Select Page

Policies of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Academic Amnesty Policy

Under this policy prior grades may be excluded from the computation of a student’s official cumulative grade point average.

  1. (a) Transfer, re-entry, or transfer re-entry students seeking admission or readmission to UW Oshkosh who have not earned a baccalaureate degree may be eligible for exclusion of grades, not credits or courses, earned five or more years prior to their current term of admission as a degree seeking student. This policy does not apply to graduate programs.
    (b) If a student is not eligible for admission to the University with her/his incoming GPA, the student may make a formal written application to an Admissions Standards Consideration Team (ASCT) to invoke Academic Amnesty. The ASCT consists of a faculty member, an admissions officer, an academic advisor, and a Dean. The student needs to provide reasons for previous performance and information about current educational plans. The ASCT will assess the student’s record and application and consult with the student to determine the best course of action.
  2. Students who are admissible to the University are eligible to apply for application of this policy no later than the end of their first semester at UW Oshkosh.
  3. A student can apply for and receive Academic Amnesty only once. The decision of the ASCT is final. There is no appeal process.
  4. If Academic Amnesty is granted, all courses and grades taken during an identified academic term(s) five years before admission/readmission will continue to appear on the student’s record. If multiple terms are included in the granting of Academic Amnesty, the terms must be continuous. If granted, the grades of all classes in that term(s) will be excluded in the official GPA.The computation of the student’s official cumulative GPA will not include the excluded grades. Credit hours earned with a 1.0 (D) or better may be used to satisfy degree requirements, even though they are not included in the student’s official GPA. Academic Amnesty does not adjust the GPA and number of credits attempted and counted toward Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid.
  5. Academic Amnesty applies to admission to the University, not to particular programs. The colleges retain ultimate authority to determine admission to the college. Likewise, colleges retain the right to limit the number of repeated courses. If, after the successful granting of an Academic Amnesty application, a student achieves eligibility for admission to a program, a college cannot reject that student’s eligibility for admission.
  6. All other University policies (for example, UWO Repeat Policy) remain in effect and are not changed by the Academic Amnesty policy. Only the official GPA will be considered for eligibility for graduation honors.

*At the time of implementation of this proposal, currently enrolled students who wish to apply for amnesty on grades earned five or more years prior to their current admission as a degree-seeking student will have up to 2 semesters after the effective date of the implementation of the Academic Amnesty Proposal to be considered. This is a one-time-only opportunity for students enrolled at the time of implementation of this proposal. Current students have until the end of the Spring 2006 term to appeal for amnesty. Amnesty will not be reflected until the Fall 2005 semester (September 7, 2005).

Academic Amnesty Application

Class Attendance Policy

While attendance and punctuality are under the control of each instructor, students are expected to be present for each scheduled class session.

(1) Students are directly responsible to each of their instructors for attendance in each regularly scheduled class.

(2) Instructors may initiate their own policy regarding attendance; if an instructor teaches more than one section of a course, the same policy should be used for all sections.

(3) Instructors are expected to announce their attendance policy to each class, but it is the responsibility of the student to know the policies of the instructor.

(4) Students are excused from class for participation in all-University events [GEN 4.B.10 (1)(b)] and for circumstances beyond the students’ control including, but not limited to medical or family emergencies (medical care for pregnancy, illness, child care issues, death or serious health problem of family member), court appearance, required military service not to exceed two (2) weeks unless special permission is granted by the instructor or chair, jury duty, etc. Students are responsible for notifying the instructor for circumstances less than two (2) weeks as far in advance as possible and may not be penalized for such absences as long as appropriate documentation is provided in a timely fashion to the instructor to verify the reason for the absence. The instructor is responsible for providing reasonable accommodation or opportunities to make up course obligations that have an impact on the course grade.

Instructors may choose not to request documentation for such absences. If they do request it, appropriate documentation includes such things as signed, stamped, initialed, etc., documentation from a health care provider stating the student or family member was under his/her care, originals or copies of a funeral program or obituary, etc. Students may not be required to provide documentation describing the nature of the student’s or family member’s medical condition.

Documentation shall be considered timely if provided within 14 days of the absence, unless circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent her/him from providing the information within the required period.

Requests for documentation should be restricted to information that can be readily obtained and is not unacceptably intrusive. It is expected that reasonable requests to make up exams and assignments will be accommodated.

