University Policies

Visit University Policy Administration for the complete list of policies.

WAC 250-61-120 Catalog Requirements

An institution granted authorization shall publish a catalog supplemented as necessary by other published materials, providing sufficient information for students to obtain an adequate understanding of the institution, its programs, policies and procedures. Institutional catalogs shall be published at least once every two years and be provided to students at the time of their enrollment. Electronic catalogs must be archived and students must have access to the archived information.
Eastern Washington University is authorized by the Washington Student Achievement Council and meets the requirements and minimum educational standards established for degree-granting institutions under the Degree-Granting Institutions Act. This authorization is subject to periodic review and authorizes (EWU) to offer specific degree programs. The council may be contacted for a list of currently authorized programs. Authorization by the council does not carry with it an endorsement by the council of the institution or its programs. Any person desiring information about the requirements of the act or the applicability of those requirements to the institution may contact the council at P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504-3430 or email.
An institution (EWU) granted authorization shall make the following statement regarding transferability available to all students: "The transferability of credits earned at (EWU) is at the discretion of the receiving college, university, or other educational institution. Students considering transferring to any institution should not assume that credits earned in any program of study at (EWU) will be accepted by the receiving institution. Similarly, the ability of a degree, certificate, diploma, or other academic credential earned at (EWU) to satisfy an admission requirement of another institution is at the discretion of the receiving institution. Accreditation does not guarantee credentials or credits earned at (EWU) will be accepted by or transferred to another institution. To minimize the risk of having to repeat coursework, students should contact the receiving institution in advance for evaluation and determination of transferability of credits and/or acceptability of degrees, diplomas, or certificates earned."
The catalog shall include elements as required by the council in application materials such that a prospective student may become reasonably informed about the institution, its offerings, policies and procedures.

Disclaimer
This catalog provides a general guideline of courses offered by Eastern Washington University. The courses and programs described herein are implemented at the sole discretion of EWU and are subject to change at any time without notice. Information contained on courses and programs are illustrative only and are not intended to create any contractual obligation or covenant with EWU.

Limitation of Liability
Eastern Washington University’s total liability for claims arising from a contractual relationship with the student in any way related to courses or programs shall be limited to the tuition and expenses paid by the student to EWU for those courses or programs. In no event shall EWU be liable for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages, including but not limited to, loss of earnings or profits.

Student Directory Information

Access to Academic Records

Certain categories of student information are considered open or directory-type data and may be released to the public if the student is enrolled at the university at the time of request. These categories include student’s name, address, email address, telephone number, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight, height and birth dates of athletic team members; dates of attendance at the university, enrollment status, degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.

All other information regarding a student’s record or attendance is restricted and may not be released to a third party without the student’s written permission except as allowed under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Examples of restricted information are a student’s course enrollment, the number of credits earned and any grade-related information. This policy is in compliance with federal rules and regulations and is intended to protect each student’s privacy and security. See WAC 172-191

Specific details of the (FERPA) Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 are available in the Records and Registration Office, 201 Sutton Hall.

Special Note: Students may request that directory information not be released to the public. A directory restriction can be requested at the Records and Registration office, 201 Sutton Hall. Students who request a directory restriction will not be sent general non-educational information from the university. University notice of Dean’s List to local papers and to the National Dean’s List will not be made for students with restrictions. For more information on the directory restriction, review the information in WAC 172–191 and with Records and Registration, 201 Sutton Hall, 509.359.2321.

Annual Security and Fire Safety Report

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is provided in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Act of 1998 and the associated amendments including the recently adopted Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. Federal Regulations (34 CFR Part 668), require a copy of Eastern Washington University's Clery Act Report, otherwise known as the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, to be provided to current and prospective employees and students.

This report includes statistical information for three previous calendar years concerning reported crimes which occurred on EWU's campus; certain off-campus buildings or properties owned or controlled by EWU and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, EWU's campus. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security issues, such as policies and or procedures concerning sexual assault, alcohol use, and the Drug-Free Schools Act.

