Academic & Grading Policies : : : :

ACADEMIC SYSTEM:

The University academic system is very demanding and requires students to make full use of library, laboratory and other resources in order to achieve the level of academic excellence and to play more active role in deciding how they should go about completing the required course for a particular program with the guidance of an academic adviser. 

Duration:

Generally, completion of master and bachelor degree requires a maximum period 2 (two) and 4 (four) years respectively with an assumption that a student is able to take full-load of courses in all three semester. The University runs 3 (three) semesters in an academic session. The duration of each semester is 14 weeks. Practical and laboratory sessions are scheduled as per course requirements. A 3 credit course means that students attend 3 (three) hours in classroom per week during a semester and a 1 credit lab class implies 2 hours of laboratory work per week in a semester.  

Medium of Instruction: 

English is the medium of instruction at all level at ADUST. 

Credit Transfer: 

An applicant who has completed one semester or more in other institution(s) having equivalent standard and course curriculum may transfer his/her credit(s) to ADUST. A transferring student can only transfer those credits where the grade(s) earned is (are) at least 'B'. The maximum limit of transfer to any degree program of the University is 50% of the total credits required by the degree at ADUST. However, the admissibility of an entering student must comply with the general admission requirement.

Registration and Advising: 

At the beginning of every semester students need to register for their courses and for this purpose each student is advised by an adviser. Students cannot attend classes without being advised.  

Band on the need of the students ADUST publishes the initial list of courses from which the adviser advises his/her students. Assigning of courses depends upon a student's academic background and performance as well as professional experience (if applicable). Normally maximum 40 students are enrolled in a section. Courses/sections with insufficient enrolment may be cancelled. In such cases, students may be re-advised, if possible. 

To avoid delays at registration, students must carefully consult the semester timetable.  Students can pay their registration as well as tuition fees for their assigned courses either in full or by instalment. To reduce the financial burden on the student or on his/her parents/guardians ADUST allows payment by instalments. 

Prerequisite:

The registration package provides detailed information on courses and their prerequisites. It is therefore, student's responsibility to ensure that course prerequisites are met. Advisors may, however, make exceptions during registration. 

Academic Load:

For undergraduate students the full-time course load is 9 credit hours but students with satisfactory academic record may be allowed to take up to 12 credit hours by the adviser. 

Graduate students are normally allowed to take at least 6 credits. However, students with good academic standing may be advised up to 9 credits. 

Students seeking exception to this rule must get prior approval from University authority through their respective Coordinators.

Class Attendance:  

A student is expected to attend all classes in a course. It is the responsibility of the student to keep the concerned instructor(s) and coordinator informed regarding his/her absence from the classes. Students should consult their course instructors regarding absences. Instructors reserve the right to determine the manner in which assignments and missed exams (if any) may be dealt with. If a student misses 3 consecutive classes without informing the instructor the University can force him/her to withdraw from the classes in that semester. 

Course Add/Drop:

Students may Add/Drop a course within the deadlines mentioned in the Academic Calendar of the semester. To add/drop a course a student must use a Course Add/Drop Form available from the Department/ACAD and submit it to the Departmental Office and get it approved from the Department to be effective. The decision is generally taken on the basis of certain criteria - GPA and CGPA of the applicant, number of students enrolled in the class, future course offering etc. No grade is assigned for a course dropped in time. The amount of refund ranging from 50%-100% depends on the deadline a student meets.

Grading Policy(old): 

The University follows a letter grade system. Grades ranging from 'A' and 'D' denote successful completion of a course. The numerical value of the grades to calculate the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) is as follows: 

Grading Policy(New): 

The University follows a letter grade system. Grades ranging from 'A' and 'D' denote successful completion of a course. The numerical value of the grades to calculate the cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) is as follows:

Grade Point Calculation: 

The semester GPA is computed by dividing the total grade points earned in the courses attempted during the semester by the number of credit hours attempted in the same semester. On the other hand, the cumulative GPA (popularly known as CGPA) is computed by dividing the total grade points earned in all courses by the total number of credit hours attempted at the University. A minimum CGPA of 2.0 is required to avoid ‘academic probation’ for an undergraduate student and it is 2.5 for graduate students. 'I', 'W' and 'R' grades do not affect the student's GPA.  

Retaking a course: 

A student can retake a course in which he/she has received a grade of 'C+' or below. 