(5) If students must be absent to participate in a group activity sponsored by the University and approved by the Provost and Vice Chancellor, the group’s faculty advisor or the instructor in charge should provide a signed excuse at the request of a participating student.

(6) A Dean may recommend to the instructor that a student who incurs an absence for personal reasons be excused.

(7) A University physician may, at his/her discretion, recommend to the instructor that a student who incurs an absence for health reasons be excused.

(8) In all cases of absence, excused or otherwise, the student is responsible for completing missed work. The instructor is not required to do extra teaching unless so assigned.

(9) Students may only attend courses/sections for which they are registered.

For more information regarding attendance, refer to GEN 4.B.5 and GEN 4.B.10 in the Faculty and Academic Staff Handbook, which is available in the Office of the Provost, D335.

Credits and Contact Hours Policy

The U.S. Department of Education defines a credit hour as follows: “Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8(k) and (I), a credit hour is an amount of student work defined by an institution, as approved by the institution’s accrediting agency or State approval agency, that is consistent with commonly accepted practice in postsecondary education and that:

  1. Reasonably approximates not less than –
    1. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time; or
    2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (l)(i) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours; and
  2. Permits an institution, in determining the amount of work associated with a credit hour, to take into account a variety of delivery methods, measurements of student work, academic calendars, disciplines, and degree levels.”

For all undergraduate and graduate courses and for all delivery formats, a minimum of 42 hours of student work (consisting of any combination of homework, studying, and contact time or, regular and substantive interaction) equals 1 credit hour. For Lecture, Laboratory and Studio courses taught in the 14-week semester, the 42 hours must include the opportunity for at least 1 hour of regular and substantive interaction per week per credit. Lecture, Laboratory and Studio courses taught in alternative time formats (e.g., 3-week J-­term courses) must meet the total required minimums of the opportunity for 14 hours of regular and substantive interaction with the instructor and 28 hours of out-of-class work per credit.

Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

In reducing the language of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (known as FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) to simple terms, the law provides that, with certain explicit exceptions, students have the right to determine who will see their education records (confidentiality) and students have the right to see their education records (accessibility). FERPA applies to the education records of persons who are or have been enrolled for classes at UW Oshkosh, including students in cooperative and correspondence study programs. FERPA does not apply to records of applicants for admission who are denied acceptance or, if accepted, do not attend. Furthermore, rights are not given by FERPA to students enrolled in one component of UW Oshkosh who seek to be admitted in another component (e.g., a student enrolled in an undergraduate degree program, but is denied admission to a graduate program, does not have any FERPA rights in the graduate program which denied him/her admission).

Confidentiality

FERPA allows students to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in education records. There are several exceptions to this, including:

  • Disclosure is permitted without consent to university officials with a legitimate educational interest.  University officials include faculty, staff, and student employees who may need to look at a student’s educational records in order to effectively complete their job duties.
  • Disclosure is permitted without consent to any other educational institution in which a student is currently enrolled.

Disclosure of “directory information” is permitted to non-university sources without the permission of the student.

Directory information is defined as “the student’s name, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, classification, major field of study, dates of attendance, full-time/part-time status, degrees, campus location, awards received, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.”

For example, if a parent calls and asks for information regarding a student, the only information that can be legally released to the parent is directory information.

Any student not desiring their directory information to be made public to anyone and not have their contact information listed in the university directory may complete a Nondisclosure Form in Dempsey 130. Please bring a picture I.D. with you to the office.

 

To grant access to your parents or someone else

The University has made it easy for students to grant access to third parties/parents through TitanWeb.  After logging in to TitanWeb, you will see a link that is called “Grant Access to Others” on your Student Center page.

You will actually create an account and password for the third party/parent. You can choose to give access to four types of information:

  • View and Discuss Financial Aid Awards
  • View and Discuss Student Conduct
  • View, Discuss and Pay Tuition and Fees
  • View and Discuss Grades and Term Statistics

You will then receive a confirmation email that shows the login and password for the new account.  This email needs to be forwarded on to third parties/parents, so they know how to log in. You can create three different accounts to grant access to three people.

Parent/guest access only covers those records listed above.    Other records, such as mental health, physical health, and faculty notes/records, are restricted by federal and state laws, university policy, and professional standards.  You can release information from these records to a third party on a case-by-case basis through that particular office.

