Current StudentsGraduate Student Handbook
III. Scholastic Standards
The following general academic standards and requirements of the
Graduate School are applied to graduate programs at the University of
Connecticut. The Graduate Programs Committee has established specific
requirements for students whom receive GPC assistantships. These
requirements must be met before assistantship support will be continued.
A. Grade Requirements
The Graduate School requires that students must maintain a B
(3.00) grade point average in all course work before a degree can be
conferred. The GPC requires that a student must maintain a B
(3.00) grade point average before funding can be continued each year.
Whenever a student's cumulative average falls below 3.00, his or her
performance is reviewed by the student's advisory committee in order to
determine whether or not the student shall be permitted to continue
graduate study.
In addition, if more than 3 Incomplete (I) or No Assigned (N) grades
appear on a graduate school transcript, a student will not be eligible
for continued assistantship funding. All I or N grades should be
complete prior to applying for continued funding.
B. Course Grades
The grade point average is based on a scale where A=4.00; B=3.00;
C=2.00; D=1.00; and F=0.00. The letter A signifies work of
distinction. The letter B represents work of good quality, such
as is expected of any successful graduate student. The letter C
represents work below the standard expected of any successful graduate
student in their area of study. It is recognized that work of C
quality in a supporting area may be of benefit to students and that they
should not be discouraged by the grading system from including some
supporting work in their programs. Plus and minus values may be assigned
to all but failing grades, are entered on the permanent record, and are
computed into the student's grade point average.
A grade of D+, D, or D- signifies work of unsatisfactory
quality. If a graduate student receives any form of a D grade,
the course may not remain on the Plan of Study and the student's
eligibility to continue in the degree program is reviewed by the
student's advisory committee.
The letter F or U signifies failure in the course and
necessities a recommendation by the advisory committee to the Director
of Graduate Records as to whether or not the student shall be permitted
to continue graduate study.
Final grades of S (Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory)
may be awarded, but only with prior approval of the Graduate Programs
Committee and the Executive Committee of the Graduate Faculty Council.
An S is not computed into the student's grade point average,
while a U is counted as an F. Graduate students are not
permitted to take undergraduate or graduate courses on a Pass/Fail
basis.
A mark of I (Incomplete) may be assigned if a student has been
doing work of acceptable quality but, for some reason satisfactory to
the instructor, has not completed by the end of the semester or session
all of the work required to earn credit for a course. Too many permanent
incompletes on the record may be grounds for the student's termination
or dismissal.
C. Grading for Graduate Students Taking
Basic Medical Science Subject Committees (approved GPC 9.23.93)
Graduate students (including Combined M.D./Ph.D. and D.M.D./Ph.D.
students [CDP]) who take the Basic Medical Science subject committee
courses are evaluated with the medical class, except in those subject
committees where material is denoted as optional for non-medical
students. In these later subject committees, the graduate students are
evaluated with the combined medical and dental class.
Graduate students must be assigned a letter grade by the grading
committee. The following guidelines for assigning letter grades have
been developed by the Graduate Programs Committee. (Note: +/- grade
designations can be used.)
- A graduate student (or CDP student) must have scored at least 1
standard deviation above the mean of the evaluation group in order
to receive a grade of A- or better.
- A graduate student (or CDP student) scoring near the mean of the
evaluation group shall receive a letter grade of B (Scores between
the mean and 1 standard deviation above the mean would be assigned
grades of either B or B+).
- A graduate student (or CDP student) scoring 1 standard deviation
below the mean shall receive a letter grade of C+. (Scores between
the mean and 1 standard deviation below the mean would be assigned a
grade of B or B-)
- A graduate student (or CDP student) scoring below the deficiency
score shall receive a letter grade of F. (Scores between the
deficiency score and 1 standard deviation below the mean would be
assigned a grade of C or D).
D. Changing a Grade
If an instructor assigns a grade of I (Incomplete) for a
course, it is the student's responsibility to complete this work within
a twelve month period of time. The I becomes a permanent grade on
the student's record even after it has been resolved and appears
alongside the newly assigned grade.
