Policies Academic Policies   Academic Control   Attendance   Tests and Final Exams   Grading Plan   Passing Grade for   MS/PhD   Dismissal   Examination Rules   Instruction Evaluation   Withdrawal   Refund   Transcripts & Degrees   Degree Completion   Medals / Certificates   Scholarships   Graduation   Graduate Directory   Transfer   Other Academic Rules   Charges & Penalties   BS/BBA Compre. Exam   MBA/MS Compre. Exam   Disclaimer Academic Policies Academic Control Academic Controller is responsible to facilitate and monitor examinations and academic policies at SZABIST. Academic Policy is described as below: Attendance Students are required to maintain a minimum of 80% attendance throughout the semesters in order to qualify for the final exam. (Maximum 3 absences are allowed. 2 times late coming is equal to 1 absence). Non-compliance would lead to the award of letter grade F in the course. All special requests for absences must be made in advance to the Program Manager and approved. A medical certificate is required for absences for more than two consecutive lecture days. This certificate must preferably be submitted on the third day but no later than seven days from the first absence, otherwise a letter grade F would be awarded. Registered students who have paid their fees and have not appeared for the first hourly exam, and have been absent for at least two prior classes will be 'forced withdrawn' from the courses unless otherwise contacted by the student. Withdrawal fee rules will apply. Tests and Final Exams Midterm examination shall be conducted during 8th week of the course. The duration of the exam shall be 2 hours. The Final Exam shall be conducted during 16th week of the course. The exams shall be based on case studies, and thought provoking questions that stimulate intellectual thinking and problem solving approach. The proposed distribution of marks for midterm and final exam are as follows: Final : 40-45% Midterm : 30% Assignments : 5% Quizzes : 5% Term Projects : 15% Term Papers and Projects can be 20% which depends on the course offered, with deviation of 10% allowed in each case depending on the type at faculty discretion. Grading Plan The following Letter Grading Plan is followed at SZABIST: Letter Grade Numerical Value Grade Points   A+   95 - 100   4.00   A   91 - 94   3.75   A-   87 - 90   3.50   B+   83 - 86   3.25   B   79 - 82   3.00   B-   75 - 78   2.75   C+   71 - 74   2.50   C   68 - 70   2.25   C-   65 - 67   2.00   D   60 - 64   1.00   F   00 - 59   0.00 Letter Grade Remarks S Satisfactory U Unsatisfactory I Incomplete W Withdrawn J Result withheld   Minimum passing grade in each course is 'C-'for Bachelor and Master Program courses and 'B' for MS/PhD program courses   For undergraduate, a course in which 'D' or 'F' is earned must be repeated with full registration. While MS/PhD courses with an earned grade of 'B-', 'C+','C', 'C-','D' or 'F' are to be repeated. D & F are repeat grades for BBA / BS / MBA / MCS / MPM / EMBA / PMBA / MHRM programs (all Reg. Nos) C+, C, C-, D & F are repeat grades for MS/PhD (starting Reg. No. 04-09 as per grading plan-4) C+, C, C-, D & F are repeat grades for MS/PhD (starting Reg. No. 10-11 only as per grading plan-5) B-, C+, C, C-, D & F are repeat grades for MS/PhD (starting Reg. No. 12 and onward as per grading plan-5) 'F' grade in a course does not count as having met the pre-requisite requirement for taking an advanced course. Students with repeat grades such as 'D', 'F' etc. must take the course next time as it is offered. Student may get attendance waiver in 'D' grade courses, provided the same faculty member is teaching the course. Otherwise, attendance waiver approval is required from the program manager. Student repeating course(s) that is/are no longer offered will be allowed an appropriate replacement course, which will be approved by the program manager. In case of any discrepancy in final grade, student can submit an objection for review within 14 days of announcement of provisional results on Zabdesk. If his/her claim proves to be valid; the relevant faculty member will submit the correct grade to the examination controller by completing a "Change of Grade" form and providing the reason for the change. At SZABIST, there is no policy or provision for giving or requesting grace mark. All grade points earned will be averaged towards the final grade point for graduation. Minimum GPA to graduate is 2.00 for BBA/BS/MBA/EMBA, and 3.00 for MS/PhD. If incomplete grade 'I' is not completed before the specified deadline, the default grade is an 'F'. Dismissal A student will be considered for dismissal under the following conditions: A student who is awarded majority Fs in one regular semester will be dropped from the program. (W grades will not be counted). All F's (performance/short attendance) are considered for dismissal. For students registered for only 1 or 2 courses (not recommended as full-time load), there will no dismissal except through continued probation as defined below. A student securing a GPA below 2.0 for BBA/ BS and 3.0 for MBA/ MS will be put on probation. If he/she fails to bring his / her GPA to 2.0 for BBA/ BS and 3.0 for MBA/ MS by the end of the next semester he / she will be put on second probation with a warning for dismissal. If he / she fails to bring his / her GPA to 2.0 for BBA/ BS and 3.0 for MBA/ MS by the end of the next semester, he / she will be dropped from the program. If