Inevitably, life happens. Students will face challenges throughout the course of their program’s completion, but this advisor cares enough to go through each of your options.
Dropping a class
Please note that you really should speak with the financial aid office or the veteran’s affairs office (if you utilize benefits) to determine how the drop could affect current and future award eligibility and save any financial aid refunds you may have received in case any amounts are owed.
Dropping during without penalty periods, as noted on the Academic Calendar or Critical dates corresponding to your courses starting and ending dates, means that no instructor approval is required to drop or withdraw from your course.
Dropping during penalty periods, as as noted on the Academic Calendar or Critical dates corresponding to your courses starting and ending dates, requires that your instructor approve your request to drop. Depending upon the departmental policy, instructor’s syllabi, and the circumstances surrounding the request to drop, a students instructor could assign a drop indicator (Q/W) or a failing grade. Once a student obtains instructor approval they will forward that with their drop request.
If you need to drop a class, please email the enrollment office and the online graduate records office as outlined in the registration notice that is emailed to each student approximately two weeks before each session begins. Be sure to include your name, L-number, and the course number you would like to drop, along with instructor approval if the request is in the penalty period.
Requesting an incomplete
In specific extenuating circumstances a student and instructor can come to an agreement on incomplete course requirements. The instructor will record a final grade of “I” for the incomplete and the student will have an agreed upon due date for the discussed course requirements to be extended. According to the Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures, “incomplete course work that is not finished during the next long semester (spring or fall) will be credited with an “F.”
Upon successful completion of the coursework, the grade change process will be initiated by the instructor of record and then must be reviewed and approved by the student’s department chair, dean, and senior associate provost signatures before the grade can be updated by the Records office. Students should monitor their transcripts and follow up on pending requests as needed.
A student who does not fulfill the incomplete requirements or does not meet the deadline with the minimum grade required for their program will need to notify the enrollment office of their plans to retake the course the next time it is offered according to the course rotation.
Repeating a course
The university’s Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures allow graduate students to request grade replacements for up to nine credit hours of coursework. This university policy can be helpful to boost a students grade point average (GPA) after challenging semesters or life events.
Upon successful completion of a repeated course, a student can complete the Request for Grade Replacement in Graduate Program Coursework form available from the Graduate Studies website. The student will then submit the completed form to their department chair for review and consideration. Upon approval the department chair will send the form through the appropriate approval channels. Students should monitor their transcripts and follow up on pending requests as needed.
Academic Standing Information
Students in graduate programs are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher. Students who’s GPA falls below this limit can be placed on academic probation or find themselves suspended from their intended program. Please review the quality of work standards. Please strive for the highest grades possible in your coursework to avoid being placed on academic probation or suspension.
Probation
The Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures website says that any graduate student with a GPA below 3.0 after the completion of nine semester hours will be placed on academic probation.
Suspension
The Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures website says that any graduate student that is on academic probation and fails to recover their GPA will be suspended. The first suspension will be for a long semester (Spring/Fall) and the second will be for two long semesters (not including summers). A third suspension may result in dismissal.
There is a suspension appeal form for students to request a recommendation from their department chair to be permitted to enroll in graduate coursework during Spring/Fall semesters.
The Advisor That Cares 