SUNY Oswego home page

Academic Policies

SUNY Oswego calculates credit hours in accordance with the State University of New York (SUNY) Credit Hour Policy, applicable to both Community Colleges and State-Operated campuses.

The Commissioner's Regulations state that a three-credit-hour course must meet for a total of 2,250 minutes. It may be necessary (because of a holiday, for example) to schedule an additional class or to add time to each class meeting to meet this regulation. If such is necessary, the instructor will inform the class as to how this time will be made up.

U.S. Department of Education Policy

Defined by Title 34, Section 600.2 of the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations:

  • 1 credit hour = 1 hour of direct instruction + 2 hours of outside work weekly for 15 weeks
  • Applies to all types of academic work (e.g., labs, internships, studio work)

SUNY Policy

The University adopts a version of the Carnegie Unit known as the semester credit hour, which represents:

  • One 50-minute class session per week over a 15-week semester
  • Plus two hours of outside preparation per session

NYS Education Department Policy

As per Title 8, Section 50.1(o) of NYSED regulations:

  • 1 semester hour = 15 instructional hours + 30 hours of supplementary assignments
  • Modifications must follow Section 52.2(c)(4) guidelines

Time on Task

SUNY Oswego complies with NYSED policies on “Time on Task” for online education: 

  • Total learning time for 1 credit hour = 15 instructional hours + 30 hours of student work.

SUNY Oswego Guidelines and Procedures

Course Review Process

Registrar’s Role

Courses approved are sent to the Registrar for inclusion in the College Catalog. Schedules are checked for compliance with assigned credit hours before each semester begins.

Instructional Types and Credit Hour Equivalency

  • Accelerated Courses
    Offered during non-standard terms (e.g., Summer/Winter), must meet the same instructional and student work time requirements as standard 15-week courses.
  • Hybrid Courses
    Combines online and on-site components. Both are evaluated for total instructional and student work time to ensure compliance.
  • Independent Study
    Involves periodic faculty contact and assigned work. Records must support equivalent total instructional and student work hours.
  • Internship/Practica/Field Experience
    Includes off-campus learning with site supervision. Faculty must document contact time and assigned work to meet hour equivalencies.
  • Laboratory
    1 credit = 100 minutes/week of instructor time + 50 minutes/week of outside work
    Total = 37.5 hours over 15 weeks
  • Lecture and Seminar
    1 credit = 50 minutes/week of instructor-led time + 100 minutes/week of outside work
    Total = 37.5 hours for 1 credit over 15 weeks
  • Online Courses
    Fully online with equivalent learning outcomes. Contact time may include:
    • Weekly faculty interaction
    • Online discussions, tutorials, group projects
    • Graded assignments like presentations, virtual labs

Room Reservation Policy

Room reservations can be made online at ems.oswego.edu. 

Policies governing the scheduling of classroom space are as follows:

  • Required single section courses with large enrollment should be scheduled first.
  • Lecture-laboratory type courses should be scheduled next.
  • Courses with more than one section should be assigned to as many different time periods as possible.
  • Schedule courses that should not be taken during the same semester at the same time.
  • Schedule courses that must be taken during the same semester at different times.
  • Courses scheduled before 4 p.m. must conform to the standard pattern time, i.e., three days per week on MWF, two days per week on TTH, and beginning and ending at the designated times. Contact Registrar's Office for details.
  • Schedule afternoon laboratories as late as possible to leave early afternoon time periods open for other classes.
  • Large courses that are divided into smaller sections one or two days per week should be scheduled during off-peak hours.
  • Departments should coordinate the scheduling of cognate and related requirements.
  • Individual faculty members should not be permitted to teach all of their courses during peak hours, i.e., MWF 9:10, 10:20, 11:30, 1:50, TTH 9:35, 11:10.
  • Departments should offer courses using a balanced curriculum, across all five days.

Classroom Changes

Any department requesting how an academic room is used, such as removing it from general use or assigning it a new purpose, must submit a formal request to the Registrar, by emailing [email protected]. This request must first be approved by the department chair and divisional dean. The request must include the following information:

  • Names, addresses, and phone numbers of the requestors
  • Room location and number
  • Seating capacity
  • Current use of the room
  • Planned use of the room, including any security concerns
  • Start and end dates for the new use, and how the room will return to general use
  • Any structural or infrastructure changes (temporary or permanent), and how they will be funded
  • Plan to offset the loss of academic space
  • Proof that the request has been reviewed with department chairs and faculty who used the room during the current and previous three semesters

The Registrar will review the request with the Provost and Vice President of Administration. They may consult with others before making a final decision. Once decided, the outcome will be shared with all department chairs, deans, program directors, and vice presidents. The announcement will include all request details and the reasoning behind the decision.

