Policies & Forms

Policies

To qualify for the Academic Forgiveness Policy students must not have been enrolled in a Bradley University degree program for at least five (5) years.
Persons who wish to be reinstated at Bradley University under the Academic Forgiveness Policy must petition the Academic Review Board and request forgiveness of previous grades earned at Bradley University. If the petition is approved, grades for all prior Bradley courses will be removed from the GPA calculation. Students will retain credit for those courses with grades of “C” or better.
The forgiven grades shall not count in determining the student’s grade point average for undergraduate academic recovery, graduate student academic probation, or dismissal or for graduation; however, they shall remain on the transcript with an appropriate notation, and shall be used in determining graduation honors.
Forgiveness is a one-time option which is final and irreversible once granted. This regulation becomes effective beginning with the first semester of the 1987-88 academic year.

Requirements for majors and minors are specified in the catalog under each curriculum offering them. Students may graduate with a single major or a number of majors and minors when the requirements of each, including all college and department requirements, are met at the time of graduation. Students may, with the approval of the dean of the college offering the work, complete additional majors or minors after graduation and have the completion and date noted on the permanent scholastic record.

Approved December 2021
The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes are used by various agencies to classify individual academic programs. CIP codes are important to several processes, both internal and external to Bradley. Some examples include institutional reporting to external agencies, such as the federal or state government through the Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS), and Illinois Higher Education Information System (IHEIS-IBHE), as well as program changes or notification of new program offerings to The Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The assigned CIP code may also have implications for international students, in terms of the programs in which they can enroll and their ability to remain in the country upon graduation. The assigned CIP code must be as accurate as possible in reflecting the curriculum and learning outcomes as the program may need to justify its CIP code to an external entity, such as our accreditor or the federal government.

At Bradley, all CIP codes were reviewed by units during the 2019 Program Prioritization Process. The Registrar’s Office, in consultation with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and the Associate Provost made recommendations for changing CIP codes based on an individual department’s stated rationale. Since that time, the Registrar has consulted with individual departments in identifying CIP codes via the National Center of Education Statistics’ (NCES) CIP database at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode.

Assigning a CIP Code to a new degree program

CIP Codes are assigned based on matching the curriculum and learning outcomes to a CIP Code description. For any new undergraduate or graduate degree program the following process is to be used to assign an appropriate CIP Code:

The initial assignment (which may include several options) of a CIP Codes is made by the Registrar in consultation with the appropriate Department Chair.
The Registrar will ensure that the CIP Code is entered and maintained in the Student Information System.

Request a change of CIP Code for an existing degree program

A request for changing a CIP Code should be based on identifying a mismatch between the program curriculum/learning outcomes and the description of the assigned CIP Code. Thus, changes are intended to improve the accuracy of the assigned CIP Code. The following process applies to any program requesting a change to an existing CIP Code:

The department/program chair should meet with the Registrar and the Director of Institutional Effectiveness to understand the assigned CIP Code and to discuss implications.
The department chair drafts a rationale and recommendation for changing the CIP code in collaboration with the department faculty. The final rationale and recommendation are submitted to the Dean for review. The rationale should include the following:
The current CIP Code and its official description,
The proposed CIP Code and its official description,
A justification for how the proposed CIP Code better aligns with the curriculum, course content, and learning outcomes.
Supporting documentation that may include curriculum, course content, and learning outcomes from programs at other institutions that use the proposed CIP Code.

Dean’s review and decision.
If the Dean supports the request – they will forward it to the Registrar.
If the Dean denies the request, they will provide the department information about the reason for the denial. The Dean will also inform the Registrar of the decision

The Registrar will share the supported request with the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and the Associate Provost. The Registrar, Director of Institutional Effectiveness, and Associate Provost will make a recommendation to the Provost regarding the change in CIP code based on the department’s rationale.
The Provost makes the decision whether or not to change the CIP code.
The Registrar will notify the Department Chair, Dean, Office of Institutional Effectiveness, and Office of Financial Aid about the decision to change the CIP code.
The Registrar will ensure that the CIP Code is entered into the Student Information System, effective immediately upon final approval.

