Undergraduate Instruction - Regulations, Policies, and Resources
Undergraduate Education in Physical Sciences at UCI
Confidentiality of Student Records
Introduction
As UCI has grown, the rules, regulations, and policies governing its operation have inevitably become more voluminous and complicated. Undergraduate education is not exempt from this observation and recent conversations with faculty members have suggested that it might be useful to collect some of the essential information relating to undergraduate instruction in a single document.
Rules and policies at several levels govern undergraduate education in the UCI School of Physical Sciences, as follows:
- Standing Orders of the UC Regents
- Regulations of the UC Systemwide Academic Senate
- Regulations of the UCI Division of the Academic Senate
- Interpretation of regulations by UCI Academic Senate committees (e.g., the Council on Educational Policy, the Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction)
- Interpretation of, and exceptions to, regulations at the School level
- Policies of the individual departments
This guide is meant to be a compilation of information from all of these sources that is likely to be relevant to individual instructors. It also contains a list of selected campus offices that frequently interact with individual faculty on matters related to undergraduates. As always, the best contact for questions or additional information is the Physical Sciences Student Affairs Office (4-6507).
Undergraduate Education in Physical Sciences at UCI
The administration of undergraduate education in the School of Physical Sciences is shared between the school’s Student Affairs Office and its four departments. The following are among the responsibilities of the departments:
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- Managing curriculum and course content
- Scheduling classes and classrooms; assigning instructors and teaching assistants
- Managing class enrollment and related matters
- Recommending action for students subject to probation or disqualification
- Providing discipline-specific consultation and advising
Each department has one or more faculty and staff members who are responsible for administering and carrying out its undergraduate responsibilities.
Some of the responsibilities of the Student Affairs Office, many of which involve consultation with the departments, are:
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- General academic advising
- Administration of academic standing issues (e.g., probation, disqualification, academic progress)
- Carrying out degree checks and certifying graduation
- Determining course equivalencies for transfer students
- Administration of school-wide and campus-wide honors and awards
- Coordination of school-wide events (Honors Experience, Commencement, etc.)
- Coordination of UCI Catalog materials
- Interacting with campus-wide offices (e.g., Registrar, Admissions, Dean of Students) on undergraduate matters
The Student Affairs Office operates under the general supervision of the Associate Dean and is staffed by three professional Academic Counselors. During the academic year, there are also three part-time Peer Academic Advisors, who are junior or senior-level Physical Sciences majors.
Enrollment and Related Issues
I. Class Enrollment
Continuing UCI students normally enroll in classes for a given quarter during the latter part of the prior quarter by use of the WebReg system. New students entering in the fall enroll during the summer prior to their first quarter. At the option of the department, the enrollment system can deny enrollment to students who do not meet course prerequisites. Instructors may see the number of students enrolled by checking the 'Schedule of Classes' link or they may view the class rosters at: http://www.reg.uci.edu.
For large lower-division classes, most of the departments in Physical Sciences manage other details of the enrollment process (prerequisite verification, enrollment changes) at the departmental level.
II. Adds and Drops
- In general, individual instructors do not handle adds, drops, or other enrollment-related matters. Be sure you are aware of your department’s policies and procedures for handling class enrollments. Effective Fall 2010, substantial changes were made to the Add and Drop procedure. Please refer to this website for more details: http://www.reg.uci.edu/faculty-staff/ead.html.
- Postquarter Drops. On occasion, there is a legitimate reason for a student to drop a class after the end of the quarter. For example, a student who would otherwise have been granted permission to drop might have been ill during the latter part of the quarter. Another instance in which a postquarter drop is often granted occurs when the name of a student who has completed no work at all in a class appears on the final enrollment list. Such a situation frequently is taken as evidence of an enrollment error.
To deal with such situations, a procedure has been developed for postquarter drops. Because this normally involves both a late drop and the removal of an assigned grade (or an NR notation), the approvals of two deans are required. A change of grade to W must be initiated by the course instructor and approved by the dean of the school where the course was offered. Then the dean of the student's major school must approve the postquarter drop.
III. Repeating Classes
Students may repeat a class in which they have earned a grade of C- or below. For the first 16 repeated units, the new grade is used in GPA computations, although both grades remain on the transcript. After the repeated unit total exceeds 16, the old and new grades are both included in computation of the GPA. Special permission is needed to take a class more than twice. A student who repeats a grade of C or higher is given a UR (Unauthorized Repeat) notation instead of a grade.
