Understanding the curriculum will help you graduate on time and take the courses you prefer. Arrupe’s curriculum has three components: (1) Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) General Education Core Requirements (37-38 credit hours), (2) Arrupe mission core requirements transferable to Loyola University Chicago (10 credit hours), and (3) concentration and elective credit (15-21 credit hours).

To receive an Associate of Arts degree from Arrupe College, you must

1. complete all required courses, including the General Education Core, the Arrupe mission core, and electives. Please see the Arrupe College website for a current list of classes that satisfy core requirements.
2. earn a minimum of 62 credit hours, including:
   1. at least nineteen courses worth three (3) credits or more,
   2. at least one lab course worth four (4) credits, and
   3. a one (1) credit hour ACUNI seminar course.

Schedule

Unless otherwise approved (see “Enrollment”), you are required to maintain continuous, full-time enrollment through four 16- week semesters and two 9-week summer sessions. Following this enrollment pattern will allow you to complete your degree in two years, as long as you do not need to repeat any courses (see ”Repetition of Courses”). If you would like to preserve a summer term to complete an internship or research opportunity, see your advisor as soon as possible to discuss an alternative schedule.

101.2 Grading System

Letter grades and plus/minus indicators (suffixes) are used by instructors to indicate a student's quality of achievement in a given academic course. The letter grades A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, F are assigned the following credit points for purposes of grade point average (GPA) calculations:

Grading System

Grade	Grade Points
A	4.0
A-	3.67
B+	3.33
B	3.00
B-	2.67
C+	2.33
C	2.00
C-	1.67
D+	1.33
D	1.00
F	0

Incomplete Grades

An incomplete (“I”) grade is a temporary mark that may be offered later in a semester (typically after the withdrawal deadline) at the discretion of an instructor and with consent from the Office of Academic Affairs.  Students may request an incomplete when they have experienced unexpected personal events that make it exceptionally difficult or impossible to finish work associated with a course by the time final grades are due.  Examples of circumstances that warrant an incomplete may include, but are not limited to:

• Student Illness or injury requiring hospitalization or documented medical intervention
• Death or illness of a loved one
• Sudden change in personal circumstances, such as housing insecurity or other traumatic event

Students who wish to pursue an incomplete must fill out the “Undergraduate Request for a Mark of Incomplete” form (accessible on the Arrupe College website) and present it to their instructor.  The instructor has sole discretion to offer an incomplete and set the timeline for which work must be submitted, which cannot be later than six weeks into the following Fall or Spring semester.  Common reasons an instructor may decline an incomplete request may include, but are not limited to:

• Final exam or final project deadline has already passed and/or final grade has already been submitted
• Request is submitted too early in the semester to reasonably be considered
• Student has already missed too much classroom instruction and/or assignments to catch up

If an instructor agrees to offer an incomplete, they will submit the completed request form to the Office of Academic Affairs for final approval.  If a student does not complete any or all outstanding work by the agreed upon deadline or by six weeks into the next Fall or Spring semester (whichever comes first), a final grade will be calculated and entered by the instructor based only on whatever work has been submitted up to that point.

Withdrawal Grades

If you withdraw enrollment from a class or classes, you will earn a withdrawal grade of W, WE, or NR, depending on the circumstances. Withdrawal within the first two weeks of the fall or spring semester or first week of the summer session (refer to the university academic calendar for exact timing) will result in no financial responsibility for the dropped class(es). More information regarding this process can be found under ”Voluntary Withdrawal”.

If you withdraw from a course after the first two weeks, you may retain full or partial financial responsibility for the withdrawn course. If you withdraw from one or more classes after these dates, it could result in a proration of tuition charges and, potentially, a recalculation of Financial Aid Title IV funds, meaning you could potentially owe money to the university. If you are contemplating withdrawal, you should first refer to the Office of the Bursar’s tuition schedule to calculate your return and speak with a Financial Aid representative to determine what effects, if any, withdrawal would have on your Financial Aid package.

Students who are enrolled but receive no course credit for a semester or session (for example, earning grades of F or W in all courses) may be audited by the Financial Aid Office at the end of the Academic term. This audit could result in a return of Title IV funds without any tuition reimbursement, meaning you could owe money to the university.

Withdrawal for a “W”

A grade of "W" (withdrawal) is given for withdrawal after the first and through the tenth week of the 16-week semester and after the first and through fifth week of the 9-week session. Refer to the university academic calendar for exact timing.  This grade will appear on the student's transcript but will have no effect on the student's grade point average.

Withdrawal for an “NR”

The notation of "NR" is assigned in instances where the student is registered at Arrupe but never attended or submitted work for the course in question.   An “NR” grade does not affect the student’s GPA, but may result in an audit by the Office of Financial Assistance.

Withdrawal for a "WE"

If you are facing significant hardship and considering withdrawal from all classes, you should meet with your advisor and refer to the university’s “Emergency Withdrawal” policy, which results in a grade of WE for all courses. A grade of WE does not affect your GPA but may affect your financial aid. 

Illinois Articulation Agreement (IAI) Grade Requirements

If you plan to transfer to an IAI receiving school,at least a “C” is required for satisfactory completion of each of the two courses in the writing sequence (ACWRI 105 College Writing I and ACWRI 110 College Writing II). You should know, however, that some participating institutions and some baccalaureate majors already require a “C” or better for completion of the writing courses and the oral communication course (ACCOM 101 Public Speaking & Critical Thinking).

Aside from the two writing courses, the IAI agreement permits students to count a course in which they earned a grade of “D” towards fulfilling the other General Education Core Curriculum requirements because most bachelor's degree-granting institutions permit students who begin at the institution as freshmen to do so. Your baccalaureate Major, however, may require a “C” or better in any General Education Core Curriculum course also used to satisfy a major requirement.

You should know they need at least a cumulative “C” average (2.00) to meet graduation requirements for an associate degree. As you prepare to transfer, you should understand that, although the policy permits a course in which they earned a grade of “D” to count towards an associate’s, admission to most degree-granting institutions – and to specific bachelor's degree majors – is often highly competitive.¹

¹

From the IAI: http://www.itransfer.org/

ACUNI 101 First Year Seminar & ACUNI 102 Academic Success Strategies

ACUNI 101 First Year Seminar

Arrupe College’s first year seminar, ACUNI 101 First Year Seminar, is a 1 credit hour course and a graduation requirement for all incoming first year students during their first semester. The course is designed to provide a comprehensive extended orientation that is holistic and focuses on academic success and students’ transition to college. The course is pass/no pass (P/NP), in which students must attain a 70% or higher in the course in order to receive a passing grade.

ACUNI 101 First Year Seminar is only offered in the fall semester; students who fail or withdraw from the course may satisfy this graduation requirement by successfully completing ACUNI 102 Academic Success Strategies which is offered in the spring semester.

ACUNI 102 Academic Success Strategies

ACUNI 102 Academic Success Strategies is 1 credit hour course designed to strengthen students’ academic skills so that they can become more effective learners. ACUNI 102 Academic Success Strategies is graded and does impact GPA. Enrollment in ACUNI 102 Academic Success Strategies is required of students who are on academic probation after their first semester, did not pass ACUNI 101 First Year Seminar, or both. If a student fails to pass ACUNI 101 First Year Seminar and ACUNI 102 Academic Success Strategies.