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Academic Policies & Procedures
Students who are absent for two or more consecutive classes because of an acute illness or personal
emergency should notify the director of academic advising, who will, in turn, notify instructors of the illness
or personal emergency. Such absences are not covered by the recommendations above and instructors
are encouraged to find ways to allow students to complete missed work.
Instructors are required to include their attendance policy, in as much detail as possible, in their syllabi
to reduce the possibility of confusion or misinterpretation. In addition, instructors must announce their
policy within the first week of class and require that student-athletes or music students who are scheduled
to miss several classes speak with them after class. A student who anticipates several absences may
be able to be moved to a different section or take the class another semester.
Course Substitutions and Waivers
Students may appeal to the department chair for a course substitution or a course waiver for a required
course in a major or minor. The department chair (if the substitution or waiver is being allowed) should
obtain the Substitution/Waiver form from the registrar’s office, fill it out, and return it to the registrar’s
office. Students may not pick up and should not submit these forms.
Independent Study Projects
Independent study projects offered at the university are available for credit only to Saint Mary’s University
students. Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) students are not eligible for independent study
courses. Independent study projects may be individually designed projects or they may be catalog
courses pursued as independent study projects. However, no catalog course may be pursued as an independent
study project in the same semester in which that course is offered in the regular schedule of
classes. Independent study projects may, with approval, be used to fulfill general education requirements,
major requirements, or elective credit requirements. Students may take up to eight independent
study projects (for a total of no more than 24 credits) during their undergraduate career. Students are limited
to two such projects (for a total of no more than six credits) in any given semester. Students should
avoid taking several independent study projects from the same instructor. Independent study courses
are not available to students whose cumulative GPA is less than 2.000. Procedures and necessary forms
for approval of independent study projects may be obtained in the registrar’s office. The independent
study form must be submitted for approval to the vice president for academic affairs before the end of
the add/drop period.
Final Examinations
At the end of each semester, there is a period devoted to final examinations. Instructors must hold an
exam or educational experience during the examination period. No student may be required to take
more than two examinations on any one day in the final examination period. If none of the instructors
scheduling an examination in such an instance is willing to adjust the examination time for the student,
the instructor giving the middle examination(s) on that day must examine the student on another day.
Instructors are not required to give the examination prior to the scheduled date in such instances.
Copyright Law
Copyright is a form is protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the
creators of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other
works. Protection is available to both published and unpublished works, but the work must be fixed in a
tangible medium of expression. The owner of the copyright is given the exclusive right to make copies,
to create derivative works based upon the original work, to distribute the work to the public, to perform
or display the work publicly, and, for sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of digital
or audio transmission.
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