Academics and Regulations
To encourage a positive learning environment and high academic standards, universities establish specific scholastic requirements and community rules. At UAF, academic regulations address issues such as grading, academic standing, and student rights and responsibilities. Since policies change from time to time, it's important for students to stay informed about current requirements. By enrolling at UAF, a student agrees to abide by university rules, regulations and academic standards.
Communication via E-Mail
UAF uses e-mail to communicate with students about many regulations, requirements and responsibilities. E-mail is often the only way some information is distributed so it's important for you to regularly check your university e-mail account or to forward mail from your UAF account to an account you check frequently. The university automatically assigns you an official UAF e-mail account when you first register for classes (except students whose primary registration is through the Bristol Bay, Chukchi, Interior-Aleutians, Kuskokwim or Northwest campuses). You're responsible for knowing--and when appropriate, acting on--the contents of all university communications sent to your official UAF e-mail account. If you want to receive university communications at a different e-mail address, you need to forward e-mail from your assigned UAF account to an e-mail address of your choice. You can easily do this online at: www.alaska.edu/oit/sc/support/usermin/forwarding.xml.
Undergraduate students--Class standing is determined by the total credits you have earned.
- Freshman … 0-29 credits
- Sophomore … 30-59 credits
- Junior … 60-89 credits
- Senior … 90 credits
Transfer students are given class standing based on the number of transfer credits accepted by UAF. Non-degree students are registered without class standing.
Graduate students--Students are given the class standing of "graduate" only after being officially admitted to a master's or doctoral program.
Full- or Part-time Status/Study Load
Undergraduate students--Undergraduate students registered for 12 or more semester credits are classified as full-time students. To complete an undergraduate program in four years, you must earn 16 or 17 credits each semester. You may enroll in up to 18 credits per semester without special permission. To enroll in 19 credits or more, you need a 3.0 cumulative GPA and an overload approval from your advisor.
Credits carried at any UAF unit are used to determine study load hours and full time or part time classification. Courses that are audited or taken for credit by examination are not included in the study load computation. Only semester-based correspondence study courses count in the study load.
Graduate students--A graduate student who is registered for 9 or more semester credits, with 3 or more at the 600-level, is classified as a full-time student (audited credits are not counted toward workload). You may enroll in up to 14 credits per semester without special permission. To enroll in 15-19 credits you must be in good standing and obtain an overload approval from your advisor and department chair. Enrollment in 20 or more graduate credits will be allowed only in extraordinary circumstances, and requires good standing and overload approval from your advisor, department chair, dean and the dean of the graduate school.
Except in unusual circumstances, enrollment in the fall/spring semesters is limited to 1 credit per week. Enrollment in the three-week summer session is limited to 3-4 credits per session, and enrollment in the six-week summer session is limited to 6-8 credits per session.
Credits carried at any UAF department are considered in determining study load hours and full time or part time classification. Courses that are audited are not included in the study load computation.
Grading System and Grade Point Average Computation
All course grades are letter grades unless otherwise specified in the class schedule. The method of grading (letter or pass/fail) is an integral part of the course structure and is included in the course description. Instructors are expected to state their grading policies in writing at the beginning of each course. Grades appearing on academic records are:
A An honor grade, indicates originality and independent work, a thorough mastery of the subject and the satisfactory completion of more work than is regularly required.
B Indicates outstanding ability above the average level of performance.
C Indicates a satisfactory or average level of performance.
D The lowest passing grade, indicates work of below-average quality and performance.
F Indicates failure. All F grades, including those earned in pass/fail courses, are included in the GPA calculations.
P Pass--The pass grade indicates satisfactory completion of course requirements at either the undergraduate or graduate level. A pass grade does not affect your GPA but credits earned with pass grades may meet degree requirements and may be used as a measure of satisfactory progress. Satisfactory performance is the equivalent of a C grade or better in undergraduate course work and B grade or better in graduate courses. The entire class must be graded pass/fail and the grading system is noted in the class schedule.
Cr Indicates credit was given under the credit-no-credit option.
DF Deferred--This designation is used for courses such as theses and special projects, which require more than one semester to complete. It indicates that course requirements cannot be completed by the end of the semester. Credit may be withheld without penalty until the course requirements are met within an approved time.
AU Audit--A registration status indicating that you have enrolled for informational instruction only. No academic credit is granted. You may be given a W if you fail to attend a course you are auditing.
W Withdrawn--Indicates withdrawal from a course after the first two weeks of a semester.
I Incomplete--Indicates
that you have not been able to complete the course during the scheduled course
time.
When the I grade is given, the instructor
will include a statement of the work required of you to complete the course
and the time limit you have to complete the work. The maximum allowed time
is one year. At the end of the defined time limit, the instructor may issue
a grade based on the work turned in. If the instructor does not change the
I grade, it becomes permanent at the end of one year. The I grade is not
computed in your GPA. You cannot graduate with an I grade in any required
course.
NB No Basis--Instructors may award a No Basis (NB) grade if there insufficient student progress and/or attendance for evaluation to occur. No credit is given, nor is "NB" calculated in the GPA. This is a permanent grade and may not be used to substitute for the Incomplete (I). It can't be removed by later completing outstanding work.
Computing your GPA
Your grade point average (GPA) is a weighted numerical average of the grades you earn in your courses at UAF. To compute your GPA, divide the total number of credits you have attempted into the total number of grade points you have earned. Grade points are calculated by multiplying the number of grade points awarded, according to the chart below, by the number of credits attempted for the course. The following grades are figured in your GPA: A, B, C, D and F. Grades of I, DF, W, P, AU and CR do not carry grade points and do not affect your GPA.
| Grade | Grade points per credit |
| A | 4.0 |
| B | 3.0 |
| C | 2.0 |
| D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
| EXAMPLE OF GRADE POINT AVERAGE COMPUTATION | ||||
| Course | Credits | Grade | Credits x Grade points per credit | = Grade points |
| BIOL 111X | 4 | A | 4 cr x 4 pts | 16 |
| COMM 131X | 3 | D | 3 cr x 1 pt | 3 |
| ENGL 111X | 3 | C | 3 cr x 2 pts | 6 |
| MATH 107X | 3 | B | 3 cr x 3 pts | 9 |
| HIST 131 | 3 | F | 3 cr x 0 pts | 0 |
| Total | 16 | 34 | ||
| 34 grade points ÷ 16 credits = 2.13 GPA | ||||
Non-credit courses, transfer credits and credit by examination do not affect the GPA calculations. Your "graduating GPA" is your cumulative grade point average at the time of graduation. If, after earning a bachelor's degree, you take more classes from UAF as a non-degree student, grades for those courses won't be factored into your official graduating GPA. The exception is students who are officially admitted to a second degree program.
Repeating Courses
All grades (original and retakes) for a course completed at UAF are included on your academic record, but only the last grade earned for a course is computed in your GPA unless the course is one that can be repeated for credit.
A grade, other than an incomplete or deferred, submitted by your instructor after a course is completed, is your final grade and becomes part of your permanent academic record. Your grade will not be changed unless your instructor made a legitimate error in calculating the grade. If you believe an error has occurred contact your instructor. Grading errors must be corrected within 30 class days after the beginning of the next regular semester, and must be approved by the instructor's department head and dean.