__________________________________________________________________

A matriculated student is one who has demonstrated competence for collegiate study and who has been accepted as a candidate for a degree. Your matriculation date is important because it determines which College Catalog and degree requirements you are to follow. For example, new students enrolled (matriculated) for a degree for the Fall 1997 semester are required to follow the curriculum set out in the 1996-98 Catalog.

A minimum of 120 credits is required for most baccalaureate major programs and 60 credits is required for the associate’s degree. Students must complete at least 24 credits at Touro to meet residency requirements for the associate’s degree and 30 credits for the bachelor’s degree. Also, at least one-half of the major course and core course requirements, must be completed at Touro.

A Declaration of Major form is available from the Registrar's Office or the Advisement and Counseling Service for students wishing to change their major or declare a major. Once completed, this form is to be handed in to the Registrar’s Office. The form is completed every term as part of registration.

It is perfectly okay for a baccalaureate student to be undecided about his major during his first two years of college. Most freshmen are undecided about their major or change their major several times before making a final decision. We understand that it may take time to select a major.

Touro also provides assistance to students in choosing a major. The people in the Advisement and Counseling Service, as well as department chairs are just some of the people who are available to help you with selecting a major.

All baccalaureate students should declare a major by the end of their sophomore year (completion of 60 credits). Changing your major during the first semester of the junior year is possible, but as you start to complete your major courses switching to a new major program becomes more difficult to do without having to complete more than 120 credits.

First, you should check with the Registrar’s Office to make sure a complete transcript has been sent from your transfer institution. Once this is received by Touro, your additional credits will be evaluated by the Registrar’s Office. Note that transcripts from previously attended institutions must be received within six months of beginning study at Touro.

No, not automatically. At Touro, there is a ten year limit for using undergraduate transfer credit in Computer Science, Natural Sciences, Business and Accounting. In other fields, as long as the coursework is comparable to current degree requirements, the credits can be applied to your Touro degree. It is subject to individual departmental approval.

You should plan to spend two hours outside of class studying for every hour you spend in class. If you are enrolled for 15 credits, you should plan for 30 hours of study time every week. This adds up to 45 hours that you will need to commit to class and to studying every week, which is a full-time commitment.

The definition of a full-time student is one who is enrolled for 12 credits (or its equivalent) or more for either the fall or spring semester. As indicated in question No. 8 above, participation in class together with study outside class is equivalent to a full-time job. Therefore, a full-time student should work only part-time and usually not more than 20 hours per week.

The Grade Point Average (GPA) is obtained by dividing the total number of grade quality points achieved by the total number of course credits attempted at Touro College including a grade of "F" but not grades of "W" or "P".

P: Passing grade

TC- to TF: A student has not completed a required assignment or examination. If the work is not completed by the deadline, the "T" drops and the grade becomes final.

W: Withdrew with permission

WU: Failed - Administrative withdrawal without permission before eight weeks.

N: No grade submitted by instructor.

INC: Incomplete (graduate school only)

WNA: Student never attended classes.

Courses in which grades of "F" have been received must be repeated if they are required for graduation. Further, if the "failed" course is a prerequisite for another course then the next course may not be taken until the prerequisite course has been passed. For example, EBA 102 may not be taken until EBA 101 has been passed; LLE 102/GLL 122 requires successful completion of LLE 101/GLL 121 or a placement exam; and MAT 121 must be passed before beginning MAT 122.

Any student whose GPA falls below 2.00 is automatically placed on probation. Students on probation are given two semesters to raise their GPA to 2.0. Students who have not improved their grades sufficiently while on probation may be dismissed from the College.

Full-time students who achieve a high standard of scholarship in a semester are named to the Dean's List at the end of each fall and spring semester. Honors are awarded to students who have completed at least twelve credits (excluding grades of "P") in a given semester and attained a GPA of 3.4 or better.

Approximately nine months to one year before you plan to graduate (prior to March 15th of the preceding year for January graduates and prior to September 15th of the preceding year for June and September graduates), you must file a graduation application at the Registrar's Office. At that time, you must also pay a fee to the Bursar to complete the application. You will then be an official candidate for graduation. The Registrar will prepare a graduation audit for you specifying the courses you have remaining to complete your degree requirements.

A GPA of 2.00 is necessary for graduation. For all students who entered Touro after Fall 1988, a 2.30 average in the major is also required for graduation.

A student needs to complete at least 60 credits at Touro in a bachelor's degree program and to achieve a minimum final GPA of 3.40. Graduation Honors are awarded as follows:

summa cum laude: 3.80 - 4.00

magna cum laude: 3.60 - 3.79

cum laude: 3.40 - 3.59

Students completing the associate degree with a 3.50 GPA and a minimum of 32 credits completed at Touro are eligible to graduate "With Distinction".

Prerequisites are specific courses that must be satisfied before you can enroll in a course. The prerequisites for each course are listed in the Class Schedule and the Touro Catalog. Completing all prerequisites before taking a course is important for academic success. The prerequisite course teaches specific materials that are essential for success in higher level courses. Students without the proper prerequisites will not be prepared for the course and will, consequently, encounter academic difficulty. English/Speech Communications, mathematics, economics and introductory business courses should be taken during the first 64 credits in order to satisfy prerequisites for upper level business courses. For example, in order to take EBF 337 (International Trading of Commodities), an upper level course, EBE 105 and EBK 101 or EBF 101 must be completed first. Student registrations are checked randomly prior to the beginning of each semester for compliance to the prerequisite requirements.

Students who do not have the proper prerequisites will be required to drop the course. Also, if you register for an advanced course expecting to have the prerequisite completed by the start of the next semester and then do not pass the prerequisite course, you must drop the advanced course and repeat the prerequisite as soon as possible.

If you are unable to take a mid-term or final exam at the scheduled time, you should contact your instructor before missing the exam. Authorization for a deferred or make-up exam is at the discretion of the instructor.

If you are going to be absent from classes for several weeks during a semester due to a serious illness, an unexpected business trip or other emergency, you should contact your instructor and the ACS (Advisement and Counseling Service) on your campus. A counselor will be able to contact your instructors, and let them know about your extended absence. Upon your return, it can then be determined if you can make up the missed work or if you should withdraw from some or all of your courses.

If you need to take one or more semesters off, you should file a Leave of Absence form with the Registrar. Scheduling a meeting with a Touro Academic Counselor prior to taking a leave of absence is strongly recommended.

A student whose GPA is above a 3.0 may be allowed to take additional credits by receiving permission from the Office of the Dean. You should take into consideration such factors as your work schedule and the level of difficulty of the courses you plan to take. If the request is approved, you would have to pay on a per credit basis for each additional credit over the 18-credit maximum.

At Touro, waivers are dealt with by the Committee on Academic Standing. A student must go to his counselor/advisor for assistance in completing a student appeal form, where appropriate. Please be sure to follow the detailed instructions that are included with the request form. Documentation should be submitted along with the form.

To be eligible for financial aid, students need to complete their program within a maximum time frame of 150% of the length of the program in which they matriculate, measured in terms of credit hours and credit hours attempted. (Credit hours attempted to not include remedial non-credit courses. For example, students matriculated in a 120 credit baccalaureate program should complete their program (and all requirements for the degree) before they have exceeded 180 credits attempted.

A lower senior must have completed at least 88 credits, an upper senior, at least 104. Consult the LAS catalog (page 129) for the entire list.