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Academic Regulations and Policies

Drug-Free Campus Policy

Students are prohibited by Indiana University from using or possessing alcoholic beverages, any drug or controlled substance, or drug paraphernalia on university property or in the course of a university or student organization activity. Students are responsible for acquainting themselves with this policy and with sanctions for violation of the policy. All students found responsible for violating the Indiana University Student Code of Conduct, including Personal Misconduct allegations will be held accountable to the Indiana University South Bend Student Misconduct Procedures.

Emergency Closing The primary person responsible for making the decision to close or cancel classes at IU South Bend is the Chancellor. In the Chancellor’s absence, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will make the decision.

The campus is notified of any closing or emergency situation through the IU South Bend IU Notify system which includes telephone calls, e-mail, and text messaging. Information is also delivered by the administration through telephone trees, switchboard messages, the campus electronic bulletin board, the IU South Bend website, and local news media. 

Enrollment Restriction

No undergraduate student, except those who declare business as their major, is allowed to take more than 23 percent of his or her coursework credit hours in business courses under any circumstances. The undergraduate business program has the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of this requirement. Any minor in business is subject to approval by the undergraduate business program office.

Final Examination Scheduling Policy

Students are to be notified by the instructor of any deviation from the published final examination schedule no later than six weeks prior to the beginning of the final examination period. In the event a student is scheduled to take more than two final examinations on the same day, the student may exercise the following options:

• Take final examinations as scheduled.
• Consult with the instructor or academic program giving the final examination to determine if any make-up examination(s) is or can be scheduled. If no make-up examination is available, then the student must notify the instructor or academic program of the course scheduled for the third (and additional) final examination of the day. That instructor or that academic program is then obligated to adjust the student’s final examination schedule, provided the student has notified that instructor or academic program 30 calendar days or more prior to the date on which the final examination scheduling conflict exists.

Grade Appeal Policy

This policy outlines the procedures for undergraduate and graduate students to appeal final course grades for all courses (in-person, hybrid, and online) taught at Indiana University South Bend. Grade appeals in collaborative programs should proceed in accordance with the campus offering the course. Grade changes shall adhere to the ACA-66 IU-Wide policy. Students may go to either the Titan Success Center or their Academic Advisor for help with completion of these forms.

Faculty-initiated grade changes

The grade assigned by the course instructor at the end of a term is the student’s grade for that course. Only in cases where the course instructor has made error(s) in grade calculations will this final grade be changed through this process. Such requests should be initiated by the instructor through an electronic grade change request or Faculty Initiated Grade Change Request Form obtained from the Registrar’s Office. Requests for a change of grade must be approved by the department chair or area coordinator (if applicable) and dean of the college or school. If the department chair, area coordinator, or dean disapproves the faculty-initiated grade change request, the request will be reviewed by the Academic Affairs Committee of the IU South Bend Faculty Senate (AAC) and a recommendation from the AAC will be forwarded to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for a final decision.

A Faculty-initiated grade change request is to correct errors made by the course instructor, and not for addressing student disagreements. The only valid reasons for a course instructor to request consideration of a grade change are:

1. Incorrect grade due to miscalculation (human error). These will be considered only if accompanied by detailed explanations of how the errors occurred and who are affected by these errors.
2. Errors in judgment. This will be considered only if any reevaluation done by the faculty member applies to the whole class.
3. Procedural error (e.g., failure to follow announced grading procedures, failure to communicate grading procedures)

Work completed after the end of a course is not an acceptable reason for a grade change. If the student is unable to finish the assigned work by the end of the term, the instructor should consider whether or not a grade of I (incomplete) is appropriate. Faculty-initiated grade changes should be submitted, approved and grades corrected by the corrected grade submission deadline.

Student-initiated grade changes and limitations of time

If a student disagrees with her/his final course grade, the student should discuss the matter with the faculty member assigning the grade. Grade appeals (including changes to a W, FN, or FNN) must be submitted within one year from the end of the term in which the grade was posted. Grade appeals will not be accepted beyond the one year period.

The only valid reasons for a student to request consideration of a grade change are:

1. Incorrect grade due to miscalculation (human error)
2. Procedural error (e.g., failure to follow announced grading procedures, failure to communicate grading procedures)
3. Non-academic reasons (e.g., discrimination that is banned by University policy or requesting an Administrative late withdrawal due to extenuating circumstances). Late withdrawals must be accompanied by supporting documentation and must be for reasons other than poor academic performance.

