Forms, Policies, Services

Writing Policy:

Students in the School of Physical Sciences can be placed on Normal Progress Notice or Disqualification for lack of progress in Academic English and/or Writing courses according to the policy below, and in addition to the policy stated in the UCI Catalogue HERE.

• Normal Progress Notice can include, but is not limited to: a hold pending writing enrollment or a passing grade in a writing course, an academic contract, or a warning.
• Normal Progress Disqualification can include, but is not limited to: an academic contract, an academic hold, disqualification from the student's major, or disqualification from the University of California, Irvine.

The following students are in good academic standing for writing progress:

1. Any student who has a writing placement of Entry Level Writing or the 1st course of lower division writing, must complete Writing 60 or the equivalent course prior to the start of their 7th quarter (summer in NOT considered a quarter).
2. Any student who starts in Academic English is required, by the School of Physical Sciences, to take an Academic English or Writing course every quarter until they complete lower division writing (Writing 60 or a University approved alternate). IUPP students are excluded from this requirement IF AND ONLY IF they are placed into Writing 40 for the Fall quarter of their freshman year-this select group of IUPP students will follow #1.

A Physical Sciences student can be subject to Normal Progress Notice or Disqualification if he/she:

1. Is not in good standing as defined above
2. Earns a grade below 'C' (or NP) in any AE or Writing course
3. Has more than one repeat in AE and/or Writing courses, and has not taken Writing 60 (or an approved alternate), and is NOT enrolled in an appropriate AE or Writing course every quarter (excluding summer).

Drop Policy*

The deadline to drop courses without approval in the School of Physical Sciences is Friday of Week 2 by 5:00pm. After Week 2, you may petition to drop a course via the Enrollment Exception process in Student Access if you have a valid, documented emergency which prevented you from dropping the course by the deadline published in the Registrar calendar. Emergencies include severe illness, death in immediate family, car accident, etc. You must be able to provide proof upon request documenting this emergency in a timely manner. If you petition to drop one course, you must clearly explain how this extenuating circumstance impacts only one course and not all courses.

Requests will be denied if submitted for the following reasons:

• You did not know the deadlines, did not understand the drop process, or forgot to drop the course.
• The course is not required to meet Major, School, or University requirements.
• You are no longer pursuing a certain major and do not need this course.
• You did not meet the proper prerequisites for the course.
• You are doing poorly in the course because of difficulties with the course material.
• You are doing poorly in the course because of a heavy course/work load.
• You are doing poorly in the course because you failed to attend.
• You are having difficulty understanding the instructor or teaching assistant.
• You are no longer able to attend the remainder of the class or final exam because something has come up.
• The severe illness affects someone other than you, your spouse or domestic partner, or your child.

Enrollment exception requests to drop a course will only be considered for extenuating and documented circumstances outside of the student’s control. Approval is not guaranteed. It is therefore important to continue attending class meetings and submitting assignments until your request is fully processed.

It is your responsibility to log into Student Access and check the status of your Enrollment Exception.

*Departments may enforce earlier deadlines (e.g. Labs). See SOC for details.

Add Policy*

The deadline to add courses without approval in the School of Physical Sciences is Friday of Week 2 by 5:00pm. After Week 2, you may petition to add a course via the Enrollment Exception process in Student Access. Late adds are rarely approved. Late adds are never considered for Math courses.

* Departments may enforce earlier deadlines (e.g. Labs). See SOC for details.

Change Grade Option Policy

(to or from Pass/Not Pass)

The deadline to change a grade option without approval in the School of Physical Sciences is Friday of Week 2 by 5:00pm. After Week 2, you may petition to change a grade option via the Enrollment Exception process in Student Access. Requests are usually considered for students before 5:00pm Friday of Week 10, for any student NOT currently on academic notice. Degree-required courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students on academic notice must take all courses for a letter grade (unless the course is offered P/NP only).

All requests submitted after 5:00pm Friday of Week 10 will be denied. No exceptions.

