Academic Policies

Registration at IAU requires adherence to the Institute’s standards of academic integrity and behavior. Students are expected to approach their academic work with dedication and integrity, understanding that they are responsible for enhancing their own learning through personal effort. They also agree to be fully prepared for each class session and not to engage in any of the Prohibited Academic Actions listed below. Students should note that this list is not exhaustive and merely represents a sampling of unacceptable offenses. Violation of these or any other acts that are deemed unsuitable and which reflect poorly on a student, classmates, and/or the IAU, is grounds for dismissal from the program without refund.

Prohibited Academic Actions

Plagiarism

Submitting material that in part or whole is not entirely one’s own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source.

Cheating

Using unauthorized notes, study aids, or information on an examination; altering a graded work after it has been returned, then submitting the work for re-grading; allowing another person to do one’s work and submitting that work under one’s own name; submitting identical or similar papers (or major parts of papers) for credit in more than one course (or more than once in a single course) without prior permission from the course instructors. Persons who assist cheating by sharing their work are also guilty of cheating.

Fabrication

Falsifying or inventing any information, data, or citation; presenting data that were not gathered in accordance with standard guidelines defining the appropriate methods for collecting or generating data, and failing to include an accurate account of the method by which the data were gathered or collected.

Obtaining an unfair advantage

(a) Stealing, reproducing, circulating, or otherwise gaining access to examination materials prior to the time authorized by the instructor; (b) stealing, destroying, defacing, or concealing library materials with the purpose of depriving others of their use; (c) collaborating in an unauthorized manner on an academic assignment; (d) retaining, possessing, using or circulating previously given examination materials, where those materials clearly indicate that they are to be returned to the instructor at the conclusion of the examination; (e) intentionally obstructing or interfering with another student’s academic work; (f) otherwise undertaking activity with the purpose of creating or obtaining an unfair academic advantage over other students.

Falsification of records and official documents

Altering documents affecting academic records; forging signatures of authorization or falsifying information on an official academic document, grade, report, letter of permission, petition, drop/add form, ID card, or any other official Institute document. Unauthorized access to computerized academic or administrative records or systems: Viewing or altering computer records, modifying computer programs or systems, releasing or dispensing information gained via unauthorized access, or interfering with the use or availability of computer systems or information.

Course Load

In the fall and spring semesters, students are expected to carry a normal academic load of 15 credit hours (5 courses). The normal summer course load is six credits (two courses). A student who wishes to carry a heavier or lighter load must first have written approval from his/her home university and consult with the IAU Center Director. Students carrying a lighter load will still pay full tuition.

Drop/Add

If they have approval from their home institutions, students may change their course selection in consultation with the Center Director by the end of the sixth day of classes in the fall and spring semesters and by the end of the third day of classes in the summer.

Pass/Fail

Students who are taking 15 credit hours on a graded basis may elect to take one course on a pass/fail basis. The choice must be declared no later than the end of the drop/add period and may not be changed after that date. For purposes of pass/fail grading, “pass” is considered a grade of C- or above. Students electing a pass/fail grade must have approval of the Center Director and their home institution.

Withdrawal Pass/Fail

From the end of the drop/add period to the end of the eighth week of classes, (end of the third week in the summer session), a student may withdraw from a course with the consent of the Center Director. Students who withdraw will receive a notation of WP (Withdraw Passing – if they were achieving a grade of at least C-) or WF (Withdrawal Failing) on their transcript. The Center Director may require home institution approval for a withdrawal.

Auditing

A student may audit a class, in addition to his/her normal class load, with the permission of the Center Director, and the Instructor, and on condition that he/she attend the course on a regular basis throughout the semester. No grades may be awarded for audited courses. However, notation of the audit may be entered on the student’s transcript. Such a choice must be declared no later than the drop/add period and may not be changed after that date.

Incompletes

A professor may grant or deny a student's request for an incomplete grade, and must inform the Center Director in writing of his/her decision. The Center Director may approve or refuse the professor's recommendation. The last day for a student to request an incomplete (“I”) grade for a course is no later than the last day of regularly-scheduled classes. Normally, an incomplete (“I”) grade should only be granted for extraordinary extenuating circumstances (such as illness or family emergency). Simple failure to complete assigned work in a timely fashion does not justify the granting of an incomplete (“I”) grade. Course work must be completed satisfactorily within the regular semester immediately following the semester in which the incomplete (“I”) grade was granted, or the course grade will become a permanent grade of “F”.

Grading Policies

Grades are assigned by the instructor of the course. No grade may be changed except for reasons of material or clerical error. If a student with a grade of “D” or “F” in a course enrolls at IAU in a subsequent semester, he/she may retake the course once in order to improve his/her grade and obtain credit for the course. The original grade “D” or “F” remains on the student’s transcript.

Grade Dispute Policy

IAU expects that most grievances regarding grades will be resolved informally between the professor and the student. If such informal discussions do not satisfy the student, the student wishing to dispute a final course grade must write and sign a petition addressed to the Center Director requesting a grade review. If the professor in question is the Center Director, the matter will automatically be referred to the Dean. If the professor in question is the Dean, the matter will automatically be referred to the President of the Institute for American Universities. The student shall have six weeks, calculated from the date of the submission of the final course grade, to initiate this formal procedure. The Center Director (or Dean or President) will ask the professor concerned to review the disputed grade and explain the rationale for his/her judgment. The Center Director (or Dean or President) may request to review the student's work, and, at his/her discretion, can invite other professors with appropriate expertise for advice. The Dean or President makes the final decision.