Chapter 5: Academic Information

Engineering Honor Code

The Engineering Honor Code is a long-standing Santa Clara tradition; instituted at the request of engineering students, it states: All students taking courses in the School of Engineering agree, individually and collectively, that they will not give or receive unpermitted aid in examinations or other coursework that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of grading. Students and teachers cooperate and share responsibilities under the code. Teachers are responsible for making clear what aid is permissible and for using procedures that minimize temptations to violate the code. Students are responsible for behaving honorably, for actively ensuring that others, as well as themselves, uphold the code, and for being responsive to violations. Information on faculty or student reporting of violations can be found on the university academic integrity web resources at https://www.scu.edu/academic-integrity.

Classes

Classes are taught in the following time slots: 7:10-9:00 a.m., 5:10-7:00 p.m., and 7:10-9:00 p.m., Monday through Friday with some Saturday and/or Sunday offerings; two-unit courses meet one day per week, and four-unit courses meet two days per week. All students are expected to attend the first class meeting of the quarter. Failure to do so can result in an administrative withdrawal from the course by the professor during the first week of the quarter.

Standards of Scholarship

Only courses in which the student has earned assigned grades of C- or higher may be counted for the Master’s, Engineer’s or Ph.D. degree. The student must earn a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) overall and a minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA) in their major of the approved minimum 46 units required for the completion of the M.S. or Engineer's degree or the approved minimum 72 units required for the Ph.D. degree. Only credits, not grade points, are transferred from other institutions.

Students who have not met the minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA overall for two consecutive active quarters are eligible for dismissal. The student’s advisor and Department Chair will be notified about their GPA status by email. The decision to be dismissed from the program will be based on a departmental vote, which will be conducted at the request of the advisor and/or Department Chair, and with approval from the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. Students who have been dismissed from the program can appeal to the Department Chair, and subsequently to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

Grading System

The grades A, B, C, and D may be modified by (+) or (-) suffixes, except that the grade of A may not be modified by a (+). Grade point values per unit are assigned as follows: A = 4.0; A- = 3.7; B+ = 3.3; B = 3.0; B- = 2.7; C+ = 2.3; C = 2; C- = 1.7; D+ = 1.3; D = 1.0; D- = 0.7. F= 0. I (incomplete), P (pass), NP (no pass), NS (no show) and W (withdrawn) are all assigned zero points. Unit credit, but not grade point credit, is awarded when the grade of P is assigned.

The University also uses the following marks: AUD (audit), I (incomplete), and N (continuing work), No unit credit or grade point value is granted for any of these marks.

Non-graded Courses

Courses such as seminars (with the exception of COEN 400 and ELEN 200), are limited to a total of four units and must be approved by the student’s advisor.

Incomplete Grades

A student’s work may be reported incomplete if, due to illness or other serious circumstance, some essential portion of the coursework remains unfinished after the final examination, or if the thesis has not been completed. An incomplete (I) becomes a failure (F) unless the unfinished work is completed to the satisfaction of the instructor and proper notice is filed with the Office of the Registrar within four weeks from the beginning of the next scheduled quarter, not including summer session. Makeup work must be in the hands of the instructor no later than the end of the third week so that the instructor can meet the four-week submission deadline. An N grade for a thesis course indicates continuing work. A final grade must be submitted before graduation.

Change of Grade

Only the faculty member responsible for a course may assign grades. All grades become final when they have been assigned and reported to the Office of the Registrar. A faculty member may report a correction of a final grade to the Office of the Registrar only if a clerical or procedural error was made in assigning, transmitting, or recording the original grade. A grade may not be changed as a result of re-evaluation, re-examination, or the submission of additional work after the term ends. Any grade change must have the approval of the department chair and the associate dean of the student’s school or college. No grade may be changed after one year.

Auditing Courses

A student may take courses with a grading basis of “audit” but the following should be kept in mind:

• The current graduate tuition rate of $1,160.00 per unit + the $190.00 Design Center and Student Association engineering fee will be charged.
• No grade points or credit will be earned so the class cannot be counted toward the completion of a certificate, M.S, Engineer’s or Ph.D. degree.
• A student will need to register for the class, then send an email to the Director of Records requesting the grading basis be changed to “Audit”:
• The last day to request to audit a course is at the end of the first week of the quarter.

