Courses and Course Credit
Course Load
Maximum course loads are established to encourage students to think carefully about the amount of time they will need to devote to each class. The following policies are in place so that students are better able to meet their course obligations successfully.
· A standard undergraduate course load during the fall and spring terms is 15 to 16 semester credit hours, or five courses. Twelve semester credit hours are considered the minimum full-time load.
· Students who are employed 40 hours per week should take no more than two courses, or six credit hours.
· Students who wish to enroll in 20 credit hours or more in a fall or spring term must receive approval from the assistant or associate dean of their college.
· The standard load for one summer session is six to eight credit hours.
· Students who wish to enroll in nine hours or more in a single summer session or in two overlapping summer sessions must receive approval from the assistant or associate dean of their college.
For information on the graduate course load, consult specific master’s degree coordinator.
Schedule Changes
Schedule changes may be made in person or online, and may require approval by an academic advisor. Instructions are found in each semester’s Class Schedule.
Discontinued Classes
The university reserves the right to discontinue classes or otherwise alter the class schedule. Whenever possible, enrollment in an alternate course is completed through an administrative change form initiated by the department responsible for discontinuing the class.
Classification
Undergraduate classification is determined by the number of credit hours which have been completed: 0-29 semester hours: freshman; 30-59 semester hours: sophomore; 60-89 semester hours: junior; and 90 semester hours and above: senior. Master’s classification is determined by admission status.
Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend all class sessions. The responsibility for withdrawing from a course lies with the student. Departments and faculty members may have other attendance policies for their courses.
Transfer Credit-Undergraduate
Acceptance of Transfer Credit
Transfer students must submit official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended as a part of the admission process (see New and Transfer Student Admission, pages 11-12). An evaluation will be performed during a student’s first semester at the university. Course work transferred or accepted for credit toward an undergraduate degree must represent collegiate course work relevant to the degree, with course content and level of instruction resulting in student competencies at least equivalent to those of students enrolled in the institution’s own undergraduate degree program.
UHD may not accept transfer credit for courses in which grades of D have been earned except for courses which are part of the approved transferable core curriculum.
Courses transfer on the same level and with the corresponding number of hours as earned at another institution. Courses taken at a junior or community college do not transfer as upper-level credits.
Courses taken at other colleges that do not correspond to courses offered by UHD may transfer as elective credit, with the approval of the appropriate academic dean.
With the consent of the appropriate dean, the chair of the department in which a student is majoring will make the decision concerning application of transfer credit to the degree program. Therefore declared majors should obtain approval from their degree-granting college before taking courses from a community or junior college which they wish to transfer to UHD.
In general, UHD does not award transfer credit for vocational courses that are not considered part of a standard college curriculum. Students may petition the academic dean of the college in which they are seeking their degree, who may agree to award credit for such courses in exceptional circumstances.
Students should direct questions concerning transfer credit to their academic advisor or degree program coordinator.
Evaluation of Transfer Credit
Transcripts will be evaluated for institutional transfer credit upon completion of the admission application process. Students accepted later in the admission cycle may not have their transcripts evaluated until after they have actually enrolled. Transfer work will be further evaluated for applicability to the student’s chosen degree plan by the degree-granting college once the student has been accepted into the college as a declared major.
Students who apply to UHD while they are attending another institution must submit two official transcripts. The first should be sent at the time of application and should reflect the student’s current enrollment. A second must be sent as soon as grades are available for those classes.
Transferring Credits from Other Countries
Students applying for admission with college credits from other countries must submit an evaluated transcript from a credential evaluation service recognized by the university. Credits will be granted based on the recommendations of the evaluating service with respect to University of Houston-Downtown degree requirements at the time of enrollment.
Information and brochures from evaluating services are available at the Office of Admissions and online at ww.uhd.edu/admissions.
Transfer Credit Dispute Resolution Procedures
Students who receive written notification from Office of Admissions that a lower-level course taken at another Texas public institution of higher education has not been accepted may challenge denial of credit by UHD. To initiate a dispute action, a Transfer Dispute Resolution form must be completed. The form and instructions for its completion are available in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Room 950-South.
Credit by Examination
UHD accepts up to 24 hours of credit by examination. Credit by examination may be obtained on the basis of several types of examinations. Nationally recognized standardized examinations such as the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and the College Board’s Advanced Placement program may be used. Examinations widely used within a professional field and locally designed examinations also may be used. Students may not attempt to receive credit by exam for any course in which they are or have been enrolled at an accredited institution; however, students may attempt credit by examination for courses in which they are or have been enrolled at a non-accredited institution. Students planning to take CLEP exams should do so before their final semester.
Nationally standardized examinations are administered through Testing Services; all other examinations are administered through the responsible department.
If credit is not awarded, a period of six months must elapse before application for re-examination will be considered. Appropriate fees are charged for each examination. No student may attempt the exam for a particular course more than twice.
Credit may be granted for professional certification and training received from armed forces and service schools. With consent of the appropriate dean, the chair of the department in which the student is majoring will make the decision concerning the applicability of such courses to the degree program.
Credit received by examination does not fulfill residency requirements for graduation.
No grade is awarded for courses for which credit has been obtained by exam, nor are hours received for such courses included in the calculation of grade point average for graduation. Listed below are the subject examinations for the Advanced Placement Program and the College Level Examination Program.