The Clery report or a paper copy of the report is available upon request by contacting the EWU Police Department at 509.359.6310 or police@ewu.edu.

Credits Chapter 4-1

A “credit hour” is a measure of graduate or undergraduate academic work represented in intended student learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that reasonably approximates not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and an average of approximately, but not less than, two-hours per week of student work outside of class per credit for an on campus course. For compressed courses, the expected weekly student effort scales with the compression factor.

For purposes of laboratory work, individual study, field application, internships, practica, ensemble, studio work, distance learning, hybrid courses, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours, each credit hour should reasonably approximate an equivalent amount of work as described above. The following definitions are provided as general guidance for approximating a minimum amount of student work in the learning formats described below:

Face-to-face traditional: One (1) credit hour for face-to-face traditional credit is defined as one (1) hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work for each week of instructional time.
Distance and Online learning: One (1) credit hour for distance or online learning is defined as three (3) hours of instruction and/or student work per week that leads to equivalent learning outcomes required for an on-campus course.
Field application, internship, practicum, or clinical rotation: One (1) credit hour for field placement, internship, practicum, or clinical rotation is defined as at least thirty (30) hours of supervised work each quarter.
Laboratory: One (1) credit hour for laboratory credit is defined as a minimum of two (2) class hours of work each week in a laboratory under the supervision of a lab supervisor/instructor and an expectation of one (1) class hour of additional out-of-class student work each week.
Individual study: One (1) credit hour for individualized study (e.g. thesis, research report, and independent study) is defined as a minimum of three (3) class hours of direct instruction and/or individual work each week.
Studio: One (1) credit hour for studio credit is defined as a minimum of two (2) class hours of instruction per week for each credit hour and an expectation of one (1) class hour of additional out-of-class student work each week.
Ensemble (music classes): One (1) credit hour for studio credit is defined as a minimum of two (2) class hours of instruction per week for each credit hour and an expectation of one (1) class hour of additional out-of-class student work each week.
Hybrid: This mode of instruction is a combination of face-to-face traditional and distance learning. For a hybrid course, one (1) credit hour should reasonably approximate the combination of face-to-face traditional credit and distance learning credit that is proportional to the percentage of the instructional time for each of the two modes.

Final Exams Chapter 9

Final examinations are scheduled for specific dates and times at the end of each term, review the Academic Calendar for term details. The examination schedule is published on the Records and Registration website. Final comprehensive examinations should not be given during the regular 10-week schedule.
Students shall not be granted special examinations for any reason other than a family emergency or other bona fide hardship. Course instructors are the final authority in such circumstances.
Students that have two final examinations scheduled concurrently by the university must contact one or all instructors involved and ask them to resolve the situation and find a suitable solution.

Grade Appeals Chapter 2

Except for X and Y, all grades are final and can be changed only in the case of university (instructor, clerical or administrative) error. Such corrections must be submitted by the instructor and approved by the department chair and college dean. Requests for grade corrections must be submitted to the Records and Registration Office within two quarters of the initial grade assignment. Grades may not be changed after a degree has been awarded.

The purpose of the Grade Appeal Policy is to provide students with a safeguard against receiving an unfair final grade, while respecting the academic responsibility of the instructor. Every student has a right to receive a grade assigned upon a fair and unprejudiced evaluation based on a method that is neither arbitrary nor capricious. Instructors have the right to assign a grade based on any method that is professionally acceptable, submitted in writing to all students, and applied equally. A grade appeal shall be confined to charges of unfair action toward an individual student and may not involve a challenge of an instructor’s grading standard. A student has the right to expect thoughtful and clearly defined approaches to course grading, but it must be recognized that varied standard and individual approaches to grading are valid. It is incumbent on the student to substantiate the claim that his or her final grade represents unfair treatment, compared to the standard applied to other students.

