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 credit.

Study Loads

A full-time academic load in a master’s degree program is eight (8) units or more per quarter. Students may enroll for more than twelve (12) units with approval from the Dean of Academic Affairs.

Minimum Unit Requirements for Degrees

Minimum unit requirement for a Master’s 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.

In compliance with FERPA, MU designates the following categories of personally identifiable information as directory information: name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, date and place of birth, dates of attendance, enrollment status, program of study, honors, awards and degrees received. MU may release or publish directory information without prior consent of the student, unless specifically instructed by the student to withhold information. To restrict the release or publication of any student information, a student must provide the appropriate written instructions to the Registrar’s Office.

Pursuant to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the California Information Act and Educational Code, students at MU have the right to:

(1) Inspect and review their education records that pertain to themselves as students, unless waived or qualified under Federal and State law or College policies;

(2) Seek to amend the content of their education records that may be considered inaccurate or misleading;

(3) Withhold from disclosure personally identifiable information contained in their education records, except as provided in Federal and State laws or College policies; and

(4) File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education (Family Policy Compliance Office) regarding alleged violation of their FERPA rights. 

Students and alumni who desire the university to release their records and information to prospective employers, graduate schools, etc., can expedite their applications by providing MU with written permission to release their records, specifying which records and to whom the release should be made.

A student will be given the opportunity to inspect and review his/her education records within 15 days from the day that the school receives the request for access. The student should submit to the Registrar, or other appropriate school official, written requests (or emails) that identify the record(s) s/he wishes to inspect. The school official will make arrangements for access and will notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the school official for whom the request was submitted, that official should advise the student of the appropriate official to whom the request should be addressed. 

One exception, which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with a legitimate educational interest. A school official is a person employed by the college as an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff person (including the law enforcement unit, personnel and health staff); a person or company contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, funding agency, or collection agent); a person serving the Board of Directors; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. 

Parental access to a student’s records will be allowed without prior consent if the student is under eighteen years of age or is a dependent as defined in Section 252 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code. If any MU student wants to ensure or block access for their parents to his/her grades, any disciplinary action that has been taken or other information, then it is best to file written permission with the Registrar to clarify their wants and needs.

Graduation candidates for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and the Master of Science in Management (MSM) degree shall have:

1. Completed and submitted the application for graduation to Registrar’s office. The application form for graduation can be obtained from Registrar’s office.
2. Settled all financial obligation with the university. Any outstanding balance and tuition fees must be paid prior to graduation.
3. Successfully completed all degree requirements as below.

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is conferred after satisfactory completion of sixty (60) quarter units. The Cumulative Grade Point Average for the degree must be a minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Students, who have completed their bachelor’s degree without the foundation courses (12 units) in accounting (4 units), economics (4 units), and business management (4 units), must complete the three courses in addition to the 60 units of degree requirements.

The Master of Science in Management (MSM) degree is conferred after satisfactory completion of sixty (60) quarter units. The Cumulative Grade Point Average for the degree must be a minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Students, who have completed their bachelor’s degree without the foundation courses (12 units) in accounting (4 units), economics (4 units), and business management (4 units), must complete the three courses in addition to the 60 units of degree requirements.