Chapter 6

Courses

6.1 Student Records

6.1.1 Grading Procedures

(Approved: November 16, 1994) (Amended March 25, 1998)

A student's performance will be evaluated by giving a grade shown on Table 6.1. Student's total quality point rating, herein referred to as TQPR, is calculated as:

See Table 6.1

This score is based only on graded courses taken at NPS. The graduate QPR, GQPR, is defined to be the QPR constructed from courses numbered 3000 and above. CQPR is a QPR which is constructed from courses taken as part of the student's designated curriculum.

Course hour value is defined as the scheduled number of weekly lecture hours plus one-half of the scheduled number of laboratory hours. Courses which do not follow the lecture/laboratory framework shall have hour-equivalent course hours designated.

The grades of "P'' and "F'' are intended for use in courses of such a nature that it is difficult to establish reference levels for the award of traditional grades. Courses often subject to this difficulty include seminars, directed study, and experimental courses.

Courses may be listed as pass/fail only after a petition for such a designation is approved by the Council.

A student in a degree program who wishes to take courses not in his or her normal program may also elect to take them in the Pass/Fail mode. Approval must be granted by the student's cognizant Program Officer and Department Chairman. It is the responsibility of the student to exercise the P/F option by informing the instructor in writing at the time of enrollment that a P/F grade is desired. A copy of the approval request shall be forwarded to the Registrar. Students electing to receive the P/F grade in letter graded courses may not apply the hours toward the degree and curriculum requirements of any program.

Table 6. 1 Quality Points and Letter Grades

6.1.2 Course Credit for Master's Thesis Work

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

Credit hours of 0 lectures, 8 laboratories (0-8) will be granted for each thesis slot registered for provided it is on the student's course matrix. Thesis credit shall be graded pass/fail, thus it is not used in computation of the student's QPRs.

6.2 Registration for Courses

(Approved: April 13, 1994)

Each student must be registered in each course in which he/she is a candidate for credit. Registration must take place not later than the end of the second week of the quarter. No student will receive credit for a course unless registration in that course has been approved by one of the following:

1. the student's Program Officer or Academic Associate;
2. the chair of the student's dissertation committee (departmental Ph.D. Committee prior to naming of a dissertation committee);
3. the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

6.3 Course Designators

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

Courses offered at NPS are designated with a six-symbol code, concatenating

1. a two-letter code for the course subject;
2. a four-character code designating the course, the leading character of which designates the level of the course.

Courses are designated by level as in table 6.2.

Table 6. 2 Course Designators and Levels

6.4 Auditing Courses

(Approved: April 13, 1994)

Eligible persons will be allowed to audit courses on a space-available basis with the approval of the professor teaching the course. When approval is obtained to audit, students may attend classes, but they have no entitlement to submit papers, questions, or tests for grading nor consume the instructor's time outside of class. Auditors will receive no grade for the course, no credit toward graduation, and no formal recognition of accomplishment for courses they have audited.

6.5 Course Enrollment Limitations

(Approved: April 13, 1994)

Without special permission, a student may enroll for no more than 17 total credit hours or more than four 3000-level and/or 4000-level courses per quarter.

A student may enroll in more than 17 and less than 21 total credit hours only with explicit permission of the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, and for more than 21 hours only with explicit permission of the Provost.

If an established degree program's course matrix includes a quarter with more than 17 hours, the students in the program need not apply for a course enrollment limitation waiver. This limit is automatically waived in these cases.

6.6 Special Situations

6.6.1 Credit by Examination

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

The award of credit solely on the basis of examination for any 1000- or 2000-level course is permissible. Grades for such courses shall be awarded on a pass/fail basis.

6.6.2 Validation

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

A student with the appropriate background may validate a course that is required for his/her curriculum. Validation will allow the student to omit that course from the program of study. However, no credit will be granted for a course that has been validated. The basic purpose of course validation is to make optimal use of the student's time at the Naval Postgraduate School. Every validation must be justified by documented evidence of prior work in the area of the course to be validated.

The validation of a course must be approved in writing by the Chair of the Department offering the course or by someone designated in writing by the chair to act for him/her in this regard. Specific criteria for validation e. g., review of the student's transcripts or examination on the material of the course) are left to the discretion of the cognizant Department Chair.

