If the course instructor is not available, a faculty member in the same program specialization area may be substituted. Permission to use a part-time faculty member or a faculty member at another university for course revalidation must be secured from the associate dean of graduate studies at Bloomington or the director of student services at Indianapolis.

Departments have the right to limit the amount of old course work to be included in graduate programs.

Workshops

Up to 9 hours of credit gained through workshop courses (including conference and institute courses) may be used in master’s and specialist degree programs. Some workshop courses are identified by the word “workshop” in their title. Other workshop courses are taught under regular course numbers. The associate dean for graduate studies, following guidelines provided by the School of Education faculty, has the responsibility to determine which course offerings are to be counted as workshop courses Correspondence courses and activity courses may not be used in graduate programs. (Activity courses are courses for learning and practicing a nonprofessional skill, such as a sports activity or playing a musical instrument.)

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Other Graduate Policies

Retention in Graduate Programs

Students admitted to graduate degree programs and graduate licensure programs are expected to maintain a high level of scholarship and to make regular and sufficient progress toward program completion.

Maintaining Active Student Status

Students who have matriculated in a graduate degree or licensure program but fail to enroll in program course work for a period of two years are automatically terminated from the program. Students whose admission status is terminated because of a two-year lapse in enrollment may apply for readmission. They must meet current criteria for admission, and, if readmitted, are subject to current program requirements. Doctoral students, during the dissertation portion of their program (after passing the oral qualifying examination), must enroll in at least 1 credit hour each semester (but not summer) in order to maintain active student status. Students who fail to register each semester must back-enroll for all semesters missed in order to graduate. There is a charge of $250 per semester (plus tuition) for back-enrollment.

Minimum Grade Point Average

Indiana University course grading is on the following four-point scale:

A      =    4.0     C      =    2.0
A–    =    3.7     C–    =    1.7
B+    =    3.3     D+    =    1.3
B      =    3.0     D      =    1.0
B–    =    2.7     D–    =    0.7
C+    =    2.3     F      =    0.0

Students in master’s degree and licensure programs are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.30 or higher in graduate course work. Specialist and doctoral degree students are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.50 or higher. Master’s and licensure students whose graduate GPA falls below 3.00 are subject to probation and dismissal. Specialist and doctoral students whose GPA falls below 3.30 are subject to probation and dismissal. Graduate licensure students taking undergraduate courses must maintain a GPA of 2.75 in such course work. Students may not graduate with GPAs in their program course work below the minimum specified levels. Students dismissed for academic reasons may not be recommended for teaching or other education licenses. Students so dismissed may apply for readmission. They will be readmitted only if there is substantial reason to expect that their academic performance will improve.

Accumulation of Incomplete Courses

Graduate students with an inordinate number of incomplete courses will not be allowed to register in additional courses. As a general rule, graduate students with nine or more credit hours of I or R grades (excluding dissertation credits) will be disallowed further enrollment. Residency

The purpose of a residency requirement in graduate programs is for students to become closely involved in the academic life of their program and of the university; for them to become fully immersed in their graduate study for a substantial period of time; for them to develop a relationship of scholarly and professional collegiality with faculty and fellow students. To this end, it is desirable for students in graduate programs, especially those in doctoral programs, to be full-time, residential students for a significant period. During their residency period, students are expected not only to take courses, but to participate in other aspects of the intellectual life of their discipline and of the university community. Many doctoral students have research assistantships in which they work closely with faculty members and peers on research and development projects. Some have teaching assistantships. There are also numerous opportunities to attend presentations, colloquia, conferences and brown-bag lunches in which they are invited to participate in discussions about both theoretical and practical issues in their discipline. Participation in national and regional professional meetings, including the presentation of scholarly papers, is encouraged during this time.

For Ph.D. and Ed.D. students, two consecutive semesters in a single academic year (exclusive of summer session) must be spent in residence on the Bloomington or Indianapolis campus. This residency period must be subsequent to admission to the program. Nine credit hours of program course work must be completed in each of these semesters. Ed.D. students who are working full time may fulfill residency requirements with three consecutive 6 credit hour terms. (Summer Session I and Summer Session II are not counted as separate terms.) Dissertation credit hours (799 or G901) may not be used to fulfill residency requirements.

Ed.S. students must fulfill residency requirements by completing 9 credit hours in one semester or summer, subsequent to admission to the program. There is no full-time residency requirement for master’s students.

Semester Load

Full-time graduate students typically enroll in 9 to 15 credit hours per semester. Specialist and doctoral students should normally carry no more than 12 credit hours per semester. The maximum allowable course load for graduate students is 16 credit hours in any semester. At Bloomington, the maximum load in Summer Session I (six weeks) is 6 hours. The maximum load in Summer Session II (eight weeks) is 9 credit hours. At Indianapolis, each summer session is six weeks long, and the maximum allowable course load for each session is 7 credit hours. A maximum of 3 credit hours may be earned in each summer intensive session.

Graduate students holding appointments such as associate instructor, graduate assistant, and research assistant for 15 hours per week (.375 full time equivalency) or more must be registered for 6 credit hours during each semester (no registration is required during summer sessions). Fellowship holders must enroll in a minimum of 8 credit hours per semester. International students must enroll in at least 8 credit hours per semester in order to meet visa requirements. Students holding government guaranteed student loans must be enrolled in at least 8 credit hours per semester.

Undergraduate Students in Graduate Courses

There are two conditions under which undergraduate students may enroll in graduate courses: (1) students in their junior or senior year may take graduate courses which will count toward their undergraduate degree if the graduate courses are relevant to their program of study and there is no similar undergraduate course available, (2) students in their last undergraduate semester may take graduate courses which may later be applied to a graduate degree. Graduate courses taken prior to the last semester may, ordinarily, not be applied to a graduate program, and no course may be applied to both an undergraduate and a graduate program. Students who meet either of these conditions must, in addition, have an undergraduate GPA of 3.00 or higher (exceptions are made in majors where grading is especially stringent), and must obtain written permission from the course instructor and the approval of the associate dean for graduate studies.

Concurrent Degrees

Students may not be admitted to two degree programs concurrently, except in the case where a student admitted to an advanced degree program wishes to gain a lesser degree in the same program area during the course of study for the more advanced degree. For instance, a student initially admitted to a doctoral program may wish to be granted a master’s degree in the same program area. In such cases a letter addressed to the associate dean for graduate studies requesting admission to the lesser degree program will begin the process. Admission status in the more advanced degree program is maintained.

Using Graduate Course Work in Two Programs

Course work applied toward a master’s degree may also be applied to a specialist or doctoral degree (with the exception of the 60 credit hour post-master’s Ed.D. program), and course work applied toward a specialist degree may also be applied to a doctoral degree, providing such course work is relevant to the requirements of the more advanced degree and that it is less than seven years old or is revalidated. Students seeking to earn a second master’s degree may apply relevant course work above 30 credit hours from the first master’s degree program to the second master’s degree. In all cases, a program advisor must approve the use of such course work.

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Graduation

Degree Conferral

Degree conferral for M.S., Ed.S., and Ed.D. occurs four times a year: May, June, August, and December. An application for graduation must be submitted three months prior to the date of the degree conferral. Applications are available in the School of Education, Office of Graduate Studies, Room 4070. The Ph.D. degree is conferred by the University Graduate School. Applications are available in the University Graduate School Office, Kirkwood Hall Room 111 and the Office of Graduate Studies.

Commencement

There are two Commencement ceremonies per year, December and May. All graduate students are encouraged to participate in the Commencement ceremonies. Procedures for participating in Commencement may be obtained from the Office of Graduate Studies, Room 4070.

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