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Academic Policies

Academic Honesty and the Honor Code

Intellectual integrity and academic honesty are fundamental to learning and evaluating academic performance, and they are the shared responsibility of all members of the educational institution, faculty and students alike.

All undergraduate students at SMU come under the jurisdiction of the Honor Code.  Students are required to issue a warning to, or to report to the Honor Council, any student suspected of violating the Honor Code, and to inform the course instructor of a violation.  Suspected violations may be handled privately by an instructor, or they may be referred to the Honor Council.  Suspected violations reported to the Council will be investigated and, if evidence warrants, a hearing will be held.  Students convicted of academic dishonesty may appeal their cases to the University Judicial Council. 

Academic dishonesty may be defined broadly as a student's misrepresentation of his/her academic work, or of the circumstances under which the work was done.  This includes plagiarism in papers, projects, take-home exams, or other assignments in which the student represents the resulting work as being his or her own.  It also includes cheating on exams, unauthorized access to test materials, and aiding another student to cheat or participate in an act of academic dishonesty.  Failure to prevent cheating by another individual may be considered as participation in the dishonest act.  Click here to read the full honor code.

Class Attendance

Regular attendance is required.  Instructors normally announce specific attendance policies at the beginning of the term.  The instructor determines in all instances the extent to which absences or tardiness affect each student's grade.  Some departments and courses -- for example, first-year English Rhetoric -- have very strict attendance rules.  Non-attendance will result in a grade of F.  Instructors may drop students from their classes for excessive absences, until the calendar deadline to drop, but this is not automatic.  Non-attendance will not automatically result in a student's being dropped from a class.  Likewise, discontinuing class attendance does not constitute withdrawing from the University. 

Adding or Dropping a Class

Official class schedules are set for the term at the end of the fifth day of classes.  Students may add classes up until that date, with written authorization from their academic adviser. During the first five days (first two days of summer term), adds and drops are made without official transcript record. After that date, students may not change their schedules except to drop a class. 

The deadline for dropping a class is the end of the tenth week of the term.  Click here to see the official University calendar showing the deadline date for course drop for a specific term.  Courses dropped before this date are graded "W".  After the initial required advising session, students are encouraged to seek assistance from their adviser when considering adding or dropping courses.
 

SPECIAL NOTE**  English Rhetoric 1301 and 1302 may not be dropped.  These courses are the English Fundamentals requirement of the GEC.  Students must be enrolled in them until completion of the requirement, and may not drop the course.  There are strict attendance policies in these courses, and non-attendance will result in a grade of F.

Before dropping a class, consider (and discuss with your adviser) the implications for scholarship requirements, timely fulfillment of pre-requisites for advanced courses you want to take later, and possible delay of graduation.  Consider standard progress in credits toward graduation, and how you would plan to compensate for any shortage. 

Academic Probation

Students who earn a GPA below 2.000 in any regular term, or whose cumulative SMU GPA falls below 2.000, will be placed on academic probation.  The probation period is one regular term, excluding summer.  Students on academic probation are prohibited from participating in study-abroad programs and are discouraged from participating in extracurricular or other campus activities which might interfere with their academic efforts.  Students are reinstated to good academic standing when they achieve both a term and a cumulative grade-point average of 2.000 or higher.

Academic Suspension

First-year pre-major students who have not achieved a cumulative SMU GPA of at least 1.700 by the end of their second regular term at SMU will be suspended from the University.  Transfer students transferring in fewer than 15 units will be subject to the same requirements on their SMU work.  Once declared as a major, students are immediately subject to the probation/suspension rules of the school into which they have declared.

Second-year pre-majors who have not achieved a cumulative SMU GPA of at least 2.000 and successfully completed the GEC English Fundamentals and Math Fundamentals requirements by the end of their 4th regular term at SMU will be suspended.  Students transferring in 15 or more units will be subject to the same requirements on their SMU work at the end of two terms.

Upperclass students will be suspended if:

The 1.800 GPA requirement will not apply to new transfer students until the end of their second regular term at SMU.

Students who are suspended are notified by letter from the Assistant Dean for Student Records.  The notification is sent to the student's permanent address as indicated in the University Registrar's records.

Academic suspension is normally for a minimum of one term, not counting interterm or summer.  Credits earned at another college during a term of suspension will not be applied toward an SMU degree. 

Students who are suspended at the end of the spring term may petition the Office of the Dean for permission to attend the first summer session, if by so doing they could make up their deficiency.  The grade deficiency must be made up in residence at SMU, by the end of the first summer term.

