Academic Progress

Course Load--Undergraduate. A bachelor's degree candidate must complete an average of 32 semester hours per year in order to earn his/her degree within four years. A student at the Central Campus normally accomplishes this by taking 12- 17 semester hours each semester and 1-5 semester hours in Interterm. To be considered full time, an undergraduate must enroll in a minimum of 12 semester hours each semester. To be considered half time, an undergraduate must enroll in a minimum of six semester hours each semester. Weekend College courses are considered part of the regular semester. During the Central Campus summer sessions, undergraduate students are considered full time when enrolled in eight semester hours and part time when enrolled in a four semester hours.

For undergraduate students enrolled in accelerated 10-, 11-, and 12-week semesters, eight semester hours constitute full-time status; four semester hours constitute half-time status.

Course Overloads. A Central Campus undergraduate student wishing to enroll for a total of more than 17 semester hours at ULV and/or other institutions in the Fall and/or Spring Semester, for more than five semester hours during Interterm, or for more than 12 semester hours during the summer, must petition the Undergraduate Appeals Committee for approval. This process must be completed prior to enrollment.

Regional campus and CAPA students requesting to enroll in more than the number of semester hours specified for full-time enrollment must have approval by the Director of their Regional Campus two weeks prior to registration week. Approvals are based on extenuating circumstances. Students wishing to enroll in courses at other institutions should obtain the approval of their academic advisor before enrolling.

Course Load--Graduate. To be considered full time, a graduate student in the 15-week semester plan must enroll in a minimum of nine semester hours each semester. To be considered half time, a student must enroll in a minimum of five semester hours each semester. A student wishing to enroll in more than 15 semester hours in any semester or more than one semester hour per week during Interterm must have prior approval from the appropriate Dean.

During the Central Campus summer sessions, graduate students are considered full time when enrolled in six semester hours and part time when enrolled in three semester hours. Students who wish to enroll in more than eight semester hours must obtain the approval of the Registrar and the appropriate Dean.

For graduate students enrolled in accelerated 10-, 11-, and 12-week terms, six semester hours constitute full-time status; three semester hours constitute half-time status. Students requesting to enroll in more than the number of semester hours specified for full-time enrollment must have approval by the Director of their Regional Campus or Program Chair two weeks prior to registration week. Approvals are based on extenuating circumstances.

To be considered full time when enrolled in fewer than the required number of semester hours, a student must be "currently enrolled" in all courses necessary to complete his/her degree and be making normal academic progress as defined below. However, this may not qualify the student for financial aid eligibility.

Enrollment of Undergraduate Students in Graduate Courses. Undergraduate students who wish to take courses for graduate credit must be within eight semester hours of completing their bachelor's degree and may take no more than eight semester hours of graduate credit. Prior approval must be obtained from the program advisor, instructor, Registrar, and appropriate Dean. All 400-level courses taken without such approval will be considered to have been taken for undergraduate credit. Undergraduates may not take 500- or 600-level courses without prior approval. 500- and 600-level course are not applicable toward an undergraduate degree.

Normal Academic Progress--Undergraduate. A full-time undergraduate student will be considered making normal academic progress when completing 24 semester hours per year while maintaining a 2.0 cumulative GPA; a part-time student, when completing 12 semester hours per year while maintaining a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Student class level is determined by the number of semester hours completed as follows: 0-27, freshman; 28-59, sophomore; 60-91, junior; 92 and above, senior. To maintain financial aid eligibility, students must meet satisfactory academic progress standards as described under Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy in the Financial Aid section of this catalog. Students receiving veterans benefits who fail to maintain the 2.0 cumulative GPA required for graduation in three consecutive semesters will have their benefits interrupted, and the VA office will be notified.

Normal Academic Progress--Graduate. Graduate students are considered to be making normal academic progress when a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher is maintained. Full- and part-time graduate students making normal academic progress must complete their degrees within the limits specified under Time Limitation in the Graduation Requirements--Graduate Programs section of this catalog. To maintain financial aid eligibility, students may have to meet additional requirements as described in the Financial Aid section of this catalog. Students receiving veterans benefits who fail to maintain the 3.0 cumulative GPA required for graduation in three consecutive semesters will have their benefits interrupted, and the VA office will be notified.

