Office of the Provost and VP for Academic Affairs

Welcome to the Academic Policies Resource Page. This section is dedicated to providing faculty and academic leaders with essential information on key course and program policies that shape our educational framework.

Here, you will find resources related to course policies, definitions of academic programs, guidelines for academic program review, the stacked course policy, the curriculum policy handbook, and academic program assessment procedures to ensure compliance and excellence in our academic offerings.

University Course Policies

Academic Program Review

Curriculum Policy Handbook

Academic Programs Defined

Stacked Course Policy

Academic Program Assessment

University Course Policies

University Course Policies are the guidelines that establish expectations for students and instructors. Includes information on:

• Class Attendance
• Leave of Absence Rule
• Classroom Behavior
• TAMIU Honor Code
• Appeals of Academic Dishonesty
• Exam Monitoring 
• WIN Contracts
• Independent Study Course
• Academic matters
• Grade Changes & Appeals
• Copyright Restrictions
• Students with Disabilities
• Pregnant and Parenting Students
• Title IX

University Course Policies (PDF) 

Academic Programs Defined

TAMIU follows the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) for academic program definitions, which are as follows:  

• Degrees: A degree program is a series of courses leading to a degree authorized by THECB. Undergraduate degrees will have a minimum of 120 semester credit hours, and graduate degrees at the master’s level will have a minimum of 30 graduate credit hours and at the doctoral degree level at least 75 total graduate credit hours. Degree titles as authorized by THECB will be noted on diplomas and on official transcripts.
  • Majors: A major within a degree consists of at least 24 credit hours in a discipline. Majors will be noted on the diploma if authorized by THECB and on the official transcript.
  • Minors: A minor consists of a minimum of 18 credit hours in a discipline or topic. Minors will be noted on the official transcript.
  • Concentrations: A concentration consists of a set of related courses within a major (the exception being the university’s education concentration in preparation for TEA certification) and is available only to students enrolled in that major. The number of credit hours for a concentration may vary. Concentrations will be noted on the official transcript.
• Certificates: A certificate consists of 12-15 credit hours in a subject or combination of subjects that represents the attainment of discrete knowledge or skills. Certificates are awarded to degree-seeking students at the time of completing the degree and are awarded to non-degree seeking students when they have met the requirements of the certificate. Certificates will be noted on the official transcript.

Academic Programs Defined Memo (PDF) 

Academic Program Review

At TAMIU, each degree program undergoes an Academic Program Review, approximately every 10 years to ensure sustained alignment with the mission and goals of the university, the coherence of the curriculum, and appropriateness of the program. These decennial reviews are conducted by program faculty and leadership within the degree-granting department. The PDF below outlines the timeline and additional details for the review. 

Academic Program Review (PDF)

Academic Program Assessment

TAMIU engages in program assessment through the Office of Institutional Assessment, Research, and Planning, which evaluates what students know and what skills they demonstrate within academic programs defined learning outcomes. 

Faculty collect data, discuss the findings, and use that information for the following year's action plan to improve the student experience. 

Visit the OIARP Academic Program web site for additional details. 

Stacked Course Policy

TAMIU's policy for stacked courses, or cross-level listed courses, outlines the guidelines for courses listed at the graduate and undergraduate level.

Academic programs should offer distinct undergraduate and graduate courses. Prerequisites for each should be made explicit, using existing courses to the extent possible. However, when cross-level listings of graduate and undergraduate courses are deemed appropriate, academic programs will adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Specific, unique expectations are provided for each course. Separate syllabi are established for each course, graduate and undergraduate.
   1. Assessment measures such as exams, written assignments, computational exercises, etc. should delve more deeply into the content area and be more difficult or complex at the graduate level.
   2. The expectations and learning outcomes of each course must be commensurate with the level of that course. For graduate students, these expectations and outcomes must include more advanced learning through additional, more sophisticated reading, research projects, course facilitation and/or experiential activities. These expectations must be clearly differentiated from expectations of undergraduate students and must be clearly documented in the syllabus.
   3. The expectation for graduate students is not only that they will do a greater quantity of work, but that they will also do a greater quality (advanced) of work than undergraduate students.
2. Prerequisites should be appropriate for both courses.
   1. A graduate course could require the same prerequisite as an undergraduate course, or, depending on the circumstances, a prerequisite might be required for only one level (e.g., either undergraduate or graduate). A graduate student, by virtue of having been admitted to a specific graduate program, may meet the prerequisite requirement automatically and be eligible to enroll.
   2. While the instructor can assess this, any prerequisites must be denoted in the student handbook.
3. Courses should be close, if not identical, in numeric designations. Undergraduate and graduate cross-listing should occur within the context of general expectations about both cross-listing and course numbering.
   1. Only upper-level undergraduate courses (4xxx) and graduate courses (5xxx) may be cross-level listed.
   2. Undergraduate courses will not be cross-level listed with doctoral classes (6xxx).
   3. The course content for the undergraduate and graduate level courses must be sufficiently similar to warrant cross-level listing and to protect against undergraduate level students from enrolling in a course for which they are unprepared.
4. Course titles must be related, but do not have to be identical.
5. Courses not eligible or not approved for cross-level listing may not be co-located in the same classroom and taught together. They must be taught separately.
6. Faculty teaching cross-level listed courses must meet minimum requirements for teaching graduate-level coursework in the course discipline as required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
7. Teaching assistants (TAs) within cross-level listed courses must be graduate students.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Deans and their colleges are responsible for ensuring that departments comply with this policy and for maintaining documentation on the approval of cross-level listed courses. Deans of these units are also responsible for approving exceptions to this policy and maintaining documentation. The Provost has ultimate authority in applying this policy to courses submitted to semester schedules.

Stacked Course Policy Memo (PDF)

Curriculum Policy Handbook

The Curriculum Policy Handbook provides an overview of the curriculum process change at TAMIU, followed by the University Curriculum Committee. It standardizes the procedures and processes associated with new programs and courses, alterations to programs and courses, and other changes to the academic catalog. 

Curriculum Policy Handbook (PDF)