The grade appeal procedure applies only when a student initiates a grade appeal. The procedure strives to resolve a disagreement between student and instructor concerning the assignment of a grade in a collegial manner.

In a grade appeal, only arbitrariness and/or prejudice will be considered as legitimate grounds for an appeal.

Arbitrariness: The grade awarded represents such a substantial departure from accepted academic norms as to demonstrate that the instructor did not actually exercise professional judgment.
Prejudice: The grade awarded was based on unequal application of grading standards or by applying grading criteria to one student or some students in a manner that treats them differently.

Appeals must comply with the time limits specified below or the right to appeal is forfeited. Reasonable exceptions to the deadlines may be made by the chair or designee.

Grade Appeal Procedures

A student who wishes to question a grade must submit a written request for a meeting and a brief description of the issue to the instructor of record no later than 10 working days after the start of the next regular academic term after receiving the grade. The deadlines for spring and summer terms are counted from the beginning of fall term (quarter or semester whichever applies to the student). If the instructor is no longer at the university or is on leave, the chair of the department or designee will act in place of the instructor of record.

If the student’s concern remains unresolved after the discussion with the instructor the student may submit a “Notice of Intent to File a Grade Appeal” form including a brief statement of problem to the chair of the department within five working days of speaking with the instructor.

The chair or designee shall review the student’s request, discuss the situation with the instructor whenever possible, and attempt to resolve the matter. The chair or designee shall provide a written explanation of his/her findings to the student and instructor within five working days of receiving the form.

If the student is not satisfied with the written explanation, the student may submit an “Official Grade Appeal” form within five working days to the chair or designee requesting a hearing with a Grade Appeals Board.

Grade Appeals Board

The grade appeal is heard by a grade appeals board which shall be convened no later than 20 working days after submission of the official grade appeal. (The date may be extended if mutually agreed upon by both parties.)

Members:

This board is chaired by the department chair or a designee who serves in a nonvoting capacity.

Selection of members is facilitated by the department chair or designee unless there is an obvious conflict of interest, in which case the dean or a designee shall do so. The dean shall determine whether a conflict of interest exists.

Three people will constitute the grade appeals board.

i. The student petitioner shall first nominate a member and then the instructor shall nominate a member.
ii. A third member mutually agreeable to both parties will then be selected.
iii. At least one of the three members must be a student.

The grade appeal board will attempt to meet the following principles in evaluating the grade appeal:

a. The appeal board must be held at a mutually agreeable time.
b. Good Faith: Parties to the dispute must make a good faith effort to follow these steps or forfeit access to the appeal process.
c. Process Concerns: If the student, instructor or chair has legitimate concerns about the appeal process, the dean of the college will work to alleviate or correct the problems.
d. Subpoena: The appeal board does not have subpoena power.
e. Evidence: Although the formal rules of evidence do not apply, every attempt will be made to be fair to both parties. The parties may offer exhibits and/or witnesses.
f. Representation: The principals may not be represented by counsel or others.
g. Burden of Proof: The student appellant has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence (more probable than not), that such inappropriate grading procedures have occurred.

Grade Appeal Board Recommendations:

Within 15 working days of first convening, the appeal board, through its chair, will submit its recommendation in writing to the student, the instructor concerned, and the dean of the college.

Instructor Response: If the recommendation of the appeal board supports a change to the student’s final grade, the instructor has five working days to notify the chair of the appeal board of his/her decision and action, with a copy to the dean of the college.

The final decision to change a grade lies with the instructor, except if:

a. the instructor cannot or does not respond to the appeal board’s recommendation within five working days
b. or if the appeal board’s findings determine prejudiced or other inappropriate grading practices by the instructor and the instructor declines to change the grade.

In these cases the final decision to change the grade lies with the dean. There is no further right of appeal.