 

In most cases, the University will not contact parents/guardians or provide medical, academic, or disciplinary information without the student’s consent.  In an emergency where the student’s health is in jeopardy or there is a concern that the student poses a threat to him/herself or to someone else, the University will contact parents/guardians.  As a rule, if the student is able to communicate about the situation, he/she is expected to decide whether and how to discuss it with family members.

Accessibility

Students have the right to inspect and review their educational records. A student also has the right to request a hearing to challenge any information in the education record file that is believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or inappropriate. This right does not extend to reviewing grades unless the grade assigned by the instructor was recorded inaccurately. In the process of challenging the educational record, the student may wish to have copies of any documents in the file; a reasonable fee may be assessed. This charge does not apply to copies of the official academic transcript; there is a $10.00 charge for each official transcript. (Fees are slightly higher for immediate in-person or on-line ordering.) A request for a copy of a document in an education record will be denied if the student has a hold/stop on his/her records, or if the document is a transcript of an original or source document which exists elsewhere.

The student who wishes to challenge information in the educational record must make a written request for a hearing with the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs office. The University must act upon the student’s request within 45 days from the date of its submission.

A hearing panel will review the student’s request to challenge information in the educational record. The panel will consist of one person from each of the following: the Office of Student Affairs, the University office responsible for maintaining the educational record which is being challenged, and an office selected by the student who is challenging the information. If the challenge request is not granted, the student will receive written notification of the reasons and a copy of the notice will be placed in the educational record file. The decision of the hearing panel will be final unless there is a significant question of policy or compliance with the law.

If UW Oshkosh decides as a result of the hearing not to amend the education record in accordance with the student’s request, the student may place a statement in the record commenting upon the information therein, and/or setting forth any reason for disagreement with the institutional decision not to correct or amend the record. Such a statement will become part of the education record and will be disclosed with it.

The student has a right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by UW Oshkosh to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

For more information on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, please visit the FERPA website.

Grading Scale
Letter Grade Undergraduate Grade Points Graduate Grade Points
A 4.00 4.00
A- 3.67 3.67
B+ 3.33 3.33
B 3.00 3.00
B- 2.67 2.67
C+ 2.33 2.33
C 2.00 2.00
C- 1.67
D+ 1.33
D 1.00
D- 0.67
F 0.00 0.00

For more information please visit the current Undergraduate Bulletin.

Honors Policies

Graduation (Degree) Honors

Graduation (Degree) Honors is determined by the official grade point average and whether graduation is cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude.

Students whose official grade point average qualifies them for graduation with honors the term before they graduate will be recognized at the Commencement Ceremony. Honors designation on transcripts will be based upon the student’s completed academic record.

Official grade point requirements for Graduation (Degree) Honors:

* Cum Laude: 3.5 grade point average

* Magna Cum Laude: 3.75 grade point average

* Summa Cum Laude: 3.90 grade point average

*A minimum of 60 units (crs.) must be earned at UW Oshkosh for a transfer student to be eligible for Graduation (Degree) Honors.

Term Honor Roll

A student who has completed a program of at least 12 Term units (crs.) hours (not including P/F courses) during that term and has received a term grade point average of 3.30 or better, with no individual course grade below “C”, no grades of ”I” incomplete, and no non-reported grades at the time the process is run, is placed on the University Honor Roll.

Dean’s List

A student who has completed a program of at least 12 Term units (crs.) hours (not including P/F courses) during that term and has completed a term grade point average of 3.75 or better, with no individual term course grade below a “C”, no grade of “I” incomplete, and no non-reported grades at the time the process is run, is placed on the Dean’s List.

Medical Withdrawal Policy
Official Grade Point Policy

Since the Fall 2007 semester, the official UW Oshkosh grade point will include only UW Oshkosh courses (previously the University used UW Oshkosh courses AND transfer courses in the official GPA). This will NOT remove any previous transfer credits from your official grade point average. This is only for transfer credits taken that will newly appear on your transcript starting in Fall 2007.

Please review the Question and Answer section below:

1. I have transfer credits on my current transcript, what will happen to my official GPA?

Answer: Nothing will happen to your official GPA. Only courses that will transfer in for Fall 2007 and beyond will not be calculated in your official GPA. These courses will still appear on your transcript and will count for academic requirements they just will not be calculated in your official GPA.

