EVALUATION OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE

 Examinations and Tests

 Note:
Disabled students requiring special arrangements to write
examinations should contact the Special
Needs Co-ordinator.

 Validating Examinations
A validating examination is a special examination which is
required of a student requesting
advanced standing in a course not beyond the ``100'' level,
completed at an institution of less
than university status, which in Canada or the United States is
not a member nor an affiliate of
a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of
Canada or the American
Association of Universities and Colleges. Such examinations must
be completed within one year
of the date of admission to Wilfrid Laurier University. A final
examination may be used as a
validating examination.

    Students will not receive transfer credit until they
have completed a course
at this University.

    To write a validating examination, the student
must make
application to the Office of the Registrar as well as receive
permission from the department
concerned. A fee is charged and is not refundable. Students
admitted to the Faculty of Music
will be governed by the statement on Validating Examinations in
the music section of the
Undergraduate Calendar.

 Mid-Term Tests and Assignments
Class tests and examinations should not be conducted, nor should
assignments be due, during
the last five days of classes in the Fall, Winter and Spring
Terms, except in those courses where
these (class tests, examinations, and assignments), are a
continuation of weekly or bi-weekly
quizzes, seminars, and assignments as an integral part of the
learning/testing process.

 Challenge-For-Credit
The Challenge-for-Credit procedure is for a student who has
obtained knowledge of the subject
matter of a course in a manner that does not permit advanced
standing credit either by transfer
or validating examination. Such a student, instead of attending
classes and taking the normally
scheduled examination, may obtain advanced standing credit by
passing a special examination
to be given in the first two weeks of the course. Credit can be
granted only for those courses
specifically designated as  Challenge-for-Credit  in the
Undergraduate Calendar. Regulations
that apply to Challenge-for-Credit are available from the
applicable department or the Office of
the Registrar. The course registration fee applies.

 Final University Examinations
Final university examinations are conducted at the close of each
academic session for all
full-time and part-time students. A regular final examination
shall count a minimum of 25
percent of the final course grade.

    Final examinations for all quarter credit six-week
courses will be held
during the regular examination period at the end of the term.

    A student who fails to appear, or is compelled
because of personal illness
or death in the family to miss an examination, must submit a
petition requesting a deferred
examination, along with supporting documentation, no later than
one week following the
scheduled examination. For the appropriate procedures, please
refer in this Calendar to:
Academic Regulations: Petitions.

    A student who wishes to be considered for a
deferred examination
prior to the official examination period must submit a petition
requesting a deferred examination,
along with supporting documentation a reasonable time before the
scheduled examination so that
the Committee can reach a decision before the date of the
examination. For the appropriate
procedures, please refer in this Calendar to: Academic
Regulations: Petitions.

 Deferred Examinations
A deferred examination is one granted by the petitions
committee of the Faculty
concerned, for a student who was compelled to miss a final
examination because of documented
extenuating circumstances. A fee will be charged per examination
and is not refundable.
Aegrotat standing (i.e. academic standing without final
examination) will not be given.

    Term work must be included in the determination of
the final grade.

 Special Examinations
A special examination is any examination, granted by the
petitions committee, other than a final
or deferred examination. Application for consideration must be
made to the Registrar within 30
days of the date of the release of final examination results. For
the appropriate procedures,
please refer in this Calendar to: Academic Regulations:
Petitions. The fee is not refundable.
Students should note that if they write more than one examination
in any course, the last mark
obtained shall be the only one considered valid.

 Grades

 Grading System
A student's progress within a program will be evaluated on the
basis of the grade point average
(GPA). For purposes of calculation, the grade point (GP) earned
in a half-credit course will be
given one-half weight of that earned in a full-credit course.
Likewise the GP earned in a
quarter-credit course will be given one quarter-weight of that
earned in a full-credit course.