Procedure for submitting a student-initiated grade appeal

Step One: Contact the Instructor and resolve matter informally

• Students seeking to contest a course grade should contact the instructor and attempt to resolve the matter informally first. It is suggested that the student and the instructor discuss the matter synchronously (by phone, virtually, or in person). If the instructor agrees that the grade should be changed, the instructor will initiate the Change of Grade process. To ensure fair treatment of all students in the course, the Chair or next level supervisor should verify with the Instructor that grades have been calculated in the same manner for all students.
• If the matter is not resolved informally or if the instructor does not respond within 10 business days of the student’s initial contact, the student should submit a formal grade appeal. If the instructor is not available or has not responded within 10 business days from receiving the initial written appeal, the student may direct their initial formal appeal to the Department Chair or Program Director. Once the student has submitted the grade appeal, the student can follow up with the Registrar office about the status of their appeal.

Step two: Submit formal appeal to the Office of the Registrar

The Formal Appeal should include:

1) Grade Change Request Form–obtain from Registrar Office or access the electronic form here: https://southbend.iu.edu/students/registrar/grades/grade-grievance-form-21.pdf<

2) Statement and Course syllabus:

a. A statement that demonstrates a valid reason that the instructor would be obliged to assign a better grade. The statement should include an analysis of relevant evidence including (but not limited to): final exam, assignment instructions, and/or student’s electronic gradebook, and/or copies of previous communications with instructor, and/or witness testimony.

b. Course syllabus

• The formal appeal will be sent to the Course Instructor first. The Course Instructor will approve or disapprove the request. The Instructor may add a response for rejecting the student’s argument or an agreement to change the grade. If the instructor rejects the student’s appeal, the instructor should inform the student that an appeal to the Department head or Dean is possible.
• The appeal will then move to the Department head (Chair, Program Director, or Area Coordinator). The Department head should gather information from both the student and the faculty member and reach a decision as to the merits of the appeal.
• The appeal will then be reviewed by the Dean. The Dean may appoint a faculty designee of the school (e.g., Assistant or Associate Dean) to review the appeal. The Dean or designee may request additional documentation.
• In those instances where either the Department Head or Dean supports the student's appeal, the person supporting the appeal must submit a written letter to the Senate Academic Affairs Committee of the IU South Bend Academic Senate. If a lower level is unable to submit the support documentation, the next level (e.g., Chair or Dean) is acceptable.
• The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) of the IU South Bend Academic Senate will review each level of the appeal at the next scheduled meeting. The AAC may request additional documentation. The AAC will submit their recommendation in writing to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (EVCAA), who makes a final resolution. The EVCAA decision will be sent to the Student, Instructor, Department Head, Dean of the College, and Registrar office. The EVCAA decision is final and cannot be appealed.
• The decision and relevant documents will be filed with Indiana University South Bend Registrar’s Office and will be archived for 10 years unless otherwise directed by University Counsel.

(approved by the Academic Senate 2/24/95, revised 4/19/2019, revised 04/19/2024).

Grade Replacement Policy

The IU South Bend Grade Replacement Policy modifies the current Indiana University Faculty Council FX policy by broadening the replacement option to courses in which an undergraduate student receives any grade except a W, I, or NC. The purpose of this expansion is to allow an IU South Bend student who has done poorly in a course, even if he or she has not failed the course, to repeat the course and remove the weight of the earlier grade from the student’s cumulative grade point average. This modified grade replacement policy applies only to courses taken on the IU South Bend campus. This grade replacement policy follows the Indiana University system’s general rule that a student can replace (i.e., FX) a maximum of three courses or a maximum of 10 credit hours (whichever comes first). Any FX courses prior to the fall of 2004 are included in this 10 credit hour maximum. A student can repeat a course for which grade replacement is sought only once.

A student who wishes to apply for grade replacement must obtain the approval of his or her academic unit. Some IU South Bend academic units may not honor the grade replacement policy when they consider, for example, admission to the academic unit, the granting of honors and academic distinction, and other matters. Therefore, each student is advised to check beforehand with his or her academic unit regarding the rules and restrictions that may apply. Furthermore, every student should recognize that other higher education institutions may not honor this grade replacement policy. 

