TURKISH

ACADEMIC RULES AND REGULATIONS CONCERNING UNDERGRADUATE PERIOD OF STUDY, EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENT

ACADEMIC YEAR

Article 1.

One academic year consists of two 16-week semesters including the registration and final examination periods. The University Senate can extend or shorten the length of semesters if necessary. Summer semesters can be offered when needed, the conditions of which are determined by the University Senate.
 
COURSE PROGRAMS

Article 2.

The Department concerned arranges course programs during undergraduate studies and decides which courses will be offered each semester. These decisions are confirmed by the Faculty Committee and approved by the Senate.
 
COMPULSORY, ELECTIVE AND PRE-REQUISITE COURSES

Article 3.

There are two types of courses : compulsory and elective. The student's Department will decide the program of compulsory courses to be taken each semester.
 
Students are required to take the compulsory courses of the Department in which they are registered. Elective courses are decided on by the Department concerned, taking into account the wishes of the student. However, a student may be exempted from some courses determined by the University Senate by taking a special examination administered by the Department concerned. Students who are successful in that examination may be exempted fro m those courses if they wish. The evaluation procedure concerning these courses is determined by the University Senate.
 
A prerequisite course is a course which a student must pass before being allowed to take another course. Prerequisite courses are proposed to the Faculty Committee by the Department offering the courses and are confirmed after approval by that Committee.
 
CREDIT HOUR RATING

Article 4.

Each course is allotted a predetermined number of credit hours. These include all of the weekly theoretical course hours plus half of the weekly laboratory, practical, or studio course hours.
 
Acting on the recommendation of the Department concerned the University Senate determines which courses are to be non-credit. Weekly theoretical and practical course hours of those cours es are stated.
 
COURSE LOAD

Article 5.

The normal course load of the student for each semester is specified in the program of the Department concerned. On the basis of the credit rating of the courses, course load is determined by the University Senate upon the recommendation of the Department and Faculty.
 
Students' normal course load of each semester may be reduced by up to 2 courses at most with the approval of the Chairman of the Department, if their Cumulative Grade Point Average is less than 2.00, if their course program necessitates it, or if there exist other genuine and valid reasons for doing so. In this case, the course(s) being dropped should be taken in the first semester they are again offered. Students with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 who have fallen be hind in their program and want to catch up or want to retake courses to improve their cumulative grade point average, may increase their course load by only 1 course on the recommendation of their advisor and with the approval of the Chairman of the Department. Course loads of students whose Cumulative Grade Point Average is at least 2.50 can be increased, if they wish, by 2 courses at most if recommended by their Advisor.
 
DOUBLE MAJOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

Article 6.

Students who so wish can be allowed to follow the entire undergraduate program of another department. This is called a Double Major Program. The requirements for Double Major Programs are listed on the METU web page under the METU Directive for Undergraduate Double Major Programs.
 
MINOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

Article 7.

Students who so wish can be allowed to follow the basic courses of an undergraduate program. This is called a Minor Program. The requirements for Minor Programs are listed on the METU web page under the METU Directive for Undergraduate Minor Programs.
 
ATTENDANCE

Article 8.

Students must attend classes, practices and examinations. Students' attendance is followed by the Instructor concerned.
 
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENT

Article 9.

In addition to midterm examinations and other work, students are required to take a final examination. At least one midterm examination is given during each semester. Dates of midterm examinations are announced by the Departments concerned in the first month of the semester. Changes in the dates of midterms are possible through the approval of the Chairman of the Department. Final examinations are held at the appropriate place and hour as decided and announced by the University. The student is given a grade by the course instructor by taking into account the midterm examinations, final examinations, the semesters work and attendance.
 
Students are given a make-up examination for any examination which they have not attended if it is accepted by the Department Chairman that there exist genuine and valid reasons for this.
 
Courses which do not require midterm and/or final examinations are determined by the Department concerned and the Registrar's Office is informed accordingly. Under these circumstances, the semester grade is given by evaluating the work done throughout the semester.
 