2. I would like to repeat a course that I previously completed at UW Oshkosh at another institution. Can I do this?

Answer: You can take the course at a different institution to count for a specific course requirement but it will not remove your current grade from the original course and it will not affect your official GPA.

3. How can I improve my official GPA?

Answer: You will need to repeat the course at UW Oshkosh.

4. What about other grade point calculations, like my major GPA requirement?

Answer: This change is only affecting your official grade point. Your major GPA calculation and other “internal” calculations will count ALL courses (both transfer and UW Oshkosh courses). Any computation that previously used your official grade point average will use the new official grade point.

5. What GPA is used when Academic Standing and Graduation Honors are computed?

Answer: These all use the official grade point average.

6. I have transfer credits from 2003 (for example) on my record. I do not want these to be computed in my official grade point. How can I remove these?

Answer: You cannot remove any prior transfer credit. The new policy goes into effect for Fall 2007. It is not retroactive.

7. So some students may have some of their transfer work in their official GPA and some may not have it included?

Answer: That is correct. Transfer students who have had course work already posted on their UW Oshkosh transcript prior to Fall 2007 and are now returning to UW Oshkosh with new transfer course work will still have the old transfer credits count in their official GPA, but the new course work will not.

8. What if I’m studying abroad during the school year?

Answer: Any course that is a UW Oshkosh course even if it’s taught abroad will always be included in your official GPA since it’s an Oshkosh course. If you are in a UW Oshkosh sponsored travel abroad program and are considered enrolled at Oshkosh during the semester (even though you are studying in a different country), your credits for that semester will be included in your official GPA. If you are not considered a continuing student, your coursework upon reentry to the University will be posted in the following semester and will not count in your official GPA. Please contact us if you have questions about your status.

9. What about CAPP credits?

Answer: CAPP credits will always be included in your official GPA since these are UW Oshkosh credits.

Regular and Substantive Interaction Policy

Regular and Substantive Interaction means that the course instructor engages students to achieve course learning objectives in at least two of the following ways:

  1. Delivering real-time instruction with opportunities for student questions and contributions at regularly scheduled times;
  2. Providing interactive and timely feedback to students on their coursework (e.g., face-to­-face or synchronous paper-editing sessions, video feedback with opportunities for questions, back-and-forth email or texts on drafts or projects);
  3. Providing information and responding to student questions about content or competencies in an interactive (e.g., face-to-face or synchronous office hours, live-chat, back-and-forth emails, discussion boards) and timely manner;
  4. Facilitating real-time laboratory activity, small-group work or discussions, or whole-class discussions of course content or competencies;
  5. Engaging in other instructional activities approved by the Provost’s Office.

Grading papers, exams, and the like does not count as substantive interaction.

For each credit-hour, instructors will provide regular and substantive interaction for the equivalent of a minimum of 1 hour per week for 14 weeks. Course syllabi will describe explicitly the opportunities each course provides to satisfy this regular and substantive interaction requirement.

Religious Affiliation Policy

Accommodations for Religious Beliefs

  1. A student shall be permitted to make up an examination or other academic requirement at another time or by an alternative method, without any prejudicial effect, where:
    1. There is a scheduling conflict between the student’s sincerely held religious beliefs and taking the examination or meeting the academic requirements; and
    2. The student has notified the instructor, within the first three weeks of the beginning of classes (within the first week of summer session and short courses) of the specific days or dates on which they will request relief from an examination or academic requirement.
  2. Instructors may schedule a make-up examination or other academic requirements before or after the regularly scheduled examination or other academic requirement.
  3. Instructors shall accept, at face value, the sincerity of students’ religious beliefs. Student notification of instructors and requests for relief under sub. 1 shall be kept confidential.
  4. Complaints of failure to provide reasonable accommodation of a student’s sincerely held religious beliefs as required by this rule may be filed under institutional complaint and grievance procedures adopted pursuant to Chs. UWS 6 and 13.
  5. The Chancellor of each institution shall, through appropriate institutional publications, provide notification to students and instructors of the rules for accommodation of religious beliefs, and of the procedure and appropriate office for filing complaints.
Repeat Policy

Effective Fall 2021

Students may register to repeat courses to improve their grade(s) on a space available basis at the time they are scheduled to register. However, students should check with their advisor to find out if their major has additional regulations on course repeats. Each course may be repeated only once. Students may appeal that restriction through the Department or College which offers the course.

