Classification of Students
A student's classification is determined at the beginning of the fall semester as follows:
- Freshman--fewer than 27 semester hours
- Sophomore--27 to 59 semester hours
- Junior--60 to 89 semester hours
- Senior--90 to 128 or more semester hours
Continuation as a Student
Continuation as a student at Oral Roberts University is not automatic. Basic academic, spiritual and physical requirements must be satisfied for the student to qualify for readmission the following term. Additionally, all prior balances must be paid in full.
Students who are admitted on probation must earn sufficient credit within their first academic year to remove themselves from probation or be subject to suspension.
Students consult with their program advisor prior to each enrollment and secure written approval for enrolling in course work. Progress for each student is monitored by the advisor, and current enrollment is verified by the approved program of studies. Copies of the student's degree plan are given to the student.
Attendance at and graduation from ORU is understood to be a privilege. The university may request the withdrawal of any student at any time if he/she fails to comply with the standards and regulations of the institution or is not compatible with its philosophy. It is imperative for the student to understand that attending and receiving a degree from ORU is a privilege--not a right.
Course Load
Undergraduate
The normal course load consists of 16 hours each semester; however, in some disciplines the load may be heavier. A student must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours to be considered a full-time student. No one may take more than 18.5 hours in a given semester without the approval of his/her advisor and the appropriate dean. No one may take more than 24.0 hours in a given semester.
Graduate
The normal course load for the Graduate School of Business and the Graduate School of Education is nine hours. The normal course load for the Graduate School of Theology is 12 hours.
Full-Time Status Requirement
Fall and Spring terms
Full-time student status for the fall or spring semester is defined as being enrolled in a minimum of 12 residential hours, attending chapel regularly and fulfilling the Health and Physical Education requirement. Recorded course withdrawal does not change full-time status unless the student withdraws from all courses, which indicates withdrawal from the university. Online enrollment during the fall or spring semesters does count toward full-time status.
Summer terms
Full-time student status during a summer session is defined as being enrolled in three credit hours. A student may only enroll in a maximum of four credit hours in a summer session if the course includes a one hour lab or is a four hour foreign language course. Also, an HPE activity course may be taken in conjunction with another course if the total credit hours for the session do not exceed four.
Summer Online Courses
A student may enroll in a maximum of 9 credit hours of online courses during a summer term.
Summer and Summer Online Combined
A student may enroll in a maximum of 16 combined hours (residential and correspondence) during a Summer term.
Grading System
Grades are recorded as "A," "B," "C," "D," or "F." Grade points are assigned to each grade: four grade points are allowed for each semester hour of "A"; three for "B"; two for "C"; and one for "D." A minimum average of two grade points per semester hour must be earned for all work taken to qualify for graduation.
Incompletes
The grade of "I" is given for work that is incomplete at the time grades are given. It is given only after the student establishes permission from the professor that his/her work is incomplete for good cause. It is the responsibility of the student to make up any incomplete work and have the professor submit a grade change to the Registrar. If this is not done in the subsequent semester, the incomplete will be changed to an "F." Graduating seniors must make up any incomplete work by March 1.
Extension of Incomplete
The grade of "E" is given for work that remains incomplete longer than the one semester allowed for make up of incomplete work. It is given only after the student establishes with the instructor and the department chair or dean, by written permission, that his/her work remains incomplete for good cause. It is the responsibility of the student to make up any incomplete work and have the professor submit a grade change to the Registrar. If this is not done within the second semester following the enrollment of the course, the extended incomplete will be changed to an "F."
Course Withdrawal
Other marks used in grade reporting are "W" and "WF." When a course is dropped after the last day to add for the semester, a "W" is recorded if the student is passing at the time of the drop. If the student is not passing, "WF" is recorded. Students must initiate the process by completing a Recorded Course Withdrawal Form by the last day to withdraw passing deadline for the semester. Any student who withdraws from a class after the eighth week will receive a "WF." The "WF" is counted as an "F" in determining the grade-point average.
Course Repeat
A course that is repeated at ORU to replace the original credit will be noted on the student's transcript. The first course taken will remain on the document with a note indicating the first grade given and a repeat flag. The student must notify the Registrar's Office of any repeated courses by completing a Report of Repeated Course form. Courses successfully repeated outside ORU with departmental approval will have the original credit removed, but the grade-point average earned at ORU will remain on the transcript. Only HPER activity courses, student teaching, early field-based experience, some seminars and certain independent study and research courses may be taken twice for credit.
