Introduction

The following rules and regulations have been developed to provide students with common standards, ensuring both equal opportunities and penalties. This section outlines the Institute’s policy on academic loads, absence and leave, assessment, examination, thesis, student records, students’ code of conduct and graduation.

Academic Load

students are expected to undertake the academic load each year in order to be awarded their degree or diploma. All undergraduate degrees at SPI are 4 years or 8 semesters in duration full time study and Associate degree are 2 years or 4 semester duration full time study. Each semester has 16 weeks of academic teaching plus final examination and holidays.

Students contact hours are generally around 20 hours per week, although this varies across departments and semesters. The duration of each subject is usually one semester; however some subjects extend over two or three semesters.

Students who failed subjects from one academic year have to study in the same year again to complete all courses required before promoting to study the following year of programs.

Attendance

Regular and prompt attendance at lectures and laboratory classes is an essential part of every course, along with satisfactory completion of assignments and examinations.

In all courses, students must attend at least 80% of lectures each semester in order to complete the courses satisfactorily. Students missing 20% or more of the classes without authorization from the Academic Office will be ineligible for the final semester examination.

Leave of absence

Students who are unable to attend classes for reasons of illness, accident or pregnancy, must seek formal approval by the Academic Office. If they failed to do so leave of absence will not be granted; the student will be marked absent, and will not have the right to attend the course examination.

Time Limits for Completing Courses

Undergraduate courses must be completed within a maximum of four years and two years for Associate Degree. If there is a deferral for an approved reason one extra year may be added to complete the degree.

Assessment

Departments assess students by a variety of methods depending on the course. These include:

• Essay Writing/ Assignments;
• Oral Presentations;
• Written Examinations/Short tests;
• Laboratory Tests/ Field Work Reports;
• Thesis/Research Papers/Defend.

Thesis

In their final year, all students are compulsory to write a thesis. At the end of the fourth year, first semester, students submit a research proposal for a B.A. thesis paper to the Head of Department for approval. If this is accepted they will do research and write their paper in the fourth year second semester. They will then present their work to a commission and they will be given a final score. The commission is appointed by the head of department and the vice director of academic affairs and nominate by the director of the Institute.

Grading System

The SPI students are given a grade out of 100 for each subject. If they receive a grade less than 60, the students will fail and have to repeat the examination. The grading system is outlined below:

• GPA(4.0)        A+       95-100 Excellent
• GPA(3.7)        A         90-94   Very Good
• GPA(3.3)        B+       85-89   Good
• GPA(3.0)        B         80-84   Fairly Good
• GPA(2.5)        C         70-79   Above Aver
• GPA(2.0)        D         65-69   Average
• GPA(1.7)        E          60-64   Pass
• GPA(0)           F          <60      Fail

Examinations

Students who are in compliance with the Institute regulations (discipline, attendance rules, and return of library books…) are eligible to take the final examinations. Examinations are taken at the end of each semester for all courses.

The method and content of the examination is up to the lecturer and announced to the students at least two weeks before the exam.

For year-long courses the average of the examination scores of the two semesters will be calculated as the final score of the course.

Pass/Fail Policy

Each subject is assessed separately. Students must attend classes regularly and pass all subjects in order to complete their course. Students will be notified at the end of each semester whether they meet the requirements.

If students fail in less than three subjects in one year, they have to repeat those subjects but may still proceed to the next year. If they fail in three or more subjects in one year, they have to repeat the year.

Supplementary examination

If students fail a subject in either semester, the Institute will allow them to repeat that examination a second time. Students are not required to take the class again, but if it fits into their timetable, they may retake the class without paying a fee.

An examination may be taken a maximum of four times a year. If students fail the same examination on their fourth time, their placement in the course will be cancelled. Students are able to progress to the next year with a maximum of two failed subjects. If a student fails three or more subjects in any academic year, the students will be asked to repeat the whole year again and redo the exams of all the courses of the instructional year. Students may only repeat one year in the 4-year program.

Academic Transcripts

Academic transcripts record the final result of all courses. Transcripts are available on request from Academic Office. Students must fill out a transcript application form, supply proof of identity, and pay a processing fee of 5000 riel.

Student Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct, Disciplinary Action, Dismissal, and Graduation, are described in Students Hand Book.