Academic Policies

Attendance and participation in all class and computer lab sessions are essential to the process of education at UD since students benefit from discussions with their instructors and fellow students as well as from lectures. For this reason, students are expected to attend classes regularly. Absences hinder progress for the individual as well as the class, and affects students’ learning outcomes and grades.

UD regulations for attendance and absenteeism warnings imposed on all courses are as follows:

1.1      All credit courses are offered in two consecutive sessions of one hour and twenty minutes each. A twenty minute break is given after the first session, except for morning classes where the break is for only 10 minutes.

1.2      All non-credit courses are offered in two consecutive sessions of one hour and fifty minutes each. A twenty minute break is given after the first session.

1.3      Students are sent warnings through their e-mail/SIS account when their absences reach 10% and 20% of class time for a given course.

1.4      Once a student has been absent for 25% of class time for a course, s/he will be deprived from attending the final exam. A grade of “FA” will be recorded for the course and counts (negatively) towards the student’s GPA. If a student’s absence is for a valid reason that is deemed acceptable by the Registrar, the student is considered to be “Withdrawn” from the course(s). Deprived students may not attend any further exams; however, they still have the right to attend the classes.

1.5      Late Arrival: The 10 minutes grace period is granted in the first and second session each. In the first session, students who arrive 11 to 20 minutes late will be marked as having “Late Attendance” and the system will automatically register one absence for each four such attendances.  However, in the second session, students who arrive after 10 minutes grace period will be marked “Absent.” This policy will be effective Fall 2011 semester.

1.6      Absenteeism percentages are calculated according to the table below:

1.7      An accepted valid excuse does not nullify the absence but will cancel any penalties normally imposed for absence at a quiz, midterm or final exam. See under Missing Exam Policy.

1.8      Warnings are issued to the student irrespective of the validity of his/her absence excuse.

1.9      Absence is recorded from the first class session following course registration/adding date.

1.10  The Registrar notifies students of their “absence status” through their UD e-mail accounts.

1.11   The absence of a student in the following cases is considered an absence with an excuse and is not included in calculating the absence rate: Representing the government on an official mission; Students are sent to represent their country, by taking part in a sports competition; Emergency in the Armed Forces or Police necessitates the absence. Even in cases where this absence is based on prior permission being given, it must nevertheless be substantiated by evidence, proving that the student was contributing to the general welfare of the UAE.

1. After the study of 30 credit hours, students whose cumulative GPA drops below 2.00 will be placed under academic probation and accordingly will receive a first academic warning.
2. If a student fails to remove the academic probation by the end of the following regular semester, he/she will stay on academic probation & receive the second academic warning; else, the student's academic probation will be removed.  However, the transcripts will still show the warnings.
3. In case a student reaches third consecutive academic warnings he/she will be dismissed from the university.
4. Overrule on any dismissal may be taken by the UD President when deemed appropriate.
5. The maximum study load for students with an academic warning will be reduced to 12 credit hours for the Fall and Spring semesters and 3 credit hours for Winter and the Summer terms. Priority is given to failed courses prior to registering in any new courses
6. This change will come into effect this Fall 2008/09 and applied to students starting from 2006 intake.

1. Failing Grade: If the student fails in the course and repeats it only once, the grade obtained in the re-sit exam will appear on the transcript. If the student fails the second time, then the maximum grade he/she might get is a C.
2. Passing Grade: Students, who wish to raise their grade points in any course they have taken and passed before, may re-register for that course not more than two times. When a student re-registers for a course, the higher grade will be considered for computation of the GPA.

The minimum and the maximum period of study at UD are as follows:

1. The maximum period of study may not exceed 14 regular semesters (or its equivalent).
2. The credit hours calculated for the student in his/her academic plan after transferring or changing from one concentration to another, is considered as 1 regular semester for each 9 C.H.
3. Two winter/summer terms are considered as one regular academic semester.
4. The period of holding the student's registration is NOT included in the aforementioned periods.

1. Calculation of the Semester GPA: The credit-hours of the course (in which the student is registered) are multiplied by the points earned by the student in that particular course. The total multiplication result is then divided by the total number of credit hours in all the courses registered by the student.
   Example:
   

   Course	C.H	Grade		C.H. X Points	Semester GPA
   		Code	Points
   English I	3	A	4	12	Total Points ÷ Credit Hours
   Math. For Business I	3	B	3	9
   Computer Applications	3	C	2	6
   Islamic Thought	3	A	4	12
   	12			39	Semester GPA=39÷12=3.25 pt

2. Calculation of the Cumulative GPA (CGPA): The total multiplication result of the credit hours of each course in which the student is registered since his/her enrollment until the time of calculating the cumulative GPA multiplied by the points earned by the student in each course divided by the total number of credit hours. Courses marked with an asterisk (*) in the transcripts are not included in the calculation of the GPA.
   Example:
   

