Florida, USA
Rules and Regulations Guiding Examinations & Students Conducts in the University
The British American University provides courses leading to the award of Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral as well as Postdoctoral qualifications. While the Bachelor’s degree of the University may be awarded with First Class Honors, Second Class Honors (Upper Division), Second Class Honors (Lower Division), Third Class Honors or with a Pass degree, the Postgraduate degrees may be awarded with Distinction or Pass grades. Students shall be required to major in a particular Department, say, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration, Economics, etc, as may be approved by the University Senate from time to time.
Select a section to read the rules in full.
1.1 The British American University provides courses leading to the award of Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral as well as Postdoctoral qualifications. While the Bachelor’s degree of the University may be awarded with First Class Honors, Second Class Honors (Upper Division), Second Class Honors (Lower Division), Third Class Honors or with a Pass degree, the Postgraduate degrees may be awarded with Distinction or Pass grades. Students shall be required to major in a particular Department, say, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration, Economics, etc, as may be approved by the University Senate from time to time.
2.1 Each Department in the University shall operate a course system, based on two semesters per session; that is, First and Second Semesters. Students will be required to register and take approved courses as set out by each Department recommended by the Faculty Academic Board(or Faculty Board and approved by the University Senate (or Senate).
2.2 Courses shall be evaluated in terms of units. A course unit is defined as one lecture/tutorial contact hour per week, one three-hour practical class per week throughout a semester, or any combination of these. The minimum and maximum number of courses and number of units that can be offered during each semester or each year shall be determined by the University Senate on the recommendation of the Faculty Board.
2.3 There shall be four levels of learning at the undergraduate level in the University numbered 101-199, 201-299, 301 – 399 and 400 – 499.
2.4 Courses shall be prefixed by a three-letter Subjects Codes such as ACC for Accounting; FMT for Financial Management, BUS for Business Administration and ECO for Economics. No two courses shall have the same title, the same course code or the same course content/description.
2.5 First semester courses shall bear odd numbers (e.g. BUS 101 or PHY101) while second semester courses shall bear even numbers (e.g. ACC102 or POL102)
3.1 The following standard terminologies shall be used for different categories of courses:
3.1.1 Any course designated Core or Compulsory (C) by a Department must be taken and passed,
3.1.2 Any course designated Required (R) by a Department must be taken but not necessarily passed. However, it is mandatory that a student scores at least 40% in all required courses before s/he can graduate. Where there is a group of such courses, the Department must state the minimum number of units to be passed,
3.1.3 Courses designated Elective (E) are to be taken to make up the required additional units for the award of the Degree,
3.1.4 Courses designated Pre-requisites (PR) are those whose knowledge is essential prior to taking another specified course. A pre-requisite course shall not be offered in the same academic year with the course, for which it is a pre-requisite,
3.1.5 Courses designated as concurrent (CC) must be taken at the same time with a specified course(s) at the same level, which must be taken within the same semester.
3.2 All courses taught during each semester shall be examined at the end of that semester and candidates will be credited with the number of units passed.
3.2.1 All courses shall be examined by continuous assessment through assignment and/or periodic tests, term papers, seminars/presentations, etc, which shall not constitute more than 30% of the mark for course. The examination score should be marked out of 70% making a total of 100% of the mark for the course.
3.3 To qualify for the award of a Degree of the University, a student shall satisfy the following basic requirements and others that may be prescribed by the Senate from time to time:
3.3.1 Attend lectures and tutorials in his Department throughout the prescribed period of study, which shall normally be at least four (8) semesters for four(4) years programs, six(6) semesters for three(3) years programs or as may be applicable to other programs.
3.3.2 Meet the minimum attendance requirement of 70% at class lectures. Any student that failed to meet the 70% attendance at lectures in a course shall not be allowed to write the semester examination in that course.
3.3.3 Take and pass the prescribed courses as approved by the University.
3.3.4 A student shall be required to register for a minimum of 12 units and a maximum of 27 units per semester.
3.3.5 Any Student who is unable to pass a minimum of 24 credit units at the end of a session or (2 semesters) shall be advised to withdraw from the Faculty.