Within 20 working days of the final decision involving an official grade appeal, the chair of the appeal board shall notify in writing the student, the instructor, the dean of the college, and the chair of the department concerned of the decision of the appeal board and the instructor’s decision and action. When the final decision is made by the dean in the cases noted above, the dean shall implement the decision and shall make the proper written notification to the parties concerned.

Grading System

Guide Table for Grades

EWU Moved to Letter Grades—Effective Fall 2018

Numerical Grades
Numeric Grade	Letter Grade Equivalent
A	4.0
A-	≥3.7
B+	≥3.3
B	≥3.0
B-	≥2.7
C+	≥2.3
C	≥2.0
C-	≥1.7
D+	≥1.3
D	≥1.0
D-	≥0.7
F	0.0

Additional Letter Grades Symbols in Use at Eastern (AP 303-24)

NC (No Credit): No credit granted; no grade points assigned.
NR (Not Recorded): for work in progress.
P (passing): Credit granted, but no grade point assigned (not used when computing GPA).
W (withdrawal): Withdrawal from a course or the university (not used when computing GPA).
X (incomplete): Temporary grade; special circumstances prevent the student from completing the course (not used when computing GPA).
XF (Violation): Violation of academic integrity; grade point equivalent to an F assigned.
Y: For thesis, research, practicum, and other activities requiring more than one term for completion; grade assigned at completion.

Department or Program Designated Pass/No Credit Grade Option

Departments or programs may choose to designate certain courses for P/NC (pass/no credit) grading. Regulations for pass/no credit grading are as follows:

the only courses which may be designated by the department as P/NC are non-college credit pre-university basic skills;
performance equivalent to a ≥C must be earned to receive a “P” grade;
the “P” or “NC” grade will be entered on the transcript. Students receiving the “P” grade will not receive credits toward graduation. Neither the “P” nor the “NC” grade will be included in computing grade averages.

Department or Program Designated Undergraduate Pass/Fail Grade Option

Departments or programs may choose to designate only certain types of courses for P/F (pass/fail). P/F grading is used for college credit-earning courses (P/NC grading is used for non-college university basic skills, see section 1.2). Regulations for P/F grading are as follows except as approved by the Undergraduate Affairs Council:

1. Courses required for the following categories may not be designated pass/fail:

Major and minor requirements
Professional education requirements
General education core requirements
Required supporting courses (courses required for the major or minor but not taught by the major or minor department)
Writing, quantitative and symbolic literacy requirements
University graduation requirements

2. The types of courses which may be designated as P/F are: Directed Studies, Seminars, Internships, Workshops, and Practica.

3. A performance equivalent to ≥C must be earned to receive a “P” grade.

4. The “P” or “F” grade will be entered on the transcript. Students receiving the “P” grade will receive credits toward graduation. Only an “F” (not a “P”) will be included in the GPA.

Student Designated Undergraduate Pass/No Credit Grade Option

Students may choose the pass/no credit (P/NC) grading option in certain courses during the registration process. Regulations for P/NC grading are as follows:

At the time of registration, students must designate the courses for which they wish to receive a P/NC grade. They may change the P/NC Credit designation by the regular change of registration procedure during the first three-fourths of the term.

1. Courses required for the following categories may not be taken as P/NC:

Major and minor requirements
Professional education requirements
General education core requirements
Required supporting courses (courses required for the major or minor but not taught by the major or minor department)
Writing, quantitative and symbolic literacy requirements
University graduation requirements

2. The minimum level of performance required to receive a grade of “P” is a C. Students should be aware that performance equal to a grade lower than a C will result in an NC grade.

3. The “P” or “NC” grade will be entered on the transcript. Students receiving the “P” grade will receive credits toward graduation. Neither the “P” nor the “NC” grade will be included in computing GPAs.

Incomplete (×)

An incomplete grade may be assigned, at the discretion of the instructor, to students who cannot complete the required coursework due to circumstances that are beyond the student’s control (e.g. severe illness, death of a family member, or military deployment).