the conditions of provisional admission have not been satisfied within one (01) semester after admission. If the student has not completed the degree requirements in seven (7) years for Bachelors and five (5) years for Masters. The student is found guilty of academic dishonesty / misbehavior / misconduct. The student is dismissal on disciplinary grounds by the Disciplinary Committee All F's (performance / short attendance) to be considered for dismissals. Readmission after dismissal: Only B grades are transferable. In all other matters, the decision of the Academic Committee will be final. Examination Rules All Examinations are conducted and monitored by the Academic Controller's office in the presence of the relevant teaching faculty. The examination paper is handed by the faculty to the Academic Controller's office at least a week in advance of the exam, who ensures after they are reviewed by the Examination Board, are copied in secrecy, and distributed to the students at the time of examination. All answer sheets are initialed and numbered by the Academic Controller's Office. During the exam: Students will be seated according to assigned places as per registration or seat numbers. All exams will commence and end as per scheduled time. Any student arriving late will not be given any extra time. Use of pencils (except for figures/graphs), any audio equipment or laptop / PC computer or programmable calculator / mobile phone is not allowed unless approved by Instructor in advance. Any student suspected of or found cheating, whispering, exchanging any material or of misconduct during the examination will be awarded an F in the course by the examiner. The student could also be dismissed from the Institute by the Academic Committee depending on the severity of the academic dishonesty or misconduct and at the recommendation of the examiner as per academic guidelines. Once the time for the exam has ended, the examiner will announce 'all pens down' at which time no student should be holding a pen in his or her hand. Any student found not obeying will have 5 marks deducted from his / her paper. All blanks pages at the end of the answer book will be crossed off immediately at the end of the examination by the examiner. Special request form must be submitted for examinations (IS & Thesis for MBA/ MS Comprehensive Exam) to be conducted at other campuses. There is a special fee for this service (Rs.5,000 for Videoconferencing; Rs.2,500 for off-line exams). Students will be shown all three hourly exam answer sheets (midterm in summer semester) in the following class/week by the faculty. They can see their mistakes to avoid the same in future. Final exam copies will not be shown to the students. Final exam copy rechecking or re-grading requests will not be entertained. The results declared are final and are not subject to review. The Academic Council or the President's Office may, however, review certain results if deemed abnormal or extra-ordinary, as determined by the Examination Board. The Academic Controller's Office collects all copies directly from the students after the examination is over. They then coordinate with the relevant faculty for the checking of the examination copies, and ensure that all checking is conducted on campus in a student-free, visitor-free environment. The faculty is not allowed to remove the test copies from campus. All tests copies (except for final exams) after checking are shown to the students by the faculty and collected back at the end of the lecture period. They are then submitted to the Academic Controller's Office and stored for at least two years till after the student has graduated. All assessment and marks obtained by the students in quizzes, assignments, term papers, projects, and tests are available to the students and parents online through Zabdesk. Plagiarism Policy SZABIST has a strong anti-plagiarism policy in which a student will be awarded a F grade for Plagiarism. Details are available on Zabdesk. Instruction Evaluation Thoughtful student reaction can help to improve teacher effectiveness. To ensure quality of teaching, an instruction evaluation is carried out for each course during the fifth week of classes. The collective results are discussed by the Project Director and the Program Manager with each Course and Laboratory Instructor, and with the class. Corrective measures are immediately made. Withdrawal Continuing students can withdraw from any number of courses per semester (except the first semester) under the following conditions: The request for withdrawal is made prior to the 12th Week through Zabdesk Online Course Withdrawal Process.  The request is approved by the Academic Controller and the Program Manager. Withdrawal cannot be made after the award of "F" grade due to short attendance on Zabdesk. In case of withdrawal, a letter grade of "W" (with no grade points) will be given. First Semester students can withdraw one course maximum only with the prior approval of the Program Manager. Fees must be paid in full which will be transferable to the next semester. Refund In Case Of Withdrawal or Forced De-Registration Admission fees once deposited is not refundable.   In case of withdrawal from the program from the first semester (new admissions only), 50% of the tuition fees is refundable only if a student applies at least two (2) weeks before classes begin and 25% if one (1) week before classes begin. No amount will be refunded if a student withdraws from the semester or the program less than one week before start of semester.   