Academic Regulations have been laid down by the Northern Cyprus Educational Trust to govern and guide the functioning of Eastern Mediterranean University -EMU. An official copy of the Academic Regulations can be obtained from the University Bookstore upon request; a summary of the main regulations of interest to students is given below.

Registration
The Academic Advisor
Each student at the University is assigned an Academic Advisor who assists the student with matters related to scheduling, course selection, registration, and related matters. The advisor is usually a faculty member in the academic department in which the student is enrolled.

Although the advisor plays a key role in the student's progress through University studies, it is ultimately the student's responsibility to meet all University requirements, and it is the responsibility of the Office of the Registrar to ascertain and certify that these requirements have been met.

Students must obtain their advisors approval for the following transactions: registration, selection of core and elective courses, adding courses to the schedule, dropping or withdrawing courses from the schedule.

Registration Procedures
Immediately prior to the commencement of classes each semester, certain days are designated for formal registration, as indicated on the academic calendar. The registration procedure is initiated by paying the tuition and fees prescribed for that semester. At this time, all students are advised and given class schedules. Students must register for all mandatory courses offered in the Fall and Spring semester of the freshman year. Students in probational standing may register for a normally mandatory course only with the approval of the Chair of the Department.

All registration activities must be performed by the students concerned. Registration by proxy or mail is not accepted.

Late Registration
Students who have not completed formal registration processes by the scheduled period may be permitted to register late, if and only if the delay has been involuntary. Permission to register late will be considered and finalized by the Faculty or School concerned.

Registration Adjustment Adding Courses to the Schedule
With the approval of their Academic Advisor and the Chair of the Department, students may request the addition of courses to their schedule up until the end of the tenth class day of a regular term. Such reuests will be granted if:

1. the maximum allowable student course load would not be exceeded.
2. the added courses can be scheduled along with the student's other requests.

Transfers
Transfer from another Academic Institution
A student who has completed at least one term of an equivalent program at another university or equivalent institution, may apply for transfer to a program at EMU Such an application will be sympathetically considered provided the applicant:

1. has not been dismissed from that institution, either on academic or any other grounds.
2. has an adequate knowledge of English.
3. provided the quota for transfer students has not been exceeded in the program applied to.

A student may be exempted from courses in his/her chosen program at EMU, on the basis of having completed equivalent coursework at the other institution decisions concerning equivalence and comparability will be made by the relevant department at EMU.

Transfer applications can only be made for entry to the second, third, fourth or fifth academic terms, and thus the student is required to complete at least one-half of the total course load requrement at EMU.

Transfer within the University
At the time of a student's admission to EMU, transfer from one program to another is permitted once only, if the student has successfully completed at least one term of study in a department other than the English Preparatory School, and provided that the quota for transfer students has not been exceeded in the program applied to. It is necessary, however, for the student to apply to and be accepted formally by the new department. Such internal transfers are only possible from a four-year program to another four-year program and from a two-year program to a two-year program. A student who is eligible to continue his/her four-year degree program, may transfer to a two-year diploma program with the consent of the Director of the program concerned. A two-year diploma program student who graduates with a cumulative grade-point average above a certain limit may transfer to a four-year degree program, with the consent of the Faculty or School concerned.

Course-Load and Assessment
The Academic Year
A student's annual academic activities normally take place in an academic year consisting of two periods of study of at least 16 weeks each, including the schedule of final examinations. These two periods of study are reffered to as the Fall and Spring semesters.

Normally there is a two-week break between the semesters. Summer Sessions may be offered in the period between academic years. First, Second, Third, and Fourth-Year students are designated 'Freshmen' , 'Sophomores', 'Juniors', and 'Seniors' respectively.

The Academic Term and Semester
Semester is a unit of time in the academic calendar. According to the Educational By-Laws of Eastern Mediterranean University, the duration of a semester cannot be less than 80 working days, which is about 16 weeks. The normal duration of a four-year program is 8 semesters, and for a two-year program it is 4 semesters.

The academic term refers to the actual registered position of a student in semesters within his or her departmental program of study -i.e. curriculum. In general, the academic term for a regular student corresponds to the number of semesters covered within the student's departmental program. For an irregular student, the academic term is determined by the relation of the credit-hours specified in the student's departmental program to the cumulative credit-hours attempted.

