Academic Standards

Policy for Fall 2017 and later Catalog Years

To help students (1) identify if chemical engineering is a good academic fit, (2) successfully complete the chemical engineering program, and (3) become technically competent engineers capable of performing professional duties in the field, the department has set the academic standards enumerated below.

For this policy, major courses are defined as those used to fulfill the Program Requirements listed for a BS in Chemical Engineering in the Undergraduate Catalog and are found under subheadings preprofessional, professional, supporting, and technical electives. Since all grades earned for a course (original and retakes) are retained in university records and GPA calculations, only the most recent grades for retaken courses are considered for purposes of this policy. Also, this policy only applies to those courses used to fulfill graduation requirements.

1. To ensure proper preparation for and successful completion of the chemical engineering program, students must meet the following criteria to register for any upper-division professional courses (i.e. Ch En courses 300 level and above),
   • Have no more than 4 total hours of less than C- credit in any preprofessional or supporting course(s) satisfying program requirements, only 3 of which can be from chemical engineering courses.
   • Pass Ch En 273 with a C- or above.
2. To help correct technical weaknesses as soon as they are identified, a student who accumulates grades below C- in excess of 6 hours in any course(s) satisfying major requirements (preprofessional, professional, supporting, and technical electives) may not take further chemical engineering courses until the unacceptable credits have been reduced to 6 hours or less.
3. To demonstrate that graduates from the chemical engineering department are technically competent to perform professional duties in the field, a student may not graduate with more than 4 total hours below C- in any course(s) satisfying major requirements (preprofessional, professional, supporting, and technical electives), only 3 of which can be from chemical engineering.

Policy for pre-Fall 2017 Catalog Years

The student's academic standing with the university must be "Good" or "Previous" to enroll in professional program courses. Anyone who accumulates chemical engineering grades below C– in excess of 6 hours may not take further chemical engineering courses until he or she has reduced the unacceptable credits to 6 hours or less. A student may not graduate with more than 3 hours below C– in chemical engineering courses and courses used to fulfill the technical electives requirement. Since all grades earned for a course (original and any retakes) are retained in university records and GPA calculations, this policy applies to the most recent grades for retaken courses.

Implications of E Grades

1. In accordance with university policy, students may not graduate with any E grades in required major or university core courses as E grades mean the corresponding course requirement has not been fulfilled.
2. While students can technically continue to take chemical engineering courses with 6 credits of D or E, just 3 credits of E can effectively prevent advancement in the program because E grades do not satisfy prerequisite requirements. Consider the following two examples.
   • E grades are received in ChEn 412 and 433: The student may continue to take chemical engineering courses such as ChEn 475 and ChEn 476 as long as the prerequisites have been fulfilled.
   • E grades are received in ChEn 410 and ChEn 376: The student can continue to take chemical engineering courses, but options will be limited as ChEn 376 is a prerequisite to most senior-level courses.