    Letter grades and their GP equivalents are as
follows:
 LETTER GRADES
 GRADE POINTS
       A+
 12
       A
 11
       A-
 10
       B+
   9
       B
   8
       B-
   7
       C+
   6
       C 
   5
       C-
   4
       D+ 
   3
       D
   2
       D-
   1
       F                          Failure
   0

    Where letter grades are derived from percentages,
the following conversion
will be adopted unless the instructor announces otherwise, in
writing, at the outset of a course.
 Grade
 Conversion
 Grade
 Conversion
 A+
 90-100
 C+
 67-69
 A
 85-  89
 C
 63-66
 A-
 80-  84
 C-
 60-62
 B+
 77-  79
 D+
 57-59
 B
 73-  76
 D
 53-56
 B-
 70-  72
 D-
 50-52
 F
   0-49

 Calculation of Course Grade
Normally, at least half the value of the final grade must be
calculated from proctored
assignments. Exemptions may be granted by the Dean of the
Faculty. A regular final
examination shall count a minimum of 25 percent of the final
course grade.

 Calculation of Course Grade: Final Examination Not
Written
The final course grade for a student who does not write a final
examination (or a deferred
examination) for a course in which an examination is required
shall be calculated by assigning
``0'' to the final examination. It should be noted, in addition,
that an instructor may require a
student to take the final examination in order to qualify for
obtaining a passing grade in the
course.

 Calculation of Grade Point Average: Repeated Course
When a course is repeated the grade received in the last attempt
will be used to calculate the
grade point average. Students in degree programs may repeat
courses up to a maximum of two
credits. Students in Diploma programs are directed to the section
of the Calendar listing their
program requirements. Students registered before May 1993 who
have not interrupted studies
for more than 18 months may proceed under the regulations in
effect at the time of their
admission.

 Grade Appeals
Grade appeals must be submitted as outlined below, no later than
six weeks following the release
of grades from the Office of the Registrar. Students should
follow the protocol outlined below
in the section on Grade Re-assessment. When the instructor
involved in the grade appeal is also
the Chairperson, the functions herein assigned to the Chairperson
shall be performed by the
Dean of the Faculty concerned.

 Grade Re-assessment
The course instructor bears primary responsibility for assigning
the final grade.

    Students who believe that the final grade received
in a course does not
reflect their academic performance should informally consult with
the course instructor. The
instructor may review the final examination with the student.

     If the course instructor is unavailable, or if the
student remains dissatisfied,
an official request for a grade re-assessment may be submitted to
the Chairperson of the
department offering the course (if the Chairperson is the
instructor then the Dean of the Faculty
shall assume the functions of the Chairperson). The request shall
be filed in writing and shall
contain a statement of the specific reasons for the belief that
the grade does not reflect the
student's academic performance in the course and must be
accompanied by any relevant
assignment or test which has been returned to the student. The
student may review the final
examination in the department office in order to prepare the
official request. The request to the
Chairperson for grade re-assessment shall be filed with the
Chairperson no later than six weeks
following the release of grades from the Office of the Registrar.

    The Chair shall provide the student with a written
decision regarding the
request for grade re-assessment within four (4) weeks of receipt
of the official request. The
student may, following the release of the Chair's decision,
petition to the student's Faculty
Petitions Committee, the procedure for which is found in this
Calendar under Academic
Regulations: Petitions. A fee $25.00 per course, refundable if
the Faculty Petitions
Committee finds in the student's favour, must accompany the
petition.

 Note:
In the event the course is part of an interdepartmental major and
not offered by a particular
department (e.g., Canadian Studies), the Co-ordinator of the
program will act in the place of the
Chairperson.

 Grade Revisions
Should a grade change be required an instruction to the Office of
the Registrar must be
submitted by the instructor or the Chairperson of the department
offering the course and shall
be reported for information to the Faculty Petitions Committee.

 Progression Requirements

 Progression Requirements: General Programs
In order to proceed in a General BA or BSc program a student must
maintain a cumulative GPA
of at least 4.00. A student whose cumulative GPA is less than
4.00 but not less than 2.00 will
be allowed to proceed on academic probation. A student whose
cumulative GPA is less than 2.00
must withdraw from the University.

    To clear probation students must raise the
cumulative GPA to at least 4.00
by the end of the probationary period which will extend to the
end of the term (May, August,
December) in which they complete a fourth credit after being
placed on probation. The
cumulative GPA calculated to determine whether or not the student
has cleared probation will
include all (be there four or more) courses completed by the end
of the probationary period.

