Joint Biomedical Engineering
PURPOSE
The purpose of this memorandum is to bring together in one document the special procedures and policies used in admitting, registering, billing, recording grades, maintaining transcripts, and awarding degrees to students participating in the joint program.
A guiding principle in the administration of the joint program is all students on either campus are permitted equal access to all facilities, systems, and services at both universities; all administrative processes, procedures, and policies should support that principle.
General Provisions
Students are permitted equal access to all facilities, systems, and services at both universities as long as they continue to maintain an equivalent of full time course enrollment between the two universities and are satisfying academic eligibility standards of the university in which the student is enrolled as a “home” student.
Student Selection and Admission
UNC-CH pre-existing Biomedical (BMME) students can submit requests to switch into the Biomedical Engineering joint program without making a new application. Pre-existing UNC-CH BMME students should make such requests, in writing, to the BME department office at UNC-CH. The BME Department should then complete a Major Change Form, or provide a memorandum of approval, and submit to the UNC-CH Graduate School so that student records are changed to reflect the approved major. Upon completion of the indicated updates to the student record, the Graduate School will then send the intra-university transfer form to the UNC-CH Office of the Registrar.
Students who choose to remain in the pre-existing BMME program will be given the opportunity to complete all degree requirements at UNC-CH, and are therefore not eligible for equal access at NC State.
Applications for admission to the joint program may be submitted to either NC State or UNC-CH Graduate Schools and all applicants are considered by the BME admissions committee, which is comprised of faculty from both universities. The BME committee determines eligibility for the program. Admission recommendations are then submitted to the respective Graduate Schools for official admission offers.
Unless requested by the student, the student’s “home” university will be the university through which formal application for graduate study was made. The home university will house the original admission folder and determine residency classifications. The home university will provide all admission data to the other university where the student will be coded as a visitor to facilitate institutional business rules, processes, and operating systems.
Students are permitted to change their home institutions, with the permission of the BME Department. The BME Department must communicate, in writing, the change of “home” university to the Registrar’s Offices and the Admission’s Offices (Graduate Schools) at both universities. The Graduate School and Registrar’s Office will then make the appropriate updates to their student records as long as a record already exists. If it’s the first time a student is being admitted at either university, the Admissions Office will need to create the admissions record.
Enrollment
The BME Department will coordinate, at both universities, the scheduling of courses and registration of these students with the Registrar’s and Cashier’s offices.
-
- All “visiting” students are to be granted full access to activities and facilities as if they were full time enrolled students whether or not they are actually enrolled in courses at the “visiting” university. To accomplish this, all “visiting” students will be enrolled every semester in a placeholder course for zero credit hours (and joint program student group at UNC-CH.) This will allow all “visiting” students to be reported as active students for purposes of access at the visiting university.
Students are enrolled in course work at the visiting university according to the procedures outlined below.
-
- UNC-CH STUDENTS ENROLLING IN NC STATE COURSES
The BME Department should complete a Joint Degree Program in Biomedical Engineering – Interinstitutional Registration Form (BMEJ II) and have it signed by the BME Director of Undergraduate/Graduate Studies, or Department Head. (Graduate Student Registration Form || Undergraduate Registration Form) The purpose of the form is to confirm that the student is enrolling in courses at NC State, establish the number of hours the student intends to enroll for at NC State, and indicates that the course selection is approved by the program.
The form is turned in to the UNC-CH Office of the University Registrar. This can be done in paper form or transmitted electronically by the BME Department.
The BME Department (or student) will register the UNC-CH visiting student for the approved NC State course(s) and credit hour(s) shown on the BMEJ II Registration Form. The BME Department (or student) at UNC-CH will register the student for UNC-CH course work if the student is registering for courses at both institutions in the same term. The student must carry enough credit hours between both universities to equal full time enrollment.
NC State and UNC-CH Registrar’s offices will periodically compare enrollments to ensure that the enrolled courses and placeholders match throughout the term. Additionally, the BME Department should notify the Registrar’s office at both universities in the event a student ceases enrollment in the joint program.
- NC STATE STUDENTS ENROLLING IN UNC-CH COURSES
The BME Department should complete a Joint Degree Program in Biomedical Engineering – Interinstitutional Registration Form (BMEJ II) and have it signed by the BME Director of Graduate Programs, or Department Head. (Graduate Student Registration Form). The purpose of the form is to confirm that the student is enrolling in courses at UNC-CH, establish the number of hours the student intends to enroll for at UNC-CH, and indicates that the course selection is approved by the program.