The Semester Course
Part of a curriculum where credits can be earned towards a degree or diploma is earned in units called 'courses'. Courses ordinarily consist of two to four hours of instruction and, where appropriate, laboratory or tutorial work, for each week of the Fall or Spring semester. For the Summer Sessions, the weekly course loads are doubled.

Mode of Assessment
An EMU student begins serious and carefully directed work for each registered course from the first day of classes. This process of concentrated development continues throughout the term and formally concluded with the final examination.

The mode of assessment of a student's work is continuous; that is, the evaluation process also commences with the student's performance in the first class session. A final grade in a course involves a total evaluation of the work for that semester and is based on a number of factors: participation in classroom activities, quizzes, reports, laboratory work, in-term examinations, and the final examination.

The Credit-Hour
Courses offered for academic credit at EMU are described in terms of a whole number index that is proportional to the academic involvement measured in hours which is assumed to be required of a student. This index is termed the 'credit-hour', and it is a measure of academic work.

For each course, one credit-hour is equivalent to the total of one lecture hour per week, plus any additional time that may be required for preparation and reports outside of class, plus any required laboratory or tutorial work, each hour per week of which is generally considered equivalent to one-third of a credit-hour.

Thus a course consisting of both lecture and laboratory/tutorial sessions, and meeting for 3 lecture hours and 2 laboratory/tutorial hours weekly would be assigned 4 credit-hours, and would receive a credit rating of '(3,2) 4' , where the first digit indicates the weekly lecture hours, the second digit the weekly laboratory/tutorial hours, and the last the credit-hours associated with the course.

The Course Load
A course load is defined as the number of credit-hours for which a student is registered.

The average course load for EMU students varies between 15 and 23 credit-hours, depending upon the program chosen. During a Summer Session, students usually carry loads from 3 to 8 credit-hours. The normal course load is indicated in the program of a department.

A student may be allowed to reduce this load by the equivalent of one course, or increase it by the equivalent of two courses, with the approval of his/her Academic Advisor and the Chair of the Department. However, when the course load is reduced, the student is required to take the corresponding course missed at the next available opportunity.

A student who is in his/her last academic term before graduation may be permitted to register for course loads deemed appropriate by his/her Academic Advisor, and with the approval of the Chair of the Department.

Part-Time Students
A student who for personal reasons cannot complete a program in the prescribed period and registers for a course load of less than 12 credit-hours, may be permitted with the consent of the Faculty and approval of the Office of the Rector, to register as a Part-Time Student. The tuition fee payable in this case is proportional to the course load taken.

Special Students
A student who does not register in any program, but who is permitted to attend some lectures, is given the status of Special Student.

No diploma or degree is conferred upon such a student, but successful students receive a certificate prepared by the Registrar's Office. Permission for this status is considered by the Chair of a Department or the Director of a diploma program, together with the Registrar. Such students are required to possess at least a Secondary School Diploma in order to be eligible, and attend no more than two courses per semester. Tuition fees are proportional to the course load taken.

Grading and Scholastic Evaluation
Faculty members have the responsibility of providing the University with an individual evaluation of the work of each student in their classes. Grade reports are normally received in the Office of the Registrar immediately after the final examination period for each term, and end-of-course grades are entered on each student's academic record at the close of each term.

End-of-Course Grades and Grade-Points
Twelve categories of scholastic achievement, ranging from 'superior' to 'failure' [A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F], are recognized as valid end-of-course grades. These grades are indexed on a scale of '0-4'and termed 'Grade-Points'.

Five other symbols are used. 'W' -withdrawn, indicates withdrawal from a student has been authorized to delay completion of coursework past the normal end-of-term, the symbol 'I' -incomplete may be employed temporarily in lieu of an academic grade until a formal grade is reported. Avhievement in a non-credit-hour course is indicated by the symbols 'S' -satisfactory or 'U' -unsatisfactory. In the case of repeated coursework, the last grade earned is considered the offical course grade. The symbol 'NG' -Nil Grade indicates poor attendence and/or a failure to complete assigned work -including exams.

The letter grades are indexed to Grade-Point equivalents as follows:

-No grade-point equivalent is assessed for the notations I, W, S and U

Credit Earned
A student earns a credit based on the level of his/her achievement in a course. The credit earned is the product obtained by multiplication of the 'Credit-Hour' and the 'Grade-Point' obtained.

