Academic Policies

Retention Standards

All students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 to remain in good standing in the program.  If a student’s GPA falls below 3.0 at the conclusion of any semester, the student will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation are given 9 consecutive semester hours to raise their GPA to at least 3.0  Courses with a grade of “I” (incomplete) or dropped after census day (tenth day of the semester) are included in the calculation of the 9 semester hours.  If a student is unable to raise his GPA to 3.0 or greater, his program will terminate.  Once it becomes mathematically impossible for a student to raise his GPA to 3.0 in 9 consecutive semester hours on academic probation, the student’s program will terminate.  In addition, if at any time the College of Business Graduate Programs Office determines that a student is not making satisfactory degree completion progress, the student’s program will terminate.  All probation and termination decisions are at the discretion of the College of Business’s Director of Graduate Programs. Note that students can be placed on probation, regardless of how many courses they have completed and that our retention standards are over and above the university’s.

It takes one grade of A in a three semester hour course to raise one grade of C in a three semester hour course to a 3.0 GPA.  In addition, it takes three grades of A to raise one grade of F to a 3.0 GPA.  A student who receives an F in any class must retake the course in which the F was received.  Note that both the old and new grade are reflected on a student’s transcript and both grades are used to calculate the student’s overall GPA.

In order for a degree or certificate to be awarded to a student, the student must have at least a 3.0 GPA in the courses applicable to the individual programs.  For example, if a student completes the MBA program along with the Marketing Certificate, the student must have at least a 3.0 GPA in four Marketing electives to receive the certificate as well as at least a 3.0 GPA in the required MBA courses and the Marketing electives to receive the MBA.

Communication

Due to the increasing emphasis placed on the importance of communication skills for our graduate students, emails sent to the Graduate Office must meet some minimum level of quality before receiving a response.  Emails are a form of business communication and should be given the same consideration as other forms of more “traditional” business communication.  The Arthur Graduate School of Business will not respond to emails that do not use proper punctuation and capitalization.

Grading Policies

At the first scheduled class meeting, the instructor must state the basic requirements and assignments of the course and indicate his or her method of evaluation.  This information will be found on the course syllabus.

A change of grade, for any reason, must be made within one year from the date the original grade was received.

Grades are posted electronically as soon as they are determined at the end of each semester or summer term.  Faculty report grades to the registrar no later than 48-hours after final exams.  Students may view their grades via PiratePort by accessing the Student Self Service card.

Time Limits for Completing Graduate Programs

The time limit for completing all degree requirements (including transfer credit) in nondoctoral programs is six calendar years. A student’s time limit for completion starts with the first course approved for inclusion in the degree plan (including transfer credits) or the date of admission to the program, whichever occurs first, and includes planned and unplanned leaves of absence.

Students who do not complete their degrees within the required time limits will be dismissed from their degree program and the Graduate School unless a time extension is granted. All requests for time-extensions must be received by the Graduate School prior to expiration of the degree program’s time limit and must use the official Request for Time Extension to Complete Graduate Degree Requirements (PDF) form which must be completed by the Graduate Program Director, not the student.

For information, view Time Limits for Completing Graduate Programs in the Academic Regulations section of the graduate catalog.

Readmission Following Academic Dismissal

A student dismissed from the Graduate School for poor academic performance must wait one year (including summers) before being considered for readmission. A new complete application will be required for readmission. Readmission to a graduate program is not guaranteed. If the student is accepted for readmission in the same graduate program, credits earned while previously enrolled will be included for the purpose of determining academic standing and meeting graduation requirements. If the student is accepted into a different program, grades and credits earned in the previous degree program from which the student was dismissed will not be included for the purpose of determining academic standing and graduation in the new program; however, the student’s transcript will show all courses and grades including those earned in the previous program.

For information on probation and dismissal, view the Probation and Termination Policy.

Academic Renewal

Students who are readmitted to a graduate program three years after withdrawal or dismissal from the same graduate program may request academic renewal. The student must agree not to have any prior credit earned toward their initial degree count in the second attempt. Only the courses taken since readmission to the graduate program will count towards the minimum required GPA. The program should request academic renewal on behalf of the student by submitting a memo (email will suffice) with justification to the dean of the Graduate School or designee. If approved, the student will have nine credit hours attempted to establish a GPA of 3.0. Courses taken prior to readmission will not count towards the completion of the new graduate degree. Failure to establish a GPA of 3.0 after nine credits attempted after readmission under academic renewal will result in immediate dismissal from the graduate program and the university. Academic renewal may be used once in a student’s academic career at the graduate level regardless of the certificate or degree program. Requests for exceptions will not be approved. More information is available on the Graduate School’s page on Academic Eligibility Standards.