The Student’s Responsibility

Students are responsible for planning their programs and meeting all graduation requirements. Students should be thoroughly familiar with all sections in this bulletin regarding admission, degree requirements, major requirements, course requirements, academic regulations, and academic standing. Students are also responsible for policy information and meeting all deadlines as published in the Schedule of Classes and for keeping their local and permanent addresses up to date with the Office of the Registrar. Faculty advisors, academic counselors, and the recorder can assist students in planning their programs and explain requirements and policies. Students also have access to the computerized degree-audit system, IUCARE.

Advising

The School of Journalism assigns each journalism major a faculty advisor. Students are encouraged to meet with their faculty advisor as necessary to discuss academic and career planning. In addition, professional staff are available every day for advising.

Indianapolis

Deborah Perkins, Assistant to the Dean, Education-Social Work 4103, tel. (317) 274-2776, e-mail: dperkins@iupui.edu

Journalism majors are required to meet with their faculty advisor prior to each registration. For this purpose, the school administers an advising process each semester. During this advising period, journalism majors may preregister in journalism courses for the next semester.

Advising for registration in fall courses usually occurs in March and for registration in spring courses in October. In these advising conferences students should, as a minimum objective, make certain that they understand the requirements for successful completion of the area requirements and that they have made an appropriate plan for the coming semester.

Access to Journalism Courses at Indianapolis

All journalism courses are open to nonmajors. Nonmajors should have completed appropriate prerequisites for advanced courses or have obtained permission from the instructor.

The Certificate in Journalism

Academic Regulations

Absences from Final Examinations

Students are required to adhere to the policies regarding final examinations as published in the Schedule of Classes.

Absences from Scheduled Classes

Illness is usually the only acceptable excuse for absence from class. Other absences must be explained to the satisfaction of the instructor, who will decide whether omitted work may be made up.

Addition of Courses

No course may be added by an undergraduate student after the first week of a semester or a summer session unless the instructor of the course approves and the request is approved by both the chairperson of the department in which the course is offered and the dean.

Change of Grade

Requests for a change of grade must be made no later than the last day of classes of the next regular semester.

Confidentiality of Records

Indiana University, in compliance with the General Education Provisions Act, Section 438, titled Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the university’s Policy on Access to Institutional Data, provides that all student records are confidential and available only to eligible employees of the university for use in the conduct of university business (as determined by data stewards), the student and the parents, if the student is under 21 and dependent as defined by IRS standards. Students may review their records upon request and may ask for deletions or corrections of the record in a hearing process described in detail in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, distributed at fall registration or available in Bloomington at the Office of Student Ethics, Assistant Dean of Students Annex, or the School of Journalism office, Education–Social Work 4104 in Indianapolis.

References, recommendations, and other similar documents may carry a voluntary waiver relinquishing the student’s right to review this specific material. The student may also release the record to others by signing a written release available in the offices that maintain records. Further details regarding the provisions of the Privacy Act and a list of offices where student records are kept may be found in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct.

Correspondence Courses

With the approval of an academic advisor, students may take a limit of two Independent Study university courses offered through the School of Continuing Studies for the B.A.J. degree.

Credit by Examination

The school will apply credit earned by departmental examination, College Board Achievement Placement Tests, College Board Advanced Placement Tests and language placement tests offered by the Bureau of Evaluative Standards and Testing toward appropriate degree requirements. Such credit must be entered on the student’s transcript. At Indianapolis, students wishing special language credits through the credentialing process must file an application for special credit and pay a fee or charge per credit for additional credits. Indianapolis students should contact the Foreign Language Office, tel. (317) 274-2817, for complete information.

Degree Applications

Candidates for the B.A.J. must file an application for a degree in the school recorder’s office, Ernie Pyle Hall 200B at Bloomington or Education–Social Work 4104 at Indianapolis. Deadlines to apply: June 1 for May graduation; December 1 for June or August graduation; February 1 for December graduation.

Candidates must have all credits on record at least six weeks prior to the conferring of degrees, except for credits of the current semester.

Dual Bachelor’s Degree

In certain cases the dean may permit undergraduate students who have not yet completed a first bachelor’s degree to complete a second bachelor’s degree. Such students must complete all requirements for the B.A.J. and the second degree. Students with a bachelor’s degree should consider applying for admission to a graduate program.

Exceptions to Degree Requirements

Requests for deviation from school requirements may be granted only by written approval from the dean of the school (or the dean’s administrative representative).

Incomplete Courses

A grade of Incomplete (I) may be given only when the work of the course is substantially completed and when the student’s work is of passing quality. All incomplete (I) grades must be removed within the time specified by the instructor of the course or they will automatically change to an F one calendar year after the end of the semester/session the grade of I was given. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain from the instructor the requirements and deadline for the removal of the incomplete. Students who receive a grade of I should not register for the course a second time.

Language Placement for International Students

Students whose native language is not English may demonstrate required proficiency in their language. Students are required to take a proficiency exam from the department of their native language. Students must place at or above the fifth semester. They cannot earn credit for courses at the first- or second-year level in their native language.

Pass/Fail Option

Students in good academic standing may take up to eight elective courses, maximum two courses per academic year, for a grade of P (pass) or F (fail). No courses used to fulfill major requirements, second concentration, fundamental skills, distribution, or culture studies requirements may be taken under the Pass/Fail option.

