Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are serious offenses at Muskingum University, and the faculty member has the prerogative of invoking the severest penalty for an initial offense. Each department is responsible for developing its definition of plagiarism, but in general, plagiarism is the verbal, written, graphic, or three-dimensional presentation of borrowed material without citing its source. Students must cite the source for quotations, paraphrases, borrowed ideas, models, information, or organization of material.

The student is responsible for meeting all appropriate course, major, and graduation requirements as stated in this catalog. Although a student and an advisor are partners, the student needs to be knowledgeable about academic requirements and take the initiative in planning his or her own program, in setting goals, and in monitoring progress toward completing such goals.

Your semester grade point average (GPA) is calculated by dividing the total amount of grade points earned (grade equivalent quality points times credit hours for the course) that semester by the total amount of graded credit hours attempted that semester. Your grade point average may range from 0.0 to a 4.0. P/NP (Pass/No Pass) courses are not factored in the GPA. The following marks do not receive grade points and do not have an effect on the GPA: I, WIP, S, U, W, L, and NR.

A student may repeat a course once if the original grade is a C- or lower and provided it is repeated at the next offering, or provided that no more than one intervening course has been taken in the discipline offering the course. A course may be repeated only one time. When a course is repeated, both grades remain on the record but only the most recent grade is used in computing the grade point average unless the most recent grade is I, WIP, or W.

Faculty members are responsible for outlining grading policies to students at the beginning of each course. If students believe they have received a wrong grade on an examination or for a course, the initial step is to discuss the grade directly with the faculty member teaching the course. If that step does not result in a satisfactory explanation or resolution of the perceived problem, the student may bring the matter to the attention of the department chair.