered only in extraordinary (extenuating) situations which are beyond the student's control and rarely are granted. Poor performance in a course is not considered grounds for a late withdrawal.
Instructions for students requesting a late withdrawal with extenuating circumstances:
- Student submits an electronic late drop request via late drop in One.IU here
- Within seven (7) days of initiating the late drop request(s) or prior to the last day of class, the student must prepare a typed statement (1-2 paragraphs), explaining the extenuating circumstance(s) that prevented withdrawal from the course before the deadline for late withdrawal.
- The student obtains documentation supporting the written statement. Examples of documentation include:
- Doctor’s note on letterhead (include dates),
- Hospital admittance papers,
- Legal documents (i.e. police reports, eviction notice),
- Obituary in the paper/funeral home site,
- Counseling services or CAPS,
- Other official documentation not listed above
- All documents (typed statement and supporting materials) must be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs, Cavanaugh Hall room 401, or via email.
- The instructor may assign a grade of W (withdraw) or F for the course.
- The Associate Dean of Students is the final approver of late withdraw requests. The student receives an automated response once the process is complete.
- If the student does not submit documentation regarding their extenuating circumstance, the withdraw request will be canceled.
Dual Major/Degree Advantage
The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are waived for undergraduate students whose first major is outside the School of Liberal Arts and whose second major is a Bachelor of Arts degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis. Students are only required to complete the courses in their major of choice in Liberal Arts. The IU Indianapolis General Education Core or the Indiana transferable general education core must be successfully completed. Students must complete the degree outside Liberal Arts in order to have the Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies waived for degree completion. The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are only waived for students who actively pursue and complete another degree program outside of Liberal Arts.
Pass/Fail (P/F) Option
Any IU School of Liberal Arts undergraduate in good standing (not on probation) may enroll in a maximum of eight elective courses to be taken with a grade of P (pass) or F (fail). The Pass/Fail option can be used for a maximum of two courses per year, including summer sessions. The course selected for Pass/Fail must be an elective. It may not be used to satisfy any of the major, minor, or school distribution requirements.
Final Examinations
Final examinations or other activities in lieu of a final are to be scheduled during finals week at the time indicated in the Final Exam Schedule section of the Academic Calendar.
Students scheduled for three or more finals in a 24-hour period may have their examination schedule adjusted. They should notify the instructors involved by mid-semester and determine if any of them are willing to schedule an alternate examination. Students having problems with an instructor may consult the chair of the department or the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs, in CA401, (317) 274-3976.
Fresh Start through Academic Renewal
The IU School of Liberal Arts follows IU Indianapolis's Fresh Start through Academic Renewal policy. For more information about the policy, call (317) 274-3976 or visit CA 401.
Petition for Grade Change
Either students or faculty members may petition for a change in course grade. A student desiring a change of grade should first discuss the situation with the instructor. If the instructor agrees, and no more than one full semester has elapsed since the course was finished, the faculty member must file an eGrade Change with approval from the Associate Dean of the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs. If more than one full semester has elapsed, the faculty member still files the eGrade Change, but the form may be sent to the IU School of Liberal Arts Academic Affairs Committee, depending on the reason given for the change of grade. Campus policy limits petitions for change of grades to five years after the course.
If the instructor and student do not agree on a change of grade, or if the instructor cannot be located, the student should discuss the matter with the chairperson, director, or coordinator of the department or program in which the course was offered. Following that, the student may file a Grade Change Petition. The petition must include (1) a statement of an attempted but unsuccessful interview with the faculty member and chair, and (2) supporting evidence for the petition. The decision of the Academic Affairs Committee is final and there are no additional avenues of appeal.
Self-Acquired Competency
Credit may sometimes be granted for learning experiences acquired through means other than normal college course work. Credit is available for course-specific learning or for non–course-specific learning in (1) arts and humanities, and (2) social sciences.
Faculty will evaluate the experience and determine whether credit should be awarded and the amount of credit to be granted. Students may be asked to prepare a portfolio, take examinations, or document their learning in other suitable ways so that the faculty can make such judgments. Only 12 credit hours of self-acquired competency can be applied toward a degree. A brochure providing additional information is available in the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs, CA401.
Graduation
Undergraduate students must apply for graduation prior to the graduation date. Announcements will be made through the student email listserv, by postings in the building, and through academic departments. See the Official Calendar for specific dates. IU Indianapolis students may apply for graduation dates of May, August, or December.
Graduate students must apply through their program director and the IU Graduate School by the dates indicated in those programs. Graduate students have monthly graduation dates.
Graduation with Distinction
Liberal Arts undergraduate students with outstanding academic achievement are recognized by IU Indianapolis at graduation by the designations of Distinction, High Distinction, and Highest Distinction. These recognitions are bestowed on the top 10% of each graduating class.
