Academic Progress

The C, or 2.00 cumulative GPA, is the mark of acceptable work and good standing for undergraduate programs. The B, or 3.00 cumulative GPA, is the mark of acceptable work and good standing for graduate programs.

Transfer credit accepted from other institutions will not count toward quality points (will not impact the student’s GPA) at Shiloh University. Only courses taken at the University will be considered in GPA calculations.

Cohort students must maintain a satisfactory course completion pace of 67% in order to continue in their cohort. Students who drop below the 67% completion must reenroll into a new cohort.

Non-cohort students must maintain a minimum pace of at least 3 successfully completed courses, or 9 credit hours per year.

Assignments and discussions are considered late if not received by Sunday 11:59 p.m. of the week they are due. However, specific due dates within a class week may apply to individual assignments. A 20% grade penalty will be applied for the first week an assignment is late. An additional 20% penalty (40% total) will be applied for the second week an assignment is late. Assignments submitted more than two weeks after the due date will not be accepted. Note: Late penalties are not assigned to tests and assignments that are scored by computer. Instructors may choose to adopt a stricter late assignment policy. This will be noted in the course syllabus.

If a student experiences extraordinary circumstances such as illness, emergency, or disaster that prevents him or her from completing an assignment(s) on time, the student may request an assignment extension. Approvals of such will only be given for legitimate reasons and documentation may be required. Neglect, typical work responsibilities, or events planned in advance are not considered legitimate reasons.

Extension requests are to be submitted at least one day before the assignment due date; retroactive extension requests will not be accepted. Extension requests must be submitted to the instructor via an Assignment Extension Request Form. Informal email requests are not accepted.

If a student experiences extraordinary circumstances such as illness, emergency, or disaster that prevents him or her from completing coursework before the trimester end date, the student may request a course extension. Approvals of such will only be given for legitimate reasons and documentation may be required. Neglect, typical work responsibilities, or events planned in advance are not considered legitimate reasons. Course Extensions are typically only granted to students who have progressed through at least three-quarters of the total course content. Students who have not reached this threshold should refer to either the Add / Drop Policy (if the withdrawal deadline has not passed) or the Withdrawal After Midterm Policy (if the withdrawal deadline has passed).

Course extension requests are to be submitted at least one week before the end of the trimester; retroactive extension requests will not be accepted. Extension requests must be submitted to the instructor via a Course Extension Request Form. Informal email requests are not accepted.

If granted, an incomplete (I) grade will be assigned. After the established due date, which cannot extend beyond the end of the following trimester, the student’s final grade will be calculated. The earned final grade will be counted in the computation of the GPA.

If after the Withdrawal deadline has passed for a trimester, a student finds that he or she is unable to continue in a course, the following options are available:

• If the student has not earned a cumulative passing grade for the coursework completed up to the date of withdrawal, he or she will receive a Withdrawal Failing (WF) grade upon withdrawal. A WF will be counted as an F (0.00) in the computation of the student’s grade point average, it will impact attempted credit, and will appear on the student’s transcript. The student will be required to retake the course in order to receive credit for it.
• If the student has earned a cumulative passing grade for the coursework completed up to the date of withdrawal, the student may petition to receive a Withdrawal Passing (WP) grade. A WP grade does not impact grade point average but does impact attempted credit and will appear on the student’s transcript. The student will be required to retake the course in order to receive credit for it.

Documentation of extraordinary circumstances such as illness, emergency, or disaster that prevent the student from completing coursework before the trimester end date must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office and it will be forwarded to the appropriate Dean for consideration. Neglect, typical work responsibilities, or events planned in advance are not considered legitimate reasons. A limited number of WP grades will be granted to a student depending on the student’s program of study:

• If the student has successfully completed at least 75% of the graded course assignments and extraordinary circumstances are preventing further course completion, the student may request a course extension. See the Course Extension policy for more information.
• If the student stops participating in his or her course, but does not officially withdraw, he or she will receive the final letter grade earned including zero points for all assignments not attempted (see Grading Policy).

WP and WF letter grades do not count toward academic credit hours completed.

Undergraduate and graduate students may repeat a course one time only to improve a grade of C (2.0) or below. The grade earned in the repeat course, if higher, replaces the original grade.

Repeated courses will count toward the calculation of full-time or part-time enrollment status. Credit hours earned for the course will be assigned only once. Therefore, (1) repeat courses that were previously incomplete will count toward units attempted and completed and (2) repeat courses that were previously completed and are being taken for grade improvement will count toward units attempted but not toward units completed. Failure of a repeated course may affect the student’s ability to maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Students may be required to improve specific skills by taking remedial coursework. Remedial courses are not included in GPA calculations, and they do not count toward units attempted or units completed.

In rare cases, when a student’s progress towards graduation is significantly impeded by a lack of required course options in a given trimester, he or she may request a non-scheduled course offering via a Non-scheduled Course Agreement. A non-scheduled course is not a directed study course: an instructor will be substantially involved on a regular basis, it will be administered through the online classroom, and it must be completed in 15 weeks. Only current courses (those listed in the current Academic Catalog) are eligible. Non-scheduled courses may not be requested in order to bypass portions of the curriculum or for the convenience of the student alone.

In order to be eligible to request a non-scheduled course, students must:

• Be degree-seeking with Junior or Senior standing (Undergraduate) or 2nd or 3rd year status (Graduate and Doctoral)
• Be meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements
• Need the course to satisfy his or her graduation requirements

Students may only take one non-scheduled course in a given trimester, and no more than two non-schedule courses in a given program. Course contact hours typically completed via discussions or any other student-to-student course components will be adequately replaced so the amended course meets the University’s credit hour rules.

To apply for a non-scheduled course offering,

1. The Student must discuss the options with his or her Advisor and then email the appropriate Academic Dean to request approval to submit a Non-Scheduled Course Agreement. If approved, the Academic Dean will select a supervising instructor for the
2. The Student will work with the supervising instructor to formulate a plan for addressing or replacing the Discussion Forum requirement and the Tentative Schedule of Instructor/Student Contact (every other detail of the course must follow the course syllabus without modification).
3. The Student approves the plan by completing the Non-Scheduled Course Agreement—and all required enclosures—and forwards it to the supervising instructor.
4. The Instructor approves the plan by forwarding the completed Agreement to the Academic Dean.
5. Upon approval by the Academic Dean, he or she will forward the completed Agreement to the registrar@shilohuniversity.edu explicitly stating in the email that the Agreement is approved by both the Instructor and Dean.
6. After receipt of registration confirmation, the Student pays the standard course tuition as well as a $55 non-scheduled course fee.