Terminology
Validation for Recency
Courses listed on the POS are only considered valid for seven years. If a POS course was taken more than seven years prior to
the completion of all degree requirements, the student must complete a Validation for Recency form requesting that courses be
validated and applied to the master's degree. The form must be approved by the instructor or the department Graduate Adviser.
One form must be completed for each expired course requiring validation. The student must demonstrate they have retained
adequate knowledge of the specific course content. Once a course is validated, it remains valid for one academic year. If
all degree requirements are not completed within a year, the validated courses must be retaken.
Withdrawal Grade (W)
Indicates that a student was permitted to drop a course after the semester drop deadline because of a serious or compelling
reason. The "W" grade will remain on the student's permanent record but will not affect their GPA in any way.
Withdrawal Unauthorized Grade (WU)
"WU" indicates that the student enrolled in the course did not withdraw from the course, but failed to complete course
requirements. It is used when, in the opinion of the instructor, the number of completed assignments or course activities
were insufficient to make possible a normal evaluation of academic performance. A "WU" grade is the equivalent of an "F"
for the purposes of GPA calculation.