Students may earn a maximum of 30 semester hours by taking General Examinations of CLEP:

English Composition, 6 s.h.
Humanities, 6 s.h.
Mathematics, 6 s.h.
Natural Science, 6 s.h.
Social Science, 6 s.h.

Students may earn a maximum of 30 semesters hours by taking specific subject matter examinations. The department in which the student is a major will determine the applicability of such credit toward its degree requirements.

The following course types are available and should be used as follows:

Classroom-delivered courses.
- For course sections with face-to-face instruction and interaction during specific, predetermined meeting times, students mostly set foot in a physical classroom space to receive instruction. 25% or less of the course will be distance-delivered.
Arranged courses.
- For course sections with face-to-face instruction and interaction during meeting times that are scheduled to accommodate specific course requirements; students mostly set foot in a physical classroom space or other designated physical location to receive instruction.
Hybrid-delivered courses.
- For course sections that include approximately 50% face-to-face instruction and interaction and approximately 50% course content delivered via distance delivery methods; students typically set foot in a physical classroom space for about 25%-75% class meetings to receive instruction.
Distance-delivered courses.
- For course sections in which 75% or more of the course content is delivered via distance delivery methods with the instructor and students physically separated from one another; students rarely or never set foot in a shared physical classroom space to receive instruction.
Distance-delivered programs.
- Entire certificate or degree programs of study in which 50% or more of the required courses may be taken as distance-delivered courses; students rarely or never set foot in a shared physical classroom space to receive instruction.

Undergraduate courses (100-400 level) that have not been offered in five years and graduate courses (500-600 level) that have not been offered in three years are considered “inactive” courses. Such courses will be removed from the catalogs and end-dated in the Master Course List. On an annual basis the Registrar’s Office will notify departments of the courses that have not been offered in five (undergraduate) or three (graduate) years.

An “inactive” course can receive permission to remain in the catalog and Master Course List for two more years via a Course Retention form. The course may be offered without the need for curriculum committee approval on the condition that a Course Retention form was previously completed and approved by the Dean and the Provost & VP of Academic Affairs.

Should a course remain “inactive” for more than two years after its initial classification (five years for undergraduate or three years for graduate) it will be removed from the catalogs and deleted from the Master Course List. A reinstatement of a deleted course will require the completion of a Course Addition form, which is to be routed through all appropriate University committees.

The graduate’s name that appears on a Bradley University diploma must be a legal name. Variations from an official name requested at the time of submitting a Degree Application are the following:

Middle name may be complete, initialed, or omitted, but must match the student record (e.g., John Quincy Adams, John Q. Adams, or John Adams).
A legal middle name may be used in place of a first name if that middle name has been recorded in the student record.
Suffixes such as Sr., Jr., III, etc., may be used if included in the student record and documented on the student’s original application, transcript from another school, or birth certificate.
Maternal surnames may be included if documentation is provided to the Office of the Registrar. Proper documentation is a copy of a birth certificate indicating the maternal surname or the student’s original admission application indicating the surname.
Hyphenated maiden-married last names may be used, provided the student record has documentation to verify the names. A Notification of Change of Personal Data form accompanied by a copy of the Certificate of Marriage will be required if a name change has not been processed since the marriage. In all cases, verification will be based on information that is in the student record and not provided verbally.
A maiden name may be used in place of a married name if the maiden name has been recorded in the student record.
Special accent marks may be requested. Recognized linguistic marks will be included in the diploma name.
No prefix or suffix related to a title or credential is permitted (e.g., Dr., D.M.D., Esq., etc.).

All completed grade change request forms must be submitted to the Dean of the College in which the course is offered no later than four (4) weeks before the end of the next regular semester.