Finding an Alternative Classroom

Here are instructions to find an alternative classroom:

  • Go to events.oswego.edu
  • Click the head icon in the upper right to log in using your Laker Net ID and Email password
  • Select "Locations" in the left-hand navigation
  • In the "Date" field, select a date within the same day of the week as your course
  • Click "Add/Remove Locations", then in the pop-up, choose the "Views" tab
  • Select "General use classrooms" and click "Update Locations"

Additional Resources for Advisors

Accounts & Access
Advising & Student Success Tools
Advisor Role & Workflows
Degree Works

Degree Works provides degree audit utility for tracking progress toward degree, as well as related tools and features. It can be accessed from the Student Profile in myOswego.

Degree Works FAQs

  • Worksheets
    • Student information appears in a header, followed by overall degree progress information, then the content of the audit organized in “blocks” of information related to the degree, General Education, majors, etc.
  • Additional Features: links found at the top of the page, the ellipsis, and on the audit itself
    • Plans: semester-by-semester course plans
    • Links: additional Degree Works resources, links to myOswego, etc.
    • Email icon: email advisor(s)
    • GPA Calculator: forecast grades needed to achieve a goal GPA
    • Class History: view your coursework term-by-term
    • Petitions: see the status of any Deviation requests
    • Notes: Advisor notes (also appear at the bottom of the audit)
    • What-If: run what-if scenarios for changing curriculum (majors, minors), courses, or both
    • Format: Student View provides a full degree audit; selecting Registration Checklist from this drop-down will display only remaining requirements.
  • Blocks
    • Blocks contain requirements and conditions necessary for successful completion of a portion of student curricula.
    • Requirements (usually classes) display as met/complete (green checkmark), met pending completion of an in-progress course (blue semi-circle), or not met (open circle).
    • The “Unmet Conditions” information at the top of each block also needs to be met. When met, the “unmet” statement disappears.
  • Credit Limits
    • A Credit Limits block will display for students who have 15 or more transfer credits and/or 26 credits in-discipline toward a BA degree.
    • This block is informational only; there are no requirements or conditions to meet for degree progress.
  • Course Links
    • Courses on the audit link to course information, including course description, attributes, prerequisite information, available sections, and potential equivalent courses.
  • What-If
    • Use the what-if feature to explore what your degree audit would look like if you changed major, changed minor, and/or took specific courses.
    • To just what-if classes, check the “Use Current Curriculum” checkbox.
  • Plans
    • The Plans area is used to build semester-by-semester plans toward degree completion.
    • Courses entered in Plans are validated against the course catalog, prerequisites, and typical “when offered” patterns.
    • Degree Works Plans integrate with the “Registration and Planning” link in myOswego, allowing students to build registration plans or register directly from a Degree Works Plan.
    • An audit can be run against the plan to see the applicability of planned courses.
    • Ask your advisor about building a Degree Works Plan.
    • Overview and Instructions (PDF)
    • Video: Degree Works and Registration Plans

Transferring to Another Institution

The Transfer tab in Degree Works provides access to SUNY Transfer Tools. The primary purpose is to provide a way to run "what-if" audits against other schools or programs throughout SUNY. You can also view existing transfer equivalents at Oswego and other SUNYs.

  1. My Courses section
    1. Gather, input, and review your entire academic record.
    2. Courses from your current school automatically populate in this area. To include coursework from other SUNY schools, use the "SUNY School Courses" tool in the left-hand navigation. Clicking the plus sign ("Add SUNY xyz") will add the school to the list and search for your SUNY ID and coursework in Degree Works at the selected school(s). If found, coursework will populate (note: failed, withdrawn, and audited courses will not be included). If not found, you can manually enter courses using the plus sign at the bottom of the school listing ("Add a class").
    3. The left-hand navigation also includes the "Non-SUNY School Courses" tool, where you can manually add coursework from non-SUNY schools.
    4. When your My Courses content has been reviewed and completed, you are ready to run a Transfer What If Audit.
  2. Run a Transfer "What If" Audit
    1. The Search tool allows you to search for programs across multiple schools or multiple programs at one school. "Or" logic is used within a parameter (e.g., School A or School B), and "and" logic is used across parameters (e.g., Academic Discipline Z and (School A or School B)). The Academic Discipline parameter is broad and usually yields more results than the SUNY Transfer Path parameter. You can sort search results by clicking any column header.
    2. Select up to three programs at a time and click "Compare" to run the Transfer What If Audit. A summary page will appear, showing progress bars. These bars vary by institution and are more useful when comparing programs within the same school.
    3. Click the "View transfer detail" link to see the full Transfer What If Audit, starting with course equivalencies. Audits for baccalaureate, Associate of Arts, and Associate of Science programs will show SUNY General Education Requirements and Major requirements. Even if no course equivalent is found, SUNY Gen Ed categories will appear as complete if shown as complete on your current school's audit.
    4. Additional resources are linked at the top of the audit, including an "Apply Now" link to the SUNY application and a "Find a Transfer Advisor" link for your school of interest.
  3. Course Equivalent Tool
    1. The "Course Equivalent" tool lets you search for established transfer equivalents across SUNY. It shows equivalents at your current school and allows you to search what other SUNYs have established for your courses.
E to F Requests