3.3.6 Any student whose CGPA falls below 1.00 in two consecutive semesters shall be advised to withdraw from the University. The Grade Point Average system shall be used for the determination of the class mark and the class of Degree.
3.3.7 A student who fails to obtain 10 units at the end of first year or 20 units at the end of the second year shall be required to withdraw from Faculty. S/he may however be transferred to another Faculty in the University.
3.3.8 All students of the University whether Full Time, Part Time, Study-Away or Distance Learning shall carry the same workload to graduate; that is, all students shall carry the same workload in a program irrespective of their mode of studies.
For a 4 years Bachelor’s degree program entering with O/level papers, the final academic units granted on completion of the hours of study shall be as follows:
3.3.10 For a 3 years’ Bachelor’s degree program entering with A/level, National Diploma, NCE, etc, the final academic units granted on completion of the hours of study shall be as follows:
3.3.11 For a Postgraduate Diploma program, the final academic units granted on completion of the hours of study shall be as follows:
Certificate to be awarded: Postgraduate Diploma
3.3.12 For a Master’s degree program, the final academic units granted on completion of the hours of study shall be as follows:
Certificate to be awarded: Master’s Degree (MSc, MSc(Ed.), MBA, MPA, LLM, etc
3.3.13 For a Doctoral degree program, the final academic units granted on completion of the hours of study shall be as follows:
3.3.14 The complete hours of study in the University shall be distributed as follows:
Classroom lectures: 2 hours for a 2units course and 3 hours for a 3units course per week per course.
Challenged semester examinations: 2 hours for a 2 units course and 3 hours for a 3 units course once per course in a Semester.
Industrial attachment/internship: 3 months once per program in some programs and 1 session (2 semesters) in some other programs like Computer
Science, Engineering and Medical Related Programs.
3.3.15 The final aggregated mark shall be a whole number. Letter grades and grade points shall be awarded on the basis of the final aggregate marks as shown below:
SCORE LETTER GRADE CREDIT POINTS INTERPRETATION OF GRADE
90 – 100 A 4 Excellent
80 – 89 B 3 Good
70 – 79 C 2 Upper Credit
60 – 69 D 1 Lower Credit
00 – 59 F 0 Fail
3.3.16 The minimum passing grade in the University shall be 60% with the letter grade of E and 1 credit point.
3.3.17 The bachelor’s degree of the University shall be classified on the basis of the Cumulative Grade Points Average (CGPA) as follows:
CGPA CLASSIFICATION OF DEGREE
3.00 – 4.00 1st Class Honors
2.50 – 2.99 2nd Class Honors (Upper Division)
2.00 –2.49 2nd Class Honors (Lower Division)
1.50 – 1.99 3rd Class Honors
1.00 –1.49 Pass
0.00 – 0.49 Fail (No Certificate)
3.3.18 The GPA shall be derived by multiplying the credit unit by the grade point and dividing the product by the total number of units.
3.3.19 A student who has taken more than two academic sessions (or 4 semesters) in excess of the approved minimum period of study to complete a degree program shall normally be eligible for a PASS classification.
3.3.20 External examiners appointed from reputable Universities/University shall participate in the conduct of the Final Level examinations under the general regulations relating to the duties of external examiners in the University.
3.3.21 At the end of every academic year, each student (except those at the final Level) shall be issued with the transcripts of the first and second semesters results; graduating students will be issued with transcripts of their academic record in the University after ratification of results by the Senate.
3.3.22 For a student of a 3-year bachelor’s degree program of the University to qualify for the award of the degree, he/she must have passed a minimum of 120 course units.
3.3.23 For a student of a postgraduate degree (Master’s and doctoral degree) program of the University to qualify for the award of the degree, he/she must have passed a minimum of 60 course units; the minimum is 45 course units for a Postgraduate Diploma program.