The practical and/or laboratory components may be evaluated separately. In this case, the course and practical and/or laboratory sessions taken separately must conform to the above regulations.
 
The semester course grade becomes final after being submitted to the Registrar's Office.
 
GRADES

Article 10.

For each course taken, the student is given one of the following grades by the course teacher. The letter grades, coefficients and percentage equivalents are given below.
 

PERCENTAGE
COURSE GRADE
COEFFICIENT
90-100
 AA
 4
85-89
 BA
 3.5
80-84
 BB
3
75-79
 CB
 2.5
70-74
 CC
 2
65-69
DC
1.5
60-64 
DD
 1
50-59
FD
0.5
49 and below
 FF
 0

I- Incomplete, S-Satisfactory Completion, U-Unsatisfactory, P-Satisfactory Progress,

NA-Nonattendance is the grade given to students who have failed to regularly attend courses or have not fulfilled the requirements of course practices. NA is processed like FF in computing grades.

EX-Exempt, NI-Not Included, W-Withdrawn
 
A grade of (I) is given to a student who provides supporting evidence through genuine and valid documentation of illness or other reasons which have prevented her/him from completing the necessary course work. In such a case, within 15 days from the day of submitting the grades to Registrar's office, the student must complete the missing work and obtain a grade. Otherwise the (I) grade will automatically become an (FF). In the case of prolonged illness and similar situations, this p eriod can be extended until the beginning of registration for the next semester by the recommendation of the Department and approval of the Faculty Administrative Committee.
 
The grade (S) is given to students who are successful in non-credit courses.
 
The grade (U) is given to students who are not successful in non-credit courses.
 
The grade (P) is given to students who are successfully taking non-credit courses.
 
The grade (EX) is given to students who previously attended a higher education institution and entered the university with the University Entrance Examination held by ÖSYM, and to those who transfer to this university from another, after the equivalence of courses they have taken before is approved by the faculty board after the Chairperson proposes it.
The grade EX can also be given to students who meet the conditions determined by the Senate. The grade EX is not included in the grade point average but is shown on the transcript.
 
The grade (NI) is given if courses within the program or programs in which a student is registered are taken on the “condition that they are not included in the Cumulative Grade Point Average”. This grade is indicated on the student's transcript together with the letter grade received from the course concerned. Such courses are included in the course load defined in article 5th of Academic Rules and Regulations and can not be used in the course counting process related to the program or programs the student registered for. The courses from which (NI) grade is received can not be repeated. The status of courses taken in NI status cannot be changed within the same program.
 
The grade (W) is issued if a student withdraws from a course after the add/drop period within the first 10 weeks after the semester starts, on the recommendation of her/his advisor and permission of the instructor concerned. The following rules apply to these students:
 
a) A student is not allowed to withdraw from courses during the first two semesters of undergraduate programs (courses being repeated which they previously obtained a passing grade are excluded)
 
b) A student is not allowed to withdraw from courses which she/he has to repeat, from which she/he took the grade W before and/or from courses which are not included in the Grade Point Average.
 
c) A student is not allowed to withdraw from courses which constitute more than 2/3 of the normal course load.
 
d) A student is allowed to withdraw from a maximum of six courses at most during her/his undergraduate program (one course at the most in one semester), subject to the recommendation of the advisor and approval of the instructor concerned.

Exchange and visitor students who study in METU within the framework of agreements signed between METU and other educational or government institutions in other countries can withdraw from the courses with the proposal of the Manager of International Relations Office and the permission of instructor concerned. The rules related to grade (W) are not applied to those students.
 
The course grades awarded are announced by the Registrar's Office.
 
ERRORS IN GRADING

Article 11.

In the event of any error on the Instructor's part arising in the grades announced by the Registrar's Office, the course instructor's application for correction will depend on the decision of the Committee of the Department of which she/he is a member. Errors in grading concerning the semester final examinations have to be corrected within the registration period of the consecutive semester.
 
GRADE POINT AVERAGES

Article 12.