To be eligible for consideration, undergraduate students must have:
1) Officially applied for graduation on time: January 1 for May and August graduation; by October 1 for December graduation.
2) Completed at least 60 graded credit hours toward the degree from IU at degree conferral.
3) Have an IU cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 or higher when the lists are prepared (January 1). The cutoff for 10% may raise the lowest GPA, but no one with a recorded GPA of less than 3.5 will be considered.
Within the eligible students, the School of Liberal Arts uses the following IU cumulative GPA to determine the level of distinction:
Highest distinction: 4.0 – 3.9
High distinction 3.89 – 3.75
Distinction: 3.74 – 3.5 or the 10% cut off
Students who meet the above requirements and are in the 10% will be contacted via email by the Director of Student Records and Information with instructions for picking up honor cords prior to May commencement.
Second Bachelor’s Degree
Normally, holders of bachelor’s degrees seeking further education are encouraged to enter graduate programs; in certain cases, however, students may prefer to work toward a second bachelor’s degree. If admitted by the Dean to candidacy for a second degree, students must earn at least 30 additional credit hours in residence at IU Indianapolis and meet the requirements of the IU School of Liberal Arts and of the department in which they are candidates. Second Bachelor’s Degree seeking students are exempt from completing the IU Indianapolis General Education Core. School of Liberal Arts Baccalaureate Competencies and major requirements must be completed.
World Language Placement Test
Students with previous experience in French, German, or Spanish should take the World Language Placement Test at the Testing Center to assess their level of language proficiency. All other languages should contact the Language program director.
Special Credit for World Language Study
Students who complete the course at IU Indianapolis into which they were placed with a grade of C or higher are eligible for special credit appropriate lower-division (100/200 level) course(s) that precede the course taken. Language special credits can only be awarded for languages taught in the World Languages and Cultures department at IU Indianapolis. Special credits count toward graduation and toward the world language requirements.
Students whose native language is not English may demonstrate proficiency in their native language and earn a maximum of 6 credits of 298/299 special credits by successfully completing a specific 300-level course. They may not, however, receive credit for taking first- and second-year courses in their native language. Students are also considered “native speakers of another language” if they have completed secondary (high) school in that language. For additional questions, consult School of Liberal Arts Student Information Specialist at teaminfo@iupui.edu.
Non-native English Speakers
Students for whom English is not a first language may be exempted from the language requirement, without credit, by completion of ENG-W 131 and either ENG-W 231, ENG-W 270, ENG-W 230 with the required grade of C or higher.
School of Liberal Arts Statue of Limitations
Candidates for the bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts have the right to complete the degree requirements specified by the bulletin in effect at the time they were admitted or readmitted to Indiana University Indianapolis, as long as the required courses are available and no more than eight calendar years have elapsed since the date of admission or readmission and providing the student has not had an interruption in enrollment of two years or more.
Transfer Credits
Students with transfer work from other universities may have some of their work counted toward the distribution requirements even if their courses, when transferred in, were not designated as matching the courses listed previously. The Associate Dean for Student Affairs and the departments, when appropriate, will determine whether transfer courses satisfy the distribution requirements.
Major Requirements
The requirements for each major in the IU School of Liberal Arts are described, along with course descriptions, in the Liberal Arts section of the bulletin entitled ‘‘Departments, Programs and Centers.’’ A minimum of 30 credit hours must be taken in the major subject area. Any course in which the student receives a grade below C (2.0) may not be used to fulfill the major area requirement (thus a C– does not qualify). However, courses in which the student receives below C, but above an F, will count toward the 120 credit hour total provided that the student does not repeat the course.
Minors and Certificate Programs
IU School of Liberal Arts students may complete one or more minors and/or certificate programs. Minors will not appear on the student’s transcript until graduation. Students in other schools at IU Indianapolis may complete minors in the IU School of Liberal Arts.
Only courses in which students receive a C (2.0) or higher can be applied to minors and certificates. Specific requirements are described in the section of this bulletin entitled ‘‘Undergraduate.’’ Courses required for minors and certificates may also be used in fulfilling other requirements, including IU Indianapolis General Education Core requirements, the baccalaureate competencies requirements if listed.
Students must receive departmental or program approval for the courses to be used for minors as well as approval for courses not taken at IU Indianapolis that they wish to count in a minor. Special credit may be applied to minor requirements with departmental approval.
IU School of Liberal Arts minors are presently offered in many areas; as additional minors are being developed and approved, they will be added to the electronic version of the Bulletin. Students must receive departmental or program approval for the courses to be used for minors as well as approval for courses not taken at IU Indianapolis that they wish to count in a minor. Special credit may be applied to minor requirements with departmental approval.