The form is turned in to the NC State University Registrar. This can be done in paper form or transmitted electronically by the BME Department.
The BME Department (or student) will register the NC State visiting student for the approved UNC course(s) and credit hour(s) shown on the BMEJ II Registration Form. The BME Department (or student) at NC State will register the student for NC State course work if the student is registering for courses at both institutions in the same term. The student must carry enough credit hours between both universities to equal full time enrollment.
NC State and UNC Registrar Offices will periodically compare enrollments to ensure that the enrolled courses and placeholders match throughout the term. Additionally, the BME Department should notify the Registrar’s Office at both universities in the event a student ceases enrollment in the joint program.
- UNC-CH STUDENTS ENROLLING IN NC STATE COURSES
Tuition and Fees
Students (or other payers in the event of support) will be billed by the student’s “home” university for all the courses taken (including interinstitutional courses) at the prevailing tuition rate.
Statistical Reporting
Student head count or full time equivalent count of students will be included in the “home” university’s statistical enrollment reporting. Conversely, the visiting students will not be included in the head count or full time equivalent count of students enrolled at the “visiting” university. The credit hours taken at the visited institution will be treated statistically as if they were taken at the “home” university.
Grading, Grade Reporting and Academic Eligibility
A student taking a course through interinstitutional registration will be graded in the course in accordance with the grading system of the “visited” university and converted on the student’s record in accordance to the grading system of the “home” university. The identification of the university and course will be in the space where the descriptive title is normally shown on the transcript.
All UNC Chapel Hill & NCSU homed BMEJ students that are enrolled in a cross-campus course must have their approval forms in to their home institutions Office of the Registrar no later than 5:00pm on the last day to add a course at their home institution without departmental approval. Any enrolled courses at the visited institution that have not been submitted to the home institution via an approval form will be dropped from the student’s record at the time of roster exchange between the two universities.
The “visited” university will forward the grades of the “visiting” students to the home university at the end of the semester.
Consistent with UNC-CH Graduate School policy regarding courses/credits that count toward a graduate degree program, no interinstitutional course may be taken pass/fail (satisfactory/unsatisfactory). All courses must earn a specific grade. Student’s that are “homed” at NC State should be aware that if they change “homes” to UNC-CH, courses that they have taken on a pass/ fail basis while “homed” at NC State may not count toward their UNC-CH degree.
At the present, and consistent with formal agreement between the graduate schools at NC State and UNC-CH, the following pass-fail courses may count toward a UNC-CH “homed” student’s graduation:
-
- BME 695 – Master’s Thesis Research
- BME 802 – Advanced BME Seminar
- BME 816 – Research Ethics (also listed as PHI 816)
- BME 893 – Doctoral Supervised Research
Grades reported by NC State are converted and recorded on the student’s UNC-CH record according to the UNC-CH graduate grading scheme (H, P, and L). A grade of C received for a graduate-level course taken at NC State will be interpreted as an “L” at UNC-CH. Grades earned for courses taken via interinstitutional registration “do” factor into a graduate student’s academic eligibility calculation.
Students in the joint program are held to the academic eligibility standards of the “home” university. Students made academically ineligible by their “home” institution cannot continue graduate study at either university. It is the responsibility of the BME Department to notify the other university of changes to an academic status.
Enrollment Requirements and Graduation
Students in the joint program are expected to be aware of and comply with the rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the Graduate School of their “home” university. Such information is available in the graduate catalogs and/or handbook of each campus. Students are to follow the academic calendar of the “home” university.
Students who are not in good financial or academic standing at their “home” university are also not in good financial or academic standing at the other university. It is the responsibility of the BME department staff at both universities to share such information. The Director of Graduate Programs/ Studies of the “home” university will verify each degree candidate’s progress and submit all appropriate graduation forms and verifications by the “home” university deadlines.
Transcripts and Diplomas
The full academic transcript of course work will be maintained by the “home” university. The academic transcript will bear the appropriate degree program name, Biomedical Engineering (Joint Degree with NC State). However, the degree program on the diploma will appear as shown below. Furthermore, the diploma will carry the signatures of the President of the University of North Carolina, Chair of the Board of Governors, Chairs of the Boards of Trustees, the Chancellors’ and Deans’ of the Graduate Schools of North Carolina State University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
-
- NC State University
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering - UNC-Chapel Hill
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering
- NC State University
Attachments