Term and Credit System
Stratford University operates on a quarter-credit system. For administrative and financial purposes the student’s academic year is divided into three ten- week quarters. Several programs have an A and B schedule each quarter. It normally takes 30 months (4 academic years) to complete a bachelor’s degree, 15 months (2 academic years) to complete an AAS degree, and 12 months (1.66 academic years) to complete a diploma. Institutional policy defines an undergraduate full-time student as one registered for at least 13.5 quarter-credit per ten- week quarter. A full-time graduate student is one registered for at least 9 quarter-credit per ten-week quarter. For purposes of calculating units of credit, one quarter credit is equivalent to ten hours of lecture instruction, twenty hours of laboratory instruction, or thirty hours of externship experience. Many classes at Stratford University are designed to be a combination of lecture and laboratory instruction.

Grade Appeal
A grade appeal must be initiated by the student within three weeks of receiving the grade. A written request must be submitted to the instructor of the class. If the issue is not resolved, the written request must be submitted to the appropriate Program Dean or coordinator. If after a review by the Program Dean the issue remains unresolved, a committee of uninvolved faculty or staff will be selected for the grade appeal hearing. Both the student and the faculty member may present information. The committee will notify the student and the instructor of its findings within seven days of the hearing. All decisions are final.

Students that Receive a Grade of Incomplete
A student is required to make up any incomplete course work within five weeks of the conclusion of the course. If the work is not completed and approved by the instructor within this five-week period, the grade converts from an I to an F. Incomplete courses do not factor into a student’s grade point average; however they do count as credits attempted without credits earned for purposes of satisfactory academic progress (SAP). (Note: The student must request an I grade from their instructor).

Students that Receive a Grade of W
A student who withdraws from a class after the drop/add period will be awarded a grade of W and tuition will be calculated based on the institutional refund policy. A W grade is counted as credits attempted without credits earned in rate-of-progress calculations.

Withdrawals during Add/Drop Period
If a student drops a class during the Add/Drop Period, all records related to that class will be removed from the student’s academic and financial records. The student will not be charged tuition or fees for that class. Graduate students will be assessed a $50 fee per Add/Drop form.

Last date of Attendance
If a student fails to submit a class withdrawal using an official Stratford Add/Drop form, the official last day of attendance will be the end of the quarter. (This requirement may be waived for online students upon review by the Dean of On-line Learning. However, online students wishing to drop a class must send notice via regular mail or email to the Registrar’s Office and receive a confirmation email from the Registrar.)

Tuition and Fee Waivers
Tuition and fee waivers for classes dropped after the add/drop period can only be approved for mitigating circumstances. A justification granting permission for a late add/drop needs to be submitted by the respective Dean, which in turn must be approved by the Campus Administrator (or their designated representative) prior to being posted to the student Ledger Card. No adjustments can be made without such written approval.

Course Repetitions
A student who is required to repeat a course must complete it within the maximum time frame and is charged tuition at the regular published rate. All course repetitions count as courses attempted for purposes of calculating satisfactory academic progress. The GPA will be based only on the latest attempt of the course; previous attempts will not be computed in the GPA calculation.

Auditing courses
A student who has been admitted to Stratford University may choose to register for a class for “audit” (no academic credit). A student may not change status in a class from audit to credit after the mid-point of the class. An auditor is not required to take an active part in the class or to take or pass examinations. Classes taken for audit may be repeated for credit. Audit courses are subject to all regular tuition and fees. Audited classes do notcount as credits attempted for purposes of calculating satisfactory academic progress and have no effect on the GPA.

Course Exemption Policy
Some students enter the University possessing certain skills which allow them to begin at an advanced point in the program of study or to exempt a class during the program. In order to serve the specific educational needs of these students, each appropriate dean shall have the authority to design an individual program of study for these students. Exemptions cannot be granted by other Stratford University personnel. Advanced credit isnormally limited to 9 quarter-hour credits for a lower division (AA/AAS level) program and 9 quarter-hour credits for an upper division (BA/BS level) program. Course exemptions normally apply only to major courses, not to general education courses. The primary exception is the case in which a student transfers in advanced mathematics courses. In this case, the student will be exempted from any mathematics courses considered to be of a lower level than the course(s) transferred in. He or she will instead be permitted to take an appropriate Stratford University elective in place of the exempted course.

1. The appropriate dean or qualified faculty member shall evaluate the student’s prior knowledge or skill set through means such as credit by exam, practical examination, certification or other avenues.
   
2. In conjunction with the student, the dean will determine which course(s) may be exempted.
   
3. The student will still be required to complete the appropriate number of credits (diploma – 63; associate degree – 90; bachelor’s degree – 180; Master of Science and International Master of Business Administration – 54; (Master of Business Administration – 90). Exempted classes do not carry credit toward the degree or diploma.
   
4. Exempted classes will be replaced with appropriate Stratford University electives chosen by the student in conjunction with their Program Dean or advisor.

Registration
Students must register for classes each quarter. The institution charges tuition each quarter based on the number of credits the student selects during registration at the published tuition rate. Students are required to register for classes before the start of the quarter in question or during the published late registration period. Graduate level students registering during late registration period will be assessed late registration fees. After this point, the student may only add or drop classes during the add/drop period. Once the student has registered for the class, the only way to not be charged tuition is to drop the class using the add/drop form during the add/drop period.

Add/Drop Period
The add/drop period is the first week of the session C ten-week quarter. During the add/ drop period, a student may drop from a class without incurring any financial penalty. Students that begin classes for Session A & B may drop a class within the first three days of enrollment without incurring financial penalty. Students that wish to change their registration status may add or drop a class or classes and must submit the completed add/drop form to the Registrar’s Office. If a drop form is received after the add/drop period has expired, the student will be responsible for charges based on the institutional refund policy.

Withdrawing from Stratford University
If a student withdraws entirely from the institution, it is strongly recommended that the student notify the Registrar’s Office in writing as soon as possible to begin the process to withdraw from the University. If a student does not notify the University (in writing as recommended or by contacting the Registrar verbally) of the intent to withdraw, it is likely that the student will receive a withdrawal (W) grade in all registered classes and that the student may incur additional costs. Students who registered but did not attend and failed to withdraw will receive a “WF” as their grade. All failing “F” grades are earned grades. When the student withdraws, the institution will determine if any outside funding must be returned based on the requirements of the funding source. Students who fail to register for the quarter will be withdrawn from the University.

Release of Student Information
In order abide by the guidelines of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), Stratford University will not release grades, schedules, transcripts or any other student information via e-mail. University e-mail is not a secure medium of data transmission and does not assure that the requested information will reach the appropriate parties. Moreover, the Registrar’s Office will not provide any physical documentation to any party other than the student. Regarding the disclosure of student information, the following guidelines will be followed:

Grades: Grades can be received by phone after the student can verify his or her identity, or the student may chose to wait for report cards to be issued by mail.
Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts will only be provided in person and to the student. The Registrar’s Office will not provide unofficial transcripts via e-mail or fax. Official transcripts must be requested by the completion of an Official Transcript Request form.The cost of an official transcript is $10.00. After completion and payment, you may fax or e-mail the form to the Registrar’s Office. For your convenience, the form is available online; please click here to access the form.
Schedules: Class schedules will only be provided in person or by phone and only to the student.

Under FERPA regulations, education records are considered private, and as such their disclosure is limited to third parties. If you have any questions or concerns about these policies, please feel free to contact the Office of the Registrar.