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Academic Standards

Academic Year

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College course credits are measured in semester credit hours. The undergraduate academic year is comprised of two 16-week semesters (beginning in August and January) and one 8-week summer term. Woods Online utilizes 8-week and 16-week modules, with several starting points throughout the calendar year.

Classification of Students

A student’s academic classification is based on the total credits earned toward a degree at the College as shown on the transcript. These credits include institutional hours, transfer courses and other college credit.

Freshman 0 - 29 credit hours Sophomore 30 - 59 credit hours
Junior 60-89 credit hours Senior 90 or more credit hours

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Definition of Credit Hour

For purposes of the application of this policy and in accord with federal regulations, 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:

  1. Lecture classes: Not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours out of class student work each week for approximately sixteen weeks for one semester or the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time.
  2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required outlined in item #1 above for other academic activities including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.
    1. Laboratory classes: For a laboratory class, the hours per week are considered to be all in class with no outside assignments. One unit is two to three hours per week of laboratory time.
    2. Internships and Practica: For each credit hour of internship or practicum, a minimum of 45 hours of on-site work is completed.
    3. Studio Experiences: One hour of instruction and a minimum of five hours outside of class rehearsing per one credit hour.

Enrollment Status

A student who is enrolled in at least 12 credit hours is classified as a full-time student. Students enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours are classified as part-time students:

9 - 11 credit hours 3/4 time enrollment
6 - 8 credit hours 1/2 time enrollment
< 6 credit hours < 1/2 time enrollment

Students enrolling in fewer than 6 credit hours are typically not eligible for financial aid. For a student who begins with no transfer credit and plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in four years, the normal average course load is 32 credit hours per year (16 credit hours per semester).

Grading System

A 4.0 (Superior)
A- 3.7
B+ 3.4
B 3.0 (Good)
B- 2.7
C+ 2.4
C 2.0 (Average)
C- 1.7
D+ 1.4
D 1.0 (Poor, but passed)
F 0.0 (Failure)
P Pass (ungraded)
I Incomplete
AU Audit (no credit)
W Withdrawal
R Retake

Incomplete Grades

A student with a documented reason for not finishing course requirements on schedule may request an extension to complete the course. A course extension will be a total of thirty (30) calendar days after the last day of the semester. An incomplete fee will be charged per credit hour ($35/per credit hour). The request must be made to the instructor and then to the Office of Academic Affairs in writing, with documentation (i.e. medical documents, letter from treating professional, obituary, etc.), before the end of the course. Requests made after the end of the term or semester will not be considered. The student must have completed at least sixty (60) percent of the course work. The instructor has the right to approve or deny the extension based on the incomplete criteria. The final extension approval or denial will be given by the Academic Affairs Office and communicated to the student and instructor.

Grade Appeal Policy

A student who believes that a grade awarded is in error may appeal that grade through the following procedure.

  1. The student must first exhaust all possibilities for resolution of the problem through discussion, dialogue and written communication with the faculty member.
  2. If the student is unable to resolve the problem by these efforts, the student may appeal to the chair of the department in which the course is offered. If the dispute involves the department chair, the student should direct the appeal to the Office of Academic Affairs. The appeal consists of a letter clearly describing the grounds for the appeal, together with unaltered copies of the relevant examinations or assignments. If the dispute involves a grade for an entire course, the appeal must be delivered to the program Director (or Office of Academic Affairs) within one month after the course grade is posted in the Office of the Registrar. If the dispute concerns a grade for work done within a course, the appeal must be delivered within one month after the student receives the grade.
  3. The department chair (or Office of Academic Affairs) shall notify the faculty member of the appeal and shall seek to mediate the dispute.
  4. If mediation is unsuccessful, the student may request a second reading of examination or assignments. In this case, the department chair may ask another faculty member whom she or he deems qualified to evaluate the work in question. The second reader will submit an evaluation to the department chair (or Office of Academic Affairs), who will decide the grade. The decision may be to raise the grade, let the original grade stand or to lower the grade.
  5. A department chair who receives a grade appeal shall notify the Office of Academic Affairs of the dispute and of the chair’s decision.
  6. If the dispute involves work done within a course, the decision of the department chair is final. If the dispute involves a grade for an entire course, the student may further appeal to the Office of Academic Affairs within 30 days. In this case, the decision of the Office of Academic Affairs is final.
  7. In all cases, the Office of Academic Affairs will be responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar of any changes in course grades resulting from the grade appeal.

Student Complaints

In the course of admission or enrollment, a student may have a formal problem, complaint, grievance or issue that needs resolution. The definition of a formal complaint is a complaint directed to senior administrative representatives of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College about the institution and/or its operation that students wish to have formally resolved. Faculty, staff and administrators are committed to helping resolve such situations. The student should first bring any problem directly to the person(s) involved to communicate concerns and attempt to find an acceptable solution. If a resolution cannot be reached, the student should proceed to the student consumer complaint section of the College website: http://www.smwc.edu/student-consumer-information/student-consumer-feedback

By filing electronically, the student is assured that the issue will be acknowledged, tracked and directed to a department chair, and/or director of the program in which the student is enrolled. If the outcome is still not satisfactory, the student may appeal to the Office of Academic Affairs, using the online complaint process. If a resolution is still not reached, the student may petition the President of the College for a hearing before a special board.