Pass/NoPass Option
Students choosing the pass/no-pass option will receive a standard grade from the professor, but this grade will be converted to a "P" or "NP" for the updated grade report and transcript. Grades of "A," "B," or "C," will be converted to a pass grade; grades of "D" or "F" will be converted to the no-pass grade. Credits taken under the pass/no-pass option will not be counted in the GPA. The pass/no-pass option may not be chosen to fulfill general education requirements, high school deficiencies or to complete the sequence required for a major or minor.
Audit
Normally, regular class attendance as outlined in the syllabus is required to maintain an audit on the transcript. A student who formally withdraws from an audit course by memo from the instructor to the Registrar's Office before the last day of class shall have that course deleted from the transcript. If a student does not withdraw and does not meet audit requirements for the course, a "no pass" will be recorded on the transcript.
Honors
President's List and Vice-Presidents' List
- The Vice-Presidents' List recognizes students who carry at least 14.5 units for credit in a semester, exclusive of pass/no-pass courses, and who attain a grade-point average of 3.500 or better with no grade below "C."
- The President's List recognizes students who carry at least 14.5 units for credit in a semester, exclusive of pass/no-pass courses, and who attain a grade-point average of 4.000.
Graduating with Honors
Undergraduate
Students who fulfill the degree requirements with a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.80 and receive an "A" or "B" grade on the senior paper/project will receive the distinction summa cum laude. Students with a GPA between 3.60 and 3.79 who receive an "A" or "B" grade on the senior paper/project will receive the distinction magna cum laude. Students with a GPA between 3.40 and 3.59 and who receive an "A" or "B" grade on the senior paper/project will receive the distinction cum laude. To receive honors, a student must be successful in the oral defense of the senior paper/project as arranged by the major department.
Graduate
Graduate students with a 4.0 GPA receive the distinction "with high honors," and those with a GPA between 3.80 and 3.99 receive the distinction "with honors." All courses related to the current degree are included in the calculation.
Honors are determined for the commencement program and ceremony, for both graduate and undergraduate students, at the conclusion of the fall semester prior to graduation. Honors on the diploma will reflect all course work for the degree.
Satisfactory Academic Progress at ORU
Full-Time Undergraduates must meet or exceed the requirements listed below.
Satisfactory HPE Progress
The health, physical education and recreation program is an integral part of the university's whole-person philosophy. Its objectives are...
- to develop aerobic fitness and to maintain a strong and healthy body through proper physical activity and good health habits.
- to acquaint the student with the knowledge necessary to participate in a variety of physical activities.
- to aid the student in acquiring skills in lifetime sports and recreational activities.
- to provide a climate in which the student may achieve habits of initiative, self-responsibility and loyalty, and learn to live socially and cooperatively with others.
- to acquaint the student with continuing program of lifetime health and fitness.
ORU was founded on a concept of education for the whole man, with equal emphasis placed on the development of the mind, spirit and body. For that reason, each ORU student is required to pass a physical education activity course each semester and to pursue an individual fitness program.
The ORU program focuses on the concept of aerobics, a physical-fitness program designed by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, a former Air Force physician and innovator of the exercise program used by the astronauts. It is a program designed to increase the capacity of the heart, lungs and blood vessels through a calculated series of exercises that emphasizes running, swimming and cycling. These exercises require one to breathe harder and faster. The greater the oxygen intake, the harder the heart and lungs must work. The more these organs work, the stronger they become. This reduces the chances of heart disease and related physical ailments later in life.
Every student is required to make satisfactory progress in physical fitness. ORU wants its graduates to be mentally alert, spiritually alive and physically disciplined. For this reason, all undergraduate full-time students are required to enroll in and successfully comlete an HPE activity course each semester. (An HPE activity course can only be taken two times for credit.)
To successfully complete HPE activity course undergraduate students must earn a grade of "D" or better. Graduate students must earn a grade of "C" or better. An incomplete grade will not satisfy a student's HPE requirement.
An undergraduate student's progress is evaluated each semester. Students not fulfilling ORU's physical-fitness requirements during the previous semester are considered HPE deficient. A student will be considered HPE deficient for failing to enroll in and successfully complete an HPER activity course. Students who are HPE deficient will need to enroll in and succesfully complete two HPE courses the following semester. Failure to make up the deficiency will result in the need to enroll in additional HPE activity courses . Students who do not make up their HPE deficiencies are ineligible to graduate from the university.
