A. Attendance

1. Attendance at courses and seminars is obligatory.
2. Any absence should be justified.
3. In the case of illness or any other impediment, the respective student's authority has to inform the Registrar's office.
4. It is the responsibility of the student to keep up with and fulfil all requirements connected with missed lectures or studies.
5. On return, before entering the lecture hall, the student must make sure that his/her absence has already been reported and justified.
6. In order to be admitted to the final exam at the end of a course and to obtain credits, the student should not miss more than 30% of the total lectures of the respective course. In the case of a core course, if a student has missed more that 30% of lectures he/she has to repeat it. In the case of an elective course the students should take another one. If a student exceeds the permitted number of absences in two or more core courses or if the total of absences is more than 16 class days in a semester, he/she will be required to repeat the whole semester.
7. With regard to the seminars, a student should not be absent more than twice.

B. Academic Objectives and Courses

1. Academic Objectives

   At the end of the first cycle of Philosophy, the student is expected, from the academic standpoint:

   • To be capable of understanding the basics of Philosophy, the most important philosophical systems and to have a general landscape of the History of Philosophy;
   • To be able to read and understand a classical philosophical book;
   • To be able to make a personal research;
   • To be able to write a scientific paper, which should reveal his/her capacity to write in English and to understand the philosophical books and articles he/she has come across during his/her research;
   • To express his/her intellectual maturity through written and oral tests;

2. Core and Elective Courses

   The philosophy programme is divided into core and elective courses. Core courses enable students to learn and understand the basic meaning of philosophy. The elective courses give them a chance to deepen an area of their personal interest. The elective courses are offered in a cycle system.

   • Core courses are obligatory.
   • Every student is responsible for choosing and signing in elective courses in order to fulfil the prescribed academic requirements (number of credits).
   • Every student of philosophy should take in total four elective courses. S/he may attend at least one elective course per semester, beginning from the first semester of the second year.
   • After being registered for an elective course, a student is expected to attend all lectures and to sit for the examination or evaluation at the end of the course. A pass in the assessment entitles him/her to receive a credit in his/her academic record.
   • A student who chooses more electives than the minimum requirement will have those in which he/she achieves the best result chosen for the assessment of his/her final grade average prior to his graduation.
   • The required number of students to justify an elective course as well as the number of students to be permitted to an elective course will be determined by the Dean of Studies after consultation with the lecturer.

C. Philosophical Seminars

Seminars offer the students an opportunity to conduct directed research under the guidance of an appointed staff member.

1. The philosophy department has a three-seminar requirement.
2. Each student is free to choose a seminar. By signing up for a seminar the student must indicate three choices in order of his/her preference.
3. Seminars are given according to the availability of lecturers.

D. Tutorials

A lecturer should provide time to meet with students (individually or as a group) in order to discuss particular difficulties of the subject with them and that they may be assisted to better fulfil the course requirements.

E. Languages

1. An opportunity is provided in the curriculum for the study of modern languages.
2. Since the English language is the medium of instruction throughout the three-year philosophy programme, it is essential that all students attend the intensive English upgrading course, unless exempted by a very successful screening examination (at least 80%).
3. One semester of Latin is compulsory for all students seeking the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy.
4. All modern language courses (French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swahili), except English, are optional.

F. Grading System

The system is based on a range of 0 to 100 %. The Grading structure follows the norm of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the decision of the Commission for the Affiliated Institutes of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. Thus, the evaluation scale or grade scale used in the Philosophy Department is as follows:

H. Academic Assessment

1. The Institute proposes that the examination of a core course is divided into three parts: mid-term written test, assignment and semester final exam. These tests, assignments and exams are generally sufficient for an objective evaluation of the student's performance. A lecturer is responsible for his/her own marking. The Dean is the guarantor of the lecturer's judgment.
2. The final examination may be oral or written and the decision is left up to the lecturer. The maximum duration of an oral exam is fifteen minutes per student. The maximum duration of a written final exam is two hours. The final decision about the duration of the exam in a particular course is left to the respective lecturer. The mid-term written test will usually take 45 minutes but should not take more than an hour.
3. The Institute suggests the following examination procedures and the calculation of the final grades for the core courses: mid-term test (20% of the total), assignment (20% of the total) and semester final exam (60% of the total). To get a pass mark in a course, the student has to pass each part of the examination with at least 60% giving the following minimum requirements: test 12%, assignment 12%, and semester final exam 36%. A student who repeats a test or an assignment will not be awarded a grade higher than 60%. If a student does not pass the mid-term written test or the assignment (or both), he/she is not entitled to take the semester final exam.
4. In exceptional cases a student who fulfils all other course requirements may have the opportunity to take the respective exam one year after the completion of the course. When this period expires the course must be repeated in order to have the right to go for the exam.
5. Serious violations not permitted during the test or exam:
   • to talk with other people, especially to give or receive help;
   • to copy from another student's paper, to consult personal notes, books and any source not previously allowed by the lecturer;
   • to use cellular phones or any other electronic support;
   • to leave the examination room.
6. A student, who arrives late for the test or exam, will not get extra time, i.e.: he/she will use only the remaining time.
7. If a student fails to follow the examination rules (no. 5 and no. 6), his/her exam will not be considered valid.
8. A student who is not present for the test or exam can retake it only if the absence is justified and at a time determined by the professor. If the absence is not justified the student cannot repeat the exam. If he/she is not present for the repeat exam he/she has to repeat the course.
9. A student who repeats an exam will not be awarded a grade higher than 60.
10. A student failing a commission repetition exam in a core course will have to repeat the whole course in a given semester.
11. The exam session is scheduled in the Academic calendar for all students, and an additional exam session is planned for retakes (to be scheduled at the beginning of the next semester). If a student fails the retake examination session he/she must to repeat the course before being advanced.
12. The Lecturer decides the time of the examination and students must be prepared to take more than one exam on that day if necessary.
13. A student who fails three or more exams of the core courses in the same semester does not get a chance to retake the exams and is automatically out of the Institute.
14. A degree students who fails in two or more compulsory subjects in the same academic year, shall forfeit his/her right to apply for BA. He/she may, however, continue his/her study as a diploma student.
15. Should a student fail in an elective course, there will not be any supplementary exam and, consequently, he/she will not get the corresponding credit and will be obliged to take another elective course next semester.
16. If a student fails in the retake exam in a required language course, no further retake exam is allowed and the course must be repeated. Such a student cannot proceed for the BA examination. He/she is eligible for the Diploma/Certificate only.
17. If a student fails in an optional language, there will not be any supplementary test. Such a student cannot go for the higher level of that particular language.
18. Other Serious Violations:
    • To plagiarize in written work; i.e.: to use a text of another author without the usual indication and exact written quotation of the source.
    • To submit someone else's written work as his/her own, irrespective of the way it was obtained.
    • To submit, as assignment for one course, a written work which has been already submitted in another course.
    • To get the test questions, in any way, before the exam day.
    • The falsification of the documentation quoted in a written work.
19. Disciplinary Measures for Serious Violations:
    • Admonition recorded in the student's curriculum.
    • Invalidation of the submitted written work or the exam.
    • The final grade for that course will be not higher than 60%.
20. If a student receives more than one admonition or if there is other serious breech of regulations the Disciplinary Commission can decide as follows:
    • To take away the right of the student to apply for the Bachelor Degree.
    • To expel the student from the Institute.