Academic Year

Article 2.1- An academic year consists of two approximately 16-week semesters. Programs leading to Bachelor's and Associate Degrees are generally organized on a semester basis. Summer Term can be opened if and when need arises. Summer Term rules and regulations are determined by the Senate and approved by the Board of Trustees. In educational programs where it is found appropriate, shifts or evening instructions can also be offered. In such cases the length of study can be extended upon the recommendation of the Senate and the approval of the Board of Trustees, within the framework of these rules and regulations.


Programs and Required, Elective and Pre-requisite Courses

Article 2.2 - A department's bachelor's or associate degree programs and weighting of course credit hours are proposed by the head of department to the relevant faculty/school executive board. Bachelor's or associate degree programs take effect after being accepted by the executive board of the faculty/school and approved by the Senate. However, the relevant bodies of the faculty/school are authorized to make changes regarding the semester or academic year course offerings of these programs and adding or removing elective courses. The departments assign academic advisors to help students concerning which courses they must/can take in each semester.

(Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Courses are divided into two groups, as required and elective. Every student has to take the required and elective courses of the department's curriculum, she/he is registered for. Elective courses, however, are chosen by the student with the help of the academic advisor, according to the student's interest and wish, provided that they are within the limitations of the curriculum.

When a course can only be taken after the successful completion of another course, the latter course is called a "prerequisite course" to the former course. Prerequisites are proposed by the relevant department heads to the board of the faculty/school and take effect upon approval of the board of the faculty/school.

Pursuant to the law (of higher education), the Senate decides on the semesters when the required courses of a program are offered.

Course Load

Article 2.3 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007) For each associate and undergraduate program, there exists a semester "normal course load interval" defined by the relevant department and approved by the Faculty or School Board. The normal course load interval consists of a lower and an upper limit. Upon recommendation of the academic advisor and with the approval of the department chair, the maximum course load of a student in one semester can be at most two more courses over the upper limit of the normal course load of the program. For those students who are in their final semester for graduation, one more course may be added to the maximum course load upon the recommendation of the department head and with the approval of the dean/director. A student may, with the recommendation of the relevant academic advisor and the approval of the department head, take fewer courses than the lower limit of the normal course load. Non-credit courses are not taken into account when calculating the course load. The minimum course load of one semester is one course regardless of its credits.

Article 2.3.1 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) For each associate degree and bachelor's degree program, there exists a "nominal credit load" designated by the relevant department and approved by the Senate. The nominal credit load of a program is calculated by dividing the total credits for all the required and elective courses to be taken in the program by the total number of semesters normally covered by in that program's curriculum and rounding the result to the nearest whole number. For meeting elective course requirements by courses of differing credits, the average of the credits of those courses is rounded up to a whole number. Should the total credits of a certain semester of a department's currıculum differ by 50% of the nominal credit load, that semester is not taken into account in the computation.

Class and Practice Workshop Attendance

Article 2.4 - ( Amended: 28.10.1994 RBT ) Pursuant to the principles and policies set by the relevant faculties/schools of higher education, or vocational schools, students are required to attend classes, lab sessions and other practice workshops; they are also required to take all examinations and participate in other activities assigned by the course instructors within a semester. Student attendance is taken and monitored by the instructor. A student is considered to have failed a course if s/he does not meet the attendance requirement for any reason whatsoever, including health reports and academic suspension. However, Article 5.2 is applicable to those students whose health reports are accepted and cover examination dates.

Examinations and Assessment

Article 2.5 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) Students have to take final examinations at the end of each semester in addition to mid-term examinations and other means of assessments. A minimum of one mid-term examination is given in each course. The course instructor, if s/he sees fit, may evaluate homework, laboratory sessions and similar work as mid-term examination. The instructor assigns a semester grade to a student by taking into account the student's mid-term examination and final examination scores as well as his/her participation in class and attendance records. The instructor is authorized to decide on the weighting of the mid term and final examinations.

(Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Semester grades are submitted to the Registrar's Office in electronic format by the relevant course instructor. The Registrar's Office announces the semester grades as well as the Grade Point Averages and Cumulative Grade Point Averages on the date stated in the academic calendar.

In practice courses or courses of a similar nature that are non-theoretical, the semester grade is based on the activities/performance of the student during the semester. Such courses are specified as such upon the recommendation of the relevant department head and decision of the faculty/school board.

