Assessment Information and Academic Standards

Assessment

As an institution in which excellence in teaching is an overriding goal, UIS takes seriously its obligation to look carefully and systematically at what students learn — in other words, to assess student learning outcomes. Information about UIS’ assessment activities can be found on the UIS Assessment website.

Evaluation of Faculty Oral English Proficiency

The University of Illinois Act (110 ILCS 305/7c) states, “The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois shall establish a program to assess the oral English language proficiency of all persons providing classroom instruction to students at each campus under the jurisdiction, governance or supervision of the Board, and shall ensure that each person who is not orally proficient in the English language attain such proficiency prior to providing any classroom instruction to students.” At UIS, evaluation procedures for the oral English proficiency requirements are administered by the Provost’s Office. The following information provides guidelines for employment of faculty and academic staff who wish to obtain employment involving teaching at the University of Illinois Springfield. This policy applies to all individuals who supply classroom instruction.

An assessment of the effectiveness of the use of oral English is made during the process of hiring new faculty and academic staff who will provide classroom instruction by asking those who participate in hiring to assess candidates’ communications skills. This determination can be accomplished in a number of ways; e.g., formal interviews, assessment of candidates by colleagues within the academic unit, teaching demonstrations and/or research presentations. Deans or the equivalent hiring authority must provide an opinion, via the Assessment of Oral English Proficiency form, regarding oral English proficiency of newly-hired instructional staff at every rank (full-time faculty, adjunct faculty, and teaching academic professionals). This form, which will be maintained in the Provost’s Office, should follow approval of hire requests for all instructional staff.

Instructional staff members with questions about this policy should contact the dean of their college (or equivalent).

Academic Integrity

The UIS community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni are committed to academic excellence, which thrives on honesty, trust, and mutual respect. Academic integrity is at the heart of this commitment. Students are responsible for being aware of the UIS Academic Integrity Policy and for demonstrating behavior that is honest and ethical in their academic work.

Academic violations include plagiarism, cheating, misrepresentation, academic interference, unauthorized access, and facilitation. Violations of the Academic Integrity Policy may result in sanctions including failing the assignment, failing the course, transcript notation, and/or referral for Academic Hearing. The policy and other academic integrity information can be found on the UIS Academic Integrity website.

Academic Load/Enrollment Time Status

Students are classified into various time-status categories based upon the number of hours in which they are enrolled for a particular semester. In the fall and spring semesters, a student is considered to be full-time if enrolled in 12 credit hours (undergraduate) or nine (graduate). During the summer, both undergraduate and graduate students are considered to be full-time if enrolled in six credit hours. Enrolled students not classified as full-time are considered to be part-time. Part-time students are further classified based upon the specific hours in which they are enrolled. In fall and spring semesters, a student is considered to be 3/4-time if enrolled in 9-11.99 credit hours (undergraduate) or 7-8.99 (graduate), half-time if enrolled in 6-8.99 credit hours (undergraduate) or 5-6.99 (graduate), and less than half-time if enrolled in .01-5.99 credit hours (undergraduate) or .01-4.99 (graduate). For summer, both undergraduate and graduate students are considered to be 3/4-time if enrolled in 5-5.99 credit hours, half-time if enrolled in 3-4.99 credit hours, and less than half-time if enrolled in .01-2.99 credit hours.

Exceptions to the minimums above exist for certain graduate programs. Students with questions regarding academic load/enrollment time status (including enrollment verifications) should contact the Office of Records and Registration. For additional information regarding what qualifies as full-time status for financial aid purposes at UIS, please contact the UIS Office of Financial Assistance.

To enroll for more than 18 semester hours during the fall or spring semesters, or more than eight semester hours during the summer term, a Student Petition requesting an overload must be approved by the appropriate individuals. Additional information regarding the required signatures can be found on the Office of Records and Registration’s website.

A graduate assistant’s normal course load is eight to 12 hours per semester (16 to 24 hours per academic year). Graduate assistants who wish to enroll for more than 24 hours in any academic year must have the approval of the advisor, a department chair, and the appropriate dean. The graduate assistantship tuition waiver covers a maximum of 30 hours per academic year (fall, spring, and summer). Graduate Assistants are not required to register for the summer term.

A graduate public service intern’s normal course load is 16-18 hours for the academic year, not to exceed nine hours in the fall or spring semesters. Interns who wish to register for more than nine hours for any given term must have the approval of the GPSI Director. Graduate Public Service interns are not required to register for the summer term.

Academic Probation and Suspension

Students who have a UIS cumulative grade point average of less than 2.0 (undergraduates) or 3.0 (master’s and doctoral students) will be placed on academic probation. Courses taken for credit/no credit do not count in calculating this average.

Degree-seeking students on academic probation may enroll for up to 12 credit hours in the subsequent fall or spring (six hours in the summer) with approval of their academic advisor. Non-degree-seeking students on academic probation must meet with the appropriate associate vice chancellor for undergraduate or graduate education and may also be required to meet with a representative of the academic program in which they are taking classes.

