It is important for you to know these common academic definitions used throughout your student records.
Academic Honors
Each semester College of DuPage recognizes students whose grades reflect outstanding achievement. All students who are currently in good academic standing, enrolled in at least six (6) credit hours of 1000-level or above courses, do not have a current incomplete “I” grade, and whose semester grade point average is 3.50 to 4.00 inclusive, will be awarded Academic Honors. This designation becomes part of the student’s permanent academic record and is printed on the student’s official transcript.
Class Standing
A student who has earned fewer than 30 semester credits is considered a freshman. A student with 30 or more hours has sophomore standing.
Credits Defined
College of DuPage uses the semester system for awarding college credit. The academic year is divided into two semesters of approximately 16 weeks each and a summer term. The number of semester hours of credit granted for each course varies. The “Course Descriptions” section of the Catalog lists the value of each course in credit hours. A student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours in fall and spring and a minimum of 6 hours in summer to be considered a full-time student. Half-time status is 6 to 11 semester credits during fall and spring semesters. In addition to standard semesters, the College also offers some sessions that vary in length from the standard term and may affect determination of status.
Credit Hour
A “Credit Hour” is the unit of measuring educational credit, usually based on the number of classroom hours per week throughout a term. Students are awarded credit for classes on the basis of the Carnegie unit. This defines a semester unit of credit as equal to a minimum of three hours of work per week for a semester. Thus, a unit of credit equates to three hours of student work per week (1 hour lecture plus 2 hours of homework or 3 hours of lab) for 16 weeks. In certain circumstances, it is possible to have more hours, but not less.
Contact Information
Office of Student Records
Student Resource Center (SRC), Room 2150
Hours
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
General
Phone: (630) 942-3838
FAX: (630) 942-3693
Prerequisites: (630) 942-2260
Email contacts:
Student Records: recordsoffice@cod.edu
FERPA: FERPA@cod.edu
Grades: gradesdept@cod.edu
Graduation: graduation@cod.edu
Commencement: commencement@cod.edu
Official COD Transcripts: transcripts@cod.edu
Transcript Evaluation: evaluation@cod.edu
Prerequisites: prereq@cod.edu
Verifications: verifications@cod.edu
High School Transcripts: HStranscript@cod.edu
Individuals who need language assistance, call Campus Central at (630) 942-3000 or email campuscentral@cod.edu.