Alumni students can request to audit a course with a reduced tuition fee. Students will need to apply to the Open University program and must meet the application deadline to apply for an audit. Please contact the Director of Records for the alumni audit form. Alumni students must meet the application deadlines listed on our graduate engineering admissions website to apply for an audit.

Repeating Courses

A student may, with the permission of the department, repeat a course in which a grade of D+ or lower was received on the first attempt. All grades, whether received on the first or second attempt, will be used in computing overall student performance. The units from a course may be counted only once in fulfilling graduation requirements.

Withdrawal from Courses

Students may change their course registration as stated in the Academic Calendar. Withdrawal from any course may be accomplished up to the 7th Friday of the term. After the fourth week of the quarter, a withdrawal will be recorded as W on the transcript. After the tenth Friday, an emergency that qualifies may be handled as an incomplete (I). Dropping a course without a formal withdrawal will result in a grade of F. Deadlines are strictly adhered to. There is no tuition refund when a student withdraws from a course if the withdrawal occurs after the tuition refund deadlines listed in the academic calendar. International Students with an F-1 Visa should check with the Global Engagement Office to confirm if they are eligible to drop a course.

Program of Studies

During the first quarter of enrollment, a student in the M.S. degree program is required to meet with a faculty advisor to complete a Program of Studies (POS) form. Here are assigned advisors for the following departments

• Aerospace Engineering-Mohammad Ayoubi and Chris Kitts (Program Advisors)
• Applied Mathematics-Aaron Melman (Department Chair)
• Bioengineering-Please contact the department for available advisors.
• Civil Engineering-Please contact the department for available advisors.
• Computer Science and Engineering-The CSE department will email your advisor information by the end of the first week of the quarter. Also, you can contact the CSE peer advisor at coenpeeradvisors@scu.edu
• Electrical and Computer Engineering-Please contact the department for available advisors.
• Engineering Management and Leadership-Paul Semenza (Department Chair)
• Mechanical Engineering-Please contact the department for available advisors.
• Power Systems and Sustainable Energy-Maryam Khanabaghi (Program Advisor)
• Robotics and Automation-Christopher Kitts (Program Advisor)

The POS must include all planned courses, units and any transfer credit approved by the department. The POS must be signed by the advisor and submitted to the Graduate Engineering Programs Office before the end of the first quarter of enrollment. Failure to submit a new POS will result in a registration hold. Variations from the approved Program of Studies may be made by submitting an updated POS form with the advisor’s signature to the Graduate Engineering Programs Office. The final POS form signed by the advisor must include all units and transfer credits, and must be submitted during the student’s final quarter for graduation.

Courses Transferred from Santa Clara University

With the approval of their academic advisor, M.S. Students who have an undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University can transfer up to 12 units of eligible graduate level coursework into their program with the following constraints.

• Only those courses completed with a B grade or better will be eligible for transfer.
• The units cannot be transferred if they have been used for another degree.
• Since these courses were taken at SCU, the grades will count toward the overall grade point average.

Courses Transferred from Other Institutions

All M.S. students have the option to transfer a maximum of 6 semester or 9 quarter units of graduate level coursework from an accredited institution into their degree program with their advisor’s approval if the conditions below are met. All Ph.D. students have the option to transfer a maximum of 12 semester or 18 quarter units of graduate level coursework from an accredited institution into their degree program with their advisor’s approval if the conditions listed below are met.

• The credits were completed by the student with a B grade or better.
• The credits were earned in an incomplete graduate program prior to application to the SCU Master’s or Ph.D. program, but no more than 6 years prior to application.
• The credits were not used to earn another degree
• The units were not earned for extension, continuing education or online courses

Please keep the following in mind when transferring the units:

• Only the credit will transfer, but not grades; the overall grade point average will be based only on coursework completed at Santa Clara University.
• An official transcript and course syllabus are required for verification of the units by the student’s advisor and Graduate Engineering Programs Office.
• In order to transfer units into a degree program, please follow this procedure:
  • Include the units you wish to transfer in the “Transfer Credit” section of the Program of Studies form and include the Institution Name, Course Number and Title, Grade, Units*, Year and (if applicable) the SCU equivalent course. If no equivalent course is listed, the transfer credit will be processed as general transfer credit (TRCR 300).