The student's standing is calculated in the form of a Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) and Cumulative Grade Point Average (C.G.P.A.) and is announced at the end of each semester by the Registrar's Office.
 
The total credit points for a course are obtained by multiplying the coefficient of the final grade by the credit hours. In order to obtain the G.P.A. for any given semester, the total credit points are divided by the total credit hours . The averages are given to two decimal points. The C.G.P.A. is calculated by taking into account all the courses taken by a student from the beginning of entrance to the University which are recognized as valid by the Department in which she/he is registered. Any given grade from AA to FF is taken as the basis for both the G.P.A. and the C.G.P.A. The most recent grade obtained for a repeated course is used to calculate the C.G.P.A. All the grades are shown on the students' transcript .
 
SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS

Article 13.

Students whose C.G.P.A. and G.P.A. is at least 2.00 are considered successful. A student who with at least a normal semester course load obtains a G.P.A. of 3.00-3.49 at the end of a semester is considered an honour student and who with at least a normal semester course load obtains a G.P.A. of 3.50-4.00 at the end of a semester is considered a high honour student. The list of these students is announced at the end of each semester.
 
UNSATISFACTORY ACADEMIC RECORD

Article 14.

Undergraduate students whose cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and /or grade point average (GPA) is below 2.00 fail. Failing students enrolled in their second or later terms have to increase their GPA to minimum 1.80 for the term they are enrolled in. Otherwise, they cannot continue their studies. Second or higher term students with a GPA lower than 1.80 in the term they are enrolled in have to raise their GPA to 1.80 in order to be able to register for courses they have not taken before. These students repeat courses previously taken until their GPA rises to the required minimum. Repeating students cannot register for courses withdrawn and for courses not taken in the regular term. For all other courses article 16 applies. For these students the course load reductions as indicated in article 5 may not be applied. The terms in which students repeat courses are included in the maximum education period.

DISMISSAL THROUGH ACADEMIC INADEQUACY

Article 15.

Students enrolled in undergraduate programs run in cooperation with other universities can be dismissed before the maximum study period ends, in accordance with the regulations of the partner university, due to an unsatisfactory grade point average.

REPEATING COURSES

Article 16.

A student who has obtained the grade of FF, FD, NA, W or U or who has not taken a course during the normal semester, must repeat it the next semester the course is offered. If the course is elective or a course has been completely removed from the curriculum, students can be permitted to take another equivalent course to be determined by the Department concerned.
 
Students can repeat courses from which they previously obtained a passing grade on the condition that they repeat the courses within 3 semesters following the semester when they first obtained the passing grade .
 
UNSUCCESSFUL STUDENTS IN THEIR FINAL SEMESTERS

Article 17.

A student is considered as a last semester student if she/he successfully completes the courses in the semester for which she/he is registered and fulfills all the requirements for getting a Bachelor's degree certificate.
 
Students who have received grades of FF or FD from at most two credit courses and/or a grade of U from at most one non-credit course will be given an additional period until the beginning of the next coming semester in order to complete their deficiencies or to take an extra examination. The grade received within this period replaces the final examination grade, and is evaluated as the final examination grade. Students' standing at the end of the semester is calculated using the grades received at the end of the additional period.
 
Even if students have not received the grades of FF or FD in their last semester, if their C.G.P.A. is less than 2.00, they can be given an additional period for the courses in which the grades of DD, DC or CC were received in the last semester under the conditions prescribed above.
 
Students whose status fits the conditions of this article should apply to the Chairman of the Department in which they are registered with a formal letter within one week after the final examination results are announced. After examining the student's status, the Department Chairman will inform both the instructors concerned and the student which courses are given the additional periods. Additional period and extra examination rights explained in this article will be given t o the student only once.
 
CONDITIONS FOR AWARD OF BACHELOR'S DIPLOMA

Article 18.

Students must have a C.G.P.A. of not less than 2.00 and have completed all the courses in the program in order to graduate. Students whose C.G.P.A. is between 3.00-3.49 are listed as honour graduates and students whose C.G.P.A. is between 3.50-4.00 are listed as high honour graduates. Honour and High Honour standings are specified on the degree certificate.
 
