Frequent Academic Policies

A leave of absence may be granted for medical reasons, study abroad, absence of required course(s) in a particular semester's schedule, and for other reasons, all of which should be appropriately documented and presented to the Office of the Registrar. If a leave of absence is requested for the semester during which the student is enrolled, the student must first officially withdraw. If the leave is granted, the effective date of the leave would be considered as the date of withdrawal as approved by the Registrar.

Any matriculated undergraduate full or part-time student in good standing (2.0 GPA) may request a leave of absence from the university. A leave of absence may be granted for one semester, with the possibility of renewal for a consecutive semester, upon approval of the Registrar. At the conclusion of the leave, a student may register to continue his/her program of study without repeating the admissions process and may select courses with the class appropriate to the total credit hours earned.

Leave of Absence for Undergraduate Students Policy

Undergraduates:

Any student leaving the University prior to the end of any academic term must officially withdraw. The student should contact the Office of the Registrar to initiate the formal withdrawal process. The date the Office of the Registrar receives the withdrawal form with the student's original signature is the student's official date of withdrawal from the university. If the student completes the withdrawal process with the Office of the Registrar two weeks prior to the start of finals, the student will receive "W" grades for all courses. If the student completes the withdrawal process after that point, the student will receive a grade determined by the instructor. Please note that failure to complete the withdrawal process may result in failing grades in all courses being taken at the time of withdrawal.

Graduates:

Graduate Students have six years from the first day of their first class to complete their Graduate Studies at Kutztown University and are not required to attend every semester. If the student has registered for courses for a particular semester and wishes to withdraw from all of those courses; whether just for that semester or permanently, the student will need to complete and submit the withdrawal form. If the form is completed after the first week of the start of classes and before the two week period before the start of finals, the student will receive "W" grades for all courses. If submitted after the two week period before the start of finals and through the last day of classes, the student will receive a grade (s) which will be determined by the instructor (s). The date the Office of the Registrar receives notification in writing with the student's original signature is the official date of withdrawal.

University Withdrawals Policy

Courses dropped during the first week of the semester will not be recorded on the student's permanent transcript. Students may withdraw from a full semester of classes or individual courses with a grade of "W" between the second and twelfth week of the semester. After the twelfth week of the semester and through the last day of classes, a student who officially withdraws will receive a grade determined by the instructor. When a student registers for classes, the student is responsible for those classes. Please be aware that the student must drop those classes if he/she decides not to attend. Failure to drop a class from which a student is registered but is not attending will result in a grade of "F" for that course.

Course Withdrawals Policy

Central Calendar

Effective Fall 2014 the Drop/Add Policy will provide students with one full week, plus the weekend (excluding holidays) to drop or add courses without penalty.

• Undergraduate Students
  All Undergraduate students seeking their first baccalaureate degree are required to take at least 30 of their last 60 credits and at least 50% of their major credits at Kutztown University.
• Graduate Students
  For Master's Students, at least 2/3 of the credits meeting program requirements must be completed at Kutztown.

Note: there is no A+, C-, D+ or D-

Learn more about the grading system.

• Undergraduate Students 

  A single course may be taken up to a maximum of three times. In exceptional
  circumstances requiring additional repeats, students may complete the Repeat Approval
  Form available from the Registrar’s Office.

  All attempts are counted; this includes attempts resulting in a withdrawal.

  When a student repeats a course, the credits are counted only once in determining the
  GPA; the CGPA; and the total credits needed for graduation.

  The most recent non-withdrawal grade in the course (regardless of whether it is higher
  or lower than previous attempts) will be used to calculate the GPA and CGPA.

• Graduate Students
  Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate students can repeat a single course for graduate improvement only once. They will be limited to a maximum of two repeats across the program. The most recent grade (regardless of whether it's higher or lower) will be the grade used for the GPA calculation.

The pass/fail policy is found in The Key and in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Undergraduate degree student:

• This means you are working towards a BA, BS, or BSED.
• You must have earned at least 30.0 credits.  Pass/Fail is not available to First-Year Students.
• Cumulative GPA over 2.75:  Your overall GPA must be at least 2.75 to take a course Pass/Fail.
• How many Pass/Fail courses can I take?  You make only take one Pass/Fail course per semester.
• Only Free Electives and courses in General Education permitted under "Electives" may be taken as Pass/Fail.
• There is no going back.  Once you have applied to take a course Pass/Fail, you must notify the Registrar in writing, before the 1st class meeting, that you want to change back to a letter grade.

How do I do it?

• You may obtain the form at the Office of the Registrar or from your Department.
• Complete form and have your Academic Advisor sign it.
• The form must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by the end of the Add/Drop period.

• Undergraduate Students
  Students at Kutztown University may apply to pursue more than one undergraduate major/degree concurrently with the first. Multiple diplomas will be awarded to students completing multiple degrees. A single diploma will be awarded to students completing multiple majors but not multiple degrees. Students must be admitted to each major/degree and must fulfill all requirements listed below.
  To earn a multiple major/degree:
  1. The student may not be graduated until each major/degree is completed.
  2. A GPA of at least 2.0 is required in each major unless the major has a specific GPA
  requirement.
  3. Clearance for graduation must be approved by each department or area.
  4. A course required in multiple major/degree programs does not have to be repeated
  for each major/degree.
  5. For any two majors/degrees that a student earns, they must earn at least 18 major
  credits that are not counted as major credits in the other major/degree. Major
  credits do not include Directed General Education, Concomitant, or Free Elective
  credits.
  6. All University requirements, such as minimum GPA and number of credits taken at
  Kutztown University in the major, must be met for each degree separately.
  
• Graduate Students 
  For awarding two simultaneous graduate degrees, at least 12 hours will be required beyond the minimum credit requirements for the degree program with the most required credits. Please watch the Registrar's Home Page for more information on this policy as additional revisions are forthcoming.