In case of withdrawal from a course, tuition fee will be charged at 50%, 75% and 100% before the first, second or third hourly tests respectively. At the time of the new registration for the course, the course fee must be paid in full.   In case of Withdrawal or Forced De-Registration, tuition fees for course(s) will be carried forward. No Refunds. Grades, Transcripts & Degrees All grades received for all examinations are posted on Zabdesk as 'Tentative Results' at end of the semester.   Semester grades are only issued upon request in official letter form at the end of a semester.   Final Transcript and Pass Certificate issued only after graduation and completion of all degree requirements and filling of Final Transcript and Pass Certificate Request Form. All dues must be cleared.   Marks percentage of grades will not be reported on the transcripts   Degrees are issued only after the graduation ceremony.   Duplicate degree can be issued in a minimum of four weeks (normal) or two weeks (urgent). There is a special fee for this service.   For students who repeat a certain course, the better of the two grades will count towards graduation. Both grades will be reported in the transcript. Degree Completion A student has the option of taking more than the required number of courses, and request in writing which courses he or she wants reported in his / her Transcript. Extra courses will be treated as certificate courses.   In special cases, as approved by the Program Manager Committee up to one course maximum can be replaced for graduation. The student should qualify as a graduating student.   Bimajors must fill in a request at the beginning. Extra courses will be treated as certificate courses.   Majors are not mentioned on the transcript and pass certificate.   Extra courses taken (even as Bimajors) will not be mentioned on the transcript. They will be treated as Certificate courses and a separate official letter given.   The maximum time limit for a student to 'improve' his grades after graduation is one year.   The maximum time limit to complete the undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate and doctorate degree is 7, 5, 3 and 7 years respectively. Time can be extended with the approval of the Program Managers Committee..   No Comprehensive Examination for MBA / MS students who have completed degree by Thesis. Continuation into higher degree; students completing their Bachelors willing to continue into a Masters, or those completing their Masters and wanting to continue into a Doctoral, should fill out a Program Continuation Form and submit to the Admission Office during their graduating semester. Updated documentation will be required and a new registration number will be allocated. Medals / Certificates   Students, who secure a GPA 4.00 during the semester with full course load, are recognized as honors students, and they are awarded a Certificate of Honors at the end of the Semester. Academic Gold Medals are awarded to graduating students securing CGPA 3.75 and above with full work load and have completed degree requirements with their own batch, at Convocation. Corporate Gold Medals are awarded to graduating students securing minimum CGPA 3.25 in the graduating year, and with highest marks in the course (elective). Note: All the medals / certificates will be given in the Convocation ceremony only. Scholarships There are a number of scholarships available (one for each section of each class of BBA, BS, MBA and MS Programs), on continuing basis based on merit. The total amount of scholarship per program per class is equal to a full semester tuition fee. GPA 3.5 with full load is the minimum requirement for any candidate to be eligible. Scholarship will be awarded from Semester 2 onward for any program and is renewable for each semester depending on the student performance The candidate must have taken full load of the class {BBA/ BS 6 courses, MBA/ MS 4 courses) both for calculation of GPA and availing the scholarship. The first position holder in a class will be awarded with a full fee waiver respectively for the next semester. If there is more than one student with same results in a semester, then the scholarship amount will be distributed equally among the eligible candidates. Upon maintaining the same status, the scholarship will be extended for the next semester. In case of other claimant (if any) with higher GPA, respective scholarship will be withdrawn and the amount will be adjusted. The scholarship program can be withdrawn at any time as approved by the Program Managers Committee. In addition to the above, SZABIST offers a number of 100% scholarship (full tuition fee waiver) to needy and meritorious student at the time of Admissions. Check with the Admission Office for details. Graduation Final Degrees are awarded to all graduates in a formal Graduation Ceremony every year. To receive degree at the graduation ceremony, students who have completed all degree requirements must fill and submit final transcript and pass certificate request form before December 31 to R&R Office to be eligible to receive degree at the next graduation ceremony. Registration fee is Rs.1,000/- A separate registration to attend the ceremony is also required three weeks before the ceremony. Form must be filled out and submitted before the dead line. Graduate