The grading system of the University for undergraduate students is based on the following:

Marks – Honor points per semester hour

A – High competence 4
B – Competence 3
C – Minimum competence 2
D – Limited or incomplete competence 1
F – Inadequate competence for credit 0
IN – Instructor lacks sufficient evidence to award a letter grade
IP – Work in progress. Graduate level and certain approved undergraduate courses. Research work (theses, reading courses, special research problems) carried over more than one semester.
I – Permanent Incomplete
P – Pass (certain courses approved for Pass/Fail)
S – Satisfactory
U – Unsatisfactory
W – Official withdrawal
X – Audit
UX – Unsatisfactory audit

Grade point average is determined by dividing honor points by semester hours. Only work registered through Bradley University is used in calculation of grade point averages. Courses taken for audit are recorded on the student’s permanent academic record as completed satisfactorily (“X”), completed unsatisfactorily (“UX”), or withdrawn (“W”). Marks of “IN,” “IP,” “P,” “UX,” “W,” and “X” are not considered in calculating the grade point average. For repeated courses, the last grade and credits earned shall be the only ones used in the calculation of grade point averages. Credit earned by proficiency examination is not used in the calculation of grade point averages.

A concentration is a curricular subspecialty option associated with a graduate program which provides transcript recognition for students who fulfill a designated, specialized course of study. A concentration recognizes the student as having distinctive skills and training in one highly concentrated area within the program. The concentration course of study shall consist of at least 9 hours of graduate course work, selected from a university-approved list. A grade point of at least 3.00 must be earned in courses used toward fulfilling the concentration and only courses taken at Bradley University may be applied.

Courses used to satisfy the requirements of the concentration may also be applied toward the requirements of the graduate degree. Up to two concentrations can be awarded; however, because concentrations are additional degree designations there can be no course overlap between the concentrations.

Students must declare their intention to complete a concentration by completing the appropriate section on their Program of Study. A Student’s Program of Study leading to a concentration shall be planned by the student in consultation with his/her graduate academic advisor. To receive a concentration upon graduation, the student must file, with the Office of the Registrar, the Graduate Concentration Completion Form prior to the beginning of their final semester.

All Majors, Concentrations, and Minors and changes to them must be approved by the Curriculum and Regulations Committee of the University Senate. Only these designations are official, and only they may appear in the Undergraduate Catalog, on student transcripts, on the Admissions Application Form, and in publications describing Bradley programs. It is expected that all Majors, Concentrations, and Minors will adhere to the following standards. Deviations are strongly discouraged, but may be permitted when there are compelling academic reasons. Requests to the Curriculum and Regulations Committee and Provost for deviations must be accompanied by supporting evidence. New Majors, Concentrations, and Minors must be approved by the Curriculum and Regulations Committee.

Major

The purpose of the Major is to ensure that students master a subject area in depth and breadth.

A Major is a coherent, structured course of study, defined by departments, and selected by students as their principal subject area.

Generally, the Major is comprised of courses offered and required by the Department, but it may also include designated courses from other departments offering related subjects. All students must fulfill the requirements for at least one Major in order to graduate.

In addition to courses used to satisfy the basic skills and General Education requirements, students must successfully complete a minimum of 24 s.h. of courses designated by the Department as acceptable toward the Major.

The Major must include no fewer that 12 s.h. at the 300 (junior) level or above.

Students must achieve a minimum grade point average in courses in the Major of no less that 2.0 in order to graduate.

Multiple Majors must include at least 18 s.h. of courses not used in satisfaction of requirements for any other Major.

Concentration

The purpose of the Concentration is to encourage and recognize study in depth of special areas within the broadly defined discipline of the student’s Major. Generally, Concentrations are comprised of courses offered by the Major department and courses of other departments that are specifically acceptable for credit toward the Major. In special circumstances, other courses may be accepted for the Concentration if they serve to deepen and broaden the student’s special area of focus in the Major discipline.

The concentration must be a coherent, structured course of study. It is comprised of no fewer that 12 s.h. of the minimum 24 s.h. required for the Major. No fewer that 6 s.h. must be in courses at the 300 level or above. To qualify for more than one Concentration within on Major, no fewer that 9 s.h. must be in different courses in each Concentration.