3.4 The guideline for course registration in the University shall include the following:
3.4.1 Apart from registering for the session, a student shall register at the beginning of each semester for the courses he wishes to take during the semester.
3.4.2 All registration for courses and deleting of courses shall end four weeks from the beginning of the semester.
3.4.3 Withdrawal from course(s) shall be permissible up to four weeks before the end of the semester.
3.4.4 At the end of the program a candidate shall be judged by all the units taken by him/her.
3.4.5 No first semester course shall be pre-requisite to any second semester course. Rather 100- Level courses are pre-requisites to 200-Level courses, and so on.
3.4.6 Students shall seek and obtain approval to offer elective courses from Departments offering such courses, and shall meet conditions stipulated by such Departments.
3.4.7 A student who fails to register for the session and/or his/her courses before the closing date will not be allowed to attend classes and will not be entered for the semester examination. Closing date for registration of fresh students shall be 15th October of each academic year.
4.1 The rules for change of courses in the University shall consist of the following:
4.1.1 A student shall not normally be allowed to change his/her course, but on special cases, application for a change of course should be routed through his/her Head of Department and Faculty Dean to the Academic Affairs Office.
4.1.2 Any change of course without the letter of approval from the Academic Affairs Office is invalid. Any student involved in illegal change of course shall be deemed to have abandoned the course for which he/she is registered and shall be so treated.
4.1.3 Change of course can only be effected if a student has spent at least one academic session in the University.
4.1.4 Any student wishing to change his/her course shall so signify during the second semester of the session preceding session (year) that in which the change is to take place by completing the prescribed Change of Course form and submit same to his/her Head of Department before the commencement of the second semester examination.
4.1.5 Change of course cannot be effected during the session after registration may have closed.
5.1 The following rules and regulations shall operate in the conduct of examinations in the University:
5.1.1 For two (2) unit courses, a minimum of four(4) questions shall be answered from a maximum of six(6) questions two (2) hours.
5.1.2 For three (3) unit courses, a minimum, of five(5) questions shall be answered from a maximum of seven(7) questions within three (3) hours.
5.1.3 In enforcing compliance with the above, the peculiar natures of some Departments such as Practical Courses should be recognized.
5.1.4 Marks should be indicated on the question papers where all questions do not carry equal marks.
5.1.5 Without prejudice to the remaining part of this session, there shall be nothing wrong if an examiner decide to set objective or multiple choice questions, or a combination of objective/multiple questions and theory questions.
5.1.6 For the purpose of computing the final marks scored in any course by a student, examination shall carry 70% while continuous assessment shall carry 30%. There shall be at least one test every month which may take the form of term paper or otherwise; that is, there shall be at least three of such tests in one semester per course.
6.1 The minimum pass mark in a course shall be 50%. A student who scores lee than 50% shall retake the course at the next available opportunity.
6.2 Any student, who is absent from the whole examination without reasons acceptable to the Senate, shall have his studentship suspended and if the situation persists for another Semester, his/her studentship shall be determined.
6.3 Candidates are to arrive in the examination hall, at least, 30 minutes before the commencement of a paper.
6.4 Candidates arriving in the examination hall 30 minutes after the commencement of a paper shall not be allowed to sit for the particular paper.
6.5 Candidates are to provide themselves with pen, pencils, eraser (Indian rubber), sharpener/razor, ruler mathematical set, drawing instruments, dissecting sets (when applicable) and/or four figure tables. Hence, exchange of anything by students in the examination hall is illegal.
6.6 A candidate for a written examination shall not take or handle bag/purse and any paper into the examination hall, except his Admission Notice and identity card or any other material given to him/her by this University.
6.7 Only matriculation/examination number, and not name or any other identity of the student, shall be used on the examination script by students.
6.8 A candidate shall be given all the papers he/she needs. Any rough work should be done on the answer booklet provided for the examination but should be neatly canceled to make it legible. Every candidate must, therefore, work on papers provided for the examination by the University
6.9 No candidate shall bring into the examination hall any working aid or gadgets for visual models, sketches or formulae.
