Advising Handbook for Faculty

Policies & procedures

Drop/add week is the first week of classes – see Academic Calendar for specific dates – and allows students to drop and add courses without academic penalty during the first week of school. Special note: in order to receive 100% refund, all courses must be dropped PRIOR to the start of classes.
Dropping/withdrawing from a course. Students may withdraw from an individual course and receive a W for the course up until the 10th week of the semester. NOTE. Students dropping between the 8th and 10th week must do so in person in the registrar’s office. While there is no academic penalty, patterns of many W’s over time can affect academic progress and financial aid as well as have an effect on graduate school applications.
course overload policy: students must have approval to register for 18 or more credits; the requirements vary depending on number of credits sought. Students must complete the appropriate form and have it signed before they will be able to enroll in additional courses.
withdrawal from classes – if a student wishes to withdraw from all of her/his classes, s/he completes and signs a withdrawal form and takes it either to the Office of Academic Advising (2nd floor of Armitage Hall) or to Associate Provost Mary Beth Daisey for discussion and signature. The form is also signed by the Financial Aid office so that they have the opportunity to explain potential financial aid implications. The deadline to withdraw from ALL courses is the 12th week of the semester. Withdrawals after the deadline are appealed through the Arts & Sciences Scholastic Standing Committee. Further information can be found in the catalogue.
scholastic standing: The scholastic standing of all students is computed at the end of each term. The records of all students whose cumulative grade-point averages are less than 2.0 are referred to the Committee on Scholastic Standing. This committee reviews the work of all deficient students at the close of each term and may warn a student, place him/her on academic probation, or dismiss the student. Further information about these procedures can be found in the catalogue.
repeat option: students receiving a D or F in a course designated as repeatable and taken within their first two terms may repeat the course in the next regular semester in which it is offered. All attempts at a course will be shown on a student’s transcript.
pass/fail: Students who have completed 63 credits may be permitted to register for a maximum of one course per term, outside the general curricular requirements and outside courses in the major field, for credit on a Pass/No Credit basis. Permission to take a course on this basis rests with the instructor of the course and the student’s adviser.
transient credit: Matriculated students at Rutgers-Camden are expected to take all their courses at Rutgers-Camden,unless they receive permission in advance to take a course at another institution. Exceptions will not normally be given for courses needed to meet general curricular requirements. Exceptions may be granted if a student has only one term before graduation and needs a course that is not offered during that term, or when a student's major department authorizes taking an advanced or specialized course not available at Rutgers Camden. Lower tuition, scheduling convenience, or traveling distance are not sufficient cause for taking courses elsewhere. Prior to enrollment, students should fill out a transient application form. It must be approved by the chair of the major department, the chair of the department in which the course is offered, and the associate dean of the college. Please submit completed forms to the Associate Dean's Office on the 3rd floor of Armitage Hall. Approval will not be granted retroactively.
academic integrity: Violations of academic integrity may include: cheating (the use of inappropriate and unacknowledged materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise); fabrication (the falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise); facilitating academic dishonesty (when students knowingly or negligently allow their work to be used by other students or who otherwise aid others in academic dishonesty); plagiarism (the representation of the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise); and denying others access to information or material. The full version of our Academic Integrity Policy, the reporting form, and related materials can be found at: http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/RUCAM/info/Academic-Integrity-Policy.html.

If you suspect a student of violating the campus academic integrity policy, you should report that violation (using the appropriate form and providing documentation of the alleged violation) to the Dean’s Office (3rd floor Armitage Hall). Please note that students may continue to participate in a course or research activities until the case has been adjudicated. Under no circumstances should a student be offered a choice of either dropping a course or facing disciplinary action. A grade of TZ should be assigned, pending resolution of this matter, and no penalties should be imposed until this complaint is resolved.
FERPA: Rutgers complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which affords students certain rights with respect to their education records, including the right to inspect and review those education records and the right to request amendment of education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. According to University guidelines, “Rutgers shall obtain the prior consent of the student before disclosing personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, EXCEPT to the extent FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.” Moreover, “there are a number of exceptions to the general rule prohibiting disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records without prior consent of the student.” Generally, this means that a student’s academic records or progress can only be discussed with that student, or with that student accompanied by others with their approval. Inquiring parents should be reminded about FERPA. Questions about the application of FERPA can be directed to Associate Provost for Student Affairs Mary Beth Daisey (856-225-6050 or daisey@camden.rutgers.edu).

Some common exceptions used by Rutgers include disclosure to Rutgers officials with legitimate educational interest in the records being sought and the release of student directory information. More details from the University Policy can be obtained from the Office of Compliance, Student Policy, and Judicial Affairs at their web site: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~polcomp/ferpa2.shtml.