Minor

The purpose of the Minor is to encourage and recognize study in depth of a subject for students Majoring in other subject areas. A student’s Minor, therefore, is generally comprised of courses other than those offered by or required by the student’s own Major. Due to the special nature of some disciplines, however, students may be permitted to include a limited number of courses offered by their Major department toward a Minor if this does not violate the purpose of the Minor.

The Minor must be a coherent, structured course of study. A Minor is comprised of no fewer that 15 s.h., a majority of which are at the 200 (sophomore) level or above with no fewer than 6 s.h. at the 300 (junior) level or above.

Students must achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in courses in the Minor for official designation as a Minor.

Mid-term grades for all undergraduate students are reported to the Office of the Registrar shortly after the midpoint of the fall and spring semesters. The Registrar shall establish the exact date mid-term grades are due and provide grade rosters to faculty members about one week prior to this date. Teaching schedules should be planned so that reports of these grades can be made. These grades are supplied to the student, the student’s academic advisor and the Dean of the College in which the student is registered.

Students who, during the course of an academic term, are called into active military service, including National Guard and Reserve active duty, and are not in attendance at the end of the term, will be considered to be a case of extreme hardship. These students will receive course, residence, and refund credits as follows:

Departure during the first three weeks of class.
1. Grading and Credit Procedures:
  - No course credit, no grades.
  - A notation will be placed on transcript.
2. Procedure for University Charges:
  - Full credit of tuition and fees and prorated credit of room and board.
Departure after the third week through the twelfth week.
1. Grading and Credit Procedures:
  - A “W” grade designation for all courses will appear on the student’s academic transcript. However, the student will receive no course credit.
  - A notation will be placed on transcript.
2. Procedure for University Charges:
  - Tuition and fees will be credited; room and board will be prorated. Students receiving financial aid will have tuition and room and board applied first to the programs from which funds were awarded. Students receiving financial aid in excess of direct costs; i.e., early October/late February refund checks, MAY be required to repay a percentage of the financial aid refund. The amount of repayment will depend upon the length of time the student was enrolled and the amount of financial aid received.
Departure after the twelfth week through the end of the semester.
1. Grading and Credit Procedures:
  - Students will be given a choice of all “W’s” or all “IN’s” for all courses in progress at the time of departure. If the student does not make a decision, all “IN’s” will be recorded on the transcript. Upon being readmitted for continuing studies, the student may choose to change all “IN” grades to all “W” grades or to continue the “IN” grade for completion within the first eleven weeks of the next major semester attended. At the option of the professor and with the consent of the student, a final grade may be awarded during the last three weeks of the semester.
    1. Students who choose all “W’s” (Withdrawals).
      - A “W” grade designation for all courses will appear on the student’s academic transcript. However, the student will receive no course credit. A notation will be placed on the transcript.
    2. Students who choose all “IN’s” (Incompletes)
      - An “IN” grade designation for all courses will appear on the student’s academic transcript. Students will receive a term in residence.
    3. Students who choose all grades or a combination of grades and “IN’s” (Incompletes).
      - An “IN” grade designation or a letter grade designation (A, B, C, D, F, S, etc.) for all courses will appear on the student’s academic transcript. Students will receive a term in residence.
2. Procedures for University Charges:
  1. Students who choose all “W’s” (Withdrawals).
    - Tuition and fees will be credited.
    - University room and board will be prorated. Students receiving financial aid will have tuition and room and board applied first to the programs from which funds were awarded. Students receiving financial aid in excess of direct costs MAY be required to repay a percentage of the financial aid refund. The amount of repayment will depend upon the length of time the student was enrolled and the amount of financial aid received.
  2. Students who choose all “IN’s” (Incompletes).
    - Tuition and fees will not be credited; room and board will be prorated.
  3. Students who choose grades or a combination of grades/incompletes. Tuition and fees will not be credited; room and board will be prorated.
3. Percentage of attendance during the term will be based on the calendar period which includes the first day of classes through the last day for final exams.
4. Students who are involuntarily called to active service will be accommodated by the Financial Assistance Office regarding satisfactory progress standards within an academic year.
5. The University Bookstore will issue refunds for all books depending upon the physical condition of the books when returned.
6. Students who are called to active service during the term will have the opportunity to appeal any academic or financial action taken by the University. Appeals may be filed before being called to active duty, or if this is not possible, within six months after the conclusion of active duty.
7. Students who are members of the National Guard or the Military Reserves will be allowed a reasonable time to make up work lost while in summer camps, or for excused absences of not longer than two weeks after the term has started.
8. Other situations will be handled on a case by case basis.

