All admitted students are expected to know and understand the policies and procedures of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) as described in the PSU Bulletin or published on our website. The following is a summary of the most relevant policies.
Prerequisite Courses
All prerequisite courses must be passed before taking subsequent courses. Passing grades are “C” or higher for lower division (100-200) and “C-” or higher for upper division prerequisites (300-400)1. Students registered for a course for which they did not pass the prerequisite in the prior term are required to drop the course. CEE reserves the right to administratively drop students at any time from all CE, ENVE, or EAS courses for which they lack the prerequisites.
1”P” grades from Spring 2020 through Spring 2021 will satisfy degree and prerequisite requirements. More information on “P/NP” grades can be found on the Registrar's website.
Continuation Criteria
Students are expected to make satisfactory progress toward their degree (BSCE or BSENVE). Satisfactory progress is defined as:
- the term GPA in all courses taken at PSU must be 2.0 or higher; and
- the student must complete 12 credits toward the degree in an academic year.
Students failing to meet (1) or (2) of the progress criteria will be placed on probation. Students will be suspended from the degree program if:
- the student is placed on probation for two consecutive terms OR for a total of three terms; or
- the student has not enrolled in an engineering course for three consecutive terms.
Students who are suspended will not be allowed to take courses in civil and environmental engineering for one term following suspension. Students who wish to be readmitted to the program need to schedule and attend an advising session with the Department Chair. If readmitted, the suspended student will be given clear continuation criteria that may exceed the pre-suspension satisfactory progress (continuation criteria). Failure to meet the revised continuation criteria following the first suspension will result in permanent suspension from the academic program.
Graduation GPA
The student’s cumulative PSU GPA must be 2.33 or higher to graduate from the BSCE or BSENVE program.
Calculators
A FE approved calculator is required for all core undergraduate courses in CEE. The list of approved calculators may be found at National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) website.
Professionalism and Conduct
CEE expects professional and ethical behavior from students in their interactions with faculty, staff, and other students. CEE defines this behavior through the ASCE Code of Ethics, which requires engineers to hold safety paramount, serve with competence, issue true statements, act as a faithful agent, build reputation by merit, uphold professional honor, seek continued professional development, and to treat all persons fairly.
In addition, academic integrity is essential to maintaining fair, knowledge-based learning at Portland State University. Academic misconduct, such as cheating, plagiarism, copying other students' work, or assisting others in dishonest conduct, undermines trust within the academic community and devalues degrees. The Student Code of Conduct is the university’s policy on academic misconduct. It is CEE Department policy that all suspected violations be referred to the Student Conduct Office for disciplinary action. University policy provides the faculty with the authority to assign a failing grade for the assignment or exam in question. This determination is at the discretion of the faculty and is separate from the Student Conduct process. This policy is non-negotiable. If you have questions about what constitutes academic misconduct, please contact your instructor or consult the Student Conduct Office.