IV. Credit by Examination
Academic Senate regulations include a provision for students to earn credit for a class by passing an examination without actually enrolling in the class. Only in exceptional cases does the School of Physical Sciences allow students to receive credit for its courses by this route. Advance approval of both the faculty member administering the examination and the Associate Dean of Physical Sciences is required.
A petition for credit by examination might be considered if a student has completed coursework at another college or university for which the student cannot receive credit due to circumstances beyond the student’s control (e.g., courses completed in a country where transcripts are unavailable due to political upheaval). Occasionally, credit by examination is used to allow students to repeat deficient grades in courses that are still in the UCI catalogue but are no longer offered regularly. Credit by Examination is only available to regularly enrolled UCI students.
Credit by examination is not permitted as a way of remedying a low score on an advanced placement examination. It also may not be used to improve a deficient grade, unless the course in question is not available for regular enrollment. Credit by examination is not appropriate for courses with a significant laboratory component. Please consult the Physical Sciences Student Affairs Office for more information.
Grades
I. Assignment of Grades
Grades are assigned at the end of each quarter by use of the Registrar’s WebGrades system. This system is available for grade submission from the end of the last day of instruction through the deadline for grade submission, which is typically on Thursday of the week after final exam week. Near the end of each quarter, the Registrar normally sends to all instructors an e-mail message that summarizes the procedure and timetable for grade submission.
II. Available Grades and Notations
The following grades and transcript notations are defined for undergraduate students:
Grades Assigned by Faculty:
A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Average
D – Lowest passing grade
F – Not passing
I – Incomplete
P – Pass
NP – Not Pass
Notations Entered by Registrar:
NR - No Report
W - Withdrawal
UR - Unauthorized Repeat
The grades A, B, C, and D may be modified by plus or minus suffixes. With the exception of the A+ grade, these suffixes contribute ± 0.3 to the grade point value of the grade to which they are appended. The A+ grade is an ‘honorary’ grade that is meant to recognize extraordinary achievement and that carries no additional grade point credit. Some faculty members choose not to give A+ grades. Note that all grades of D- and above are passing grades, although students must maintain a C average, both overall and in the required courses taught within their major program. In addition, some course sequences (including Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 51) require a minimum grade of C or C- in order to progress to the next quarter in the sequence.
III. Pass/Not Pass Option
Within limitations, students are allowed to sign up for courses outside of their major requirements on a Pass/Not Pass basis. Such courses carry unit credit toward graduation but do not affect the student’s grade point average. Students enrolled on a P/NP basis are identified on the WebGrades forms that faculty complete at the end of the quarter. Such a student who would have received a letter grade of C or higher should be given a grade of P; an NP grade is defined as equivalent to a grade of C- or lower.
IV. Incomplete Grades and No Report Notations
There is considerable confusion, among both faculty and students, about the Incomplete grade and the No Report notation. They actually serve very different purposes, as described below.
A. Incomplete Grade
Academic Senate regulations state that a grade of Incomplete "may be assigned when a student's work is of passing quality but is incomplete for good cause" (emphasis added). An Incomplete grade must be made up within 12 months or it will become an 'F', 'NP', or 'U'. The faculty member may specify a shorter time period for making up an I grade. Some departments encourage their faculty to specify in writing the arrangements for making up an I grade.
The purpose of the Incomplete grade is to deal with situations where the student fails to complete a limited portion of the work of a course for such reasons as illness, accident, or other unforeseen emergency. In general, an Incomplete is not appropriate for a student who has missed a major portion of the work of a class. The instructor is entitled to judge the appropriateness of the reason for an I grade and to specify how and when it is to be made up.
It is not usually appropriate for a student to retake an entire course in order to make up an I grade and a student should never re-enroll in a course for the purpose of making up an Incomplete. It is permissible, if both faculty members agree, for a student to make up an I by taking an exam from a faculty member other than the one who granted the Incomplete.
The granting of an I grade to a student who is doing failing work, who has not made prior arrangements with the instructor, or who fails to establish good cause is prohibited. An I grade is never appropriate for a student who is simply not performing as well as desired.
B. No Report Notation
The notation No Report (NR) is entered when there is no basis for reporting a grade for a student. The No Report notation may be removed within one quarter if a documented clerical or procedural error has occurred. After one quarter, the NR changes to a grade of F (or NP).
