Academic Policies

 Date Created/Revised: 8/29/2018
Executive Responsibility: Steering Committee

College Academic Policies are jointly curated by the Dean and the Steering Committee, approved by the College Faculty, and subject to Faculty Senate approval. No policy shall supersede or contradict university policies established by the Faculty Senate or by the University administration or by the CBA.

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Course Associations

No course, short-course, certificate, program, workshop, or any other conveyance of intellectual property resulting in an academic credential shall enjoy the auspices of the brand of The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State University or any of its Departments or Units except those which have been approved by the appropriate program and curriculum committees via their standard procedures.

Undergraduate Admission

Undergraduate students are admitted as pre or full majors into any of the academic programs based on criteria set by the College Curriculum Committee and the Curriculum Committee administering the academic program, respectfully. These committees are responsible for maintaining admission standards and making these accessible on their respective media interfaces. Admission criteria are listed in the academic catalog entry for each program and a summary of these criteria is posted on the Academic Advising webpage for the College of Engineering & Computer Science. 

Admission Requirements (full majors)

1. Completion of 24 or more semester credit hours of college-level work
2. 2.25 cumulative grade point average at WSU and in all academic work
3. C or higher in ENG 1100 (or any WSU Core first-year writing course)
4. And:
   • BME C or higher in (CHM 1210/1210L or PHY 2400/2400L) and (EGR 1010 or MTH 2300)
   • CEG C or higher in CS 1180 and CS 1181 and (MTH 2570 or CS 2200)
   • CS (BS & BA) C or higher in CS 1180 and CS 1181 and (MTH 2570 or CS 2200)
   • EE C or higher in PHY 2400/2400L and MTH 2300
   • ISE C or higher in ENG 1100 (or any WSU Core First-Year Writing Course, and (PHY 2400/2400L or PHY 1110/1100L, depending on track requirements), and (EGR 1010 or MTH 2300 or MTH 2240)
   • ME C or higher in ME 1020 and CHM 1210/1210L and PHY 2400/2400L and (EGR 1010 or MTH 2300), and 2.25 cumulative GPA in non-elective courses explicitly listed in the program of study.
   • MSE C or higher in ME 1020 and CHM 1210/1210L and PHY 2400/2400L and (EGR 1010 or MTH 2300), and 2.25 cumulative GPA in non-elective courses explicitly listed in the program of study.

Revised: 8/29/2018

Intra-Program Transfers

Undergraduate students desiring transfer from one major to another within the College must meet the academic standards set by the College Curriculum Committee and meet the admission requirements of the intended major or have written approval of the department of the intended major.

Students who meet the above may complete the electronic “change of major request” in Wings Express. The College office will update the student’s record, and the losing department will update their records and provide a hard copy of any appropriate student records through the College office to the gaining department.

Revised: 8/29/2018

Academic Integrity

In addition to the University Academic Integrity Standards and Process for Misconduct, academic departments may require students to agree and adhere to discipline-specific academic integrity standards.

Revised: 8/29/2018

Course Prerequisites

Students may be denied admission to, or withdrawn from, any course for which the prerequisites have not been met.

Revised: 8/29/2018

Permission of the Instructor

Students who do not have the prerequisites for a course may petition the department for permission to enroll in the course. The petition must be presented to the department not less than 14 days before the first day of the course.

Revised: 8/29/2018

Graduation Requirements

Students will be allowed to complete their program of study by fulfilling the program requirements in effect at the time they are admitted to an academic program or any subsequent version of the program guide. Students who change majors after being admitted to a program in the College may be required to follow the program guide for the new major in effect at the time of transfer. In addition to fulfilling all requirements for the University and academic program, students must earn a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average in all engineering and computer science courses taken in the College.

Revised: 8/29/2018

Change of Major within CECS

PRE and Full Majors: Students should discuss a desire to change their major with the advisor. The student must have a cumulative GPA of 2.25 for all engineering and computer science courses taken at Wright State University. The student must meet admission requirements for the intended major or have approval from the department of the intended major. The student must complete the electronic Change of Major Request process found on the student tab in WINGS Express.

Revised: 8/29/2018

Academic Mediation

Academic mediation is a process by which disputes between faculty and students regarding grades or other academic activities are resolved. Academic mediation is an academic petition process; it is not a legal or disciplinary process. Students and the Instructor of Record represent the facts of the disputed issue themselves. Legal representation is not part of the academic mediation process. Legal issues are addressed through the the Office of General Counsel.

In this policy, the term Instructor of Record (IoR) refers to the faculty member to whom responsibility for the academic activity has been delegated by the College Faculty. For courses, the IoR is the faculty member assigned by the Department Chair to teach or supervise the teaching of the course. Graduate students, lab assistants, graders, and other non-faculty teaching assistants report to an IoR who has final authority course grades. The student should contact the Department Chair if they need help identifying the appropriate IoR for mediation.

In this policy, the term Chair refers to the faculty administrator who is responsible for the annual evaluations of the IoR. This term also applies to a designee appointed by the Department Chair (such as a Program director or Associate/Assistant Chair) to represent the Chair in the mediation. The student should contact the College office if they need help identifying the appropriate Chair. 

In this policy, the term Dean refers to the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. This term also applies to a designee appointed by the Dean (such as an Associate/Assistant Dean) to represent the College in the mediation process. In practice, the term Dean will often refer to the Associate Dean overseeing student affairs.

