Policies Governing Graduate Programs

Grading
Courses Counted in Graduate Programs
Other Graduate Policies
Graduation

Grading

Policy for Assigning Grades
The following grading policy has been adopted for graduate courses in the School of Education:

A	=	Outstanding achievement. Unusually complete command of the course content; exceptionally high level of scholarship.
A–	=	Excellent achievement. Very thorough command of course content; very high level of scholarship.
B+	=	Very good achievement. Thorough command of course material.
B	=	Good achievement. Solid, acceptable performance.
B–	=	Fair achievement. Acceptable performance.
C+	=	Not wholly satisfactory achievement. Marginal performance on some aspects of the course requirements.
C	=	Marginal achievement. Minimally acceptable performance on course assignments.
C–	=	Unsatisfactory achievement. Inadequate knowledge of course content. (Courses with a grade of C– or lower may not be counted in graduate programs.)

Pass/Fail Grading (P/F)

Pass/Fail grading allows students who earn any grade from an A to a D in a course to have a grade of P recorded on their transcript. A grade of F is included in the GPA, but the P grade is not averaged in the GPA. Courses taken under the Pass/Fail grading option may not be included in graduate degree programs.

Satisfactory/Fail Grading (S/F)

Courses graded Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) are not the same as courses graded Pass/Fail (P/F). S/F grading is applied to all students in a class. Only a few graduate courses, including some workshop courses and thesis courses, are eligible for S/F grading. A grade of F is included in the GPA, but a grade of S does not affect GPA.

Incomplete Course Work (I)

A grade of Incomplete may be assigned when, at the end of the term, a student has not completed all course work. This grade may be given only when the completed work is of passing quality.

Unfinished course work must be completed within one calendar year from the date the grade of I is assigned. The course must ordinarily be completed with the original course instructor. The instructor then files a Removal of Incomplete form and assigns a letter grade. Incomplete grades that are not removed within one year are changed to a grade of F. This change occurs automatically unless the associate dean for graduate studies receives and approves a petition for extension from the course instructor.

Deferred Grade (R)

An R, indicating that the grade has been deferred, may be assigned in thesis and dissertation courses, internship courses, and a few other selected courses where work is expected to take longer than one year to complete. Unlike a grade of I, a grade of R does not automatically change to an F.

Withdrawal from Courses (W and WF)

Withdrawal from enrollment in a course during the drop/add period (in the first week of each term) is not recorded on a student’s transcript. Withdrawal after this time is recorded as a W on the student’s transcript. During the first quarter of each term, students may withdraw without instructor consent. After this date instructor approval is required. If a student is failing at the time of withdrawal, or simply discontinues attending the class, a grade of WF (withdrawal with failure) is assigned. This is treated as an F in grade point averaging. Near the end of the term withdrawal is not allowed at all, except in cases where a student is withdrawing from all classes. See the Schedule of Classes for pertinent dates.

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Courses Counted in Graduate Programs

Courses at the 500 level and above are designated as graduate courses at Indiana University. Beginning master’s courses are at the 500 level; advanced master’s and beginning doctoral courses are at the 600 level; and advanced doctoral courses are at the 700 level. Some 300- and 400-level courses in the College of Arts and Sciences are also approved for graduate credit. These are listed in the University Graduate School Bulletin.

Not all courses listed in this bulletin are offered every year. Inquiries concerning the availability or suitability of a particular course should be directed to the appropriate departmental chairperson.

Transfer Courses

Some graduate course work completed at other universities may be transferred into degree and licensure programs at Indiana University. All course work transferred must be from an accredited college or university. No transfer credit will be given for a course with a grade lower than B. Courses graded P (Pass) may not ordinarily be transferred into education graduate programs. Courses graded S (Satisfactory) may be transferred only if a letter is received from the course instructor stating that the student’s performance in the course was at or above a grade of B.

All transferred courses must be relevant to the student’s program of studies. They must be approved by a program advisor and by the associate dean for graduate studies. An official transcript is required for course work to be transferred. A course description or syllabus may be required in order to judge the appropriateness of course work to be transferred.

Master’s degree students must complete a minimum of 27 credit hours of course work at Indiana University. Beyond this, graduate course work may be transferred from other universities. Of the 27 credit hours required at Indiana University, a minimum of 15 credit hours must be earned through the campus awarding the degree.

Specialist degree students must complete 35 credit hours of course work at the Bloomington or Indianapolis campuses of Indiana University. Beyond this, course work may be transferred from other universities or from other IU campuses.

Doctoral students (Ph.D. and Ed.D.) in the 90 credit hour program must complete 60 credit hours of course work at the Bloomington or Indianapolis campuses of Indiana University (this includes dissertation credits). Ph.D. and Ed.D. students may transfer no more than 30 credit hours into an IU doctoral program. The form required for students to transfer courses is available in the Office of Graduate Studies. Ed.D. students in the 60 credit hour post-master’s doctoral program must complete 42 credit hours (including dissertation credits) at the Bloomington or Indianapolis campus.

Licensure students are generally required to complete at least half of their course work at the Bloomington or Indianapolis campuses of Indiana University.

Course Revalidation

Course work used in graduate degree programs must have been taken recently, or it must be revalidated. Revalidation is a process whereby a student demonstrates current knowledge of course material that was not taken recently. For all graduate degree programs, course work over seven years old must be revalidated. For master’s programs, the seven years is counted back from the completion of program course work. For specialist programs the seven years is counted back from the date of approval of the student’s program of studies. For doctoral students, the seven years is counted back from the date of passing the oral qualifying examination.

Several methods of revalidating old courses are available:

1. Passing an examination specifically covering the material taught in the course (such as a course final examination).
2. Passing a more advanced course in the same subject area, taken more recently (within the seven years).
3. Passing a comprehensive examination (e.g., a doctoral qualifying examination) in which the student demonstrates substantial knowledge of the content of the course. (Ph.D. students may revalidate only two courses by this method.)
4. Teaching a comparable course.
5. Publishing scholarly research that demonstrates substantial knowledge of the course content and understanding of fundamental principles taught in the course.
6. Presenting evidence of extensive professional experience that requires the application of material taught in the course. (This method may not be used in Ph.D. programs.)

Forms for course revalidation are available in the Office of Graduate Studies at Bloomington and in the Office of Student Services at IUPUI. Old courses must be revalidated individually. The revalidation evidence for each course must be assessed by an Indiana University faculty member who teaches the course being revalidated. The revalidating faculty member must be personally convinced, based upon present evidence, that the student has current mastery of basic course concepts and principles.

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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