To change a grade, the instructor submits a memo to the Office of
Records/Registration indicating the student's name, PeopleSoft
identification
number, semester and year the course was taken, month, day and year the
course was completed, and the final grade for the course. These grades
are processed and sent to the Registrar's Office at Storrs for inclusion
on the student's transcript. The instructor may also change the
grade in PeopleSoft directly.
It is the student's responsibility to ascertain that the grade has
been reported in a timely manner to the Office of Records/Registration.
Failure to do so may result in delaying a conferral date at the time of
completion.
E. Withdrawing from Courses
The letter W signifies withdrawal from a course after the
second week of a semester or the first week of a summer-session course.
Except in extraordinary cases where academic factors or extreme or
unusual circumstances warrant it, this mark is not deleted from the
permanent academic record.
Students who choose to withdraw from school after the semester starts
will receive the W on their transcript for all courses.
F. Termination of Status
To remain in good standing, a student at all times must have a major
advisor as well as a reasonable terminal date (the date by which all
degree requirements must be completed) or, in the event of an expired
terminal date, a reasonable terminal date extension. Once the Plan of
Study has been approved by the Executive Committee of the Graduate
Faculty Council, a student at all times must have an advisory committee
comprising a major advisor and at least two associate advisors.
In the event that a student's major advisor determines that
resignation from the advisory committee is necessary, the student is
provided with a reasonable opportunity to arrange for a new major
advisor. If a new major advisor is not identified within six weeks of
the resignation of the former major advisor, the student's graduate
degree program status is terminated. This is determined by the Graduate
Records Office.
The Graduate Records Office routinely notifies both the major advisor
and the student whenever a terminal date extension expires. In the event
that the major advisor determines that he or she cannot support a
recommendation to extend the terminal date further, the Director of
Graduate Records is to be notified in writing within six weeks of the
date of the notice of expiration. Extensions of the terminal date are
granted by the Dean of the Graduate School and only on the basis of
substantial evidence that the student is making consistent and
satisfactory progress toward the completion of the degree requirements.
In the absence of a timely recommendation to extend an expired terminal
date or in the event that the Dean has denied a recommended extension,
the student's graduate degree program status is terminated.
G. Academic Dismissal
A graduate student's progress in a degree program is monitored
regularly by the student's advisory committee. If at any time, a
student's academic performance, progress in a graduate degree program,
or professional development and/or suitability is judged by his or her
advisory committee to be unsatisfactory and if the advisory committee
determines that dismissal on any of these grounds is warranted, the
advisory committee is to submit to the Associate Dean of the Graduate
School its written recommendation that the student be dismissed on such
grounds. A student may be subject to academic dismissal if he or she;
fails to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average required by
the Graduate School, receives a grade of D or F in any course, fails to
satisfy the Ph.D. foreign language requirement, fails the General
Examination for the Ph.D., fails to produce an acceptable Ph.D.
dissertation prospectus, performs unsatisfactorily in any aspect of
research required for a master's thesis or Ph.D. dissertation, fails the
final examination for either the Master's degree or Ph.D. degree, or
fails any other requirement specified on an approved plan of study. The
specific reasons on which the advisory committee's recommendation is
based must be stated. The recommendation must bear the signature of each
member of the advisory committee. For a student whose advisory committee
has not yet been established, the major advisor alone submits the
recommendation. If the student is to be dismissed on any of the above
grounds, a letter of dismissal is issued by the Associate Dean. If the
student wishes to request a hearing, the provisions outlined below under
"Hearing and Appeal Procedures" apply.
H. Hearing and Appeal Procedures
If a student's graduate degree program status is to be terminated or
if a student is to be dismissed on academic grounds, a letter is issued
by the Associate Dean. If a student, as a result of termination or
dismissal, wishes to request a hearing before the Associate Dean, the
student must submit a written request within 30 days of receipt of the
dismissal letter. Following the hearing, the student may appeal the
decision of the Associate Dean to the Dean. This appeal does not
constitute a new hearing. It is a review of the record of the original
hearing and is entertained only on one or both of two grounds: (1) the
claim of an error in the hearing procedure, and (2) the claim of new
evidence or information that was not available at the time of the
hearing. If the student's termination or dismissal is upheld by the
Dean, the student may appeal further to the Provost. In any event, the
decision of the Provost is final.
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