Students may only repeat a course if they have received a grade lower than a C. The best grade awarded will be used in the computation of grade point averages and credit earned. If a student repeats a course and earns a lower grade, the higher grade will be used in the computation of grade point averages. Although grades earned at other post-secondary institutions will be included on the credit evaluation and on the official transcript, the official UW Oshkosh grade point average is not affected by grades earned elsewhere (See Official Grade Point Policy). Undergraduate courses repeated after graduation will not change the undergraduate official grade point average.

Note: Although TitanWeb will allow registration for all repeats of courses, students may only repeat courses in which they received a grade lower than a C. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of this policy and to adhere by the rules. Courses repeated with a C or higher will not be counted in any University academic requirements and flagged as such on the transcript. Any request to repeat a course with a C or higher, needs to be appealed to the appropriate college and approved before registration in the course. Students are responsible for any fees associated with repeated courses dropped due to lack of appeal.

Note: Courses that are repeatable for credit may not be repeated to improve a student’s grade point average unless content is the same in both courses.  Appeals must be approved prior to registering for the course.

Graduate Students should contact their program coordinator or the Graduate Studies Office if they have questions about the applicable repeat policy for graduate students.

Residency Information
WI Statute 36.27(2) – Residency for tuition purposes

Residency for Tuition Purposes

Wisconsin Statutes Extracts Regarding Residency for Tuition Purposes

EXTRACT FROM SECTION 36.27(2), WISCONSIN STATUTES OF 2005 RELATING TO EXEMPTION FROM NONRESIDENT TUITION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN – OSHKOSH

Initial residency for tuition purposes decisions are made by the Office of Admissions, based on the provisions of Wisconsin Statutes 36.27(2) which govern residency status for tuition purposes, at the time that the student applies to the University. The general rule is that you must be a bona fide resident of Wisconsin for at least 12 months prior to enrollment to be eligible for in-state tuition.

If you have questions about your residence classification after reading the extract of Wisconsin Statutes 36.27(2), you may contact the Registrar’s Office. Graduate Students may also contact the Office of Graduate Studies. If you appear to meet the residency guidelines, you may be asked to provide documentation, in some cases notarized, before your status can be changed.

Any student has the right to submit an appeal to their residency determination. Please contact the  to discuss your situation and/or request an Appeal Form.

Student Complaints Against Faculty and Academic Staff

Students who have complaints against faculty or academic staff have two procedures they may follow if the alleged misconduct is not judged serious enough to seek dismissal. 
The two procedures are as follows:

  1. A student who believes that the staff member has violated University rules, professional ethics or performed in a way warranting disciplinary procedures, may start proceedings in a formal manner by preparing a written complaint to be submitted to the Chancellor or his designee.
  2. A student with a complaint about classroom treatment, grades or other matters will normally wish to seek resolution of the matter informally as follows:
    1.  Meet with the staff member. Most complaints are resolved this way.
    2.  Should the complaint not be resolved by this meeting, the student next meets with the staff member’s supervisor.The supervisor is in the Dean’s Office in the College of Nursing and the College of Business. For the College of Letters and Science, the College of Education and Human Services, and the Graduate School, the supervisor is the Department Chairperson. For the Division of Online and Continuing Education (OCE) it is the  Assistant Vice Chancellor.
    3.  The staff member’s supervisor will give the student written procedures covering complaints. The supervisor will determine the facts, and try to mediate between staff member and student and resolve the complaint.
    4.  Should the supervisor’s efforts be unsatisfactory to the student, the written procedures provide more formal steps. The student must prepare a written complaint for a grievance committee within a specified time period. Inaction by the student at this point indicates that the complaint has been dropped.

Should the student be unsure as to the choice of procedure (1 versus 2 above), it is advisable to discuss the matter with personnel in the Dean of Students office.

Registrar's Office

Dempsey Hall, Room 130 
Mon–Fri, 7:45 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Mailing Address

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh 
800 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI 54901-8608

Registrar's Contact

Phone: (920) 424-3454
Email: registrar@uwosh.edu
Fax: (920) 424-1098