After validating one or more courses, it is permissible for a student to complete his or her program in less than the maximum time allowed, to include additional elective courses in the program, or to devote additional time to thesis research with the concurrence of the thesis advisor.

6.6.3 Transferring Credit

(Approved: November 16, 1994) (Amended January 17, 2007)

Course Transfers within NPS

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

When a student changes curricular programs, credit towards graduation for courses taken as part of the former program will be granted, provided that the courses could be counted towards graduation in the new program and that all courses pertinent to the new program are transferred.

The curricular office will initiate the request and initial approval of transfer course hour credits must be given by the Chair of the Department, or his agent, responsible for the new program. Final approval of transfer course hour credits shall be given by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

Course Transfers from Another Institution

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

Courses completed at another accredited institution with a grade of "C" or better may be considered for credit toward a baccalaureate degree at the Naval Postgraduate School. Such course hour credits must be acceptable as applying directly to meeting degree requirements or as being appropriate electives. A maximum of 108 quarter-hours of transfer credit may be allowed of which, at most, 18 quarter-hours will be accepted as upper division course hour credits. Not more than 90 quarter-hours will be transferred from a junior college; such course hour credits will be accepted as 1000 level course hour credits.

Appropriate courses taken at another accredited institution with a grade of ``B'' or better after receipt of a baccalaureate degree may be considered for transfer for credit toward a graduate degree at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Graduate credit for courses completed more than three years prior to entry into residence on campus will not be awarded on the basis of transcripts alone. Credit for such courses can be granted upon successful passage of a departmental examination. This procedure is distinct from course validation, where no course credit is granted.

1. Courses taken at another accredited institution before receipt of an undergraduate degree may be considered for transfer for credit toward a graduate degree provided: The courses are the equivalent of courses numbered 3000 and above at the Naval Postgraduate School.
2. The courses proposed for transfer are not necessary to meet the bachelor's degree requirements.
3. The student has earned a ``B'' grade of better in such courses.

No more than a total of 12 quarter-hours of graduate credit may be transferred. Approval of transfer credits shall be given by the Academic Council upon the recommendation of the Department Chair. Transfer credits based on courses completed at another institution shall not be used in computation of quality point rating.

A special dispensation exists for students in the Cooperative NPS/Test Pilot School program of the Master of Aeronautical Engineering degree. Students in this program may transfer 12 hours of 4000-level credit upon graduation from the Test Pilot School phase of the program. Students whose course of study includes programs at the Test Pilot School and NPS also eligible for this benefit.

6.6.4 Withdrawal from a Course

(Approved: November 16, 1994) (Amended January 17, 2007)

Each student will receive a grade in every course in which the student is registered. If a student drops a course after registering in it, the mark will be ``W'' if the professor considers that the student was passing at the time of withdrawal, and ``X'' if the student was failing. A mark of ``W'' will not have any effect on the student's scholastic standing. A grade of ``W'' may not be assigned after the end of the eighth week of a quarter.

6.6.5 Repeating Courses to Improve Grades

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

Students may retake a course to improve their grade in that course. The repetition must be taken at the Naval Postgraduate School and is subject to the approval of the Program Officer, Academic Associate, and the department Chair concerned. The Registrar is to be notified at the beginning of the retaken course via a memo from the student. For the purpose of records, both the original and the repeated courses are to be shown on the student's academic transcript. For the purpose of computing QPRs, the credit hours of the course shall be counted once, using the grade received from the most recent time that the student enrolled in the course.

6.6.6 Incomplete Courses

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

Students who are enrolled in a course but do not complete all of the assignments or the final examination may, at the discretion of the instructor, be granted a grade of incomplete, "I."

A grade of incomplete is removed by the instructor when all requirements are satisfied. The instructor notifies the registrar of the course grade at this time. If the incomplete is not resolved within one quarter, it transforms into a failing grade of "X."

6.6.7 Extended Absences

(Approved: November 16, 1994)

The academic record of a student may be deleted completely for a given term when he/she is absent for a portion of the term for medical reasons, military duties, family tragedy, or other extenuating circumstances. The transcript will show "Excused for the term.'' Such excusals shall be requested by the Program Officer and approved by the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.