Normally an NR is a consequence of a situation where an instructor has insufficient information upon which to base the assignment of a grade. A typical example would occur when a student whose name appears on the course report completed little or no work in a class. In such cases, the instructor either may enter no grade or may enter the NR notation directly.
An NR cannot be made up at a later date by completing the course work unless a clerical/procedural error or additional information justifies first changing it to an I. A student does not have the option of choosing to skip the final examination and then removing the resulting NR notation at a later date.
V. The W and UR Notations
The Registrar enters a W notation for a student who drops a class after the sixth-week drop deadline. A UR notation is entered for a student who repeats a class in which a C or better grade has already been earned at UCI. A student is also denied credit for a course that duplicates one previously completed at another institution. See the Enrollment section for more information on adds, drops, and repeats.
VI. Grade Changes
All grades except Incomplete are final when submitted by the instructor at the end of the quarter and may not be changed except to correct a clerical or procedural error. Reassessment of the quality of a student’s work or the completion of additional work by a student can never be the basis for changing an assigned final grade.
On occasion, students have been known to request that their grade be lowered, usually to C-, in order to make it possible for them to repeat a class. This is never appropriate.
Grade changes are accomplished by filling out an Academic Record Change Request form, which may be obtained from your department’s undergraduate coordinator or from the Student Affairs office. If the reason for the grade change is to correct a clerical error, a brief description of the nature of the error is required. No further explanation is required for the removal of an Incomplete grade. The completed form should be returned to your department’s undergraduate coordinator; under no circumstances should it be given to the student. All submitted grade changes are checked for consistency with Academic Senate regulations in the offices of the Associate Dean and of the Registrar. Normally, grade changes should be submitted within one quarter of the original assignment of the grade.
Academic Honesty
It is essential that members of the academic community subscribe to the ideal of academic honesty and integrity. Campus policies and procedures for dealing with incidents of academic dishonesty are well established and may be found at: http://honesty.uci.edu/. The purpose of this section is to call your attention to some of the key aspects of these policies and to provide some additional advice that may be helpful.
The best option for all concerned is to minimize the occurrence of incidents of dishonesty. Much can be accomplished by communicating your expectations to students, by minimizing opportunities for misconduct, and by making clear your resolve to deal firmly with any incidents that do occur. The first section of the following guidelines presents some specific suggestions.
When an incident does occur, a response is necessary. In general, this will involve discussing the situation with the student and taking some sort of action. It is important that proper procedures be followed and it is essential that the incident be reported, even if no action is taken that extends beyond the confines of the class. These issues are addressed in the second section of the following guidelines.
Advice for dealing with specific incidents is always available from the Student Affairs office and from the Associate Dean.
Guidelines
I. Prevention
A. At the Beginning of the Quarter
- Communicate in the class syllabus your expectations of academic integrity and your policy for dealing with violations. The purpose of this statement is to make clear to the class your support for campus policies and your intention to take action in cases of dishonest behavior.
- It is useful to reinforce the written statement in the syllabus with an oral announcement during the first class period. A brief discussion of the range of consequences that might result from violations can be useful.
B. Prior to Specific Examinations or Assignments
- Make the ground rules clear. Be specific about the extent to which collaboration is allowed on assignments and what sorts of materials may be used during exams.
- In large classes, assign seats for exams. You should generate a randomized seating chart from Web Rosters at the Registrar's website.This prevents students from choosing their neighbors and also helps the instructor to diagnose suspected problem situations.
- In crowded classrooms, you must prepare multiple versions of exams. You are encouraged to print the student's name, ID# and seat assignment on the exam cover page. The Physical Sciences Student Affairs office can provide instructions on how to do that.
C. During Examinations
- Be there yourself, have enough proctors, and pay attention to what is going on. In large classes, student IDs must be checked.
- If possible, seat students who have given cause for suspicion where they can be watched.
- Carefully note any suspicious circumstances for follow-up investigation. Except in extreme cases, do not prevent any student from completing the exam.
D. After Examinations
- Watch for evidence of copying while you are grading exams. If the evidence is not clear-cut, pay particular attention to the student in question on subsequent exams.
- When students resubmit exams for correction of claimed errors in grading, consider photocopying subsequent exams of these students before returning them. Some instructors choose to photocopy all exams after they have been graded.
II. Responding to Instances of Academic Dishonesty
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When dishonesty is suspected, evaluate the evidence critically to be sure that it supports the allegation of impropriety. If the objective evidence is unclear, you are limited to issuing a warning or to watching the student carefully in the future.