E grades negatively impact GPA; F grades do not. Undergraduate students can invoke the E to F policy once to minimize the negative impact on GPA, as opposed to repeating course(s) no longer applicable to the current field of study. Please work closely with an academic advisor when considering if or when to request E to F. 

To make this request, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "E to F request". A brief online form will be provided. After submitting the form, students will be contacted with an assessment of which courses are eligible under this policy.

Eligibility Requirements

A student who changes their major may request to have E grades from the previous major(s) changed into F grades. The request will be approved when all of the following conditions are met:

  • The E grade was earned in a course that is required for the old major (e.g., core, cognates, prerequisites). This policy does not apply to elective courses in the old major.
  • The E grade was earned in a course that is not required for the new major (e.g., it is not part of the core, cognates, or prerequisites of the new major). This course can be an elective in the new major.
  • The student's most recently completed semester was a Successful Semester.*
  • The student has successfully completed a core course in the new major with a grade of C- or better.
  • The student has not previously benefited from this E to F policy.

*The Successful Semester concept applies to Fall and Spring only. A student is deemed to have had a Successful Semester if the student:

  • Has a semester GPA of 2.0 or above and
  • Has received grades of A through D-, P, S, H, or IP in 12 credits for the semester when full-time.
Forms & Requests
  • Catalog Year change form — You must have your Oswego email open in the same browser that you are using to open this form.
  • Prerequisite Deviation Form — You must have your Oswego email open in the same browser that you are using to open this form.
  • Undergraduate Overload approval form — Submit student information to permit Fall and Spring credit hour overloads. You must have your Oswego email open in the same browser that you are using to open this form. Overload permission is processed on the Friday prior to the first day of the semester. Requests for overloads during Summer sessions require Dean’s permission. Graduate students should contact the Graduate Studies office.
  • Pass/Fail request form — Advisors submit this form during the add period.
Registration & Planning
Senior Check Form & Graduation
  • Senior Check Form overview (.pdf)
Transfer Resources
Waitlisting

Additional Resources for Faculty

Accounts & Access
Class Lists & Rosters
Grading & Records
  • CELT video: Brightspace export for importing to myOswego — video (text version)
  • myOswego Faculty Grade Entry — One-page overview (.pdf), overview and instructions (.pdf)
  • myOswego Faculty Grade Entry — Importing Grades (.pdf)
  • Grade Change Form — For submitting grade changes or Incomplete Extension dates. Instructors select term and CRN and enter the student ID; requests route to the Department Chair and Dean for review/approval. Chairs/Deans use “Review Grade Change Requests” to approve/deny (click “COMPLETE” to advance the workflow).
High School Programs
Registration Actions & Exceptions
  • Registration ADD Request — For faculty and departmental restriction overrides. Submitted by the course instructor. You must have your Oswego email open in the same browser that you are using to open this form. After the official add period, use the LATE ADD form.
  • LATE ADD Request — Use after the official ADD period has ended. Requests are sent for Dean approval and the student is charged a late fee.
  • Registration Audit Request — For students seeking to audit a course; available during the ADD Period each semester when permission to audit occurs.
  • Independent Study / Research / Teaching Assistant (UG) add form — For courses that may or may not need a Course Title. Graduate Independent Study form. You must have your Oswego email open in the same browser that you are using to open these forms.
  • Faculty drop form — Students who have two unexcused absences during the first two class meetings may be dropped at the instructor’s discretion. You must have your Oswego email open in the same browser that you are using to open this form.
  • Registration Overrides — Instructors can perform overrides (Instructor Permission “Special Approval”, Classification restriction, Time Conflict) in myOswego. Use “Registration Overrides” on the Faculty Services tab; select term, enter student ID, choose override type and course, and submit. The override will appear for the student under “Check Your Registration Status.”
Tools & Training

Contact

Phone: 315.312.2136

Email: [email protected]

Office Hours

Mon-Fri 8 am–4:30 pm 
Phone Availability: Mon–Fri, 8:15 am–4:15pm

Mailing Address

Registrar's Office
301 Culkin Hall
7060 State Route 104
Oswego, NY 13126