University System of New Hampshire

II. Academic Policies

Table of Contents

BOT Board of Trustees :: II. Academic Policies

A. Inter-institutional Transfer of Credit

  1. Undergraduate
  2. Graduate
  3. General

B. Policy on Academic Integrity

C. Joint Policy USNH Board of Trustees and New Hampshire Department of Postsecondary Technical Education Board of Governors
[Repealed.]

D. Policy on Financial Aid

  1. Authority
  2. Delegation of Authority
  3. Reporting

E. Honorary Degrees and Awards

F. Policy on Promotion and Tenure

G. Academic Program Planning and Review

H. Mission Statements
[Repealed. See the Missions section of this OLPM]

I. Educational Exchange Programs
[Repealed.]

A. Inter-institutional Transfer of Credit

(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "BOT.I.A.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)


A. Inter-institutional Transfer of Credit

  1. Undergraduate
    1. Credits shall be transferable between institutions of the University System and applicable to any undergraduate degree program provided that:
      1. They were earned within the University System for work assigned a grade of C or its equivalent (a grade of P in a "Pass/No Pass" course). Note: A grade of C- or C-D is not equivalent to a grade of C.
      2. They were earned in any undergraduate degree program except the Associate in Applied Science. Credit so earned may be transferred in full or in part, depending on the specific character of the work and upon the program to which the student transfers. Judgments with respect to the transfer of credit are to be made by faculty in the departments or programs into which the student is transferring.
    2. Faculty of each campus, however, retain the authority to evaluate the transferability of credit within the institution.
    3. Institutions will establish an on-going evaluation of transfer of credit policies and procedures.
  2. Graduate
    1. The faculty of each campus has the responsibility to evaluate the transferability of graduate credit earned within the University System after consultation with the faculty of the campus from which the student is transferring.
  3. General
    1. The faculty on each campus has the responsibility to evaluate the transferability of credit awarded a student by another division within the system if that credit was granted based upon standardized examinations or was transferred to that division from an institution external to the University System.
    2. The faculty on any given campus responsible for a particular degree program shall be responsible for determining the requirements to be completed by the transfer student to be awarded the degree.

B. Academic Integrity

(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "BOT.II.B.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)


B. Academic Integrity

  1. Academic integrity and intellectual truth are among the foremost priorities in institutions of higher education. Without these, there is no real learning, critical thinking, creativity, or development of new knowledge. Therefore, the Trustees of the University System of New Hampshire confirm their commitment to these principles, and express their expectation that, in the pursuit of learning, students and faculty in the various institutions commit themselves completely to integrity and truth. Each institution formulates and administers its own policies and regulations on academic integrity, and communicates these to administrators, faculty, and students on a regular basis.

D. Financial Aid

(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "BOT.II.D.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)


D. Financial Aid

  1. Authority
    1. ​​​State law (RSA 187-A:16 VII, VIII, and XV) authorizes the Board of Trustees to manage and control the financial affairs of the University System (including all of its institutions) as needed to provide a well-coordinated system of public higher education.
  2. Delegation of Authority
    1. The Board of Trustees shall delegate to the Financial Affairs Committee the oversight of matters related to financial aid policy and associated planning.
    2. The Financial Affairs Committee shall report from time to time on an as needed basis to the Board of Trustees on the status of financial aid policy and planning.
    3. The Board of Trustees delegates to the Administrative Board the responsibility for:
      1. Assuring that financial aid planning and policy development is carried on by each institution and that plans and/or policies are submitted to the Financial Affairs Committee, on an informational basis.
      2. Assuring that current, comprehensive information is available and presented annually to the Financial Affairs Committee concerning financial aid program awards, the characteristics of aid recipients, the effectiveness of aid programs in supporting academic retention and graduation of students, and other matters pertinent to the broad goals of the Board of Trustees.
    4. The Board of Trustees delegates to the President/Chief Executive Officer of each University System institution, responsibility for:
      1. Assuring that the institution develops and maintains policies guiding all activities related to the acquisition, disbursement, program compliance and reporting of financial aid.
      2. Assuring that reliable, consistent, and timely information is available concerning financial aid and that such information as needed is provided to the Chancellor for purposes of reporting to the Board of Trustees.
      3. Managing all operations and transactions of financial aid offices and services in a manner that meets all applicable governmental and external agency standards.
  3. Reporting
    1. Any material change in University System policy approved by the Administrative Board, and/or any change in campus policy approved by the Chief Executive Officer shall be reported to the Financial Affairs Committee.