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If you feel the evidence is clear, you are obligated to hear the student's side of the situation before proceeding further. A brief letter or e-mail message to the student is often the best way to initiate this process. Addresses may be obtained from the Physical Sciences Student Affairs Office.
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If, after meeting with the student, you still believe that an impropriety has occurred, you should inform the student of your conclusion and of the action you have decided to take. Among the possible actions are a simple reprimand, a requirement to redo the exam or assignment in question, a grade of zero on the assignment or exam in question, or dismissal from the course with a failing grade. You should be able to defend the action you have taken as commensurate with the severity of the offense. Note that one should normally refuse to allow a student to drop a class for which the student’s grade has been modified as a result of academic dishonesty.
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After a final decision has been reached, you should promptly send a record of your actions and the circumstances that motivated them to the Associate Dean of Physical Sciences, who will then forward copies to other campus offices as required. A brief account is satisfactory, though it should be specific enough to communicate the nature of the offense and the evidence that brought it to light. If you believe that the incident warrants a campus-wide sanction (e.g., suspension or dismissal from the University), this is the point at which you should make this known.
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People who pay attention to legalities have advised us that it is best not to use words like "penalty" or "punishment" in describing your action in response to an act of dishonesty. Terms like "consequence" or "sanction" are more appropriate.
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Any grading decision you make is final and is not subject to appeal. Students who wish to discuss their situation with a third party should be referred to the Associate Dean or to the Campus Ombudsman, who are available to advise students and to mediate disagreements.
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Keep all documentation associated with the case.
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Questions that arise at any point during this process may be discussed with the Associate Dean.
POSTING COURSE MATERIALS VIOLATES UNIVERSITY POLICY
According the UC Office of General Counsel and the University Committee on Educational Policy it is a violation of the student code of conduct to post course materials on commercial web sites such as Course Hero, Koofers, and Chegg.
Students caught doing so are subject to a failing grade in the course and disciplinary action by the University.
Examinations
Instructors may want to remind their students of school policy with the following statement:
"Any unexpected disruption of a scheduled examination (fire alarm, earthquake, etc.) will be handled according to the School of Physical Sciences policy [link]. Students who do not follow these instructions will receive a failing grade."
With limited and specifically defined exceptions, final examinations are required in all undergraduate courses. Normally, these examinations must be written and must be given at the regularly scheduled time during examination week. Further details, including conditions under which exceptions are allowed, may be found on the Registrar's website at this location: http://www.reg.uci.edu/grades/finalexampolicy.html.
Teaching Evaluations
The campus requires student evaluations of all regular classroom courses. In Physical Sciences, these evaluations are carried out by use of a campuswide Web-based form that contains a number of questions, to which students respond by giving "grades" of A through F. Students are also given the opportunity to make free-form comments. A numerical "grade point average" is calculated for each of the specific questions and the comments are tabulated. The results are made available to the departments for use in personnel actions and may be viewed by the instructor of record for each course. To view the results of the evaluations of your classes, use your UCInet ID and password to sign in to your EEE account. Evaluations are typically completed by students during the last two weeks of instruction and the results are made available to faculty about a week after the end of the quarter. Numerical results indicating the overall grade for the instructor are posted on the Physical Sciences Student Affairs website.
Confidentiality of Student Records
Access to student academic records is governed by federal and state laws, as well as by University regulations and policies. In general, all student academic records are confidential and may only be disclosed to University personnel who have a legitimate need for specific information. As always, there are gray areas but the following are clearly not appropriate:
- Posting grades or exam scores with names or other information from which student identities can readily be learned.
- Returning graded materials publicly (i.e., in a box in the hallway).
- Communicating academic information to non-university employees (including parents) without the specific written consent of the student.
Check with EEE for a secure method for posting grades on the Web.
Tutoring Services
Tutoring for a few lower-division classes is provided to students on a paid basis by the campus Learning and Academic Resources Center (LARC). If you are teaching a class that is supported in this way, you can expect to be contacted by one of the tutors early in the quarter. The LARC tutors are students who have completed the class to which they are assigned. In general, they are capable, conscientious, and well supervised. Three of our four departments (Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy) also offer free drop-in tutoring for selected classes.
Off-campus commercial tutoring services also exist. These for-profit organizations are not allowed to use campus facilities and their tutors require the permission of the instructor to attend classes or to solicit customers in the classroom. Because of past problems with the quality and integrity of some off-campus tutoring services, it is recommended that faculty be very cautious about establishing relationships with such organizations.