Starting with courses taken in the fall 2021 or later, grade replacement will be viewed differently on the transcript but the impact on the GPA will remain the same.

For a course taken Fall 2021 or later, the original grade for the initial class will be removed from the transcript, leaving an "X" where the grade was to indicate that a grade replacement was made to impact the GPA. Any grade replacement (to have the initial grade removed from the GPA) for a course first taken before fall 2021 will continue to have the original grade followed by an X (i.e. C-X).

The grade replacement option is subject to the following considerations:

1. The IU South Bend grade replacement policy applies to undergraduate courses taken by students who do not have a bachelor’s degree. If a bachelor’s degree has been awarded, in no case may a grade be replaced for a course taken prior to the awarding of that degree.
2. This policy merely excludes certain grades from the calculation of the cumulative grade point average (CGPA). In determining admission, the meeting of degree requirements, the granting of honors and academic distinction, and other matters, each academic unit may use a GPA calculation that does not honor grade replacement. The GPA earned after grade replacement is subject to each academic unit’s rules regarding academic probation and dismissal. In short, each academic unit retains the right to consider, for internal purposes, a student’s complete academic record.
3. Under this policy, a student can replace the grades in any course taken at IU South Bend, except courses in which the student received the grades of W, I, or NC. 
4. A student may exercise the grade replacement policy for a maximum of three courses or 10 credit hours (whichever comes first). The 10 credit hour limit includes any courses previously replaced under the FX policy prior to 2004 and any previously FX’d courses that were approved for academic renewal. A student may exercise the grade replacement policy only once for any single course.
5. Grade replacement under this policy ordinarily is available for undergraduate courses with fixed credit hours and fixed topics. The course in which the student reenrolls must be the same course for which grade replacement is sought. Grades in courses that have different titles or variable topics may be replaced only if the content in both courses is the same. In such cases, a student may petition to replace a grade in one course with the grade earned in another course, provided the two courses are equivalent. To determine equivalence, a comparison of course descriptions alone is not adequate. In making this determination, the faculty offering the course shall apply the same criteria as used in evaluating courses for transfer purposes.
6. Once invoked, a student may not subsequently request reversal of the grade replacement granted to a particular course.
7. Subject to the restrictions set out in earlier paragraphs, a student who received academic renewals may still use grade replacement for work taken subsequent to the granting of academic renewal.
8. Grade replacement does not happen automatically. It is the responsibility of the student who wishes to repeat a course in order to replace the grade to consult with his or her academic unit regarding its policies.
9. Enforcement of the grade replacement policy is the responsibility of the academic unit that certifies a student’s fulfillment of degree requirements. Problems relating to the policy are referred to the academic unit’s dean or equivalent.
10. IU South Bend joins all other campuses in honoring the principle that the grade policies on the degree-granting campus are applicable to each student. Hence, if an IU South Bend student transfers to another Indiana University campus, IU South Bend honors requests from that campus, on behalf of the student, to replace a grade earned at IU South Bend. Were the student to return to IU South Bend for graduation, however, the student must check with their academic unit for their policies regarding grade replacement.
11. This policy is inapplicable to any grades issues owing to academic dishonesty. As a precondition of any student receiving academic renewal, the registrar’s office formally evaluates the student’s record to identify any grades resulting from academic dishonesty.

Grading Code

The official grade code of the university is as follows: A (highest passing grade), B, C, D (lowest passing grade), F (Fail), I (Incomplete), P (Pass), S (Satisfactory), and W (Withdrawn). I, P, S, and W are not calculated in a student’s GPA, but the grade of F is calculated as 0 points.
Quality points are assigned for purposes of determining the CGPA as follows:

Grading Code Scale

A+  /  4.0  
A  /  4.0  
A–  /  3.7  
B+  /  3.3  
B  /  3.0  
B–  /  2.7  
C+  /  2.3
C  /  2.0
C–  /  1.7
D+  /  1.3
D  /  1.0
D–  /  0.7
F  /  0

Grade Point Average

A minimum CGPA of 2.0 (C) is required for undergraduates. Transfer students admitted from other institutions with deficiencies in credit points are expected to overcome those deficiencies with IU South Bend grades.