Proceeding through these steps is likely to resolve the problem. If not, the student may address complaints to the College’s accreditor (Higher Learning Commission), to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (for students living in Indiana or in states that belong to SARA), to the department of higher education in the student’s home state, and if using military-related Tuition Assistance (TA) to the DoD Postsecondary Education Complaint System. Additional information and links are provided on the College website.

This complaint policy is not a substitute for the College’s policies on harassment, academic freedom, FERPA or academic policies and standards (such as grade appeals).

Academic Integrity Policy

In the rigorous pursuit of academic excellence in all formats (undergraduate, online and graduate), all members of the SMWC community must abide by relationships based on mutual esteem, trust, sincerity, faith and responsibility. Saint Mary of the Woods College embodies a spirit of student-centered academic innovation, faith and leadership to transform ourselves, our communities and our world. As an academic community we strive to advance the knowledge of our students pursing truth. This is directly related to the SMWC motto: Vitus cum Scientia translated as Virtue with Knowledge Unite. Academic honesty must be one of our most cherished values and any form of academic dishonesty or misconduct is to be considered a most serious offense.

To that end, our students will develop their intellectual, ethical and social dimensions of their character while abiding by the Academic Integrity policy. This policy is reinforced by expecting all members of SMWC to uphold the Academic Integrity Policy; refraining from any form of academic misconduct or dishonesty. This obligation applies to themselves, to their peers and to the institution to uphold all instances of integrity at SMWC.

Academic Integrity Violation Definitions

Cheating including but not limited to, using “cheat sheets”, accessing formulas or notes that have been stored on phones or other technology, copying from peers, receiving or giving help on papers, experiments, reports, compositions, projects or examinations, looking at another student’s paper during a test, or obtaining a copy of the test prior to the test date.

Inappropriate Collaboration working with another on an assignment without express permission from the instructor.

Fabrication is the falsification or invention of information or data in reports, lab results, bibliographies, clinicals or any other academic undertaking.

Facilitating Academic Dishonesty involves assisting someone in an act of dishonesty, such as giving someone a paper or homework to copy from or allowing someone to cheat from your test paper.

Interference includes the theft, alteration, destruction, or obstruction of another student’s work. Interference may take the form of theft, defacement or destruction of resources so as to deprive other students of information.

Multiple Submission is submitting work you have done in previous classes as if it were new and original work, without express permission of the instructor.

Plagiarism is the fraudulent misrepresentation of any part of another person’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism ranges from copying someone else’s work word for word, to rewriting someone else’s work with only minor word changes, to summarizing work without acknowledging the source. Any unacknowledged use of sources, misuse of sources or use of sources to which one is indebted including but not limited to, music, video, audio, theatre projects, compositions, website and computer software constitutes plagiarism.

The requirements of academic integrity also extend to academic activities involving computers and networks and unethical/unprofessional conduct specific to academic programs.

Electronic Dishonesty is using network access inappropriately, in a way that affects a class or other students’ academic work. Examples of electronic dishonesty include using someone else’s authorized computer account to send and receive messages, breaking into someone else’s files, gaining access to restricted files, disabling others’ access to network systems or files, knowingly spreading a computer virus or obtaining a computer account under false pretenses.

Sources: used with permission of Butler University and Hanover College

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of academic integrity violations. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College reserves the right to investigate and determine other infractions to the Academic Integrity Policy as they are presented.

Reporting Process

The following information must be reported to the Academic Affairs Office when an instructor is reporting an offense to the Academic Integrity Policy:

  • The course number, date and time of the alleged infraction.
  • The instructor's charge against the student.
  • A completed Academic Integrity Violation Report.

Upon receiving the completed report and supporting documentation from the instructor, the Academic Affairs Office will review the information. The student shall be contacted to discuss the allegation and determine their position. If the student acknowledges the infringement a decision will be rendered on the charge and appropriate sanctions will be determined.

A student cannot avoid a sanction by withdrawing from the course and is not permitted to withdraw from a course while the allegation is under investigation. If a student does not wish to respond with additional information to the charge against them, the process will move forward. After reviewing all of the evidence and hearing responses from the instructor and student, a decision will be rendered on the charge and appropriate sanctions will be determined.

If the student disagrees with the charges against them, the Academic Integrity Committee will review documentation, interview the student/s and the instructor before rendering a decision. If the decision finds the student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy, appropriate sanctions will be determined by the committee. The following documents will be required by the instructor for The Committee to review:

  • A copy of the course syllabus.
  • Include any supporting documentation for the charge (Turnitin.com report or others).
  • Statements from other students should be included if applicable.
  • Copies of any written communications between the instructor and student that would pertain to the incident.

If a student chooses to appeal the decision of the Academic Integrity Committee, the Vice President of Academic Affairs must receive the appeal in writing within 5 days of the original decision. The final decision of the institution is with the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Sanctions

The first offense of a violation to the Academic Integrity Policy is usually a zero for the assignment, but could be more severe depending on the circumstances. A subsequent violation could be a zero on assignments or failure of a course. Any additional infractions could easily result in suspension or dismissal from the college.