Grades

Article 2.6 - (Miscellaneous: 02.06.2006 RBT) Each student is assigned a single letter grade at the end of each course by the course instructor as shown below:

The grades and their quality-point equivalents are:

A 4.00
A- 3.70
B+ 3.30
B 3.00
B- 2.70
C+ 2.30
C 2.00
C- 1.70
D+ 1.30
D 1.00

F 0.00

I = Incomplete

S = Satisfactory

U = Unsatisfactory

T = Transfer

P = In Progress

W = Withdrawal

Students who receive any of the grades C or higher (A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C) are considered to have satisfactorily completed that course. Students who receive a grade of either C-, D+, or D in one or more courses can only be considered successful if his/her Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is 2.00 or higher at the end of the semester. A student whose Cumulative Grade Point Average drops below 2.00 is either placed on probation or considered unsuccessful. Article 2.9 and its clauses are applicable to such students. A student receiving either F or U in a course is considered to be unsuccessful in that course.

(Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Students who have failed to complete the course requirements or who could not sit for the mid term or final examinations due to ilness or any other valid reason, but would otherwise be considered as successful, receive an "I" grade. Students receiving an "I" grade for any course have to make up the work they had missed, as well as sitting for the make-up examination of the mid-term and/or final examinations and receive a letter grade for the course within 15 days following the date of announcement of the grades as stated on the academic calendar. Otherwise, the "I" grade automatically becomes an F. However, the above-mentioned time period may be extended on the recommendation of the department chair and with the approval of the relevant board.

A student who receives "S" grades in a non-credit courses, or a student with "T" grades which are transferred from other universities or which were earned on an exchange program, is exempted from an equivalent number of credits on condition that the courses are accepted as equivalents by the department on recommendation of the department chair and with the approval of the board of the faculty/school. "S" and "T" grades are not included in the computation of the grade point averages.

A "P" grade is given at the end of the first semester for credit or non-credit courses lasting longer than a semester. A "P" grade is not included in the computation of the grade point averages.

A "U" grade is accorded to students who are unsuccessful in non-credit courses. This grade is not included in the computation of the grade point averages.

(Amended: 14.07.2003 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) A "W" grade is given to an undergraduate or associate degree student who withdraws from a course, after submitting a written application to do so, in consultation with both the course instructor and the academic advisor, and with the approval of the Head of Department. This grade is not counted when calculating the cumulative grade point average. Throughout the duration of their studies, students in the two-year vocational programs cannot withdraw from more than two courses while students in the four-year programs cannot withdraw from more than four courses. The W grades appear in transcripts and semester grade reports. Application for withdrawal from a course can be made any time until two weeks before the last day of classes as announced in the academic calendar. If a student withdraws from a course in which a grade different from F or U was earned previously, the previous grade is used in computing the Cumulative Grade Point Average.

Copying in Examinations

Article 2.6.1 - A student who commits an act of copying or attempts to do so in an examination receives an "F" grade in that examination. Additionally, the student will be subjected to a disciplinary investigation.

Errors in a Grade Report

Article 2.7 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT ) In the event of factual errors in the semester grades as announced by the Registrar's Office at the end of a semester, the student or the relevant instructor must apply for correction of an erroneous grade at the latest within two weeks of the announcement of the semester grades. The application must be processed by the department chair at the latest by the last day of the add/drop period of the following semester. The student and the Registrar's Office are informed of the decision through the office of the dean/director.

Academic Standing

Article 2.8 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) The academic standing of a student is determined at the end of each semester on the basis of his/her Grade Point Average. The total credit a student gets in a course is calculated by multiplying the number of credit hours of that course by the letter grade coefficient awarded to the student in that course. The semester Grade Point Average of a student is calculated by dividing the sum of the total credits s/he gets from the courses by the the sum of credit hours of the courses. The Cumulative Grade Point Average is computed by considering all the courses a student has taken since the entry to the department. In the case of repeating a course, only the most recent grade the student has received in the course is included in the Cumulative Grade Point Average replacing the previous grade. The students' letter grades between A and F are counted when calculating both the semester Grade Point Average and the Cumulative Grade Point Average, and expressed to two decimal places. The third decimal digit following the decimal point is rounded up if it is 5 or above, and rounded down if it is 4 or below.

Honor Students

Article 2.8.1 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) At the end of a semester, successful students (see Article 2.8.2) having a semester Grade Point Average of 3.00 -3.49 are considered honor students, while those with 3.50 and above are considered high honor students for that semester. The requirement for being awarded an honor or high honor standing is to carry a course load no less than one course below the lower limit of the normal course load for the relevant semester. Courses for which the student receives a W grade are not included to the course load. Students with a Cumulative Grade Point Average between 3.00-3.49 and those with a Cumulative Grade Point Average between 3.50 and above, graduate as honour and high honour students, respectively.

