Students may change their permanent, mailing, and billing addresses through PROWL. Students must update their emergency contact information through PROWL. International students are required to notify the Office of International Students and Scholars if wishing to change their permanent address. The University assumes no responsibility for materials sent through the mail or email not received.
Students may take courses which are offered on a Credit/No Credit basis for up to 20% of their total semester hours requirement for graduation. For undergraduate courses, a grade of CR may be given for performance equal to or greater than a grade of “C.” A CR/NC course will not affect the grade point average. Courses offered on a CR/NC basis will count toward fulfilling requirements of the academic major, academic minor, or University Core. Courses offered on a graded basis which a student elects to take on a CR/NC basis will not fulfill academic major, academic minor, or University Core requirements. Students may change their grade option through the last day of the twelfth week of classes during the fall and spring semesters.
If a course is offered on a CR/NC basis only and the student wishes to receive a standard grade, the student must petition the instructor for that standard grade before the end of the third week of the semester. After a form has been approved and processed, the student may not rescind the request.
Graduates may take courses on a CR/NC basis only with the permission of the Program Director and/or Dean of the College or School.
The final course grade is how a faculty member communicates to the student and the University about a student’s overall achievement in the course. Final course grades are not negotiable. Any grade appeal should therefore be limited to procedural issues, such as a computational error or a failure to follow grading policies as set forth in the course syllabus.
Any student who wishes to appeal a final course grade must first discuss the matter with the faculty member, preferably in a face to face meeting. The grade appeal must be initiated by the student prior to the end of the third week of instruction in the semester subsequent to the term in which the disputed grade was earned.
As part of the appeal, students should provide all graded assignments to the faculty member and also refer to the course syllabus so that they are prepared to discuss all aspects of the grade. The course syllabus will serve as the guideline for this discussion. If the faculty member agrees that an error was made, the faculty member will submit a Correction of Grade form and the grade appeal process concludes.
If the dispute is not resolved between the student and the instructor, the student may appeal to the Department Chair in which the subject area resides. If the course is a First Year Seminar or Rhetorical Arts class, the Core Director acts as the Department Chair for the purposes of this policy. The Department Chair/Core Director will discuss the case with the faculty member and student in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
If the dispute is not resolved at the department level, the student may file a written appeal to an Associate Dean in the School/College of the subject area or to the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education in the case of First Year Seminars and Rhetorical Arts classes. The written appeal must be submitted prior to the end of the sixth week of classes. The Associate Dean/Associate Provost, upon receipt of the written appeal, may appoint a committee of three faculty members to investigate the matter and make a recommendation to the Dean/ Associate Provost. The Dean/ Associate Provost will normally follow the recommendation of the committee; however, the decision of the Dean/Associate Provost is final. The Dean/Associate Provost will inform the student, the faculty member, and the Department Chair/Core Director of the decision in writing.
The work of all students at LMU is reported in terms of grades. Instructors are required to assign a final grade for each student registered in a course. The Office of the Registrar via PROWL issues a grade report to the student at the end of each term.
The following grades are used to report the quality of undergraduate student work at LMU:
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | Superior |
| B | Good |
| C | Satisfactory |
| D | Poor |
| F | Failure |
| CR | Credit–Equivalent to grade of C or higher |
| NC | No Credit–Equivalent to grade of C- or lower |
| NR | Not reported by instructor |
| AU | Audit |
| I | Work incomplete |
| W | Official withdrawal from course |
A grade of A may be modified by a minus (-) suffix, and grades B and C may be modified by a plus (+) or minus (-) suffix. Grades A, B, C, and CR denote satisfactory progress toward the degree, but a C- or D grade must be offset by higher grades in the same term for students to remain in good academic standing. An F or NC grade yields no semester hour or course credit. Note that a “C-” grade is not a passing grade in courses requiring a minimum grade of “C.” A student must maintain a 2.0 GPA in order to remain in good academic standing.
The following grades are used to report the quality of graduate student work at LMU:
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A | Superior |
| B | Satisfactorily demonstrated potential for professional achievement in field of study |
| C | Passed the course but did not do work indicative of potential for professional achievement in field of study |
| F | Failure |
| CR | Credit–Equivalent to grade of B or higher |
| NC | No Credit–Equivalent to grade of B- or lower |
| NR | Not reported by instructor |
| AU | Audit |
| I | Work incomplete |
| IP | Work in progress (A grade assigned to the first semester of a scheduled two-semester course. The final grade is posted to the second semester of the course.) |
| W | Official withdrawal from course |
A grade of A may be modified by a minus (-) suffix, and grades B and C may be modified by a plus (+) or minus (-) suffix. Grades A, B, and CR denote satisfactory progress toward the degree, but a B- grade must be offset by higher grades in the same term for students to remain in good academic standing. Courses in which a grade of B- through C- is received may be applied toward graduate degrees unless otherwise prohibited by the program requirements. A student must maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to remain in good academic standing. Graduates may only take courses on a CR/NC basis with approval from the Dean.
Grade points are a measure of the quality of the academic work completed, just as semester hours are a measure of the quantity of this work. The University uses a letter grade to indicate the level of individual student achievement. Each letter grade has a point value assigned for the grade achieved. The point value assigned to each letter grade is as follows:
| Grade | Grade Points |
|---|---|
| A | 4.0 |
| A- | 3.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B- | 2.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C- | 1.7 |
| D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
The LMU grade point average is determined by dividing the total number of LMU grade points by the number of LMU semester hours completed with a letter grade.
