Academic Policies

Following acceptance for admission to the University, students will register for a program of study. Registration materials are available in the Registrar’s Office.

Formal enrollment in class is complete only when the student’s name appears on the Class Roll Sheet. Once enrolled, students may drop or add a class only by means of an official Change of Program form. Any class dropped or added requires confirmation by the instructor and must be recorded in the Registrar’s Office. A class not officially dropped will result in an F grade; a class not officially added receives no credit.

Quarter Units of Credit

Academic work at Merit University is organized by quarters, each of which is eleven (11) weeks in length. In general, one quarter unit is equal to eleven (11) contact hours of lecture, or thirty (30) contact hours of field-based activities. Courses usually carry four (4) units of credits.

Study Loads

A larger study load requires the approval of the Dean of Academic Affairs. Graduate students enroll for a minimum of eight (8) units per quarter.

Minimum Unit Requirements for Degrees

Minimum unit requirement for Master of Business Administration degree is sixty (60) units.

Standard letter grades (A, B, C, D, and F) are used for graduate programs. Only these letter grades are used on transcripts and in computing grade point averages. Instructors may use plus (+) or minus (-), but such notations are not used in final GPA computations. 

The following table is provided as a general reference:

The Registrar’s Office maintains all official transcripts, which are issued only at the written request of the student. Three working days should be allowed for processing of official transcripts. Exceptions to this rule are covered under Student Records. Requests for transcripts may be submitted either in person, by fax, or by mail. No telephone requests for transcripts are accepted. Copies of transcripts for work taken at other institutions will not be issued. 

Official transcripts bear the institutional seal and the signature of the University Registrar. MU reserves the right to withhold any and all services if the petitioner is not in good financial standing with the University.

Federal law allows current and former students access to their education records. To protect the privacy of students, the law sets certain conditions on the disclosure of personal information kept by the University. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974— also known as the Buckley Amendment or FERPA— and the California Education Code 67-100ff states that students have the right to access their educational records. Educational institutions shall not release educational records without consent of the student, subject to exceptions provided by law.

The student’s name, birth date, field of study, attendance dates, degrees received and other items designated as Directory Information are public information and may be disclosed without the student’s prior consent. Students may request that public information not be released by providing a written statement to the Registrar’s Office.

Prospective graduates must obtain an Application for Graduation from the Registrar’s Office and submit it to the Registrar before they can be considered for graduation. Students are advised to file the application in the quarter preceding that in which they expect to graduate. During each registration period, graduating seniors meet with their advisors to determine whether their proposed class enrollments meet all requirements for their degrees.

Graduation ceremonies are held in June. Diplomas will be mailed to those students who have completed their degree programs and must depart prior to the graduation ceremonies.

All fees and tuition debts must be paid in full fifteen (15) days prior to graduation, and all graduating students must pay the graduation fees.