Course registration
Students may review the registration guide at any time. Prior to registration, students should seek guidance on the appropriate courses to meet degree or program requirement. One of the University mission and goals is to support student persistence to on-time graduation.

Academics
The office wants to support your success and academic pursuit while at Missouri Western. Therefore, we believe information regarding student rights and responsibilities is the key. The following is the general guideline for all students at the University:

  • Regularly meet and talk with your advisor regarding your academic progress, and to make your degree plan.
  • Actively seek guidance from professional staff in Advising, Tutoring, Learning & Academic Support (ATLAS)
  • Uphold University Values – Service, Quality, Enthusiasm, Freedom, Respect, and Courage
  • Students are held to the same Academic Integrity standard, regardless if you are from the United States or from another country.  The University believes that you choose to study in the United States because you wanted an education environment that promotes opportunities and growth. Part of academic integrity is students cannot plagiarize. What is Plagiarism?
  • Make sure you know the Academic Calendar as you plan for student activities, semester breaks, on-campus housing contracts, summer vacation and travel.

Grading System
MWSU uses a numerical grading system, to one decimal place. The highest grade you can get for a class is 4.0. Generally speaking, the following grade boundaries apply: A= 4.0, B= 3.0, C= 2.0, D= 1.0, or F=0 (zero)

Grade Point Averages (GPA) and Grade Reports
When you take classes, you earn grade points for each graded course you take. Your grade points are calculated by multiplying the number of credits attempted by the grade earned. The grade point average (GPA) is calculated by dividing the total grade points from all your classes by the number of total credits that you have taken. In the U.S., your GPA is considered to be one of the most important indicators of your academic ability.

For example:

University courses Credit hours Grade earned GPA Quality points
MAT 110 Contemporary Problem Solving 3 A 4.00 12.00
ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric 3 C 2.00 6.00
SOC 110 Introduction to Sociology 3 B 3.00 9.00
HIS 1510 World Civilizations 2 (since 1500) 3 D 1.00 3.00
Total 12 30.00

Therefore, the cumulative GPA for the semester is 2.50 (30.00 quality points / 12 credit hours)

Credit hours indicates the number of contact hours EACH week during the semester. Normally, a 3 credit hour means student meet a total of 3 hours a week. While the number of contact hours are relatively low, typically for international students, expect to spend double or triple amount of hours outside of classroom for reading materials, homework, assignments, studying for quizzes or exams and team projects. Therefore, one 3-credit hour course may require 6-9 hours of preparation outside of classroom.

SEVIS immigration regulation states that international students are REQUIRED to maintain good academic standing (minimum GPA 2.00/4.00 grading scale), AND make good progress towards earning the degree or program indicated on the I-20 form, or the DS-2019 document.