Duration of Study

HCT requires that work towards a particular credential is completed within a set period of time. This is because knowledge in a particular fields changes, and learning often involves building knowledge from idea to idea and from course to course.

A student is required to complete his/her study at HCT within the allowed duration of study as per the student catalog. The student must complete his/her studies within this period to be eligible to graduate.

National service period is not counted within the program duration.

A student will be subject to dismissal upon academic grounds if he/she exceeds the Duration of Study without being granted an extension.

A student with extenuating circumstances that will require him or her to exceed the Duration of Study may apply for an extension, and, if approved, the extension period begins in the semester immediately following the end of the normal Duration of Study. An extension is normally limited to two consecutive semesters. A student may apply for an extension only once.

The Duration of Study period allowed for inter-institution transfer students is decided on an individual basis.

Grading and Academic Progress

Grading

Students enrolled in courses in HCT programs are graded according to the table below.

Grade Point Averages are calculated at the end of every semester on a scale from 0.00 to 4.00.

• Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is calculated by dividing the total number of grade points earned by the total number of credits of courses taken in the program.
• Semester Grade Point Average is calculated by dividing the total number of grade points earned in the semester by the total number of credits of all courses taken in the semester.

The following grades are used in grade points calculations

Grades and Grading

Descriptor	Grade	Grade Points	Range
Achievement that is outstanding relative to the course and GPA requirements.	A A-	4 3.7	90-100 87-89
Achievement that is significantly above the course and GPA requirements.	B+ B B-	3.3 3 2.7	84-86 80-83 77-79
Achievement that satisfactorily meets the course and GPA requirements.	C+ C	2.3 2	74-76 70-73
Achievement that minimally meets the course requirements but may not meet the GPA requirements.	C- D+ D	1.7 1.3 1	67-69 64-66 60-63
Achievement that does not meet requirements.	F	0	0-59

Grade Appeals

A student may appeal against a grade on the basis of one of the following:

• Procedural grounds, including failure to follow correct procedure, mistaken identity, aggregation errors, and addition errors.
• Bias in the marking e.g. the marker(s) were prejudiced against the student or the student’s beliefs.
• Arbitrary marking i.e. the work was not evaluated on its academic merit against the approved marking scheme/rubric.
• Inappropriate assessment i.e. the assessment does not match what was taught in the course.

Academic Progress

Bachelor Program

• A minimum CGPA of 2.0 is required for graduation. Appeals to the CGPA graduation requirement will not be accepted.

 •  The minimum allowable full-time student workload is 12 credits per semester

 •  The maximum allowable full-time student workload is 18 credits per semester

• A student is in Good Academic Standing if s/he maintains a CGPA of 2.0 or higher. 
• A student is placed on First Academic Probation if his CGPA falls below 2.0, after accumulating at least 21 CH of study.
• A student on Academic Probation whose CGPA is below 2.0 at the end of the regular semester following the First Academic Probation will be placed on Second Academic Probation.
• If a student fails to achieve a CGPA of 2.0 by the end of the next regular semester following the Second Academic Probation notice, the student is subject to Academic Dismissal from the HCT.
• If a student seeks to transfer to another program while on Academic Probation, s/he has a maximum of two semesters in the new program to attain a CGPA of 2.0. If s/he does not achieve a CGPA of 2.0 at the end of the second semester of the new program, s/he is subject to academic dismissal.   
• Summer terms are not counted in the calculation of the Academic Probation periods.

Graduation

To qualify for a Bachelor’s degree, a student is required to successfully complete the required number of credits and courses specific to the program with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.

Additionally, students must complete a minimum of 100 hours of volunteering for Bachelor Degree to graduate.

Students must also meet the residency requirement that a minimum of 50% of the program credit requirements have been completed at the HCT. Courses taken while enrolled in another program at HCT, but which did not lead to the award of a credential, will be accepted as contributing to the residency requirement.