*Note that 1 semester unit is equivalent to 1.5 quarter units. Please put the quarter unit value on the Program of Studies so that the final total will be correct.

• The student’s academic advisor must sign the Program of Studies form
• The Program of Study form must be submitted to the Graduate Engineering Programs Office by the end of the student’s first quarter. A registration hold will be placed on the student’s account if the Graduate Programs Office does not receive the POS form.

Petition for Graduation

It is a student’s responsibility to file an online petition to graduate by the deadline listed in the Academic Calendar. The petition to graduate is submitted in the student Workday Portal. All graduating students must submit a final Program of Study form and enroll in at least one unit during their final quarter. M.S, students are expected to graduate when they have completed the minimum 46 or maximum 51 units.

Cooperative Education Option

The objective of cooperative education is to provide students with the opportunity, through the interaction of study and work experience, to enhance their academic knowledge, to further their personal work experience, and to learn about working with people. The Cooperative Education option integrates classroom work with practical industrial experience. It alternates or parallels periods of college education with periods of practical training in industry. The industrial training is related to the field of study in which the student is engaged and often is diversified to afford a wide range of experience. To qualify for this study option, students must complete at least 24 graduate level units at Santa Clara University. Please note that COEN 900 level courses and transfer credit do not count toward the 24 graduate level unit requirement.

Students who wish to pursue this option through curricular practical training (CPT) must enroll in ENGR 288. This class is a prerequisite for ENGR 289 (M.S. student) and ENGR 389 (Ph.D. student), and must be taken before you begin an internship. To be eligible to enroll in ENGR 288 students must complete at least 16 units of graduate level courses by the end of their second quarter at SCU or demonstrate that they will complete 24 units of graduate-level coursework by the end of their third quarter with department chair approval. Note: that transfer credits do not count toward the 24 graduate level unit requirement. MS students who plan to start (or continue) their CPT after they have taken ENGR 288 must enroll in ENGR 289 (which is allowed for credit up to three times).** With the approval of their advisor, Ph.D. students who have passed their comprehensive exam and plan to start (or continue) their CPT after they have taken ENGR 288 must enroll in ENGR 389 (which is allowed for credit up to three times) ***Students who were authorized for CPT but did not receive a passing grade in ENGR 288 ,289 or 389 will not be eligible for future CPT authorization since they did not complete the academic requirements associated with their internship.

Concurrent Enrollment

Concurrent Enrollment means that a student is enrolled in two places at the same time. An international student at Santa Clara University may be given permission to engage in Concurrent Enrollment provided the student meets the following USCIS requirements:

• Combined enrollment amounts to a full course of study
• The student has been granted permission from a faculty advisor to enroll at another college (advisor must sign Concurrent Enrollment Form)
• Must receive written approval from DSO at International Student Services
• The student is making normal progress at Santa Clara and is not in danger of probation or disqualification
• Any NON-vocational coursework from the other school will be accepted for fulfilling degree requirements at SCU

For more information, please refer to the International Student Services Office website: www.scu.edu/globalengagement/international-students

Non-enrollment Period

Students in the Master’s, Engineer’s and Ph.D. program are expected to enroll in at least one unit for the fall, winter and spring quarters. Those students who do not wish to enroll must submit a leave of absence or withdrawal request in their Workday Student Portal. Leave of absence or withdrawal forms must be submitted by the end of the first week of the quarter. Please note the return request is not guaranteed.

Maximum Time Allowed for Degree or Certificate Completion

M.S. and Engineer’s degree students are required to complete their degree within six years from their original admit term date. The six-year time frame includes quarters during which a student was not enrolled. Ph.D. students are required to complete their degree within eight years from their original admit term date. The eight-year time frame includes quarters during which a student was not enrolled. Certificate students are required to complete their certificate within two years from their original admit term date.

Withdrawal from the University

Withdrawal from the University is not officially complete until students clear all of their financial obligations with the Bursar’s Office. Students on deferments or a Federal Perkins Loan must also clear their financial obligations with the Credit Counseling Office.

Note that students who miss a quarter and fail to contact the Graduate Programs Office will be automatically discontinued as a no-show status. This is the same procedure for students who took a leave of absence or withdrew from the program