Academics

IX. Scholastic standing

A. Grading System:

The University Grading System uses a series of letters to which grade quality points are assigned. The Grade Point Average (GPA) is calculated according to a procedure outlined in the following section.

Grade	Quality Points
A	4
A-	3.67
B+	3.33
B	3
B-	2.67
C+	2.33
C	2
C-	1.67
D+	1.33
D	1
F	0
P	No quality points
NP	No quality points
U	No quality points
W	No quality points
I	No quality points

Grade A indicates work of excellent quality. It is valued at four quality points for each credit hour.
Grade B indicates work of good quality. It is valued at three quality points for each credit hour.
Grade C indicates a satisfactory achievement. It is valued at two quality points for each credit.
Grade D indicates the minimum passing grade, and is indicative of poor performance. It is valued at one quality point for each credit hour.
Grade F indicates an unsatisfactory performance in the course. It has zero quality points. No credit will be added to the student’s record.
Grade P indicates a passing performance in a course taken on a Pass/No Pass basis. The credits if any, will be added to the number of credits passed, but will not be included in the average. It has no quality points.
Grade NP indicates a failing performance in courses taken on a Pass/No Pass basis. No credits will be added to the student’s record, nor will the average be affected. It has no quality points.
Grade U indicates a course taken on an auditing basis. It has no quality points, and the credits will not be added to the passed credits.
Grade W indicates an official withdrawal from a course, after the Late Registration Period, and before the end of the 14th week of the Fall and Spring semesters, and before the last two teaching days of the Summer modules. It has no quality points. It does not count in the average, and no credits will be added to the student’s record. A Withdrawal Form must be submitted by the student to the Registrar’s Office.
Grade I indicates incomplete work. This grade is exceptionally given by the Instructor when a student, with a valid excuse, did not sit for the final exam, and/or did not present the final project. Students will not be entitled to an “I” grade, unless they have a passing grade of the completed material, throughout the course, and so long as they have not exceeded the allowed number of absences.
The “I” grade does not count in the average, and it adds no credits to the student’s record.
Section VIII. A-3 of this document explains how to have the grade of “I” changed to a different grade.

B. Grade Point Average (GPA):

All courses taken by a student at LAU will be included in the computation of the cumulative Grade Point Average. The Grade Point Average is the ratio of the number of points gained, to the number of credit hours attempted.

Course	Grade	Credits	Points	Total
ARA201 Arabic	D	3	1	3
BIO101 Biology	A	4	4	16
ENG102 English	C+	3	2.33	6.99
CST201 Cultural Studies	B-	3	2.67	8.01
HLT201 Basic Health	F	1	0	0
		14		34

The semester GPA = Total semester quality points/Total semester credit hours attempted.

The semester GPA for the five courses stated above would be: 34/14 = 2.42

Courses in which grades P, NP, U, W, and I have been given are not counted in computing the GPA.

C. Repeating Courses:

An Undergraduate student may repeat a course, up to two times, and will receive credit once for the course. It should be noted that a withdrawn course counts as a repeat. Students are not allowed to repeat a course in which they have earned a grade above "C+", or an Incomplete. When a course is repeated, only the highest grade earned in the course will be included when calculating the student’s cumulative, and major, GPA.
Once a student registers in a course that was transferred from another institution, this transferred course will be deleted from the transcript, and replaced by the course, and grade, taken at LAU.
Courses taken at LAU cannot be repeated at another institution, and transferred to LAU. In cases where agreements between LAU and other institutions of higher learning exist, transfers may be authorized, provided that prior approval of the courses taken has been secured.
Students are not allowed to register in any course more than three times, including withdrawals. Students unable to get a passing grade after taking the course three times will be dropped from the University, or the Program, depending on whether the course is part of the General University Requirements, or the Program Requirements. Dismissal from the university and being dropped from a program will apply only if the repeated course is required in the major, specifically named in the LAC requirements, or required as a remedial course.

D. Grades and Progress Reports:

All semester grades must be turned in to the Registrar’s Office no later than 72 hours after the particular final examination is given.
Course grades will not be changed, except in the case of an Instructor’s mistake. A change of grade will not be allowed after the lapse of one semester. The corrected grade should be processed using the Change of Grade Form.
Progress reports on weak students are to be submitted by the Instructor to the Guidance Office, no later than the eighth week of a regular semester, and the third week of a Summer module.

E. Requirements for Degrees:

Degrees are awarded three times a year, namely: at the end of the Fall semester (February 28), at the end of the Spring semester (June 30), and at the end of the Summer modules (September 30).

Students expecting to graduate must apply for graduation at the Registrar’s Office by the deadlines specified by the office.

1. Requirements for the Associate degrees:

A minimum of 62 credits, the last 30 credits of which must be completed at LAU.
Fulfillment of all the required courses in a designated curriculum leading to the A.A. or the A.A.S. Degree.
A cumulative GPA of 2.00.
A GPA of 2.00 in the major courses taken at the University, except for the Liberal Arts Program.
Students who completed course requirements for graduation but who have not acquired a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00, and/or a minimum average of 2.00, in their major courses, are allowed to enroll for a maximum of 15 credit hours, to be completed in no more than one calendar year, starting immediately following the completion of the required credits. Of these 15 credits, only courses numbered 200, and above, will be considered in the cumulative GPA, or the GPA computation. If taken for the first time, courses numbered 100 and above will count. Any such student who fails to graduate at the end of that year will be dismissed from LAU.

2. Requirements for the Certificate Program:

A minimum of 30 credits completed in a designated Program.
The credits may be counted within the requirements of another Degree.
A cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all the courses attempted in the Certificate Program.