Incomplete Grade: 

An incomplete grade 'I' may be assigned to a student whose has not completed all the requirements of the course but has finished up to 70 percent of the requirements during a semester. A student has to request the course teacher with reasons to assign an 'I' grade if he or she is unable to complete the remaining requirements of the course in time. However, it remains a prerogative of the faculty member to assign such grade.  S/he may deny this if the reasons are not acceptable to him. Generally, sickness during examinations, or death of close relatives, etc., are considered to be the legitimate reasons for consideration to give 'I' grade to a student.  

'I' grade automatically become an 'F' if the student does not complete the requirements within the next semester.

Grade Change:

Changing grades is generally possible only when an 'I' grade was assigned previously. For other cases the instructor must prove with documented evidence convincing the Academic Council for the approval, which is an extremely difficult task. 

Withdrawal: 

A student may withdraw from a course in which he was advised to register. For this s/he must apply in writing to the academic department. A course may be withdrawn after the add/drop deadline under special circumstances and the student is assigned a 'W' grade. In case of withdrawal the student does not get any refund. However, withdrawal also has a specific deadline beyond which the student will be assigned an appropriate grade.

Course Abandoning: 

A student who is registered to a course but did not either applied for withdrawal or dropping the course roster will receive an 'F'.  Considering this, students are advised to drop or withdraw from courses which s/he would like to abandon during a semester.  For this they must apply using the required form.

Good Academic Standing: 

Students maintaining a GPA of 2.0 or greater in undergraduate programs and 3.0 or greater in graduate programs are considered to have ‘good academic standing.

Academic Probation: 

Students with GPA of less than 2.00 in undergraduate programs and less than 3.0 in graduate programs are placed on probation. Students ‘on probation’ must achieve good academic standing within the next three semesters to avoid ‘dismissal’ from the program. 

Semester Drop:

A student for genuine reason can drop semester(s). This is considered as a leave of absence from the University. A student will get refund only if s/he meets the deadline. Beyond the time frame a student can still withdraw from the semester within a specific deadline. In that case the student is assigned 'W' grade(s) in the course(s) s/he has taken without any refund. Upon failure to meet that deadline too the student will be assigned appropriate grade(s) in the course(s) of the semester. 

Readmission: 

Students who did not register for three consecutive semesters must apply for re-admission to continue their studentship at ADUST. Re-admission is, however, not automatic and there is a readmission fee in case of reinstating the status. Students ‘expelled’ from ADUST on disciplinary ground will not be re-admitted to the University.  Students ‘dismissed’ from academic programs may apply for re-admission but they must provide evidence of their improvement in academic performance. Decision regarding re-admission shall be routed through the relevant academic department. 

Change of Program:

Students seeking to change in their program of study should apply using the ‘Change of Program’ form through their departments. Upon recommendation from the current academic department, the application is processed by ACAD for acceptance in the new program. If accepted, the Registrar shall make the necessary changes to a student's record.

Students are advised to consult with the departments to understand the implications on his/her transcript, GPA, and completed credit hours, completion time, etc. before making such changes. There is no guarantee that the new program will accept all the credits taken so far at the university. At the same time, students shall note that irrespective of the decision made by the department, all courses and grades taken so far will ‘appear’ in his/her transcript although some courses may not be included in the GPA calculation under the new program. Courses not included in the GPA calculation for the new program will be labelled separately in the transcript.  

Counseling: 

A student gets academic counselling from his/her adviser. S/he can access him/her during the semester. Students should take advantage of this facility to understand matters related to his/her academic career.

Transcript: 

A transcript is issued by the Registrar of the University. Students may apply for ‘official’ transcripts to the Registrar’s office at any time during the semester. The transcript will show his/her all academic records up to the last semester. Transcript will not be issued unless s/he signs the request form and pays the fee. The current fee is Taka 200 (two hundred) per transcript. Transcript requests are valid for all students who are currently enrolled in the program or who has completed his/her degree in this university.  

ADUST does not issue transcript(s) to students who failed to clear their dues at the time of application. 

Honour List:   

ADUST awards three different honours to the undergraduate student who has completed his/her degree. These are: 

Summa-cum-laude for a student with GPA of 3.8 or above.

Magne-cum-laude for a student with GPA with 3.6 or above but below 3.8. Cum-laude for a student with GPA of 3.5 or above but below 3.6.

Internship: 

Some programs of the university require completion of internship. It is preferred that students registering for internship should have completed all course works. Students must complete at least 100 credits (for BBA program, for example) to be eligible for internship. During the period of internship students are not allowed to register for courses in the campus. Exceptions to the rule shall be justified by the department and shall be approved by the Vice Chancellor.