Students placed on academic probation for two successive terms will be academically suspended and must wait two semesters before petitioning for re-admission (summer is considered a semester). Students who are receiving financial assistance should refer to the satisfactory academic progress section of the Financial Assistance Information chapter in this catalog.

Appeal of Academic Suspension forms are available on the Office of Records and Registration’s website. Students in exceptional circumstances may appeal immediately.

Complete details on UIS’ academic probation and suspension policy are available from the Office of Records and Registration.

Credit Hour Definition

A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally-established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:

  1. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
  2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other activities as established by an institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading toward to the award of credit hours.

Deans’ List

UIS recognizes superior academic achievement of undergraduate students at the end of each fall and spring semester. Students placed on the deans’ list must have:

  1. A semester grade point average of 3.75 or higher
  2. Completed at least eight graded semester hours (this does not include hours graded as credit/no credit)
  3. No incomplete grades awarded for the semester

Grade Point Average

The grade point average is determined by multiplying grade point equivalents by the number of semester hours earned in a course, then dividing the total number of grade points earned in all courses completed at UIS by the total number of hours represented by those courses (excluding courses with grades of ACR, AU, CR, DFR, I, NC, NR, R, or W). The grade point average appears on academic transcripts and is truncated to two decimal places (note: grade point averages are not rounded).

UIS grade point equivalents are defined as follows:

A 4.00
A- 3.70
B+ 3.30
B 3.00
B- 2.70
C+ 2.30
C 2.00
C- 1.70
D+ 1.30
D 1.00
D- 0.70
F 0.00

Grades/Grading

Grades are assigned according to the following scale:

A Excellent
B Good
C Fair
D Marginal, but passing
F Unsatisfactory or unofficial withdrawal. Courses in which F grades are earned count in determining grade-point average, but cannot be used to meet degree requirements.
ACR Academic Preparation Credit, represents credit earned in academic preparation courses that cannot be used to meet degree requirements.
AU Audit, no grade or credit earned. The deadlines for changing enrollment from credit to audit are posted each term. Students who enroll as full-time must include any course they wish to audit as part of the maximum permitted load. For auditing students who do not attend class regularly, the course may not appear on the transcript. Credit for an audited course cannot be established under any circumstances. If enrollment in a course is limited, for-credit students are admitted before audits are allowed. Full tuition and fees are assessed for audited courses and are the responsibility of the student. No financial aid resources, either federal, state, or institutional, can cover audited courses.
CR Credit, represents a grade of C or better for undergraduates (grades of C- will not count for credit), or B or better for graduate students (grades of B- will not count for credit).
DFR Deferred, used only for courses of a continuing nature, such as graduate research. Continues to appear until the course work has been completed and a grade assigned. Re-registration is not necessary, except for graduate closure courses. Courses for which a DFR grade may be awarded will be designated in advance.
I Incomplete, after a period not to exceed one year, the provisional grade becomes permanent unless a grade change was submitted. Re-registration is not necessary, unless required by the course instructor.
NC No Credit, assigned to undergraduate students who earn grades below C (this includes grades of C- or lower), or graduate students who earn grades below B (this includes grades of B- or lower) under the credit/no credit option.
NR Indicates a grade was not reported to the Office of Records and Registration by the course instructor.
R Indicates the course has been repeated. The original grade does not count in determining the grade-point average.
W Authorized Withdrawal, appears on the transcript for the course(s) from which the student officially withdraws.

Incomplete Work

Students with extraordinary circumstances that prevent them from completing all requirements for a course on time may request a designation of “I” (Incomplete) from their instructor. The assignment of an incomplete is solely at the instructor’s discretion, and requires that the student complete all course requirements within 12 months of the end of the term for which the incomplete was assigned. It is at the discretion of the instructor to determine the length of time allowed to complete the course work, which may be less than 12 months. If all course work must be submitted by a date less than 12 months, the instructor must inform the student of the due date at the time the incomplete is assigned. When an incomplete is assigned, the instructor also submits a “provisional grade” reflecting the grade that the student will receive if the course is not completed at the end of 12 months. Please note that re-registration in the course is not necessary, unless required by the instructor.

Undergraduate Honors

Academic honors are bestowed as a means of recognizing and encouraging superior academic achievement among baccalaureate candidates. Only grades obtained at UIS will be considered. The cumulative grade point average will be calculated on all graded, undergraduate credit received at UIS. At least 30 hours of graded credit must be accumulated at UIS to be considered for honors.

  • Final grade-point average of 3.50-3.74 will receive a cum laude designation

  • Final grade-point average of 3.75-3.89 will receive a magna cum laude designation

  • Final grade-point average of 3.90-4.00 will receive a summa cum laude designation

Honor recipients will be recognized at commencement based on work completed at the end of the semester immediately preceding commencement. Honor statements will appear on each student’s diploma and transcript based on the final UIS grade-point average earned.