Directory SZABIST Graduate Directory is published every year in December. A profile of the graduating student is given in the Graduate Directory. The directory goes to the Human Resource Departments of all leading organizations of Pakistan. This is useful for potential employers to directly contact the graduate for prospective employment. All graduating students are required to fill the Graduate Directory data form by November each year or as per the requirement of the EDC. Transfer To Other SZABIST Campuses Transfer is possible to other SZABIST campuses subject to following: Availability of Space at the transferring campus Meeting Admission criteria (minimum percentage, admission test) of the transferring Campus Clearance of all past dues Transfer fee Rs.15,000/- All course and grades will be transferred. Other Academic Rules In all academic matters, the decision of the Program Manager Committee / Academic Council is final. Program Managers Committee is the competent authority to take all academic and administrative decisions. The Committee is comprises of all program Program Managers and headed by the Vice President / Project Director. List Of Charges And Penalties  Charges / Penalties  Amount (Rs)  Late book return  30 per day  Late to Forums/ Videoconferencing  200  Loss of book  200% price  Late fee per course  500  Smoking in non smoking zone  500  Formal Dress Day  500  Writing on Desk & Walls, etc.  500  Absent in Forums/ Videoconferencing  500  Comprehensive Examination  500  Duplicate Final Transcript  500  Tampering with Computer  1,000  Graduation registration  1,000  Duplicate Degree  2,000  Off-line Examination conduction fee at other Campuses  2,500  Duplicate Degree (urgent)  5,000  On-line Examination conduction fee at other Campuses  5,000  Transfer to Other SZABIST Campus  15,000 SZABIST BS/BBA Comprehensive Examination Rules All students completing their Bachelors degree at SZABIST must pass the Comprehensive Examination. The Comprehensive Examination is conducted twice a year after the end of each semester (Fall and Spring) on the last Saturday of May and December. All Students intending to appear for the examination must register first by filing out a Registration Form for the Comprehensive Examination at least two weeks before the examination. The Registration Form is available with the Reception. A maximum of three attempts to pass the examination are allowed. SZABIST degree will not be awarded to those who failed the examination in all attempts. It is strongly recommended that the student appear for the Comprehensive Exam much before the final semester. Registration fee is Rs. 500/- Students who have failed all three attempts may seek fresh admission into the program with a new registration number. Written Admission Test will be waived. Courses in which a C has been previously obtained must be repeated. Comprehensive Exam must be passed within three attempts. Examination Format The examination will be a ninety minutes closed book online exam. There will be seven subject areas* with ten multiple choice questions (MCQs) from each subject area. Each question will have a choice of four answers. Each question will be graded according to its difficulty level, which will be handsomely generated. The best (n-1) sections will be counted towards the final grade. The minimum passing percentage for the Comprehensive Examination is 50%. *For BBA, the seven subject areas are Business Communication, Management, Marketing, Mathematics & Statistics, Finance & Accounting, Economics and MIS. *For BS, the seven subject areas are Technical Communications, General Programming, Operating Systems & Networks, Computer Architectures & Organizations, Database Concepts, Software Engineering and Mathematics. The Comprehensive Examination rules and format are subject to change by the SZABIST Academic Committee at any time without prior notice during the course of the student study, and will be binding on all continuing and new students. SZABIST MBA/MS Comprehensive Examination All students who wish to complete MBA/ MS degree by Course must pass the Comprehensive Examination. Comprehensive Exam is held on the last Saturday of May and December. To be eligible to appear for the Comprehensive Exam, all Independent Study requirements must be complete (see above). A maximum of two attempts are allowed. In case of failure in the first attempt, the second Comprehensive Exam can be arranged by special request made at least 30 days in advance. All Students intending to appear for the examination must register first by filing out a Registration Form for the Comprehensive Examination at least two weeks before the examination. The Registration Form is available with the Reception. Registration fee is Rs. 500/- Examination Format The MBA/ MS Comprehensive Exam is based on the last two Independent Study topics completed and passed. Six questions will be asked (three from each study). Two questions must be attempted from each study. Questions may be included from background material to the study. Passing grade is 80%/ B. Disclaimer The contents are only informational and should not be taken as binding on the Institute. The Institute therefore reserves the right to change any rule, regulation, and guideline applicable to the program and the students whenever it is deemed appropriate or necessary, and it will be binding on all continuing and new students, for all programs at all campuses.