The Grade-Point Average (GPA)
A student's academic achievement for each term is expressed numerically by an index reffered to as the 'Grade Point Average' -GPA. The GPA is obtained by:

1. calculating credit earned for each course
2. adding these results for all courses in the term to obtain the total credits
3. dividing the total credits by the total credit-hours attempted. The GPA so obtained can range from 0.00 to a maximum of 4.00. A student's GPA is calculated and reported to two decimal places.

The Cumulative Grade-Point Average -CGPA
A student's overall academic archivement is expressed numerically by an index reffered to as the 'Cumulative Grade-Point Average' -CGPA. The CGPA is obtained by:

1. adding credits earned in each term completed
2. adding credit-hours attempted in each term completed
3. dividing the total credits earned by the total credit-hours attempted.

When a course is repeated, the last credit earned and, if changed, the new credit-hour, are substituted in place of the previous values.

Examinations
Schedule of Examinations
The Registrar of the University is charged with preparing and distributing a schedule of examinations well before the examination period designated for each term. The design objective for the schedule of final examinations is for each student to have one examination scheduled each day, starting with the first day and continuing uninterrupted until examinations have been taken in all courses. To the greatest extent possible,the number of students with multiple examinations on a single day is reduced to the lowest figure. Individual conflicts that may arise from the schedule should be reconciled with the asistance of the Registrar. An alternative to an examination may be employed for certain courses with the approval of an Academic Dean or Director.

Examinations in Degree and Diploma Programs
For each course, a minimum of one in-term examination, a final examination, and any number of quizzes/tests are held. Students are given detailed outlines of each course, which also include information on the grading system and the relative weights of the examinations. Final examinations are held at least three days after termination of classes.

Examinations in the Preparatory Year Program
For each course a number of in-term examinations, any number of quizzes, and one end-of-term examination are held. The Director of the Preparatory School informs students at the beginning of each term as to how many in-term examinations will be held.

Academic Evaluation
Evaluation of a Course
A course is said to have been successfully completed if a student in any scholastic status, except dismiss, obtains a grade of A, A-, B+,B,B-,C+,C,C-,D+,D or S. A course in which a student receives a grade of D-, F, NG or U is not considered to have been satisfactorily completed, and the student is required to repeat such a course in the next semester that it is offered.

Scholastic Status
Satisfactory -S Status
In order for a student to be considered successful at the end of a semester, his/her GPA must be at least 2.00 out of maximum possible achievement of 4.00.

Honor and High Honor Students
In order for a student to be considered successful at the end of a semester, his/her GPA must be at least 2.00 out of a maximum possible achievement of 4.00. A student who having taken a normal course load has obtained a semester GPA between 3.00 and 3.49 is designated an 'Honor Student', a student who obtains a semester average between 3.50 and 4.00 is designated a 'High Honor Student'.

Probational Status -First Academic Warning

Four-Year Degree Programs
A student enrolled in a degree program will receive an Academic Warning if in a given semester s/he obtains a CGPA lower than the required minimum semester CGPA described below.

Two-Year Diploma Programs
A student enrolled in a diploma program will receive an Academic Warning if in a given semester s/he obtains a CGPA lower than the required minimum semester CGPA described below:

A student who receives an academic warning will remain on probation and will be treated as such until s/he CGPA is raised to the limits stated above. A student on probation will receive a special attention and be treated as follows:

1. The semester following the first academic warning, a student will not be allowed to register for more than two new courses. The student, therefore will also be asked to repeat the courses which s/he had already taken in the previous semesters and received the grades F, NG, D- and/or if necessary, the ones with the grades D, D+ or C-.
2. The semester following an academic warning if a student's probational status still continues -i.e. if s/he receives another academic warning for that semester too, then the student will be asked to repeat courses already taken in the previous semesters, only. These students are not allowed to register for any new courses. The courses with F, NG and D- grades are to be repeated first. The student may also be asked to repeat courses which s/he already completed with D, D+ and C- grades.

A student who receives an academic warning in two consecutive semesters may also be advised to choose from one of the following two options:

1. The option to transfer to another program in the University, subject to the limitations of student contingencies and to the approval of the concerned Faculty or School Council. -wthin this framework, transfer from a two-year program to a four-year program is not permissible.
2. The option to take a paying leave of absence from the University for one or two semesters.
3. A 'last academic warning' is issued to a student who fails to meet the limits for three consecutive semeters.
4. The semester following the 'last academic warning' , if the student's probationary status still continues s/he will be dismissed from the program for which s/he is registered.