The grades of AU, CR, NC, I, IP, and W have no point value and are not used in calculating the grade point average.
Grades, once submitted to the Office of the Registrar, will be changed only in case of error. An instructor desiring a change of grade must present a written explanation to the Chairperson and the Dean with a Correction of Grade form from the Office of the Registrar. No grade changes will be made after the fourth week of instruction of the next full term (Spring or Fall). Grades assigned in Spring, Summer I, or Summer II must be changed no later than the fourth week of instruction the following Fall semester. Grades assigned in Fall must be changed no later than the fourth week of instruction Spring semester.
A student’s permanent record reflects the coursework upon which the University awarded the degree or recommended a credential. Therefore, no grade or other changes are permitted either after awarding the degree or recommending the credential.
An incomplete grade may be assigned by the professor only if a student has completed at least 80% of the coursework.
The student must speak to the professor prior to final exam week to determine if the completed course work meets the minimum requirement for a grade of Incomplete and to discuss what further work is required to complete the course. The professor may or may not agree to the assignment of a grade of Incomplete. If the professor agrees to assign the grade of Incomplete, s/he will enter a grade of “I” on the Final Grade Roster.
The student’s deadline for submitting all outstanding coursework for undergraduate level courses is three weeks after the first scheduled class day of the next full semester. Graduate students who received a grade of Incomplete in graduate level courses have one academic year to complete and submit all outstanding coursework, unless an earlier deadline is set by the professor.
An incomplete grade not removed by the deadline will default to an “F” or to the default grade as submitted by the instructor on the Final Grade Roster.
If a student requires an extension to the deadline, the student must petition to obtain an extension to the deadline for removal of the grade of Incomplete. The petition, approved by the instructor, must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar.
Graduate students carrying any grades of Incomplete are not permitted to take a comprehensive examination until all “I” grades have been removed.
Graduate students enrolled in undergraduate level courses and who have received a grade of Incomplete in the undergraduate level course must submit outstanding coursework no later than three weeks after the first scheduled class day of the next full semester.
To submit the final grade from an Incomplete, the faculty must submit a Grade Revision form.
Mid-term deficiencies are assigned to students whose work by the Thursday of the seventh week of instruction in the semester has been evaluated by the instructor as unsatisfactory. Notifications are sent to undergraduate students who are performing at the level of C- (1.7) or less; to graduates who are performing at the level of B- (2.7) or less. These notices, advisory in nature and sent to the student’s LMU email and posted to PROWL prior to the last day to withdraw in a term, are not used in any calculation and do not appear on either Degree Works or the University transcript. Students who receive a mid-term deficiency are advised to speak to the instructor and/or their advisor.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (“FERPA”), is a Federal law which governs student privacy and confidentiality of student education records. Loyola Marymount University (“LMU”) recognizes, abides by and enforces the confidentiality of student records under FERPA.
For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply:
Student–any person who attends or has attended LMU.
Education records–any record (in handwriting, print, tapes, film, electronic, or other medium) maintained by LMU or any agent of LMU which is directly related to a student, except:
A personal record kept by a staff member if it is kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record and is not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.
An employee record of an individual whose employment is not contingent on the fact that they are a student, provided the record is used only in relation to the individual’s employment.
LMU Department of Public Safety records created and maintained by LMU’s Department of Public Safety for Department of Public Safety purposes.
Counseling records which are created or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional, acting in his or her professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity, used solely in connection with the provision of treatment to the student and not disclosed to anyone other than individuals providing such treatment, so long as the records can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student’s choice. “Treatment” in this context does not include remedial educational activities or activities which are part of the program of instruction at the institution.
Health records maintained by the Student Health Center, if the records are used only for treatment of a student and made available only to those persons providing the treatment.
Alumni records which contain information about a student after they are no longer in attendance at the University and which do not relate to the person as a student.
Current students are notified annually of their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by publication in the University Bulletin and by posts on the LMU website.
Students may inspect and review their official academic or other education records (with certain limited exceptions) within 45 days of the day LMU receives the student’s written request for access. A student should submit any such request in writing, identifying the record(s) the student wishes to inspect, to the appropriate LMU official or department. LMU will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
LMU reserves the right to refuse to permit a student to inspect the following records:
Unless required by FERPA or other law, LMU reserves the right to deny a student’s access to academic transcripts or copies of records in any of the following situations:
The student has any unpaid financial obligations to LMU.
There is an unresolved disciplinary action against the student. Copies of disciplinary records will only be made available when a student is unable to come to the office to inspect the record.
LMU will disclose information from a student’s education record only with the written consent of the student, except:
LMU is permitted under provisions of FERPA to release “Directory Information” upon request to anyone within the LMU community and to the general public without a student’s consent. Students who wish to have their directory information withheld must notify the Office of the Registrar in writing. Please note that such withhold notification will prevent LMU from providing your directory information to friends, prospective employers, organizations and others with whom a student may wish to share such information, so a student should make any withhold notification carefully.
Directory Information consists of a student’s:
Students have the right to ask to have records corrected that they believe are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their privacy rights. A student should submit any such request to LMU in writing, clearly identifying the records that the student believes are inaccurate and specifying the reasons the student believes them to be inaccurate. LMU will notify the student of its decision, and if the decision is negative, of the student’s right to a hearing regarding his or her request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided at that time.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (“FERPA”) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
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