6.10 The use of cell phone or any other IT gadget is not allowed in the examination halls.
6.11 Where a candidate is in doubt as to what he/she is allowed to take into the examination hall, he/she should find out from the Departmental Examination Officer or the invigilator before the start of the paper.
6.12 All forms of “Cooperation” between candidates (e.g.) conversation, exchange of papers, writing and drawing aids, calculators, erasers and all forms of communication in the examination hall are regarded as examination malpractices.
6.13 Where a candidate, is in uncomfortable circumstances, he/she should call the attention of the invigilator by raising up his/her hand. Tapping on the table or desk and any form of noise in order to invite attention is a violation of proper conduct of the examination and shall be considered as an examination offense.
6.14 Candidates can visit the toilet only one at a time during an examination and strictly under escort by an invigilator; a male invigilator shall escort a male student and a female invigilator shall escort a female student.
6.15 It is a punishable offense for a candidate to: (i) destroy or mutilate an object that can be used as evidence; (ii) solicit for marks before or after an examination; (iii) possess examination stationery and/or materials before or after the examination; or (iv) possess examination question(s) before the examination.
6.16 Any candidate who is in any situation in any examination that prevents him/her from writing or completing an examination will be treated as absent with acceptable reasons.
6.17 Candidates must submit their answer script by hand to the invigilator and sign a prepared sheet of attendance. Invigilators should indicate acceptance of answer scripts from each student on the attendance sheet.
6.18 It is an offense for a candidate to take out of the examination hall any of the papers and materials provided by the University.
6.19 A question paper becomes the property of the candidate only where the nature of the examination permits it being taken out of the examination hall.
6.20 A candidate may submit his/her answer scripts any time but not earlier than 30 minutes from the commencement of writing an examination if he/she so wishes but must leave the examination hall immediately. The candidate shall not be allowed back into the examination hall.
6.21 Where an examination is considered special (e.g. open book examination, oral examination, practical work, laboratory test, surveying, field work, open air art work, drawing, etc), candidates must comply with the examiner’s instruction as to the number, nature, type of books and instruments or papers or work aids that can be used.
6.22 A student reserves the right to petition if her/she believes that there are justifiable reasons to indicate or prove that his/her academic performance has been wrongly assessed in any part/parts, subjects, tests, course work, etc. that form part of the semester examinations. Such a petition shall be entertained only on genuine grounds and payment of $50.00 reassessment fee.
6.23 A student making a petition is advised to state his/her case in detail and to attach/refer to all relevant facts documents and witnesses where applicable.
6.24 The petition should be forwarded through the Head of Department and Dean of the Faculty to the Registrar who will arrange a re-grading or re-assessment and report his findings at the next Senate meeting.
6.25 Any petition received three(3) months after the date of that particular examination shall not be entertained.
6.27 Any candidate in ill-health who requires any form of special attention or supervision or who feels that his/her health may affect his/her work in the examination hall shall notify, and submit a report signed by a medical practitioner and endorsed by the University Medical Officer, to his/her Head of Department prior to the examination date.
6.28 In case the candidate falls sick during an examination, he/she should report immediately to the invigilator, who shall take necessary actions.
6.29 Only a Head of Department can request for a medical report on any student who falls sick during any examination.
6.30 In case a candidate falls or reports serious illness prior to, or during, the examination period and is attended to by a Doctor at the University Health Center, a written report on the candidate shall be made by the Doctor and forwarded to the Head of Department of the candidate concerned within one week of attendance.
6.31 Where a candidate is referred to a specialist or any hospital, the external report on the candidate shall be counter-signed, with comments if need be, by the University Medical Officer and be forwarded to the Head of Department of the candidate concerned. In a case where there is no external report, the Doctor who makes reference shall take action as in 6.31 above.
6.32 All medical reports from the University Medical Officer shall reach the Head of Department not later than seven days after the student has reported ill. The Head of Department shall send medical reports of all such candidates to the Registrar within 48 hours of receiving them.