For all terms, the student must have been attending class, receiving a passing grade, and completed all necessary work through at least three-fourths of the course duration.

Faculty Assignment of an × Grade Requirements

To assign an “X” grade, the instructor prepares an Incomplete form detailing:

the specific work required of the student;
the extension deadline; and,
the conversion grade (may be a C) that will automatically be assigned if the student does not complete the work by the extension deadline. For a grade to be automatically converted during a specific term, the extension deadline must be prior to the last day of instruction for that term.
The instructor records the incomplete grade in the university grade system and provides the completed form to the student and a copy to the department chair.

Extension Periods: Instructors may specify any date for the extension deadline within one year from the end of the term in which the incomplete grade was recorded.

Military Service: Special rules regarding Incomplete grades for students who are ordered to military duty are contained in Academic Policy 303-30, Registration.

Ongoing Thesis or Research Work (Y)

Students engaged in lengthy research projects or other courses that may extend for more than one quarter can be given a grade of Y until the project is complete and a final grade is assigned. Normally these courses are graduate research projects, theses, or internships.

Note: see the specific information on Y grades in the policy section in this catalog under Graduate Programs.

Numerical Grade Equivalent and Cumulative GPA and Instructions to Compute Cumulative GPA

Multiply numerical grade equivalent by the number of credits assigned for each course to determine the quality points for each course. Add the total number of quality points (QP).
(Pass/No Credit grades are not computed in the GPA.)
Add the total number of numerically graded credits, for the total number of quality hours (QH).
Divide the total number of quality points by the total number of quality hours for the cumulative GPA.

Example

Compute Cumulative GPA
Grades	x	Credits (QH)	=	Quality Points (QP)
B (3.0)	X	4	=	12
C+ (2.3)	X	5	=	11.5
A (4.0)	X	2	=	8

Total Credits = 11 (QH)
31.5 (QP) = Total Quality Points
31.5 (QP) / 11 (QH) = 2.863 Cumulative GPA

Additional grading information can be found on the Records and Registration website.
At the end of each term, grades are available through EagleNET starting the Wednesday after finals.

Residency

Residency is determined at the time of formal admission to the university on the basis of information included in the university application for admission. Determination of residency is governed by the statutes and policies of the state of Washington.

For more information go to the EWU Residency web page.

Residency Status for Higher Education—Chapter 250–18 Washington Administrative Code

WAC Sections
250–18–010 Purpose and applicability.
250–18–015 Definitions.
250–18–020 Student classification.
250–18–025 Classification procedure.
250–18–030 Establishment of a domicile.
250–18–035 Evidence of financial dependence or independence.
250–18–045 Administration of residency status.
250–18–050 Appeals process.
250–18–055 Recovery of fees for improper classification of residency.
250–18–060 Exemptions from nonresident status.

College and University Fees—Chapter 28B.15 Revised Code of Washington

RCW Sections
28B.15.011 Classification as resident or nonresident student—Legislative intent.
28B.15.012 Classification as resident or nonresident student—Definitions.
28B.15.013 Classification as resident or nonresident student —Standards for determining domicile in the state.
28B.15.0131 Resident tuition rates—American Indian students.
28B.15.0139 Resident tuition rates—Border county higher education opportunity project.
28B.15.014 Exemption from nonresident tuition fees differential.
28B.15.015 Classification as resident or nonresident student—Rules.

Washington Address Confidentiality Program

PO Box 257 Olympia, WA 98507-0257
360.753.2972

The Washington Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) offers survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking, and Criminal Justice Affiliates, Election Officials, and Protected Health Care Workers who are a target for threats or harassment, a substitute mailing address to receive first class mail. The address is accepted by Washington state, county, and city government agencies in lieu of a residential address for creating records
For those who qualify as a participant, the program allows the use of a substitute mailing address with mail forwarding and service assistance.

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