E. Honorary Degrees and Awards

(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "BOT.II.E.1.1.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)


E. Honorary Degrees and Awards

  1. The Board of Trustees delegates to each president the authority to award and confer honorary degrees and Granite State Awards at their respective institution. The Administrative Board shall adopt a policy governing the (a) granting of honorary degrees and awards, (b) appropriate coordination among the institutions, and (c) periodic reporting to the Board of Trustees.

F. Promotion and Tenure

(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "BOT.II.F.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)


F. Promotion and Tenure

  1. The Board of Trustees of the University System of New Hampshire awards promotion and tenure on the recommendation of a President. The Board also reviews the principles, policies and procedures that the institutions use to recommend candidates for promotion and tenure. In making these decisions the Board considers the institutional missions, future plans, affirmative action goals and other relevant concerns such as numbers of tenured faculty.
  2. The Board of Trustees delegates the full authority to award a promotion from the rank of Instructor to the rank of Assistant Professor (without tenure) to the institutional chief executive officer or his/her designee. Such award shall conform to standards and criteria for appointment to the rank of Assistant Professor.
  3. The Educational Excellence Committee's annual review of promotion and tenure recommendations shall be conducted as follows:
    1. Institutional promotion and tenure recommendations are presented to the Educational Excellence Committee as a consent agenda action item. The credentials of the candidates are on file in an appropriate location at each institution.
    2. The policies, principles, and procedures used by the institutions for promotion and tenure are reviewed by the Educational Excellence Committee periodically, not less than every three years.
    3. The Trustees monitor the ways in which promotion and tenure recommendations that year affect (a) the percentage of tenured faculty, (b) affirmative action, (c) the appropriateness to the mission of the institution, (d) institutional planning, and (e) retention of good faculty. A select number of successful candidates shall be described by each president at the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees.

G. Academic Program Planning and Review

Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "BOT.II.G.1.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)


G. Academic Program Planning and Review

  1. The Presidents shall establish effective processes for academic program planning, addition, alteration, deletion and review at each of the component institutions.
  2. The processes for academic program planning and review shall take account of the relevant differences among the various types of academic programs (e.g., degree and non-degree, etc.) and shall enable the institutions to effectively meet the public higher educational needs of the citizens of New Hampshire.
  3. The Educational Excellence Committee shall:
    1. Require each institution to establish and maintain a long-range academic plan as a component of the institutional strategic plan.
    2. Require each institution to establish and maintain effective processes for the addition, alteration, deletion, and periodic review of all types of academic programs.
    3. Require the Chancellor to coordinate a process whereby the Presidents propose to the Committee a set of appropriate metrics and targets aimed at assuring the education provided by each institution, and USNH as a whole, meets reasonable quality expectations.
    4. Require the System Office to maintain an academic program inventory.
  4. Prior to taking action a President shall inform the Educational Excellence Committee of his or her plans to add or delete degree programs (i.e., degrees and majors). After implementing any such change a President shall inform the Committee of the completed action. Such informational reports ordinarily shall be part of the agenda for a regularly scheduled Committee meeting.
  5. Each President shall present an annual report to the Educational Excellence Committee which, at a minimum, shall:
    1. Transmit updates to the institutions' long-range academic plans, to include updated academic quality metrics;
    2. Describe the results of the periodic academic program reviews conducted at his or her institution;
    3. Detail the changes made to the academic programs at his or her institution since the last report; and
    4. Describe the educational exchange programs offered by or available through the institution.