In this policy, the term academic workday refers to days in Fall, Spring, and Summer terms during which the university is open for regularly scheduled weekday courses. Holidays, emergency days, breaks, or other weekdays in which the University does not hold regularly scheduled classes do not count as academic workdays.

1. Academic mediation process

Simple academic errors are commonly resolved informally between a student and IoR without formal academic mediation. Academic mediation is the process by which a student may formally petition program faculty to appeal an academic decision made by an IoR after failing to resolve the issue informally.

The IoR is normally in the best position to determine appropriate application of course policy, assess student work, and assign grades for a course or academic activity under their supervision. Overriding the assessment of the IoR is an extraordinary action, requiring a high standard for execution.

A typical academic mediation is a grade appeal, where a student disagrees over a grade or other credit given for their academic work in a course. The IoR is an expert in the academic work topic whereas the student is still developing expertise. Any mediation process must recognize this inherent imbalance. In order for a grade appeal to be successful, a student must generally be able to show that the faculty member is objectively incorrect, that the grading was objectively inconsistent with the class syllabus as distributed, that the grading was objectively inconsistent with how other students in the same course were graded, or similar objective error. It is the responsibility of the student to provide clear and compelling evidence supporting such a claim.

The academic mediation procedure includes the following sequential steps:

1. The student should consult with IoR regarding the concern. Normally, this should be accomplished within no more than fifteen (15) academic workdays after the academic event in dispute.
2. If the issue is not satisfactorily resolved with the IoR, the student should consult with the appropriate Department Chair. Normally, this should be accomplished within no more than thirty (30) academic workdays from the academic event in dispute.
3. An initial meeting will take place between the student and the Chair. Additional meetings (possibly with or including the IoR) may be required to facilitate informal mediation. Normally, all such informal meetings should be accomplished within no more than ten (10) academic workdays following the student request.
4. If the issue is not satisfactorily resolved after informal mediation facilitated by the Chair (or designee), then the student may initiate a formal petition for academic mediation. This petition will be delivered by the student to the College office for consideration by the Dean within five (5) academic workdays of completion of informal mediation with the Chair.
5. The Dean will consider the petition and may meet with the student to discuss the concern. The Dean will consult with the Chair to determine if the student’s petition is in order and includes appropriate supporting evidence to demonstrate merit. If both the Chair and the Dean agree that the evidence is insufficient to support the student’s case, then the petition shall be denied without further consideration by the faculty. If either the Dean or the Chair believe that the petition has merit, then the Dean will charge an academic mediation panel to consider the petition. Normally, the student will be notified of the Dean’s decision within ten (10) academic work days of filing the petition.

2. The petition

The petition to the Dean for academic mediation shall include: the student’s name, the student’s UID, the course and academic term/date during which the disputed activity took place, the name of the instructor of record, a description of the disputed activity, the current status of the disputed activity (e.g. the current grade), the student’s desired outcome for the disputed activity, the petition filing date, the date of the meeting with the Department Chair, and any documentation (syllabus, assignment description, student work, statements from other students/instructors, etc.) that the student wishes to supply in support of their petition. The petition must clearly communicate and support any request for a grade change. The Dean will provide an opportunity for the IoR to view the petition. The IoR may provide a response and relevant documentation. Any such documentation will be attached to the petition as the IoR response/recommendation.

3. Academic mediation panel

When necessary, the Dean will constitute an appropriate review panel of qualified full-time faculty to address the issue at appeal.

1. The review panel shall normally consist of at least three (3) full-time faculty members.
2. Panel members will normally be selected by the Dean from among program faculty (or other faculty most familiar with the course content or area) qualified to teach/oversee the course or academic issue at appeal.
3. No more than one member of the review panel shall hold an administrative faculty rank (Chair, Dean). At least two members will be fully affiliated bargaining unit faculty members.
4. The Dean may serve in an ex officio non-voting role as panel chair or appoint a voting member of the committee to serve as panel chair. The panel chair will schedule the meeting at time which reasonably accommodates all participants (if/as possible) and report the results of the panel to the Dean. The Dean will report the results to the student, IoR, and other appropriate parties.

4. Academic mediation resolution

The academic mediation hearing panel will consider the petition expressed through the petition documentation provided by the Student and the IoR. 

The standard used for assessing an academic mediation shall be whether, more likely than not, the student’s petitioned concern and suggested remedy is justified. Each member of the panel shall consider the evidence against this standard. The result of the panel shall be reported to the student, instructor of record, and appropriate Dean. 

1. Should the panel find UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR of the petition, then the panel shall determine the appropriate academic outcome. A unanimous decision is necessary to take the extraordinary action of changing any course grade against the recommendation of the IoR. The IoR will receive written notification of this determination within two weeks of the panel’s decision. If the IoR is a BUFM, this notification will also be provided to AAUP-WSU.
2. OTHERWISE, the petition is denied.
3. The decision of the panel is final. The academic mediation petition is an appeal of the IoR’s decision. No further level of appeal is provided by policy.

Revised: 10/07/2022

Academic Mediation Form

Print and fill out the form linked below to apply for academic mediation. Follow steps in the "Procedures" section above to submit your form.

Academic Mediation Application Form