During the freshman year, students may take two HPER “E’’ classes under the Pass/Fail option in addition to the two other courses permitted.

Students must meet the deadlines to enroll in courses under the Pass/Fail option as listed each semester in the Schedule of Classes. A grade of P is not calculated in the grade point average; a grade of F is calculated in the grade point average. A grade of P cannot be changed subsequently to any other letter grade.

Public Information

Upon request, certain information is made available to the public by the Office of the Registrar:

Release of Information in Student Records

An implicit and justifiable assumption of trust is placed in the School of Journalism as custodian of personal data submitted by students entering the school or generated during their enrollment. This mutual relationship of trust between the school and the individual student requires that such data be held in confidence.

Statute of Limitations

BLOOMINGTON

Course work for the B.A.J. degree must be completed within eight years from the time the student first registers in the university. Students who do not meet this requirement must apply in writing to the dean to have their programs updated to meet the degree requirements currently in effect.

INDIANAPOLIS

Permission must be obtained from the office of the associate dean to use any course that was completed 10 or more years previously as credit toward the B.A.J. degree.

Withdrawal from Courses

The school permits withdrawal from courses with the automatic grade of Withdrawn (W) within the deadlines of the current campus as published in the Schedule of Classes.

Petitions for withdrawal after the periods specified in the Schedule of Classes will be considered by the dean only for urgent reasons related to extended illness or equivalent distress. Documentation of extended illness or equivalent distress will be required.

If students withdraw with the dean’s consent, their mark in the course shall be W if they are passing at the time of withdrawal and F if they are not passing. The grade will be recorded on the date of withdrawal. Failure to complete a course without authorized withdrawal will result in the grade F.

Academic Standing of Candidates for the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism Degree

Degrees Awarded with Distinction

The school recognizes outstanding performance in course work by awarding the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism degree with three levels of distinction: Distinction 3.70 cumulative grade point average, High Distinction 3.80 cumulative grade point average, Highest Distinction 3.90 cumulative grade point average. Students must have a minimum of 60 graded credit hours at Indiana University to be considered for distinction degrees.

FX Policy

The School of Journalism will calculate FX and WF grades as F’s for internal purposes and degree requirements. This calculation will apply to all categories of academic standing: good, probation and dismissal, class rank, and all grade point average requirements in the degree, including cumulative, semester, major, and second concentration.

A student may use the FX option for purposes of the university transcript. An undergraduate student who has repeated a course previously failed may request to have only the last grade in that course counted in the student’s grade point average as entered on the student’s transcript. A student may exercise this FX option for no more than three courses, totaling no more than 10 credit hours. A student may use the FX option on the transcript only once for a given course. Requests for approval of FX courses should be made to the school’s recorder.

Good Standing

Students are considered to be candidates in good standing for an Indiana University bachelor’s degree when they have been regularly admitted by the Office of Admissions; when their academic grade point average is not less than a 2.00 (C) for the last semester’s work; and when their cumulative grade point average is at least 2.00 (C).

Students’ eligibility to continue as journalism majors is subject to a periodic review of their progress toward a degree.

Academic Probation

Students are on academic probation when any one or more of the following conditions occur:

1. Students are on academic probation when their cumulative grade point average is below 2.00 (C).
2. Students are on academic probation for the duration of the regular semester following one in which they failed to attain a 2.00 (C) grade point average.
3. Students are on academic probation when they receive a D+ or less in any one journalism, telecommunications or selected communication and culture courses.

Students on academic probation must comply with such restrictions as the Office of the Dean of Students or the Dean of the School of Journalism may deem necessary.

Dismissal

Students are dismissed from the school when, in the judgment of the dean, they have ceased to make progress toward their degree. When students have failed to attain a 2.00 (C) grade point average in any two semesters and when their cumulative grade point average is below 2.00 (C); or they have received a D+ or less in two or more journalism, telecommunications, or selected communication and culture courses, they are automatically considered to be making insufficient progress toward their degree.

Students whose record reveals failing or near-failing performance or lack of clear progress in any semester, regardless of their previous cumulative grade point average, or whose cumulative grade point average falls below 2.00 (C), are always carefully evaluated with a possibility of dismissal.

Re-admission

The dean considers petitions for re-admission from students who have been dismissed. A student dismissed for the first time may petition for re-admission to any division of the university.

Students dismissed for the first time may petition to the School of Journalism for re-admission within the deadlines stated in the dismissal letter. Students dismissed for the second time may not be admitted for the next regular semester but are eligible to submit a petition for re-admission after a period of at least one regular semester.

In order that petitions for re-admission after a second dismissal be considered and accepted by the dean, students eligible to submit them must do so before August 1 for fall semester, December 1 for spring semester, and April 15 for summer sessions.

Academic Dishonesty

Indiana University and the School of Journalism expect that students will follow the fundamental principles of academic and professional integrity in the pursuit of learning and of professional practice. Academic and professional integrity requires that students take credit only for their own work and ideas. Violation of these principles is considered an act of academic dishonesty.

Academic dishonesty is defined in Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, the student handbook given to all Indiana University students. The School of Journalism follows strictly the handbook’s guidelines and the Policy on Academic Dishonesty printed each semester in the Bloomington Schedule of Classes.