The Ohio State University

• At least fifteen hours of free electives must be provided by every undergraduate curriculum: See Curricular requirements.
• Every undergraduate student must complete at least fifteen hours required in three basic academic areas: See Basic education.
• Instructors will administer examinations at the close of each course: See Course examinations.
• The university registrar shall perform or resolve the scheduling of final examinations: See Schedules for final examinations.
• See the official marks of the University.
• Marks for every student shall be reported to the office of the university registrar: See Report of marks.
• Mark alterations (grade changes) must be initiated before the end of the second succeeding quarter: See Alteration of marks.

Course Credit

• Credit hours reflect the amount of course work required, and one semester credit hour is equivalent to 1.5 quarter credit hours.
• Credit points are assigned to some marks, but not to others.
• A student's academic standing for a quarter, semester, or session is expressed by the point-hour ratio, computed by dividing the total number of credit points earned by the total number of credit hours scheduled or undertaken.
• Fresh Start Rule: An undergraduate student who re-enrolls in the University after an absence of five or more years may petition for a recalculation of the cumulative point-hour ratio of his or her previous residency.
• There are conditions under which a student receiving a mark of "E" in a required course must repeat the course: See Failure in a required course.
• There are conditions under which a student who has earned fewer than 45 credit hours may have a grade of D+ or lower excluded from the calculation of the cumulative point-hour ratio and deficiency points: See Freshman forgiveness rule.
• Although there are conditions under which students may repeat courses, the credit hours for a repeated course shall in no case be counted more than once in meeting graduation requirements: See Repetition of courses.
• The professor in charge of the course must approve any admission to courses as an auditor.
• A student wishing to withdraw from courses or from the university must file the appropriate form with the authorized representative of the dean or director of the student's enrollment unit.
• The instructor or other appropriate administrative official may disenroll a student from a course, which may or may not result in a mark on the student's official permanent record.

Admission

• There are several categories of classification of students for admission.

Administrative Hold

• An administrative hold, which causes the withholding of services such as registering for courses or obtaining current quarter grades, may be placed on the records or accounts of any person who fails to comply in a reasonable period of time with an oblication imposed under university rules or who has an overdue debt or fine.

Improper Registration

• The university registrar may cancel a student's registration in cases of improper registration or when false or incomplete information is provided on official documents.

Absences

• Each department or school may make its own rules relative to occasional absences by students from scheduled activities.

Warning and Dismissal

• In order to remain in good standing in the university, a student must maintain a point-hour ratio of at least 2.00: See Minimum scholastic requirements.
• There are conditions under which a student will receive a warning about his or her academic standing: See Academic warning.
• Any student who has accumulated fifteen or more deficiency points shall be placed on probation: See Academic probation.
• If the student's college or school considers a student's progress as unsatisfactory in meeting the conditions placed on his or her probation, the college or school shall be empowered to dismiss the student from the university: See Academic dismissal.
• Notice of dismissal from the university shall be sent by the dean of the college in which the dismissed student is registered.
• Any student who may be reinstated by a college or school following academic dismissal shall be subject to such special requirements as may be determined appropriate by the dean of the college or director of the school: See Reinstatement after academic dismissal.

Conditional/Unconditional Admission

• Specific admission requirements exist for entrance into the university.
• Removal of entrance conditions assessed against students at the time of admission may occur after the entrance deficiencies have been made up.

University Class Ranking System
Student rank in all the undergraduate colleges is based on total credit hours completed and recorded.

Rank begins anew when the student enrolls in Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Optometry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, or the Agricultural Technical Institute.
Students enrolled in the Graduate School receive the rank of either M-Master's (0-50 earned hours) or P-PhD (51 or more earned hours or master's degree).

Should there be any doubt concerning the correctness of one's rank, the student should consult with the appropriate enrollment unit.

Retroactive Graduate Credit

Generally, students canot receive graduate credit for courses taken when the student is not enrolled in the Graduate School: See Section II.3.1.1 of the Graduate School Handbook (pdf).

Graduate Credit for Undergraduates

There are conditions under which an undergraduate may petition to take certain courses for graduate credit: See Section II.3.1.3 of the Graduate School Handbook (pdf).

Degrees and Certificates

Requirements for an Undergraduate Baccalaureate Degree

Requirements for a Graduate Degree

Requirements for a Professional Degree

Requirements for Certificate of Study

Standards for Honors at Graduation