6.33 Any candidate caught cheating in the examination hall shall immediately be asked by the invigilator to write and sign a statement, which he/she shall do immediately. Any witness to the action or incidence shall also be requested to write and sign a statement.
6.34 The invigilator will send his reports as well as the student and witness’ statements to the student’s Head of Department who will forward them to the Registrar through the Faculty Dean.
6.35 Any examination malpractice shall be dealt with as provided for in the appropriate Section of the University Law.
6.36 The penalty for cheating in an examination and other forms of examination malpractice is dismissal from the University or other punishment that may appear to the President to be appropriate for the gravity of offense the committed.
6.37 A student who feels dissatisfied with the President’s ruling in rustication or expulsion may appeal to the Governing Council within seven (7) to fourteen (14) days of the receipt of the notice of rustication or expulsion.
6.39 Tutorials are regarded as integral part of normal lecture and shall therefore, not be credited with units.
6.40 No courses shall attract fractional units such as 1½ units, 3½ units etc.
6.41 At least, 3 hours of practical per week shall carry one (1) unit; entirely practical courses are subject to a maximum of 180 hours of practical work per semester.
6.42 Project shall be the only two (2) Semester Course and shall carry a maximum of six (6) units for under graduate, five(5) units for PGD and 12units for Mater’s and Doctoral programs.
6.43 Each semester shall have a maximum of nineteen (16) weeks consisting of not less than twelve (12) weeks of lectures. The remaining part of the semester shall be used for revision and examinations.
6.44 At the end of each semester, a Grade Point Average (GPA) shall be computed for all the courses taken in the semester. The GPA shall be computed and rounded up to two decimal places as follows:
GPA = Sum of (Grade Point x Course Unit Obtained)
Sum of course units taken
i. e., The sum of the Weighted Grade Points Obtained
Sum of Course units taken
6.45 Starting from the 2nd Semester, a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) shall be computed to two decimal places at the end of each semester. CGPA refers to the grade point average for a number of semesters. CGPA is the sum of (GPA x Units taken per semester) for a number of semesters divided by total number of units taken in those semesters.
6.46 A student who’s CGPA is less than 1.00 for two consecutive semesters shall be requested to withdraw from the course/University for poor academic performance.
6.47 A student who is requested to withdraw for poor academic performance cannot re- register in the same Department till after two (2) sessions.
6.48 Based on the approved syllabus of the University for each program, Departments shall design their curriculum in such a way that:
(a) No course shall have less than 30 hours of lecture per semester, i.e. no course shall have less than two (2) units.
(b) No course shall have more than 45 hours of lecture per semester excluding practical and tutorials (i.e. 3 units).
6.49 Departments shall advise and ensure that a student takes a minimum of 12 units and a maximum of 27 units per semester.
6.50 Subject to the approval of the Senate, each Department shall be responsible for the determination of core/requisite, required-elective, and free-elective/Elective courses with the number of units that each of the courses shall carry.
7.1 All campus journalism should ascertain that whatever is published is factual and objective. Writers should therefore, endeavor to check their facts before going to the press.
8.2 They must refrain from defamatory, indecent, malicious and ill motivated “bugging.”
8.3 They should avoid advertising or highlighting the physical deformities of other persons.
8.4 They must respect the fundamental rights of individuals and should, therefore, avoid unwarranted incursion into the private affairs of individuals.
8.5 To prevent proliferation of campus newspapers, all prospective papers must register with the Registrar’s Department or renew their registration before the end of January each year.
8.6 To avoid impersonation, all Campus papers should carry names of the Editorial Board as well as the addresses of the editors. All articles must be signed and author’s full names must be clearly shown.
8.7 All notice board write-ups must also comply with the above-listed rules and regulations and such articles must carry the authors’ full names and addresses.
8.8 The members of the editorial board including their staff advisers shall be personally and/or collectively liable for lapses arising from any publication in their journal. The President in accordance with the relevant section(s) of the University Law shall handle such cases.