**Policies for adding/dropping/changing a grade option also apply to students enrolled through the Division of Continuing Education's Concurrent Enrollment Program**

Change of Major Policy

CURRENT STUDENTS must meet the change of major criteria as outlined at http://www.changeofmajor.uci.edu/. (some double majors might require higher standards)

• Once the criteria has been met, simply apply for a major change online through Student Access.

NEW FRESHMAN STUDENTS may not be able to change their major this summer after July 1st. For more information about Physical Sciences majors, and/or to request a change of major BEFORE July 1st, please contact us at pssazot@uci.edu.

• It is always possible to change after you've taken some classes at UCI. There are specific criteria governing this process which your Academic Counselor can explain to you when you attend summer orientation. Visit http://www.changeofmajor.uci.edu/ for more information.

NEW TRANSFER STUDENTS cannot usually change their major once they have been accepted. An Academic Counselor in the office you want to change to can evaluate your previous coursework to determine whether or not you qualify for the new major. If you do, then your major can be changed. Visit http://ps.uci.edu/~stuaff/ac.html for Counseling office info.

Disrupted Exam Policy:

UCI SCHOOL OF PHYISCAL SCIENCES DISRUPTED EXAM POLICY

Responsibility of the Instructors/Proctors – Safety First, Academic Integrity Second

Instructors should learn the location of the Evacuation Assembly Point (EAP) for their classroom at the beginning of the quarter. In the event that an examination or quiz is disrupted by a fire alarm, electrical outage, earthquake or another unpredictable incident, instructors must make whatever immediate decision seems appropriate to ensure the safety of the students. Instructors may take steps to maintain exam security only if the safety of students is being assured.

Responsibility of the Students – Safety and Academic Integrity

The students must remain calm and fully cooperate with the instructions by the instructors aimed at protecting their safety and exam security.

Default Procedure for Exams Disrupted by Fire Alarms in Large Courses

Unless otherwise stated by the instructors, fire alarms during exams in large classes will be handled in the following manner. Students who do not follow these instructions will receive a failing grade.

1. Immediately stop working on the exam when the fire-alarm sounds
2. Do not talk so that you can hear instructions from the instructor
3. Leave your exam (and/or Scantron form) face down on your desk
4. Collect your belongings at your seat and leave the room in orderly fashion as directed by the instructor. Depending on the circumstances, the instructor may ask you to leave behind your backpacks piled in front of the room as collecting them will produce a delay.
5. Go to the Evacuation Assembly Point (EAP) designated in the building's evacuation plan and on building emergency evacuation signs and wait there
6. Until the officially scheduled time for the examination ends, do not leave the EAP area without your instructor’s permission.
7. Do not discuss the exam nor communicate remotely with any devices while waiting in the EAP area.
8. If the fire alarm stops before the officially scheduled time for the examination ends you may be able to return to the room but only after instructed to do so by the instructor
9. If no return to the exam is possible, the exams will be collected by the instructors
10. The instructor will determine whether to reschedule the exam or how to grade the partially-completed exam

DSC Procedure for Disrupted Exams

Students taking the exam through DSC may receive amended instructions midway through the exam in order to insure that their accommodation is fair and consistent with the exam administered in the regular classroom.

Study Plan Policy

Students could be required to produce a study plan when requested by an Academic Counselor or Peer Academic Advisor. Study plans may be requested for the following reasons (but are not limited to the following reasons):

1. Change of Major or Double Major requests
2. 5th year petitions
3. Normal Progress
4. Undeclared/Unaffiliated Physical Sciences Students (who are past their first year)
5. Students requesting readmission

The purpose of a study plan is to guide a student's academic career OR provide a student with an academic exercise regarding course planning.

A study plan is by NO MEANS a contract with our office. In some cases, prerequisites or course offerings may not be checked upon acceptance of the study plan. All course offerings and prerequisites are subject to change.

Therefore, our office cannot be held responsible for any issues stemming from an accepted study plan. Students are expected to follow their accepted study plan. Failure to follow their accepted study plan could result in either 1) A request for a new study plan OR 2) Inability to graduate.

CLICK HERE FOR A STUDY PLAN TEMPLATE