Guide to Undergraduate Courses

To use this Catalog most effectively — making sure you register for the courses that are right for you and that you receive the appropriate course materials — please familiarize yourself with the information in the following pages before choosing your courses.

Course Load

You are permitted to register for up to 16 credits at any one time. Overlapping more than 16 credits is not permitted including when a course is (or courses) are extended. Being registered for more than 16 concurrent credits at a time requires permission from an academic advisor.

Course Credit

The number of semester hour credits awarded for each course is specified in the course description. Most courses carry 3 credits. Courses yielding 6 credits are generally advanced, interdisciplinary courses, which combine study from a range of academic disciplines. The work required for these courses is equivalent to their credit value. Thus, a 6-credit course is equivalent to two 3-credit courses. Note that 6-credit courses may not be broken down into 3-credit courses or taken in different semesters.

Units of Credit

In expressing its degree requirements, Thomas Edison State University uses semester hours measurement. Other colleges may define the value of knowledge in credits, trimester hours of credit, quarter hours of credit and competencies. All such hours transferred to Thomas Edison State University will be converted to semester hours of credit.

Tuition and Fees

For complete tuition and fees information, please visit www.tesu.edu/tuition.

Mentors

When you register for a course, you will be assigned a mentor who will be assessing your course assignments and examinations. Mentors are assigned according to their availability for the given semester. Except for PLA courses, you may request a particular mentor, if you indicate your preference at the time you register. That is, you must indicate on the Registration Form, in your Web registration or to the registrar when you call which mentor you prefer.

Mentors are expected to assess the work you accomplish, and they are available to offer you guidance on matters of course content when you need it. However, since all Thomas Edison State University courses are for independent adult students, mentors are not considered tutors who assist you in remedial aspects of your work.

After you register, before the semester begins, you will receive a confirmation email. Nursing, PLA, Guided Study and online students will receive access information for the online course site via email in their confirmation email.

Tutorial Services

Thomas Edison State University offers students access to the SMARTHINKING online tutorial service free of charge. It is particularly helpful if you are taking mathematics, physics, Spanish, writing, statistics, accounting, economics (macro and micro) or chemistry. If you are taking other subjects but need help with writing, you may also access the service to get the help you need.

Students taking online courses will find a link to the service in each course you are taking. This link will describe the steps you need to take to set up a personal account. You only need to set up an account once, even if you use it for more than one course.

All students receive information on accessing SMARTHINKING with your registration confirmation. Once you have the login information, go to www.smarthinking.com and follow the instructions to set up a personal account.

Late Submission of Course Work Policy

All course work (including, but not limited to: assignments, labs, quizzes, exams, and final projects) must be submitted no later than the due date unless prior arrangements are made with the mentor and a new due date is established*. If a student submits an assignment after the due date without having made arrangements with the mentor, a minimum of 5 points, (based on an assignment grading scale of 100 points), will be deducted for each week, or part thereof, that the assignment is late.

Students with documented evidence of an emergency which prevented prior communication with the mentor may present documentation to the mentor for consideration.

In order to receive credit for the discussion forum assignments, the student must actively participate during the assigned discussion period.

Course work will not be accepted after the last day of the term unless arranged as part of a Course Extension.

This policy applies to undergraduate and graduate students.

*Active duty military students in receipt of Temporary Additional Duty orders (TDY) may be exempted from point deductions if their orders prescribe a return-to-class date that allows for sufficient time to complete the remaining course requirements, which is generally defined as allowing the student to miss no more than 1/3 of the total semester.

Military students with TDY orders shall follow the procedures, found on the OMVE website to establish new due dates without penalty for written assignments and discussion boards.

Grading

When your mentor receives an assignment from you, he/she will assess your learning, make comments on your assignments, offer suggestions for improvement and assign a letter or percentage grade. Keep copies of all assignments. If you are working in an online, Guided Study or nursing course, you must use the assignment link within myEdison®, the University’s online course delivery system powered by Moodle. You also will be able to communicate with your mentor through online discussions of your work. You should receive a response to your assignments within a week after submission.

Mentors will send you an examination feedback form with your grade, and they will send their final grade report to the Office of the Registrar. Final course grades are available for viewing and printing online at Online Student Services approximately two weeks after a semester ends. The University will not release grades to students by any other means. If you find errors or omissions in a Grade Report, report the error immediately — in writing — to the Office of the Registrar.

Grade Rounding Policy

Grades on course assignments and examinations which are determined by percentages involving decimals should be rounded up to the next whole number when equal to .5 or greater. When the decimal is less than .5 the grade is to be rounded down. This policy also applies to final course grades where the final course grade is determined using percentages with decimals.

Grade Appeals

If you feel the grade you receive in a course was submitted in error or was arrived at unfairly, you must address the issue in writing to the academic dean of your School. You are strongly urged to retain all graded work until you receive the correct and final grade for each course. The University will accept grade appeals only during the first 30 days after the grade is issued. Questions about grade appeals may be directed to (609) 984-1130.

Grade Definition

Grading for Guided Study (GS), online (OL), blended (BL) and nursing (NU) and (NG) courses:

Grading for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), e-Pack® (EP) courses and TECEP® examinations (TE) is credit/no credit. No grade points are assigned for CR/NC grades.

Grade Notes:

A final grade of F is assigned when:

• A student does not complete the course work and examination(s) for a course and does not request a withdrawal or extension before the course has ended; OR
• The overall average on all course work (including examinations) is below the passing level (59 or below).

A final grade of ZF is assigned by the University when:

• A student has been found to have violated an Academic Integrity policy in a course. The grade represents a failure due to the violation and as such will be included in the student's grade point average even if the student repeats* the course. The grade remains part of the student's permanent transcript.

A temporary grade of I, or "incomplete," is assigned by the University when:

• A student has completed the required course work, including the final examination, by the end of the semester, but the mentor has not yet received the final examination. Once your mentor receives your final examination and has submitted a Change of Grade to the Office of the Registrar, the final grade will be posted. This I grade is not recorded on the student’s permanent transcript.

Note: Students may not request that mentors provide an I grade, or “incomplete,” for a course. If you need additional time to complete course work or examinations, you will need to request an extension from the University. Mentors cannot give extensions without your having followed the full course extension request procedure. When no request for extension is filed, and examinations are not completed, the I converts to a grade of IF six weeks after the end of the term.

A grade of IF, or "incomplete failure," is issued six weeks after the end of a term:

• As a replacement grade for students on extensions who do not complete the work; OR
• As a replacement grade for students who are originally assigned an I grade when the University does not receive a completed examination.

A grade of NC, or “no credit,” is assigned to a TECEP^® or e-Pack^® student who does not achieve a passing score, or a PLA/portfolio course student who fails to complete the course and does not request an extension within the appropriate time frame. This grade is not recorded on the student’s permanent transcript.

To receive credit for the course, students must:

• Earn a passing average on the total of all assigned course work (e.g., examinations, assignments, discussion postings, etc.). Failure to complete and submit all assignments will negatively influence the final grade and may result in a failing grade for the course. In addition, a grade of C- or below in nursing courses is not accepted for credit toward any program in the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing. A grade of B or better is required for each course in the graduate nursing certificate programs for the credit to be applied to program requirements.

* See Policy on Course Repeat.