7.1 BAU students shall always be corporate in their mode of dressing.
7.2 Students of the University shall dress in complete native or traditional dresses or any foreign style such as complete French suits, trousers and shirts with long or short sleeves and ties, jeans, etc with the University Identity Cards being put on at all times.
7.5 The University shall enforce strict compliance to the dressing code for all students during classes and at other occasions on the Campuses. Accordingly, all students shall be admitted to classes and other formal occasions dressed in the manner, which is in conformity with the University dressing codes.
7.6 The University or any of her officers reserve the right to send students who fail to dress in line with the ethics of the University out of Lecture or Examination halls. For avoidance of doubt, students of the University are not allowed to dress within the University premises in a way that would encourage or induce indecency, immorality or expose the body to danger or harassment of any kind.
8.1 With the exception of University staff on a course within the institution, it is an offense for any other student to be in an area that is out of bounds to students for whatever reason.
8.2 A student may be dismissed permanently or suspended for a period not exceeding one session, on account of misconduct.
8.3 The Senate reserves the right to withhold, nullify or cancel the examination result/Degree Certificate of a student if he/she does not satisfy any University Examination Regulations.
8.4 The Senate reserves the right to withhold the examination result/ Degree Certificate of any student who is indebted to the University.
8.5 The Senate reserves the right to ask any student who does not satisfy any University examination or other regulations to repeat or withdraw from the course or the institution temporarily or permanently as the case may be.
8.6 The Senate reserves the right to withhold, nullify or cancel the examination result/Degree certificate of a student who gains admission through fraudulent means or who knowingly gained admission with fake certificates or examination results.
8.7 Nothing in the other sections of these standing rules and regulations shall be construed as perverting the President or anybody or Committee duly authorized by him from using the relevant provisions of the University Law or any other rules/regulations approved by the Governing Council in dealing with student discipline or other matters.
8.8 A student who is expelled or dismissed on account of misconduct cannot be readmitted to the University for any course. The President shall cancel any such admission any time it is discovered and any fees, dues or contributions paid by the student shall be forfeited to the University.
8.9 A student shall forfeit any admission to any other course/Department in the University during the time he is placed under suspension or rustication.
9.1 Examination results of students in all Departments shall be ratified by the Senate after due consideration of each student’s performance during semester examination as well as the conduct of individual student during the course.
9.2 The Senate shall paste Examination results on the various departmental notice boards and the General Notice Board following ratification by the Senate.
9.3 Individual results will be issued to students and or their parent/guardian only after students’ clearance by various Departments and service areas (Library, Bursary, Registry, etc.)
9.4 Certificates shall normally be issued to students after the Graduation Ceremony.
10. To avoid impersonation:
10.1 A female student on getting married may change her name by notifying the Registrar. Such a notification must be backed up by necessary legal documents relating to the marriage to prove the genuineness of the change.
10.2 Any student whose family has cause to change its name must submit a legal document from the family to support the change to prove the necessity for the change. No document will be accepted from any student, which is not from the entire family.
10.3 No student of the University can change his/her name except as specified in (a) and (b) above.
11.1 Transcripts of Academic Records are issued by the University on request by students.
11.2 The condition for issuance of Transcripts of Academic Records are:
(i) Completion of the prescribed forms, which can be collected from the Academic
Office,
(ii) Payment of the prescribed fee to the Bursary, and
(iii) Submission of the receipts obtained from Bursary to the Academic Office.
11.3 Transcripts of Academic Records shall not be sent to any individual student but institutions of higher learning, Scholarship Board or Employers on request.
11.4 Any request for Academic Transcripts not properly made shall not be attended to.
11.5 Request for Transcripts to more than one institution/board or employer shall attract the appropriate fees in multiple of that prescribed for only one by the University.
11.6 The University shall reserve the right to approve or rejects any application for transcript(s) for cogent reasons.
The Office of the Registrar and Student Affairs can explain any rule or procedure.