3. Requirements for the Bachelor degrees:

Holders of the Lebanese Baccalaureate, or any official certificate equivalent to the Lebanese Baccalaureate, who are admitted to the Sophomore class, are required to complete a minimum of 92 credits, excluding Freshman-level and remedial courses.
Students entering as Freshmen: A minimum of 122 credits are required of all students entering as Freshmen. Non-Lebanese students entering as Freshmen need to complete the freshman requirements before switching to a BA/BS program. Lebanese students entering as Freshmen need to get the equivalence of the Baccalaureate, after completing the freshman requirements and before switching to a BA/BS program. Students cannot register in Sophomore level courses before completing the freshman requirements. After completing the freshman requirements, students will be considered as Sophomore students, and will be required to complete a minimum of 92 credits, excluding Freshman level and remedial courses.
Credits for Baccalaureate II Equivalence: Credits taken in a semester at the end of which the Baccalaureate II equivalence is granted, and which are in excess of the 30 credits used for the equivalence, will be counted within the credits required for the major. These extra credits should not be of Freshman level. Freshman courses taken after the Baccalaureate II Equivalence will not be counted towards graduation.
Transfer students who can obtain the Baccalaureate II Equivalence but are missing some LAU Freshman requirements will have to make up for the missing credits.
A residency of a minimum of six regular semesters at an institution of higher education, provided that the last two regular semesters, and the last 30 credits, are done at LAU.
An LAU student with a Bachelor’s Degree may work for another Bachelor’s Degree, provided he/she completes a minimum of 30 additional credits, including all the requirements for the new Degree. No two B.A. or two B.S. Degrees may be received from the same School. A graduate from outside of LAU may work towards attaining another Bachelor’s Degree, provided he/she completes all the requirements of the new major, a residency of at least two regular semesters, and at least 30 credits. Students holding a BA/BS degree who are transferring to LAU from institutions of higher learning that require a Liberal Arts core will have their Liberal Arts courses waived, except for the English requirements where LAU regulations shall apply. The School of Arts & Sciences will decide with regard to the Liberal Arts courses of BA/BS students transferring from other institutions whose curriculum does not include a Liberal Arts core.
Students who hold a Bachelor’s Degree may earn an Associate Degree in another major, by completing the requirements for that major.
A minimum of 36 credits in a major, plus any additional courses required by the major.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 is required in all the courses taken at the University. Transfer students will be given credit for all the transferable courses. Only courses taken at LAU will be counted in the students’ GPA.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in the major courses is required.
For transfer students, 50% of the credits corresponding to the required major must be completed at LAU.
Students expecting to graduate are required to submit an application for graduation one semester prior to the graduation date, according to the deadlines set by the Registrar’s Office.
Students who completed their course requirements for graduation, but who have not acquired a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00, and/or a minimum average of 2.00 in their Major courses, are allowed to enroll for a maximum of 21 credit hours, to be completed in no more than one calendar year, starting immediately following the completion of the required credits. Of these 21 credits, only courses numbered 300 and above will be considered in the cumulative GPA, or GPA, computation. If taken for the first time, courses numbered 200 and above will count. Any such student who fails to graduate, at the end of that year, will be dismissed from LAU.
Special rules pertaining to specific programs may apply and are listed under the program requirements in the Academic Catalog.

4. Requirements for a Minor

Students can work for a Minor by completing, with a minimum GPA of 2.00, the Minor requirements. These requirements should be completed before a student earns his/her Bachelor’s Degree. No more than nine credits of transferable courses may be counted towards a Minor.

A student should declare at the Registrar’s Office the minor he/she is pursuing as soon as possible, but no later than the deadline for the Application for Graduation (Clearance). The courses required for the minor at the time a student declares it shall apply. All the special cases will be handled by the School where the minor is offered.

5. Requirements for the Teaching Diploma

A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 must be achieved in the courses required for the Teaching Diploma. The Teaching Diploma is granted upon completion of 21 required credits beyond a BS or a BA Degree. No more than six credits of transferable courses may be counted towards the Teaching Diploma. Education courses counted in granting a Minor in Education may be counted toward the Teaching Diploma, only if it is not counted toward the Bachelor’s degree.

F. Academic Recognition:

Students who complete at least 12 credit hours in a semester (not including Summer), with a GPA in the range of 3.20 and 3.49, are placed on the Honor List. If the GPA is in the range of 3.50 and 4.00, they are placed on the Distinguished List. The above applies, provided the students have no incomplete grades, nor is their cumulative GPA below 2.00. Courses taken on a Pass/No Pass basis are not considered among the 12 credit hours.
Degrees are awarded with Honors, Distinction, and High Distinction, with a cumulative GPA in the range of 3.20-3.49, 3.50-3.79, and 3.80-4.00, respectively.

G. Academic Probation:

Students are placed on Probation when their work has dropped below satisfactory levels, at any time, irrespective of Incomplete grades, or Withdrawals.

Students taking Intensive English courses are not subject to the normal probation rules. Students may not stay in Intensive English courses more than a total of two semesters and one Summer, after which they leave the University. They can come back only after passing the EEE or TOEFL.

A student on Probation is advised to repeat courses in which he/she received a grade of “F” or “D”, as soon as possible, and may not carry more than 13 credits in a semester.

A student is placed on Probation under one or more of the following conditions:

Students will not be placed on Probation until they have 20, or more, credits counted in the cumulative GPA.
If, at the end of any academic term, a student does not achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all the work done at the University, he/she will be placed on Probation.
If, after completing 12 credits in his/her major, a student’s average in the major courses is less than 2.00, he/she will be placed on Divisional/ Departmental Probation, and will be advised to change their major.