Successful Students

Article 2.8.2 - (Amended: 24.11.1993 RBT) (Amended: 14.07.2003 RBT) (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Students whose Cumulative Grade Point Average is 2.00 and above at the end of a semester are considered successful. However, in accordance with Article 2.10, they have to repeat the courses for which F or U grades are received.

Students on Probation

Article 2.8.3 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) Students whose Cumulative Grade Point Average is between 1.80 and 1.99 at the end of a semester are placed on probation. Article 2.9 and its clauses are applicable to such students.

Unsuccessful Students

Article 2.8.4 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) Students whose Cumulative Grade Point Average is below 1.80 at the end of a semester are considered unsuccessful. Article 2.9 and its clauses are applicable to such students.

Procedures for Probation and Unsuccessful Students

Article 2.9 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) During course registrations at the beginning of each semester, all courses not previously taken by a student in previous semesters are considered to be "new courses" for that student. Students with academic standings of either Probation or Unsuccessful because their current Cumulative Grade Point Average is below 2.00 or 1.80, respectively, can only register for a limited number of new courses.

Article 2.9.1 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) Students on probation can register for new courses up to a maximum total number of credit hours, which does not exceed 60% of the Nominal Credit Load. Such students are required to take, in addition to the limited number of new courses, courses in which they received any of the grades F, U and W in previous semesters, and are also expected to retake courses that they will select among those courses in which they received C-, D+, or D for the purpose of improving their Cumulative Grade Point Averages. If a student on probation is registering for courses in the second semester of the curriculum of a program, s/he may take a total number of new courses whose credit total cannot exceed 85% of the Nominal Credit Load.

Article 2.9.2 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Unsuccessful students cannot register for any new courses except for non-credit courses. Such students must retake courses for which they have received F, U or W grades, and are also expected to retake any of the courses they wish for which they have previously received C-, D+, or D, for the purpose of improving their Cumulative Grade Point Averages. If an unsuccessful student is registering for courses in the second semester of the curriculum of a program, s/he may take a total number of new courses whose credit total cannot exceed 70%.

Article 2.9.3 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) An unsuccessful or probation student can take a different elective course from the list of elective courses listed in the program in place of a previously taken elective course in which a grade of C-, D+ or D was earned. Such an elective course is not considered a "new course".

Article 2.9.4 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) In special cases, unsuccessful or probation students can take one additional new course or additional new courses whose total credits can not exceed 20 % of the Nominal Credit Load, upon recommendation of the department chair and with the approval of the dean/director of the faculty/school.

A "new course" may be substituted in place of a course being repeated only for students in their graduation year in order to prevent the delay of graduation for more than an academic year and only by the approval of the Rector's Committee consisting of the student's Dean or School Director, an Associate Provost and a Vice Rector.

Article 2.9.5 - (Miscellaneous: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.02.2007 RBT) (Senate: 29.02.2008) Unsuccessful or probation students, after registering for all the courses that they are able to register, including the new course(s) allowed by Article 2.9.4, remain registered to fewer than the lower limit of the Normal Course Load interval defined in Article 2.3, may be allowed to register up to a maximum of four courses upon the recommendation of the department chair and with the approval of the dean/director of the faculty/school.

Dismissal Procedures

Article 2.9.6 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) A student is dismissed from the university by the decision of the board of the relevant faculty/school if his or her Cumulative Grade Point Average falls below 1.20 at the end of the fourth semester since the initial entry to the department, or at the end of any semester or any summer school following the fourth semester of the program unless s/he is able to transfer to another department.

Students who are due to be dismissed from the university can apply for transfer between departments, in accordance with the Interdepartmental Transfer Procedures, before the beginning of the subsequent semester when they will be dismissed. A student who is granted admission by another department as a transfer student continues his/her studies in the new department.

(Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Within the framework of examination entitlement pursuant to law no. 4111 and Article no 44 of the higher education law no.2547, students who are dismissed from the university are entitled to sit, in the semester following the date of dismissal, for one additional examination for each of a maximum number of three courses, chosen from among courses taken and attended with grades below C to be indicated in the first application. In order to benefit from the right to sit for the additional examinations, a dismissed student must apply with a written application to the Registrar's Office by the date specified in the letter of dismissal. There will be no make-up examinations for those students who do not sit for the additional examinations on the dates announced by their departments. The periods in which these dismissed students take additional examinations are not considered as part of the official length of study periods, and in no way can those students benefit from student rights. Those who take the additional examinations have to pay the examination fee announced for each examination period. The grade received in the additional examination of a course is considered as the semester final grade for that course and students who succeed to raise their Cumulative Grade Point Averages to 1.20 or above can resume their education from the point of dismissal.

Procedures Related to Repeating Courses

Article 2.10 - (Amended: 14.07.2003 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Students who receive grade F or grade U from any course, have to repeat those courses within the next two semesters. Students who receive a grade below C for ENG101 or ELS104 and F from ENG102, must repeat that course in the first semester it is offered.

If the course that has to be repeated is an elective course or has been removed from the curriculum, the department specifies another course as its equivalent.

(RBT 21.06.2000) (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) In addition to the courses they have to take in the current semester, successful students may be allowed by their departments to retake courses from among those taken within the most two recent semesters with grades of C-, D+, or D for improving their Cumulative Grade Point Averages.

Duration of Study

Article 2.11 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) The normal period of study at Bilkent University is two academic years for associate degree programs and four academic years for undergraduate degree programs.

Without contravening article 2.9 and its clauses, and with the exception of valid and justifiable reasons as stated in the relevant regulations , students are required to complete their studies in a maximum of four academic years for associate degree programs and a maximum of seven academic years for undergraduate degree programs (excluding the period spent in the School of English Language Preparatory Program and Support Programs). Students who fail to graduate within this period, or who will be unable to qualify for such graduation, are dismissed from the University. However, within the framework of examination entitlement pursuant to law no. 4111 and Article no 44 of the higher education law no.2547, final year students who are dismissed from the University at the end of their period of study are entitled to:

(Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) take two additional examinations for those courses with grades below C. As a result of those examinations, students who have decreased the number of failed courses to five are entitled to take the examinations within three semesters; students who have failed up to five courses without taking the additional examinations are entitled to take the examinations for those courses within four semesters; students who have failed three or less courses are entitled to take the examinations for a limitless number of semesters. However, students who do not sit for examinations for three successive academic years, or for a total of three intermittent academic years, is considered to have relinquished his/her right to sit for a limitless number of examinations and can no longer benefit from this right.

(Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) Students of final semester who have no F or U grades in their transcript according to their final grade report but who are dismissed due to not having the required cumulative grade point average (2.00) for graduation, are entitled to sit a limitless number of examinations from any of the courses they choose from the last four semesters.

Students who wish to benefit from the provisions of this article should have completed the requirements for attending the practice and practical courses prior to dismissal. Those who do not meet this requirement cannot take the examinations of such courses. Students cannot take the examinations of courses they have not taken before.

No make-up examinations are given to those students who miss the examinations. Students who are benefiting from the right to sit for examinations cannot benefit from other student rights. Those students taking the examinations must pay the examination fee specified for each examination period. In order to benefit from the right to sit for the additional examinations, the dismissed students must apply to the Registrar's Office in writing by the date stated in the letter of dismissal. Students who have the right to sit for the additional examinations more than once and wish to sit for the next examination must renew their application within 30 days from the date of the previous examination and pay the examination fee. The grade received in the latest examination stands in effect. The results are counted as semester grades and students who are deemed successful according to the procedures specified in the regulations, graduate.

The terms and conditions stated in clause 2 of article 2.1 regarding the duration of study for shift and evening education programs are maintained.

Summer School

Article 2.12 - (Amended: 02.06.2006 RBT) (Amended: 17.12.2007 RBT) The new course limitations outlined in article 2.9 do not apply to repeating and probation students wishing to take courses in the summer term. Students can take a maximum of two courses in the summer term; but this number can be increased by one course with the approval of the relevant dean/director. Grades received in the summer term courses contribute to the cumulative grade point averages of students. The course registration at the beginning of the following semester is carried out taking into account the student's new academic standing that is based on the updated Cumulative Grade Point Average.

Temporary Article

Article 1- The changes made to these regulations by the decision of the Board of Trustees dated June 02, 2006 take effect as of September 1, 2006. The entire Article 2.9 will not apply until September 1, 2007 to students who entered their departments before September 1, 2006; and likewise Clause 6 of Article 2.9 will not apply until September 1, 2008 to students who entered their departments before September 1, 2006.