Short Term Military Leave

Students who are members of the Guard, Reserve, or United States Military, who are called to active or inactive duty (i.e. drill, annual training, Additional Flight Training Periods, Active Duty for Special Work, Readiness Management Assembly, Title 32, etc.) will be allowed a reasonable time to make up work lost, or for excused absences of no longer than three weeks after the term has started.

Student must present proof of training schedule, official orders, or letter from member’s unit to the Registrar’s Office, 11 Swords Hall.

The Registrar’s Office will notify faculty of the legitimacy of these absences. There should be no penalty regarding academic or attendance issues. Faculty should allow students to make up any missed work without penalty to their grade.

Approved 3/6/14 VPAA

Name corrections and name changes (accompanied by legal documentation when necessary) will be accepted if submitted:
1. along with a completed official Change of Personal Data Form containing student’s signature.
2. by letter containing student’s signature.
A name correction may be made to the student master file and active record without documentation if it results from:
1. a data entry error in spelling.
2. a data entry error caused by transposition of first, middle or last names.
3. the addition or deletion of a middle name or initial(s).
4. the addition or deletion of a suffix, such as Jr., or III.
Active student records – A name change must be documented by presentation of official/legal evidence that includes one or more of the following:
1. A certified copy of a court order
2. A marriage license or certificate
3. A dissolution of marriage or divorce decree stating the new name.
4. A petition for a name change.
5. Additional documentation (e.g. driver’s license, social security card, etc.) A copy of the marriage license or divorce decree in which the court has ordered the restoration of the maiden name must accompany the request for name change.
  International students need to provide a copy of:
  1. visa and
  2. passport
  3. Additional documentation may be required (e.g. driver’s license, state issued identification card, social security card, resident noncitizen card, I-20, birth certificate). An international student may be required to have the form signed by the Assistant Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Exceptions to the above policy may be approved by the Registrar. For example, if the above documentation is not available, a notarized statement from the student along with legible copies of other supporting documentation (driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, etc.) may be considered.
Inactive Student Records – No changes may be made to the historical records unless a court order is presented. A fee may be assessed to cover the cost of correcting, documenting, and re-filming of records. Page 2
Readmitted Students – Reactivation of a record (with a name change) and /or reference to prior attendance under a former name will be made in cases where our files indicate a social security number linking the two records and/or upon presentation of appropriate legal documentation. Documentation may be requested.
Students who have applied for graduation must also complete a revised graduation application if they wish to have their name changed on the diploma and graduation printouts
Diplomas – name changes will result in the issuance of a new diploma only upon presentation of a court order. A change of name on a diploma must be done in conjunction with a change of name on the transcript. The usual diploma replacement fee will be required.
Retention of documentation – The official change of name form and the accompanying documentation will be retained indefinitely. The Registrar’s Office will retain the documentation for a period of time after which the documents will be microfilmed.
Gender changes – Please go to the Registrar’s Office (Swords 11) to make this change.
The student is responsible for notifying faculty of their name change/correction.

Note: We are currently limited in the number of spaces available for names.

Corrections to Social Security Numbers

A correction to the social security number maintained in the student master file and active record must be documented by presentation of official evidence that includes:

social security card
Bradley University identification card

Individuals who need to have their names changed or Social Security Numbers corrected should email the Office of the Registrar at [email protected] or call (309) 677-3101.

A student is permitted to repeat courses within one year after completion and thereafter to repeat permission must be obtained from the Dean or Director of the College or School in which the student is registered. The last grades and credits earned for such course shall be the only ones used in grade point calculations and in satisfying graduation requirements.

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