Syllabus Policy

During the first two weeks of semester classes (3 days of summer term), instructors must provide each student a copy of the course requirements which includes these items:

• a description of the general course content.
• approximate dates for major projects and exams
• grading policy
• attendance policy

Exceptions to this policy might include thesis, seminar, problem report, independent study, field work, internships, and medical clerkships.

Adopted by University Council, March 12, 1980;
amended by Academic Planning and Standards Committee, April 10, 1980;
approved by the President, May 5, 1980.

Transcripts of Academic Record

Every student is entitled to one free official transcript of his or her record. Each additional copy costs $5.00. The Office of the Registrar usually will process transcript requests within 24 hours of receipt. The request may take longer to process if it is received at the close of a semester or summer term. Students who default in the payment of any university financial obligation or have other obligations to the university forfeit their right to a transcript until their obligations are resolved. Transcript requests should be sent directly to the Office of the Registrar in the form of a letter, fax, or on the Transcript Request Form available in the office. Students must sign their requests. You can obtain unofficial transcripts on the World Wide Web at: http://www.marshall.edu/milo/, or in your college office.

Transfer Credit

See the Board of Trustees Policy on Transferability of Credits and Grades at end of this section.

• New Students:
  When you apply for admission to Marshall University, the Admissions office will determine the acceptability of credits you have earned at other institutions.
• Enrolled Students:
  After enrollment as a regular undergraduate at Marshall, if you plan to take courses at another institution you must have prior approval from the dean of your college if you want those courses to count towards your degree requirements at Marshall. You should pick up an off-campus form ("Approval of Courses to be Taken for Advanced Standing") from the Admissions Office or your college office. After filling in the name of the visiting institution as well as the exact courses you wish to take there, take the form to the Admissions Office. The Admissions staff will convert the proposed coursework into equivalent Marshall courses and will then send the form to your college office for review. The associate dean will approve the application if the proposed courses are appropriate for your degree requirements. The form is then forwarded to the Registrar. The Registrar will send you a copy of the completed form.
• Courses students take without prior approval may be rejected when they are evaluated for degree requirements.
• Before the credit you earn at another institution can be transferred and recorded on your permanent academic record at Marshall, you must have an official transcript forwarded from the other institution to the Marshall Admissions Office.
• Coursework taken at another institution transfers at the level at which it was taken. This is something important to consider since undergraduate degree students must have a minimum number of hours of upper division credit to graduate. The exact number of required upper division hours is determined by your college. If, for example, you take ENG 220: American Literature to 1877, at Ohio State, and this course converts at Marshall to ENG 321: American Literature to 1877, you will get credit for ENG 321 at Marshall, but those credits will count as lower division (100 to 200 level) credits.
• Grades earned for coursework taken at other institutions are computed into the overall GPA, (includes courses taken at MU and other institutions), but have no impact on the Marshall GPA (except grades earned under the D/F Repeat Rule).

Board of Trustees Policy on The Transferability of Undergraduate
Credits and Grades (Board of Trustees Series No. 17)

1. Undergraduate level credits and grades earned at any public institution governed by the Board of Trustees shall generally be transferable to any other such institution.
2. At least 64 and no more than 72 hours of credits and grades completed at community colleges or branch colleges in the West Virginia state system of higher education shall be transferable to any baccalaureate degree granting institution in the state system.
3. All grades earned for college credit work within the state system shall be counted for purposes of graduation with honors, and transfer students from within the state system shall be treated the same for this purpose as generic students.
4. With the exception of those enrolling in specialized four-year programs which have demonstrable and bona fide externally imposed requirements making such a goal impossible, students completing two year associate degrees at public institutions governed by the Board of Trustees shall generally, upon transfer to a baccalaureate level degree granting institution, have junior level status and be able to graduate with the same number of total credit hours as a non-transfer student at the same institution and in the same program. An exception may exist in any instance where the associate degree is a technical type designed for terminal career purposes and the general education component is substantially of a markedly different nature than that required for a student at the same two-year institution enrolled in a college transfer associate degree program. Credit hours taken in general education toward associate degrees will count toward the total number of general education credit hours required at the baccalaureate degree granting institution.
5. There shall be developed and maintained specific detailed articulation agreements between appropriate institutions in the state system. Particularly community colleges, community college components, and branch colleges will indicate clearly in catalogs and other official materials which courses are not necessarily transferable for major programs or other specific purposes to those institutions where significant numbers of students traditionally transfer; any such course(s), however, will be transferred as elective credit up to the maximum herein required.
6. A statewide Ad Hoc Articulation Council appointed by the Chancellor consisting of two (including at least one faculty member) representatives from freestanding components and branch colleges, two (including at least one faculty member) representatives from baccalaureate degree granting institutions, the Chairman of the Advisory Council of Students or his representative, and two representatives from the Board of Trustees' staff shall be convened as a facilitating body in cases of disagreements between institutions over the transfer of credit. This Council will make a report and a recommendation to the Chancellor.
7. Consistent with provisions above, each baccalaureate degree granting institution may require transfer students to meet any of the following standards:
   1. An average of C on previous work attempted and the required grade point average for admission to a particular program.
   2. The completion of 36 or more additional hours of credit in residence, regardless of the number of hours transferable.
   3. The completion of 16 of the last 32 hours before graduation in residence.

   Any policies of this Board contrary to the foregoing are rescinded.

   Adopted: West Virginia Board of Regents July 10, 1979
   Board of Trustees policy effective July 1, 1989

Undergraduate Students in Graduate Courses

Seniors with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better can apply to take courses at the graduate level (500/600). You should pick up an application in the office of the Graduate College, OM 113. The application requires the recommendation of your major department chairperson, your college dean, and the dean of the Graduate College. A completed application must be on file in the Graduate College office before the opening of the term of enrollment. Seniors can apply credit for graduate courses either to an undergraduate or a graduate degree at Marshall, but not to both. The grades a senior may earn in a graduate course taken for undergraduate credit are included in the computation of the student's undergraduate GPA.

University College

University College is an administrative unit within Enrollment Management that oversees many of the university retention programs. Headed by an assistant dean, University College houses all conditionally admitted students (including international students), the Baccalaureate Transition Program, and all transient students. The Academic Support Center, which includes advising and tutoring, is a part of University College, as is University 101: New Student Seminar.

Workshop

A workshop is a practical, participatory course usually designed for advanced students or professionals. It provides experience or instruction in a new technique, theory or development in a field. Credit may be granted.