Repeated Courses

Students may repeat courses according to the specific rules of the school offering the course, as listed in the University catalog.  The original grade remains on the transcript record and is still calculated in the grade-point average, but the additional credits will not accrue toward graduation if the original grade earned credit.

Courses in Dedman College:  You can repeat only courses in which original grade was D or below.

Courses in Meadows School of the Arts, Cox School of Business, or School of Engineering:  You can repeat courses in which original grade was C- or below.  Such courses can be repeated only once.  (Courses repeated from C- will not fall under the First-Year Repeat Policy, below).

The First-Year Repeat Policy

Students who enter the University directly from high school may repeat up to three courses taken at SMU during their first two regular terms of enrollment if grades of D+ or lower were earned.  The grade for the repeat enrollment, even if lower, will be used in calculating the cumulative GPA (unless the repeat course is dropped, in which case the original grade will be restored).  Courses may be repeated only once under this policy, and they must be repeated within the next two SMU regular academic terms following the initial course enrollment.  Repeats under this policy must be declared in the office of the Dean of Dedman College, through your academic adviser, by the 12th day of classes.  Both the initial grade and the repeat grade will remain on your permanent academic record.  Only the repeat course credit will calculate into the SMU GPA and will apply toward requirements and total units earned, but be aware that if you later apply to graduate or professional schools they may re-calculate your GPA to include the first grades. 

For official University catalog information on the First-Year Repeat Policy, click here.

Foreign Language requirement for admission to SMU

For admission to SMU, students should have in their high-school record two units of a foreign language (a 2-year sequence of the same language).  Regardless of intended major, students who have not completed a 2-year sequence of a single foreign language in high school, nor a one-year sequence at the college level, are required to take two terms of a single foreign language at SMU or at another accredited college, to begin not later than their third regular term at SMU and to be completed not later than the end of their fifth term.  If a student has a documented language-based learning disability that prevents learning a foreign language, American Sign Language can be used to satisfy the admission requirement.  (Sign Language cannot be used to fulfill the language requirements for SMU majors.) 

Transfer Credits

SMU grants transfer credit for college work completed with a minimum grade of C- at accredited institutions in courses for which there is an SMU equivalent. Students are required to send all transcripts of all college work taken before or after matriculation to SMU.  Transfer work may be applied toward most SMU degree requirements.  There are special rules governing work done following matriculation; also special rules apply to transfer work for courses required for the GEC and for admission to particular majors.  Be sure to check the University catalogue, since you are responsible for complying with all rules and policies that may apply to you.  Also be sure to consult with your academic adviser.

Transfer work completed prior to SMU matriculation

Transcripts for all college work completed elsewhere should be sent to the Office of Enrollment Services as soon as possible.  To ensure appropriate credit evaluation and to avoid delays or schedule changes, they should be received prior to your first advising appointment at AARO.

Transfer work after matriculation

Following SMU matriculation, students must petition in advance to attend another college for credit to transfer back to SMU.  A maximum of 15 credits can transfer toward the SMU degree after matriculation.  Petitions require approval from:

With the petition students are normally required to provide catalogue course descriptions, and sometimes syllabi or other further information, for departmental review.  Departmental policies differ, and approval may be denied by the department. 

Special notes:  After matriculation, courses for the GEC Fundamentals (English, Math, and IT Fundamentals) must be taken in residence at SMU and may not be taken by transfer.  Courses required for majors or for admission to majors normally will not be allowed by transfer after matriculation.

Withdrawal from the University

Discontinuing class attendance does not constitute withdrawal from the University.  If you may need to withdraw, discuss it with your academic adviser.  Click here for official information on withdrawing. 

Academic Progress Towards the Degree

Graduation in four years, which is the SMU norm, requires accruing at least 30 credits per year and maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 2.000.  This generally means taking 5 or 6 courses (15-18 credits) in each regular academic term.

To graduate, a student must complete the General Education requirements, one major, and a minimum of 122 credits (120 academic, plus 2 Wellness).   A few areas will require more than 122 total credits for graduation.  Credit requirements for majors vary considerably, ranging upward from at least 30 credits.  Some majors also require supporting coursework from related areas.  SMU students often choose to complete multiple majors or minors, which requires careful and early planning with the academic adviser.  Only one major (and no minor) is required for graduation.

The Privacy Act and Student Records

SMU observes the regulations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  The Act precludes release to a third party of a student's academic records without the student's prior written consent.  An exception to the rule may be made in the case of a request from a parent of a student who is a financial dependent as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.  To qualify, a parent must submit to the Registrar a completed Declaration of Student Dependency.  Click here for full FERPA information, for a copy of the Student Consent Form which students may sign and file with the Registrar, or for a copy of the parental form for Declaration of Student Dependency. 

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