Skip to main content

Academic Policies

The Office of the Registrar upholds the university’s academic and administrative policies while maintaining your educational records and serving you. View the following list for information on where to find policies pertinent to students.


Academic Catalog

The Biola University Catalog is the official source of information about degree programs, courses, policies and procedures, financial aid information and more.

View policies of common interest in the catalog:

View Full Catalog


FERPA

For policy information governing disclosure of student records, view our FERPA page.


Additional Academic Policies

Final Exam Week Schedule Policies

Final Exam Week Info/Policies

  • Final Exam times and locations are posted on the class schedule as part of the listed meeting times for every class section, or you can see it on your personal class schedule on MyAccount. If it says TBA, you will need to check your syllabus or ask your instructor.
  • If you have a conflict between two finals, one of the professors should allow an alternative final exam time to be scheduled.
  • Finals should not be offered before the last week of the semester, and classes should plan to meet whether or not a final exam will be offered.
    All undergraduate classes of two or more credits are scheduled for two-hour final exams during the last week of the term in spring and fall. One-credit courses should meet for a one-hour exam period. The two-hour meeting time for finals week is part of the required in-class meeting hours for the term; if the professor does not desire a final exam, the meeting time should be used for a regular class session.

Exceptions to the Final Exam Week Schedule

  • Graduate-level classes meet at their regularly scheduled time during the last week of the term.
  • When a graduate-level class is crosslisted with an undergraduate-level class, if the majority of the students are graduate level, the class will meet at its regularly scheduled time. If the majority of students are undergraduates, a final exam will be assigned.
  • The Art, Kinesiology and Music departments will determine final exam times for the courses taught in their own facilities, which they schedule on their own.
  • Labs, discussion sections, and First Year Seminar: Biola Experience classes will not be scheduled for exams, and should not meet during finals week.

Withdrawals and Readmission to the University

Withdrawal Policies

Official withdrawals: Students who wish to officially withdraw from the university must submit an official withdraw form. Please see the refund schedule for details regarding dates, tuition and grades. Online Bachelor's Students should connect with their academic advisor prior to withdrawing if they are interested in taking a gap semester.

Unofficial withdrawals: Students who stop attending class are considered unofficially withdrawn. No refund is granted to students who unofficially withdraw. Students who unofficially withdraw will receive grades of "UW" or "F" for their courses.

Medical withdrawals: Students who are withdrawing for health reasons and wish to apply for a medical withdrawal may do so by submitting the official withdraw form. Please see the Medical Withdrawal Policy and Procedures page for more information.

Planning to Return

Readmission: Every student who withdraws from the University must readmit through the Admissions Office. Students who have withdrawn may begin the process by filing a returning student application for the semester they plan to return.

Undergraduate students can reapply by submitting an Undergraduate Readmit Application. For more details, please refer to the Readmit Students Admissions Process page.

Online Bachelor's Students should connect with their academic advisor prior to withdrawing if they are interested in taking a gap semester. Students not interested in taking a gap semester should reapply by submitting the Online Bachelor's Programs application.

Graduate students can reapply by submitting a Graduate Readmit Application.

Catalog Requirement: Students who withdraw for more than one year will be required to follow the requirements of the most current catalog when they return.

Student Handbook

Explore the comprehensive undergraduate, online and graduate student handbooks, which include important policies and standards of conduct to support a safe, inclusive, flourishing academic community.

View Student Handbooks

Reservation of Rights

Biola University reserves the right to change any and all student charges, modify its services, or change its curriculum or programs of study should economic conditions, curricular revisions or national emergency make it necessary or desirable to do so.