Academic Probation. Academic probation is serious warning to the student that his/her scholastic record is unsatisfactory, and continued failure to improve this record will result in academic disqualification. Students on probation may also have restrictions imposed by the Deans regarding their programs of study. The following students will be placed on academic probation, with an appropriate notation made on the transcript:

  1. An undergraduate student whose cumulative ULV GPA falls below 2.0.
  2. A graduate student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.0.

In addition, an undergraduate student in good standing who fails to earn a 2.0 GPA in a given term will have an Academic Warning posted on the transcript and grade report for that term. Academic standing is determined after every term for students enrolled in 10-, 11-, and 12- week terms. For all other students academic standing is calculated after fall and spring semesters only.

Undergraduate students on academic probation must obtain a ULV GPA of 2.0 or above for each term until their cumulative ULV GPA reaches 2.0. Undergraduate students will remain on academic probation until their cumulative ULV GPA rises to 2.0 or better and will not be eligible for enrollment in the culminating activity or for commencement until academic probation is removed.

Graduate students on academic probation must obtain a GPA of 3.0 or above for each term until their cumulative GPA reaches 3.0. Graduate students will remain on academic probation until their cumulative GPA rises to 3.0 or better and will not be eligible for Advanced Standing or enrollment in the culminating activity until academic probation is removed. After reaching the cumulative 3.0 GPA, graduate students must maintain that average as a minimum until they complete their degree program.

Academic probation is distinct from financial aid probation, which is covered in the Financial Aid Programs section of this catalog.

Academic Disqualification. Undergraduate students who fail to earn a 2.0 ULV GPA in any term after being placed on academic probation will be academically disqualified. Graduate students on academic probation who fail to earn a 3.0 ULV GPA in any term will be academically disqualified. Extenuating circumstances may be reviewed by the Dean of the student's college and, in the case of graduate students, reported to the Graduate Appeals Committee. Academic disqualification will be recorded on the transcript. If this status is removed, the date of reinstatement will also be recorded. Should a reinstated student not meet the conditions specified at the time of reinstatement, academic disqualification will result. The Veterans Administration (in cases where students receive VA funds) or other appropriate governmental agencies will be notified when a student is academically disqualified.

Academic Renewal for Undergraduate Students. Under special circumstances a student may petition for Academic Renewal. Academic Renewal is provided for currently enrolled undergraduate students whose previous academic record was below the acceptable standard (a cumulative ULV GPA of less than 2.0) and is not reflective of their current demonstrated ability to succeed. A student may request Academic Renewal if the following conditions are met:

  1. He/she is currently matriculated at ULV.
  2. At least five years have elapsed since the end of the term in which the work requested for removal was taken.
  3. He/she has completed 18 semester hours with a minimum GPA of 3.0, 24 semester hours with a minimum GPA of 2.5, or 30 semester hours with a minimum GPA of 2.0 at ULV since the work to be removed was completed.
  4. He/she was matriculated and enrolled full time when the substandard work was completed. Having met these conditions, a student may petition for removal of ULV degree work from the institution degree GPA by submitting a request to the appropriate Academic Dean. A student may request the maximum of one academic year (four terms, or two semesters, interterm, and a summer session, consecutively taken) to be removed from the degree calculation. The request for Academic Renewal will be considered with supporting statements providing evidence of the following:
    1. Conditions 1-4 above have been met, and
    2. The work requested to be removed from the degree calculation is substandard and not representative of the student's current academic ability.

If the Academic Dean approves the request, "Academic Renewal" will be printed on the student's transcript and show that no work taken during the terms removed, even if satisfactory, will be applied to the Associate or Bachelor's Degree. All work will remain on the transcript to ensure a true and complete academic history, and all work, including the academic renewal terms will be included in the computation for departmental and school honors.

Academic Renewal only applies to course work completed at ULV. Students who have unsatisfactory grades at other colleges or universities must consult those institutions to see if they are eligible for academic renewal according to the policies of those institutions. Academic renewal from another institution will not be considered by ULV after matriculation at ULV.