University of Minnesota Department of Economics

The Scholastic Conduct Committee of the College of Liberal Arts defines scholastic dishonesty broadly as “any act by a student which misrepresents the student’s own academic work or that compromises the academic work of another. Scholastic dishonesty includes (but is not necessarily limited to) cheating on assignments or examinations; plagiarizing, i.e. misrepresenting as one’s own work any work done by another; submitting the same paper, or substantially similar papers, to meet the requirements of more than one course without the approval and consent of all instructors concerned; depriving another of necessary course materials; or sabotaging another’s work. Within this general definition, however, instructors determine what constitutes academic misconduct in the particular courses that they teach” (Scholastic Committee Policy Statement).

Penalties for scholastic dishonesty in an Economics course entail an ‘F’ for the particular assignment/exam of the course. All such incidents are reported to the Scholastic Committee of the College. Please check this website for information about Student Academic Misconduct: http://www.osai.umn.edu.

Make-Up Exams

The Department of Economics does not offer common make-up final or mid-semester exams for economics courses except for make-up final exams for Economics 1101 and Economics 1102. Make-up final exams for other courses are possible only if you have another exam at the same time or have three exams within a sixteen hour period. We do not offer any make-up mid-term exams. Any possible make-up arrangements must be made with your instructor before a missed exam.

You may receive permission to take a make-up final exam for Econ 1101 or Econ 1102 for one of the three following reasons:

1. you have another exam scheduled at the same time; or
2. you have three exams within a 16-hour period; or
3. you are ill and have a doctor’s note.

If you have an exam conflict (1 or 2), you must contact your instructor before the end of classes to receive permission to take the make-up final exam. If you become ill at the time of the exam, you must contact either your instructor or the Department Office (625-6353) and bring a doctor’s note to the make-up exam. The 1101 and 1102 make-up finals are typically given on the last day of finals week. Check with the Department for dates. You must present your student ID at the exam.

Incomplete Grades

Students registered for courses are expected to complete all required assignments and examinations on time. If there are exceptional circumstances that prevent you from completing a course, e.g., an unexpected medical emergency, you may be eligible for an “I” (Incomplete) grade. In such cases, you must discuss your situation with your instructor as soon as possible. Note that doing poorly in a course and/or wanting more time to study before taking the final are not sufficient grounds for an “I” grade. The “I” grade cannot be given after the final exam.

When you are assigned an “I”, you are expected to retake the course as an unregistered student and fulfill all of the course requirements. Any completed work from the original course attendance will not be taken into account when you are making up your “I”. You have one year to make up an Incomplete Grade, although it is preferred that the “I” be made up within one semester. It is not necessary that you make up the course with the same instructor. When you make up your incomplete, you must receive your new instructor’s permission to sit in on the course as an unregistered student making up an “I”. After receiving verbal permission, you must then fill out a form in the Department office, 1035 Heller Hall, within the first two weeks of the semester and give it to the new instructor. Your new instructor will submit a grade (based only on the work you have done in his or her class) to replace the “I” grade.

You may not make up an “I” that was given more than a year previously. You must reregister and repeat the course. In this case, both grades earned will appear on your transcript, although credit for the course will be awarded only once. See the CLA Bulletin.
(NOTE: CLA policy dictates that all “I” grades received in any semester will lapse to “F” grades after one semester if the “I” is not made up. The Department of Economics will allow students one year to make up the “I”. If the “I” is made up within one year, the “I” grade that lapses into an “F” will be replaced.)

Students who are dissatisfied with their initial grades or who want to improve their mastery of course material are permitted to re-register (and re-pay) for the course. There is no limit on the number of times that a course can be repeated.

The most recent grade is the grade that will be included in the U of M Cumulative Grade Point Average, even if it is lower than the previous grade(s). All grades for the course will show on the transcript, even if the earlier grades have been excluded for the Cumulative Grade Point Average.

Bracketing is not done automatically. Once a grade has been posted for the repeated coruse, the student should contact his or her College Advising Office to request that the initial grade(s) be excluded from the U of M Cumulative Grade Point Average. Until the initial grades have been “bracketed” the Cumulative Grade Point Average will reflect an average of all grades for the class.

Students who transfer to the University of Minnesota from other colleges and universities, or who wish to study elsewhere during their university career, need to have courses evaluated by the Department to have credits accepted for the B.A. or B.S. degree. The Director of Undergraduate Studies will examine a syllabus, course description with stated prerequisites, reading list or bibliography, notebooks, papers, and examinations along with a petition that may be obtained from the student’s college office. Students requesting such an evaluation of credits are asked to bring as many of the above materials as possible.

The Economics Department can approve only Economics courses. If a student needs to have courses approved in other departments, he or she needs to talk to the Undergraduate Adviser in that department.

Courses in Mathematics should be reviewed by Dr. David Frank in 115 Vincent Hall (625-5858 or frank@math.umn.edu). Courses in Statistics should be reviewed by Dr. Christoper Bingham in 372 Ford Hall (625-1024,kb@umn.edu).

Note that we will evaluate material in English only. In the event that the material is in a language other than English, please submit an English translation as well. This translation should be notarized or authenticated.