Information for Faculty

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended, commonly known as FERPA Faculty Form (172KB) , is designed to protect the privacy of student education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their educational records, and the right of students to have some control over the disclosure of information from their records. The Act is enforced by the Family Policy Compliance Office at the U.S. Department of Education. SVSU, as an institution, takes this Act very seriously. The penalty for noncompliance can be a withdrawal of the Department of Education funds from Saginaw Valley State University.

The Essence of FERPA

• School faculty, administrators, staff and student employees may not disclose personally identifiable information about students nor permit inspection of their records without written permission of the student unless release or inspection is covered by certain exceptions permitted by the Act.
• Students may authorize the release of education record information in writing by specifying the information to be disclosed, the purpose of the disclosure and party or class of parties to whom disclosure is to be made.
• College students must be permitted to inspect their own educational records.

All full-time faculty and adjunct faculty members must complete and submit the form before access to student information will be granted. 

Grades are usually due at noon (12:00 PM) on the Tuesday succeeding the last week of exams. However, on occasion, the semester grades will be due on a different day of the week, either due to aspects of the calendar year or for administrative reasons. Download the Grading Instructions (201KB)  for more information.

Faculty members may pick up an Incomplete Contract in-person at the Office of the Registrar or download one from the website. Incomplete courses are considered exceptions to regular grading practices (extenuating circumstances). Incompletes should be used sparingly and only for incredible emergencies that are outside of a student's control. 

Students have four weeks* into the new semester before the Incomplete Contract has to be turned in for their grade. If the Incomplete Contract is not turned in by that date, the grade will be the default. The Incomplete Contract deadlines are university policy and are not subject to change. 

Instructors are required to turn in the Incomplete Contract. The Office of the Registrar will not accept any Incomplete Contracts that are submitted by a student. For more information, please see the Incomplete Contract Policy.

Incomplete Contract (97KB)

*Specific due dates will be listed on the Incomplete Contract (97KB) . 

The deadline for faculty members to make a grade change is 30 days after final grades are due to the Office of the Registrar. After this date, grades will no longer be changed. Faculty members may pick up a Grade Change Form in-person at the Office of the Registrar or download it from the website. Again, the Office of the Registrar will not accept any Grade Change forms that are submitted by a student.

Grade Change Form (91KB)

As a faculty member, instructors may approve or deny a student's request to waive a prerequisite prior to taking a specific class. A prerequisite can either be a junior or senior class standing or another course(s) that needs to be taken before a student can take a specific class. Faculty members may waive the prerequisite in an email (through their SVSU email account) or by signing an official Registration Form from the Office of the Registrar.

Please Note: Waiving an overload is a completely separate action than waiving a prerequisite requirement and prerequisites are listed in the University Catalog as a result of faculty ratification.

New Instructions to Waive Pre-Requisites

1. Go to the Faculty Overview in Self-Service. This lists all the classes you are teaching by term. 
2. Select the course you want to give the student faculty consent. 
3. Select the "Permissions" tab.
4. Select "Faculty Consent." (Instructor permission may be listed in the requisites but this can only be given through the "Faculty Consent" tab.)
5. Search for the student with an ID number or name in the search bar on the right.
6. Select the student.
7. Select the Status to Approved (the only status that will allow permission). 
8. Select the Reason for Faculty Consent. 
9. Add comments if needed to be used to later lookup why permission was added by you or the Registrar's Office. 
10. Click Save.
11. Now the student has faculty consent and should be able to register. 
12. Notes: This only takes care of instructor permission on the course. It does not waive any other requisites or registration restrictions that the course may have. Requisite Waivers can be used for any other requisites on the course. Student Petition can be used to waive any registration restrictions on a section. Registration restrictions are used to limit a course to only certain majors, minors or programs. Only full time (including reduced load) faculty have access to enter any of these permissions and only sections where they are listed as the instructor. 

As the professor of record, faculty members may give a student permission to overload their class despite the registration for the class being closed. Professors can approve the student to register for their class in an email (through their SVSU email account), or by signing an official Registration Form from the Office of the Registrar. Students must register in person.

Please Note: Waiving an overload is a completely separate action than waiving a prerequisite requirement. 

Graduation requirements for baccalaureate degrees are based on the regulations and requirements printed in the catalog that's in effect at the time of a student's initial registration at Saginaw Valley State University. A catalog published after initial registration may be chosen by the student when it is to his or her advantage, but the entire set of graduation requirements listed in any one catalog must be used. The time limitation on this provision is that no student may graduate under the requirement of a catalog published more than six calendar years prior to the date of graduation. Readmitted students are subject to all regulations and requirements of the catalog current at the time of enrollment. 

Summary of Baccalaureate Degree Requirements (starting Fall 2024):

1. Satisfy the university Basic Skills Requirements in reading, writing and mathematics.
2. Satisfy the university General Education Requirements.
3. Satisfy departmental requirements for a major and a minor or an interdisciplinary major (no minor required) or two majors. 
4. Complete at least 6 upper-division (300-400 level) credits in the major from SVSU; complete at least 3 credits at the 200 level or higher in the minor from SVSU.
5. Complete 40 credits of course work at the upper-division (300-400) level. 
6. Complete a minimum of 120 credit hours (at least 30 credits must be taken at SVSU).
7. Earn a 2.00 cumulative GPA with a grade of "C" or better in all Basic Skills, major and minor courses. 

Credit Hours Needed

Saginaw Valley State University operates on a trimester system of three 15-week semesters: fall, winter and summer (divided into a seven-week spring session and a seven-week summer session). Each degree requires the fulfillment of the academic residency requirement and the completion of a minimum of 120 credits of academic work and must include 40 credits of upper-division work (300 and 400 level courses). 

Students pursuing a second SVSU undergraduate degree must complete a minimum of 30 additional credits beyond the first degree and also fulfill all requirements listed for a different major than from the first degree. 

Academic Residency Requirement for All Bachelors Degree Programs

All candidates for baccalaureate degrees are required to take at least 30 credits from Saginaw Valley State University and the last semester must be SVSU earned credits (taken online, hybrid or face-to-face).

At least six upper-division credits in the major field and at least three credits at the sophomore or higher level in the minor field must be completed at SVSU.

Grade Point Requirement

Each candidate for a degree must have a grade point average of not less than 2.00 (C average).

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Qualifications for a baccalaureate degree prior to Fall 2024.

Independent Study Form Instructions (860KB)