Academic Policies

Students who plan to withdraw completely from WVPU or take a leave of absence lasting more than one semester must complete the Leave of Absence and Withdrawal Form. Students must also inform their advisors, ensure that all outstanding fees are paid and all library books are returned. A failure to do so could result in WVPU withholding transcripts and other official documents.

See the WVPU Code of Conduct, as well as the Academic Honesty section of the Extended Campus Code of Conduct (PDF) in the WU Student Handbook.

Specific rules may apply in Austria with regard to student visas and their extension. See the Academic Load and Student Classification sections of the undergraduate catalog or the Course Load Guidelines section of the graduate catalog.

Students can take a maximum number of ECTS in any given semester or term. If they wish to exceed this limit, they need to seek permission for the academic overload from the Office of the Director. More information on procedures to request permission for the academic overload is available in the Connections portal (requires login).

Students are expected to maintain a minimum GPA. WVPU policies on academic probation and dismissal for undergraduate and graduate students can be found in the Connections portal (requires login).

See WVPU’s page on course Add, Drop and Withdrawal. See the Attendance policy below for WVPU-specific information on automatic drops. According to the WVPU Add, Drop and Withdrawal policy, course withdrawals are allowed up to and including week six of term courses and week nine of semester courses. In the case of documented extenuating circumstances, students may request a late withdrawal, by submitting the Late Withdrawal Request Form (PDF) to the Academic Services Officer (ASO), Ms. Maida Kojic-McAndrew. The decision requires approval of the Office of the Director.

See sections 4.7 and 4.8 of the Study and Examination Guidelines (PDF) of Webster Vienna Private University.

The instructor sets attendance requirements and students are expected to actively participate in all of their scheduled courses. See the respective attendance sections of the undergraduate and graduate catalogs. Students who do not attend the first session of any course and do not communicate their absence to the instructor prior to the first session will be automatically dropped from the course to free up space for those desiring to register for that course.

To preserve the integrity of its academic standards and degrees, Webster Vienna Private University reserves the right to revoke a conferred degree earned through academic misconduct or fraud, or in case the degree was conferred erroneously due to administrative error. See the Degree Revocation Policy for more information.

Students are requested to communicate with faculty and staff via the respective faculty or staff members’ official email address, of which two official domains (webster.edu and webster.ac.at) are valid. See Candidate/Connections/Email Accounts sections of the undergraduate and graduate catalogs for setting up official student accounts.

The rescheduling of exams is the responsibility of the respective academic department head. See sections 5.3 and 5.4 of the Study and Examination Guidelines (PDF) of Webster Vienna Private University.

• Grading Appeals: See section 3, Course assessment appeals, of the Study and Examination Guidelines (PDF) of Webster Vienna Private University.
  If a solution cannot be found in consultation with the instructor or, subsequently, the respective department head within a three-month period, students may email a formal appeal to the Examination Committee. The student is expected to provide all the necessary materials (graded work, term papers, etc.), as well as the reasons for the appeal, in writing to the committee. After receiving this material, the committee will render a decision and inform the student within a matter of four weeks.
• Grading Standards: See section 6, Grading standards of Webster University and their Austrian equivalents, of the Study and Examination Guidelines (PDF) of Webster Vienna Private University.
• Incomplete (I) Grades and Late Work: Incomplete grades negatively affect your academic progress, course sequencing, retention and graduation plans and should be avoided. Incompletes are only applied when you have completed most of the required coursework and have agreed to deliver the remaining components in a short and manageable timeline. Under no circumstances may the deadline exceed three months. After three months, any remaining I grades will be converted to a failing degree (ZF).
  
  As a matter of fairness and equality, all students are required to turn in all missing work no later than the last week of the semester. Instructors will not award Incompletes in lieu of earning failing grades. If you have not provided enough coursework to pass the course by the grading deadline, instructors will assign a grade of F and not an Incomplete. If you have delivered only partial work, you will be given the grade that you earned so far according to the same scale as all other students in the class.

WVPU offers the possibility to alumni, corporate partners and current students to audit selected undergraduate and graduate courses.

WVPU Policy on the Auditing of Classes

Alumni, corporate partners and current students may audit classes following the fulfillment of certain conditions.

WVPU offers the possibility to alumni, corporate partners and current students to audit selected courses within the following framework:

1. Audits are never for credit.
2. Audits will not be registered as part of an official transcript.
3. The opportunity to audit a class is subject to: availability, and approval of the faculty teaching the course.
4. Attendance and participation are required.
5. Professors are not obliged to provide a formal assessment (grades) on assignments or the course.
6. Language courses may not be audited.

In order to audit a course, alumni, corporate partners and current students must follow procedures specific to their status as follows:

WVPU’s audit policy is specific for courses taught at WVPU, limited to WVPU alumni, corporate partners and current students, and is separate from Webster University’s Audit for Enrichment program.

All undergraduates, regardless of major, are required to successfully complete the Research Methods Roadmap.

Research Methods Roadmap

The Methods Road Map (MRM) is a checklist of four compulsory and sequential undergraduate methods and research design courses (24 ECTS). The MRM encourages student growth in the area of research-focused writing and it underscores the importance of formulating research questions, constructing research designs, distinguishing among methodological approaches, and choosing appropriate methods whether qualitative or quantitative to address them.

Undergraduates take four MRM courses over their first six semesters, establishing a basis for more advanced method or tool-specific courses as they progress toward their thesis project. It ensures that all students are properly prepared to undertake a thesis project and graduate with the requisite scholarly research skills requisite for an European Qualifications Framework (EQF) an Austrian National Qualification Framework (NQF) Level VI qualification. Two MRM courses are included within the common Core Module (12 ECTS) and the remaining discipline-specific courses are part of module 2 of the different undergraduate degree programs.

MRM Courses included in the Common Core Module (12 ECTS):

• GLBC 1200 Global Cornerstone Seminar: Scientific Reasoning and Society (6 ECTS)
• STAT 1100 Descriptive Statistics (6 ECTS)

MRM Courses that are included in Module 2 of the different degree programs (12 ECTS):

• Bachelor of Arts in International Relations: Module 2
  • ANSO 2720 Introduction to Measurement and Statistics
  • INTL 2700 Methods of Political Inquiry
• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology: Module 2
  • PSYC 2750 Introduction to Measurement and Statistics (6 ECTS)
  • PSYC 2825 Introduction to Research Methods (6 ECTS)
• Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communication: Module 2
  • ANSO 2720 Introduction to Measurement and Statistic
  • MDST 4200 Media Research
• Bachelor of Arts in Management: Module 2
  Bachelor of Arts in Management with an Emphasis in International Business: Module
  Bachelor of Arts in Management with an Emphasis in Marketing: Module 2
  Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Module 2
  • BUSN 2750 Introduction to Statistics (6 ECTS)
  • BUSN 2825 Introduction to Research Design and Methods (6 ECTS)

The WVPU Code of Conduct provides guidance and sets the baseline for the standards of ethical behavior of all WVPU community members. Rooted in the notions of honesty, integrity and respect, it covers matters of academic performance, interpersonal communication, behavioral and professional integrity and responsibility, and conflicts of interest.

All students, regardless of degree, are required to successfully complete a thesis, which is the culminating project of their university studies. Detailed information for those who are planning, researching, or writing their theses can be found in Connections (requires login). Please see our WVPU Thesis Guidelines (PDF). Discover more information on the thesis process, content and minimum standards (PDF).

For all information related to tuition payments, see Financial Information.