    A student who has been placed on probation and who
at the end of the
probationary period obtains a GPA of at least 5.00 on the courses
taken after being placed on
probation but whose cumulative GPA is less than 4.00 will have
until the end of an additional
probationary period to raise the cumulative GPA to 4.00.

    If a student's cumulative GPA falls below 4.00 after
probation has been
cleared, the student will be required to withdraw from the
University.

    Students enrolled in General degree programs who are
on academic
probation require written permission from the Dean to take more
than five half-credit courses
or equivalent in any term.

    Students on academic probation (except adult
permission probation) may not
cross-register in courses at the University of Waterloo.

    Students who fail more than five full credit
courses, or equivalent,
(including repeated courses) will be required to withdraw from
the University.

 Progression and Graduation Requirements: Honours
Programs
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Honours Economics,
Bachelor of Music 
Progression requirements for these Honours Programs will be based
on grade point averages
obtained from all courses taken and will be calculated on a
cumulative basis. For progression
from First Year to Second Year the requirement will be a minimum
GPA of 6.00 in the Honours
subject(s) of specialization and a minimum GPA of 4.00 in other
subjects. The requirement for
progression to Third Year and Fourth Year and for graduation will
be a minimum GPA of 7.00
in the Honours subject(s) of specialization and a minimum GPA of
5.00 in other subjects.
Bachelor of Business Administration
Progression to Second Year requires completion of the required
and elective credits of the First
Year with a minimum cumulative GPA of 6.00 in business and a
minimum cumulative GPA of
4.00 in non-business. These GPA's must be achieved by April 30
and course attempts may not
exceed a maximum of 5 credits.
Progression to Third Year requires completion of the required and
elective credits of the Second
Year with a minimum cumulative GPA of 7.00 in business and a
minimum cumulative GPA of
5.00 in non-business. These GPA's must be achieved by August 31
and course attempts may not
exceed a maximum of 12 credits.
Progression to Fourth Year requires completion of the required
and elective credits of the Third
Year with a minimum cumulative GPA of 7.00 in business and a
minimum cumulative GPA of
5.00 in non-business. The GPA's on course attempts that may not
exceed a maximum of 17
credits must be achieved by regular stream students by August 31
and by Co-op stream students
by  December 31.
Graduation requires completion of the required and elective
courses of the Fourth Year with a
minimum cumulative GPA of 7.00 in business and a minimum
cumulativ GPA of 5.00 in non-
business. These GPA's must be achieved on course attempts that
may not exceed a maximum
of 22 credits. Students who have not met the required GPA to
graduate must meet the
requirements within one calendar year. If they do not do so, they
must re-apply to enter the
Honours Business Program. A student who has passed all the
courses of the BBA program but
who has not obtained the necessary GPA may elect to receive a
general arts degree without
major notation.
Additional Requirements for Options
See description of Administration Option (pg. xxx) and Finance
and Accounting Option (pg.
xxx) for progression regulations.
Admission To Limited Enrolment Honours Programs In Arts and
Science
There may be instances where student demand for entry or
progression into Second Year of an
Honours Program in Arts and Science exceeds the availability of
student spaces. Students who
meet the minimum criteria for progression from First Year to
Second Year will be considered
for admission.
A student's overall GPA calculated from all courses taken at
Wilfrid Laurier University will be
used to determine admission to these limited enrolment Honours
programs. Departments which
intend to use other methods of determining GP(A) criteria for
entry to Honours programs will
so advise students no later than October 1 in the Fall term of
the student's First Year.
Probation - All Honours Programs
Students enrolled in an Honours Program who fail to achieve the
standing required for admission
to the subsequent year of their program, may upon the
recommendation of the chair and the
appropriate Dean, proceed on academic probation. The terms of the
probation will be determined
by the chair and the Dean and will be communicated to the student
by the Office of the
Registrar. An Honours student may proceed on probation only once.

 Non-Degree Studies
The regulations for the General programs will apply except where
additional requirements are
specified.