Accreditation / Recognition

Athabasca University is a full member of the Association of Universities and Colleges

of Canada, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the International Council

for Open and Distance Education, the Canadian Association for Distance Education,

and the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies.

As of June 2005, Athabasca University has been awarded accreditation by the Middle

States Commission on Higher Education. The MSCHE provides assurance to the

general public that accredited member institutions meet its standards.

Mandate & Establishment

At the undergraduate level, the university is mandated to offer degree programs

and university courses in the natural and pure sciences, humanities, social sciences,

interdisciplinary studies, administrative studies, commerce, nursing and allied

professional fields. Credit based university certificates and diplomas are offered

within the structure of the university’s undergraduate degree programs.

At the graduate degree level, the university provides opportunities for advanced study

in distance education, business administration, arts, counselling, information systems,

and health studies. University graduate diploma programs are offered in management,

advanced nursing practice, distance education, project management, and information

technology management.

university-level study in certain disciplines that require some background knowl-

edge at the high school level. Junior-level (200 level) courses are of academic rigor

similar to first year courses in a traditional university. Senior-level (300 and 400 level)

courses are those which assume a background of university learning or which have

specific prerequisites in terms of introductory-level courses. Graduate-level courses

are numbered 500 and 600.

Credit System

Most courses are either three credits (half-course) or six credits (full-course) in

weight. Courses that have a practicum component in addition to lecture, lab and/or

seminar components are four credits. A single course credit is equivalent to that

CH Challenge for credit Course instructional mode

IP In progress Grade, not in GPA

N Non credit course Additional course information

NCC Not for credit complete Grade, not in GPA

NCI Not for credit incomplete Grade, not in GPA

P Pass in pass/fail grade mode Grade, not in GPA

R Repeated course Additional course information

TR Transfer Credit No Grade Reported

U Fail in pass/fail grade-mode effective Jan. 2003 Grade, not in GPA

W Withdrawal (in good standing) Grade, not in GPA

Unless otherwise noted on the face of this transcript, the student is in good academic

standing. Athabasca University does not place students on probation, suspend or expel

students for reasons of unsatisfactory performance.

Transcript Security Features

This document contains two security features, a watermark as well as the raised

“ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR” seal. All pages are

paginated.

Graduate Grading Systems

For courses in the Advanced Graduate Diploma: Advanced Nursing Practice, the

Advanced Graduate Diploma in Information Technology Management, the Advanced

Master of Distance Education programs use an alphabetic grading scale. The

minimum passing grade for courses in these programs is “C-”.

Effective September 2004, term 200409, graduate course grades are expressed as alpha

grades on a scale of “A+” to “F”. For most graduate courses the lowest passing grade is

“C-”. At this same time the transcript for graduate studies was reformatted to include

the grade point value and earned grade points of alpha and percentage grades, the

grade points earned in each course, and the cumulative grade point average (GPA) is

expressed using the 4-point scale. Grades for courses taken in pass/fail grade-mode are

excluded from calculation of a student’s GPA and for honours and awards consideration.

No descriptive modifiers (excellent, satisfactory etc.) apply to graduate grades. Effective

courses was the percentage grade scale. Prior to September 1989, the passing grade

was 60% (unless otherwise stipulated on the transcript). Effective September 1989, the

passing grade for undergraduate courses (unless otherwise stipulated on the

transcript) became 50%. Course grades of 50% or greater with an indicator of “F”

mean that one or more of the required components of the course was not satis-

fied, resulting in an overall failure. Details concerning the evaluation method of the

course may be determined from the course syllabus. A small number of courses were

graded in either pass/fail or percentage grade-mode. Pass/fail grades were excluded

from the calculation of a student’s cumulative grade average.

Effective September 1, 1998 Athabasca University began reflecting the

passing grade is “D.” At this same time the transcript for undergraduate studies was

reformatted to include the grade point value and earned grade points of alpha and

percentage grades, the grade points earned in each course, and the cumulative grade

point average (GPA) is expressed using the 4-point grade scale. Grades from courses

taken in pass/fail grade-mode are excluded from calculation of a student’s GPA and for

honours and awards consideration.

Good

Good

Good

Satisfactory

Satisfactory

Poor

Minimal Pass

Failure

Alpha Grade

A+

C

D+

D

F