The following policy was approved for the 2011 academic year. All conditions must be satisfied before reinstatement is authorized:
- Developing a plan of study in consultation with and approved by the appropriate Graduate Program Director (GPD) of the program that the student is seeking to either continue enrollment or to be newly admitted. The plan of study must specify the initial 12 credit hours to be taken and the steps necessary to complete the degree requirements within the six-year (Master's) and the eight-year (doctoral) time period as required by University policy. This plan should recognize that all prior courses in which grades of B- or less were earned must be repeated or replaced with an approved substitution. If reinstated, the student's GPA will revert to .00 and courses with a grade of B or above will be treated as internal transfer credit and therefore will have no bearing on the GPA. Upon reinstatement, the student must achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 in the next 12 credit hours of graduate credit attempted.
- Providing to the GPD a written explanation and documentation of the factors and circumstances that contributed to the failure to achieve the academic standards as well as evidence that these issues have been resolved. Students who wish to maintain confidentiality regarding special medical or other personal issues, must obtain a letter from the Division of Student Enrollment, Engagement & Services certifying their validity and contribution to the suspension and that these issues have been or will be satisfactorily resolved prior to the reinstatement.
- Reviewing the student's letter and any written documentation the student provides, assisting in the development of the proposed plan of study, and assessing the student's potential for successful completion of the program.
- Assessing the potential impact of reinstatement on departmental resources.
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If the GPD approves reinstatement, the student will be informed in writing and the steps outlined in 1.a. and 1.b. of this policy shall be followed. A copy of the letter and the approved plan of study shall be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies. The Office of Graduate Studies will work with the Office of the Registrar to ensure the academic record is updated so the student may resume his or her study.
Upon reinstatement:
- All courses with grades of B- (2.70) or below will be dropped from consideration in the calculation of the grade point average for continuance or graduation. These grades will remain on the student's transcript, but the courses will not be counted toward the degree.
- Courses with grades of B or above may be counted toward the degree but they will not be used in the calculation of the GPA.
- Reinstated students must achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 upon completion of the next 12 hours of credit attempted. Subsequent performance will be monitored by the GPD.
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If the GPD does not approve the request for reinstatement, the student must be informed in writing. A copy of the letter shall be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies. The student has the right to appeal to the Graduate Appeals Committee. The student must resubmit the written letter and documentation as outlined in 1.a and 1.b to the Graduate Appeals Committee.
- The Graduate Appeals Committee will request a written evaluation from the GPD. The GPD's evaluation must address the reasonableness of i) the proposed plan of study; ii) the potential for successful completion of the program, and, iii) the potential impact of reinstatement on departmental resources.
- The Graduate Appeals Committee will render its decision and inform the Office of Graduate Studies. The Office of Graduate Students will send a letter to the student, with a copy to the GPD, informing him or her of the Graduate Appeals Committee's decision. If the Graduate Appeals Committee supports the GPD's original decision, the student shall remain separated from the program. If the Graduate Appeals Committee approves reinstatement, the steps outlined in 1.a. of this policy shall be followed. The decision of the Graduate Appeals Committee is final.
- A student may be reinstated only one time.