College Level Examination Program
Examination / score / earns credit for / hrsAmerican Government / 50 / POLS 2304 / 3
American Literature / 50 / ENG 2311 & 2312 / 6
Analyzing & Interpreting Literature / 50 / ENG 2300 / 3
College Algebra / 50 / MATH 1301 / 3
College French / 50 / FREN 1401 & 1402 / 8
College Spanish / 50 / SPAN 1401 & 1402 / 8
English Literature / 50 / ENG 2313 & 2314 / 6
Freshman College Composition / 50 / ENG 1301 / 3
History of the US I / 50 / HIST 1305 / 3
History of the US II / 50 / HIST 1306 / 3
Human Growth & Development / 50 / PSY 2310 / 3
Information Systems & Computer Applications / 50 / CIS 1301 / 3
Introductory Psychology / 50 / PSY 1303 / 3
Introductory Sociology / 50 / SOC 1303 / 3
Precalculus / 50 / MATH 1302 & 1404 / 7
Principles of Macroeconomics / 50 / ECO 2301 / 3
Principles of Microeconomics / 50 / ECO 2302 / 3
Advanced Placement Program
Art History / 4 / ART 1302 / 3
5 / ART 1301 & 1302 / 6
Biology / 3 or 4 / BIOL 1301/1101 / 4
5 / BIOL 1301/1101 & 1302 /1102 / 8
Chemistry / 3 or 4 / CHEM 1307/1107 / 4
5 / CHEM 1307/1107 & 1308/1108 / 8
Computer Science A / 3 / CS 1410 / 4
English: Language & Composition / 3 / ENG 1301 / 3
English: Literature & Composition / 3 / ENG 1302 / 3
French Language / 3 or higher / FREN 1401 & 1402 / 8
Mathematics: Calculus AB / 3 / MATH 2401 / 4
Mathematics: Calculus BC / 3 / MATH 2402 / 4
Physics B / 3 or 4 / PHYS 1307/1107 / 4
5 / PHYS 1307/1107 & 1308/1108 / 8
Physics C: Mechanics / 3 / PHYS 1307/1107 / 4
Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism / 3 / PHYS 1308/1108 / 4
Psychology / 3 / PSY 1303 / 3
Spanish / 3 or 4 / SPAN 2301 & 2302 / 6
US History / 5
3
4 or 5 / SPAN 2301, 2302 & 3301
HIST 1305
HIST 1305 & 1306 / 9
3
6
Elective credit
Directed Studies Courses
A directed studies course allows students to work directly with a faculty member on an individual basis. This type of study is intended to expand the curriculum and may not duplicate an organized course. A directed studies course requires a term paper, research study or comparable project.
Students wishing to enroll in a directed studies course must be juniors or seniors and have a grade point average of at least 3.0, with a grade point average of at least 3.3 in the specific area of the directed studies course.
Procedures for enrolling in directed studies courses are available in each academic department. Degree requirements may limit the number of hours of directed studies that may be applied.
Auditing Courses
To audit a course is to enroll in a course on a noncredit basis. Audit students pay the regular tuition and all other applicable fees as set forth in the current Catalog. Senior citizens 65 years or over may audit free on a space-available basis. A change to credit status may not be made after the student has registered to audit a course. Changes from credit status to audit status in a course must be made prior to the end of the Official Day of Record. A Request for Audit form must be processed in the Registrar’s Office by the Official Day of Record for the appropriate term. Students wishing to audit courses should contact the Registrar’s Office for further details.
Grading System and Standards
Academic Honesty
The Academic Honesty Code is embraced by all members of the University of Houston-Downtown academic community and is an essential element of the institution’s academic credibility. The Honesty Code states "We will be honest in all our academic activities and will not tolerate dishonesty." The purpose of the Academic Honesty Policy is to deal with alleged violations of the Honesty Code in a fair and consistent manner. The policy is administered jointly by students and faculty. It is each student's responsibility to read and understand the Academic Honesty Policy. It may be found in the Student Handbook.
Grading System
The following grades are included in the calculation of grade point averages:
Grade Grade Points
A Superior 4.0
B Above Average 3.0
C Average 2.0
D Below Average 1.0
F Failure 0.0
The following grades are not included in the calculation of grade point averages:
Grade
A* Non-credit grade
B* Non-credit grade
C* Non-credit grade
I Incomplete
IP In Progress
Aud Audit
S Satisfactory (passing)
U Unsatisfactory (not passing)
W Withdraw
I (Incomplete)
An incomplete grade is given only when an unforeseen emergency prevents a student from completing the course work and only with the instructor’s approval. A grade of I will be changed to a passing grade if the missing work is completed satisfactorily by the deadline set by the instructor but no later than the end of the long semester immediately following the term in which the grade was received. An incomplete grade that is not removed by this deadline becomes an F. Repetition of a course for which an incomplete grade was received does not affect resolution of the original grade. An incomplete grade earned in a student’s graduating semester is computed as an F in determining grade point average.
IP (In Progress)
The grade of IP may be given in some developmental courses and the Writing Proficiency Exam. In the calculation of grade point average, a grade of IP is treated as a W. To receive credit for a course in which an IP was assigned, a student must register for the course again and earn a passing grade.