Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures

The academic program at Wayland Baptist University provides a broad liberal arts education in an environment which recognizes the worth, dignity, and potential of each student. Within this environment, students are provided a variety of opportunities designed to enable them to develop value judgments and principles for living drawn from the various liberal arts and grounded in an understanding of their relationship with God. In the setting of Christian community, the university’s academic programs reward sound scholarship, earnest effort, commitment to personal excellence, and the willingness to use one’s talents to serve both God and the human fellowship.

In keeping with this commitment, a university and degree specific general education core of courses and educational experiences form the foundation of each of the degree programs offered by the institution as well as the major and minor fields of study included in these programs. The university general education core curriculum and the degree specific general education required for each of the university’s degrees is located in the Undergraduate Programs section.

Students are held responsible for knowing degree requirements, for enrolling in courses that fit within their degree program, and for taking courses in the proper sequence to ensure an orderly progression of work. Students are also held responsible for knowing and abiding by university regulations regarding the standard of work required to continue in the university.

Although students are viewed as individuals who possess the qualities of worth and dignity as well as the capacity for self-direction, in the interest of maintaining the university’s academic standards and sense of moral community, the institution reserves the right, through due process, to place on probation, suspend, or expel any student who provides false or misleading information, or who engages in classroom misdemeanor or academic dishonesty.

Notification of Rights Under FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They are as follows:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the university receives a request for access.
   
   Students should submit to the registrar, dean of students, external campus executive director/dean, school dean, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The university official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the university official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
    
2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading.
   
   Students may ask the university to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the university official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the university decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the university will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment.
   
   Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
    
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
   
   One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the university has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
    
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Wayland Baptist University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-5920.

Catalog Requirements

A student pursuing a course of study may choose to graduate in compliance with the requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of first enrollment beyond the census date to the university or those of any subsequent catalog edition, provided that degree requirements are completed within six years of the ending date of the catalog selected. A student who wishes to use a subsequent catalog edition may not return to previous editions. Degree requirements must be from one catalog. The catalog is in effect from August 1 of the publication year through July 31 of the next calendar year.

Active Duty and Reservist Temporary Duty Assignments

Students who are active duty service members or reservists who are temporarily reassigned during any term of enrollment have the option of 1) accepting a Military TDY refund; 2) requesting an incomplete for all or part of the courses enrolled and must follow the incomplete grade policy; or 3) continuing assigned work if enrolled in courses via WBUonline.  Service members are required to supply a copy of the order and a request for withdrawal or accommodation to the campus executive director/dean at branch campus locations or the university registrar for the Plainview campus. If the service member decides to withdraw from the university, he/she will not be required to reapply for admission unless the absence exceeds one calendar year.

Minimum Academic Standards for Students Receiving VA Educational Benefits

Students who fail to achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.00 shall be placed on probation for one term. Students who achieve a term GPA of 2.00 or better during the probationary period, but do not achieve the required 2.00 cumulative GPA, may continue on probation for one more term. Students who fail to achieve a 2.00 GPA at the end of the first probationary period shall be reported to the Veteran’s Administration Regional Office (VARO) as making unsatisfactory progress. Students who fail to achieve a 2.00 cumulative GPA at the end of the second consecutive probationary period shall be reported to the VARO as making unsatisfactory progress and may become ineligible to receive further VA benefits until the cumulative GPA is 2.00 or better.

Transcript Release Policy

Academic transcripts are issued only for those students who have met admissions requirements for the appropriate admissions category or degree program. Transfer work will become a part of the student’s record only after matriculation (defined as enrollment through census date), and then only when the student has established a satisfactory course of record, which includes a minimum of one academic course. Academic transcripts will be available to the student in perpetuity after the student has departed the institution. Such records shall be accessible either through Wayland Baptist University, a successor institution, or through the respective state records center and archives or a comparable retrieval facility.  All Business Office accounts must be paid in full and all admission holds cleared before a transcript may be released. (See Payment of Account  under the tuition and fees section)