Progressing Toward a Degree

Classification

Classification (year in school) is determined by the number of credits completed and reported to the registrar, and is based on credit hours earned, not merely hours attempted. The grades F and NP and the marks I and X do not contribute toward credit hours earned and thus are not considered in determining year in school.

Classification in all colleges except Veterinary Medicine is as follows:

Sophomore: 30 credit hours earned

Junior: 60 credit hours earned

Senior: 90 credit hours earned

Students who have a bachelor's degree and are working toward another undergraduate degree, licensure, or admission to a specific graduate or professional program, are typically classified as a senior.

Transfer students without a degree are classified on the basis of credits accepted by Iowa State University.

Veterinary medicine students are promoted from the first- to the second-, third-, and fourth-year classes based upon satisfactory completion of the required courses for each year. To be promoted to the second-year class, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 1.67 for all courses in the first year of the veterinary medicine curriculum. To be promoted to the third- and fourth-year classes, students must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 for all courses in the professional curriculum.

A student who is attending Iowa State and decides not to work toward an undergraduate degree, will be classified as a special student. Admission requirements and academic standards regulations are the same as regular students. Credits taken as a special student are applicable for undergraduate degree purposes if the student is admitted later as a regular undergraduate. Credits obtained as a special student may not, however, be applied toward a graduate degree.

Students enrolled in the Intensive English and Orientation Program (IEOP) are classified as special students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and usually are not permitted to enroll in academic courses until they have satisfied requirements for admission as regular students. Permission to enroll in one academic course may be granted under special circumstances.

Transfer of Credits

Credits presented from another institution are evaluated initially by the Office of Admissions to determine whether the courses are acceptable for transfer credit. In addition, credits applied toward a particular degree will be determined by the student's college, based on relevance to the students' program requirements as well as the level of performance deemed necessary for successful progress in that program. For example, courses that are deemed important to a program but were earned with less than a C grade may or may not be approved for a program. This policy also applies to students already enrolled at Iowa State University and to new transfer students. Grades earned in courses transferred to Iowa State University will not be used in calculating a transfer student's Iowa State cumulative grade point average.

A student who is admitted as a transfer from another college or university is required to have at least a 2.00 cumulative grade-point average for all transferable work taken elsewhere. If, due to special circumstances, a student is admitted with less than a 2.00 average, that student has a transfer quality-point deficiency.

This deficiency will be added to any deficiency accumulated at Iowa State University and will be used to determine whether satisfactory progress toward a degree is being made. To graduate, students must earn sufficient quality points above a 2.00 at Iowa State University to offset any quality-point deficiency, including a transfer quality-point deficiency.

Students should consult with their academic advisers and the Office of Admissions before taking coursework at other colleges and universities to be certain the credits will transfer and will be applicable to their program of study. Students who believe that any transfer credits have not been correctly evaluated should consult with their academic adviser and with the Office of Admissions. Questions concerning how transfer credits are applied toward a degree program should be referred to the academic adviser and college office.

No more than 65 semester or 97 quarter credits earned at two-year colleges can be applied to a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University . While there is no limit to the number of credits that may be transferred from a four-year institution, the last 32 semester credits before receiving a degree from Iowa State University must be completed at Iowa State University .

Iowa State University students who attend one of the other Iowa Regent universities under the Regent Universities Student Exchange Program will have the credits earned at the other university counted as resident credit and grades received included in their Iowa State University cumulative grade point average, even if the credits are included in the last 32 semester credits. For information on applying to the program see Regent Universities Student Exchange Program.