Academic Policies

Student Classification

Freshman - All students who have completed fewer than 30 credit hours.
Sophomore - Students who have completed 30 hours of college credit are classified as sophomores.
Junior - Students who have completed 62 hours of college credit are classified as juniors.
Senior - Students who have completed 90 hours of college credit are classified as seniors.

Student Load

A full-time course load at the college consists of 12 or more credit hours of academic work per semester.  Students who wish to take more than five three-credit-hour courses per semester must receive permission from the academic dean, must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher, and will incur an additional tuition fee for the additional course they take.

Students who take fewer than 12 credit hours are classified as part-time students.

Transfer Credits

Advanced standing or credit is granted when an applicant submits a transcript of courses completed at an accredited college, provided that these courses are comparable to courses offered at Kuyper College or fit into Kuyper College's academic program, that the grade received for the course is C (2.00) or better, and that the student was in good standing at the college.

No more than 65 semester hours of credit will be accepted from work in accredited community colleges.  Students in their junior or senior year at Kuyper College will not be allowed to transfer credits from two-year institutions. Kuyper College will not accept more than seventy-five transfer credits toward a degree.

Current Kuyper College students who desire to take a course at another college and transfer it to Kuyper College must receive approval from the registrar and their academic advisor and must receive a grade of C or better in the course they desire to transfer.  Students requesting the transfer of social work credits should also consult the social work program director and the Social Work Handbook. 

If students desire to repeat a course to replace an earlier Kuyper College grade, the course must be taken at Kuyper College. 

A student's senior year must be completed on campus at Kuyper College or in an approved off-campus program.

Kuyper College will accept transfer credit from the following types of institutions:

• All regionally accredited institutions
• All ABHE-accredited institutions
• Non-accredited institutions if either the student or his/her institution supplies to the Academic Office copies of letters from at least three other accredited institutions verifying the acceptability of the non-accredited institution's credit hours.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend classes regularly. Class attendance is necessary for the educational process to be fully effective because significant materials, insights, perspectives and opinions will be gained from class sessions.  Students are expected to contribute to class discussions.

Professors establish their own attendance policies.  Students who miss classes because of extended illness or some other emergency should notify the Academic Office of the situation.  In addition, students should consult with their professors to determine coursework that was missed during the absence.

Students who anticipate an absence due to official co-curricular participation should consult with the professor in advance and, if possible, complete any scheduled work in advance of the absence.  Faculty or others in charge of a co-curricular activity will provide the Academic Office with a list of students participating prior to any activity that would remove students from classes.

All faculty are required to include an attendance policy in each course syllabus.  In addition, faculty will record the absences of students in all classes.  Whenever a student does not attend class in accordance with the attendance policy recorded in the syllabus, the professor will take appropriate action.  The nature of the action should relate to the degree of absenteeism.

Grading System

The College uses the following system of grading:

  
Kuyper College calculates a student's GPA on the following scale:

Fall semester grade reports are placed in the mailboxes of returning students at the beginning of winter semester.  Students who do not return for winter semester will receive their grade reports by mail. Grade reports are mailed to all students at the close of winter semester, of spring session, and after the completion of summer courses.

The Early Identification System is designed to identify students who are not doing well academically early in the semester.  Faculty members will have a meaningful grade for each student by the 20th day of the semester. For each student receiving a D or F in a course, the faculty member will notify that student and meet with that student about how to improve the grade. The faculty member will also notify the Academic Support Office so that staff there can offer assistance where necessary.

To assist students attending the College for the first time, the College will supply a mid-term grade to these students shortly after the midpoint of their fall semester at the College. These mid-term grades are not recorded on students' transcripts but are given to assist students in monitoring their academic performance as they adjust to college life.  Official transcripts are released only when requested in writing by the student. The Academic Office has forms for this purpose.  The fee for each transcript is $5.00.  Payment is due in advance. Transcripts will be withheld if the student has a past-due account with Kuyper College.

Academic Probation and Dismissal

The College requires that its degree students attain a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average for the awarding of the B.S., B.S.W., A.A. and A.R.E. degree.  A student whose cumulative grade point average indicates that the accomplishment of this degree objective is in jeopardy will be placed on academic probation.  The following schedule applies:

Students whose current semester GPA falls below 2.0 will be placed on probation.  Students who are placed on probation are limited to four courses per semester (plus physical education, choir and field education) and are restricted from participating in activities such as school publications, student government and athletic teams or clubs.  

A student dismissed from the College for academic reasons is informed by letter from the academic dean.  Students who wish to appeal their academic dismissal should direct their concerns within 10 days to the provost.  

The student on probation must contact the Academic Support Office prior to the upcoming semester.  The student and the Academic Support Office will work together to make an agreement that will better ensure student success for the following semester's academic progress.  The agreement will be signed by the two parties (the student and the academic support staff person) and will be followed throughout the semester. 

The agreement will be an action plan for the student to take more responsibility for his or her learning and a plan for the appropriate College support services to be involved where needed.  The agreement will include the following: 1) services that the Academic Support Office will provide to the student, 2) specific steps the student will take to better succeed in coursework, 3) a weekly time for the student to meet for individual or group academic coaching, 4) an initial appointment for the student to meet with the College counseling staff, and 5) an agreement by the student to inform a parent/guardian of mid-term grades (where applicable).  The Academic Support Office will monitor the student's progress during the semester.  The individual and group coaching sessions will be either with academic support staff or with College counseling staff. 

Failure to comply with the agreement and/or attain a 2.0 semester average will result in the student's immediate dismissal.