In order to get the Bachelor's degree certificate from Middle East Technical University , students who have transferred in from another University must have spent the last two semesters at Middle East Technical University.
 
PERIOD OF STUDY

Article 19.

The normal duration of a four-year undergraduate program at METU is eight semesters, while that of the five year secondary education field-specific teacher training programs is ten semesters. Those who fulfill the conditions in the eighteenth article of the regulations can graduate in a shorter period of time.

Without there being a valid excuse stated in the regulations, students have to complete the four-year programs in seven years and the five-year programs in eight years. Students who cannot graduate within the stated periods are dismissed from the university. However with the proviso that the other requirements still remain in force, those who have to take more than five courses to graduate are entitled to take a full-length examination and a repeat examination in the courses that they have failed. Those who have reduced the number of courses they have failed to five at most (for graduation) as a result of these examinations are allowed an additional period of three semesters, and those who have to take four or five courses without taking the additional examinations are allowed four semesters for these courses, and those who have to take three or fewer courses are allowed an unlimited additional period. Except for the courses based on practical work and those which have not been taken before, attendance is not required in these courses. The grades to be given to students who are not required to attend classes are determined by the instructor on the basis of the mid-term examinations and the final examinations. The students who have been successful in all the courses required for graduation but who face dismissal because their Cumulative Grade Point Average is less than 2.00 are allowed an unlimited additional period of time to raise their GPA in any courses they choose from their two final years.

Students who have been give the right to continue their course work or to take examinations must register and pay tuition fees each semester.  Students who have unlimited time to complete the necessary  courses, lose this right  if they fail to register and pay fees or if they register but fail to appear for examinations  for two consecutive semesters or for a total of three semesters
 
CONDITIONS FOR AWARD OF PRE-DEGREE CERTIFICATE

Article 20.

The conditions for getting the pre-degree certificate or adjustment to the Technical School of Higher Education for students who do not or can not complete the undergraduate programs are applied in accordance with the regulations decided by the Higher Education Council. In order to get the pre-degree certificate, grades of at least DD or S should be received for each of the required courses.
 
ADDITIONAL ARTICLE 1.

The five year secondary education field-specific teacher training programs of the Faculty of Education:

The minimum common courses and practical work concerning the curriculum of the five-year secondary education field-specific teacher training programs of the Faculty of Education are determined by Higher Council of Education, taking into account the views of the Ministry of Education and Inter-University Board. Students who complete these programs successfully are granted a Masters Degree without having to write a thesis. All the conditions laid down in this article, apart from the diploma to be granted and the curriculum to be pursued, are valid for the five-year secondary education field-specific programs of the Faculty of Education and the students enrolled in these programs to the effect that the undergraduate studies are meant for the five-year secondary education field-specific teacher training, the undergraduate program is taken to mean the five-year secondary education field-specific program, the undergraduate students are recognized as the students of the five-year secondary education field-specific program and the B.A. degree is substituted for the Masters Degree without a required thesis.

TEMPORARY ARTICLES

Temporary Article 1.

**** The articles of regulations are not applicable to students who were dismissed during the 2002-2003 academic year or before. However, these students may continue to use the examination rights given to them under the amended Article 15.

Temporary Article 2.

**** The dismissal procedure will be abolished for the students who are in the state of dismissal due to academic inadequacy at the end of the firs semester of 2003-2004 academic year. These students have the right to continue their education until the maximum education period is completed.

INVALIDATED REGULATIONS

Article 21.

The regulations published in the Official Newspaper on 23rd September 1990, no: 20644 that have been applied concerning Undergraduate Period of Study, Examinations and Assessment will no longer be valid.
 
Article 22.

The positions of these regulations will be effective from the beginning of the 1st semester of the academic year 1994-1995.
 
Article 23.

These regulations are implemented by the President of Middle East Technical University.
 
• These regulations was published in the Official Newspaper on 6th August 1994, no: 22013.

**** Amended articles published in the Official Newspaper on 14th February 2004, no: 25373.