   Course	CH	Grade		C.H. X Points	Semester / Cumulative GPA
   		Code	Points
   1st Academic Semester
   English I	3	A	4	12	Total Points ÷ Credit Hours
   Math. for Business I	3	B	3	9
   Computer Applications	3	C	2	6
   Islamic Thought	3	A	4	12
   	12			39	Semester GPA=39÷12 = 3.25 point
   2nd Academic Semester
   English II	3	A	4	12	Total Points ÷ Credit Hours
   Math. for Business II	3	C+	2.5	7.5
   Internet Applications	3	B+	3.5	10.5
   UAE Society	3	A	4	12
   	12			42	Semester GPA=42÷12=3.50 point
   Total	24 (12+12)			81 (39+42)	Cumulative GPA=81÷24=3.375 point

1. The student will be assessed continuously during the semester. Part of the total marks is allocated to student's work during the semester, part to the mid-term exam and the remaining part for the end of semester exam.
2. Students failing required courses must repeat them. For elective courses, students may repeat the same course or its substitute in accordance with the approved study plan.
3. When calculating the cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), all fail (F) grades that are not replaced will be counted in the computation. Once the student retakes the failed course, he/she will retain the newly assigned grade (See Repeating Courses).
4. All courses and grades obtained by the student are recorded in the student's transcript. An asterisk (*) is noted opposite to the grades that are omitted while calculating the cumulative GPA.
5. The following is the grading system followed at UD:

Semester and Cumulative Grade Point (GPA)

1. Failing to attend Quiz

A student who misses a quiz will not be allowed for any make-up quiz.

2. Failing to attend Midterm Exam

• Excuses should be reported to the Admission & Registration Department within seven days of the last day of excuse.
• All medical excuses should be stamped by the Ministry of Health.
• All midterm make-up exams will be held only once during the 13th week of the Fall &Spring Semesters and on the 13th day of the Winter, or Summer Semesters.
• Students will receive only 80% of the grade on the midterm exam.
• If the student does not attend the midterm make-up exam on the specified date, he/she will be deprived from any further midterm make-up exams even if he/she provides again an acceptable excuse.

3. Failing to attend Final Exam

A student who misses the final exam of any course will receive an “F” grade in that course. In case of compelling medical emergency certified in writing, within seven days of the last day of excuse, by a medical practitioner that is recognized by the Dubai Medical Zone or other professional, he/she will receive an Incomplete grade “I”. If the student fails to attend the make-up exam on the specified date, he/she will be deprived from any further make-up even if he/she provides an acceptable excuse; in this case he/she will receive an “F” for that course.

4. Incomplete Exams

• Make up final exams will be administered before the registration week for the following regular semester as specified by the Registrar's office. If the student misses the make-up exam, he/she will receive an "F" in the course.
• Students will receive only 80% of the grade on the final exam.
• The student's final grade for the “Incomplete” course will be considered part of the result of the academic semester in which the student registered the course.
• Penalties may be waived by the UD President upon submission of a valid and substantiated reason.

Students seeking to change their concentration or college at UD must complete the appropriate form from the Admission and Registration Department. Requests for a change of concentration/college must be submitted to the Registrar two weeks before the end of the semester, at the latest.

The clearance is required by the student at the time of graduation, withdrawal or dismissal.

1. Students may take courses during short terms at other college or university for transfer credit under the following conditions:

• • The course should be equivalent to UD course with at least 80% of the content.  Students should provide course description and course syllabus.
  • These courses must not have been offered at UD in the short terms
  • Students should have a minimum “C” grade (equivalent to 2.0 / Minimum 70%) once taken outside UD.
  • Student must be in good academic and disciplinary standing.
  • Students must receive prior approval from his/her Dean. The “Application to Take Summer Courses outside UD” form is available from the Department of Admission & Registration.
  • The host institution must be recognized.
  • Regulations regarding transfer of credits will apply. See Process Statement on Registration/ Section on Transfer Credits.

1. For the purpose of quality assurance, “Concentration” courses, capstone, and internship, are not permitted to be taken outside UD (with exception to exchange programs approved by UD) unless the student is graduating in the same semester/term and the course is not offered at UD. The relevant items in 10.1 must be taken into account.

1. In order to graduate, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of not less than 2.25 and complete 129 credit hours according to their academic plan.
2. University of Dubai confers degrees during its annual commencement ceremony to students who have completed or are expected to complete their graduation requirements within the same academic year (i.e. between September 1st and prior to August 31st).

• Commencement Honors:

The honors categories for graduation are based on the following scale:

• Cum Laude:                     G.P.A 3.2 through 3.49.
• Magna Cum Laude:           G.P.A 3.5 through 3.79.
• Summa Cum Laude:          G.P.A 3.8 through 4.0.

• Dean's List

To be eligible for the dean's list, a student must have carried 30 and above academic hours, not counting work taken for pass-fail credit.

• Dean's Honors:                 G.P.A 3.2 through 3.49
• Dean's High Honors:          G.P.A 3.5 through 3.79.
• Dean's Highest Honors:      G.P.A 3.8 through 4.0.

If a student withdraws from the University, the appropriate form must be submitted to the Department of Admission & Registration. The refund policy mentioned in the Tuition Fees section will apply.