Academic Standing

Annual Progress Report

By May 15th of each year, every advisor and student must complete the required form (emailed by the Graduate Director) and turn it in to the Graduate Director. (If you do not have an advisor, the graduate committee will include their comments.)

If the report or any other observation by the Graduate Director, advisor, or any other faculty member shows cause for concern (e.g., you fail to maintain the required GPA, fail to make progress toward milestones, or have no feasible path to degree), as soon as possible thereafter, a student will be warned in writing and a meeting with the Graduate Director and/or faculty advisor will be scheduled to discuss corrective measures. If corrective measures are not successful, the student may be put on an academic probation. If corrective measures still do not resolve the problem, the student may be dismissed from the program.

While there are exceptions to the rules, in general, evidence of a lack of satisfactory progress may include but is not limited to the following:

• two grades of C+ or lower
• two Incompletes (IN grades)
• any violation of academic integrity, including plagiarism.

In addition, for doctoral students, a lack of satisfactory progress may also include:

• failing to take the qualifying exam within two semesters of completing all coursework
• for students with TA/GA awards, a cumulative GPA lower than 3.5
• for all other students, a cumulative GPA lower than 3.0
• for students with TA/GA awards, a negative job performance evaluation
• failing the qualifying exam
• twice failing the qualifying exam (in this case, the student is dismissed without probation/discussion)
• failing to pass the oral defense of the dissertation proposal within two semesters of taking the qualifying exam

In all but extreme cases, students must be placed on at least one semester of probation by the Graduate Director (not the advisor) before dismissal.

Initiating Probation

Probation can be triggered by the following:

1.  Two consecutive or three non-consecutive committee reports with progress from previous meeting that is "Significantly Below Expectations" or
2.  Request from the advisor to the Graduate Director that the student be placed on probation, with justification and a summary of what the student must do to get off probation.

A student shall first be warned and notified in writing, specifying the source of the problem, the applicable rule or rules, the proposed action, and a timeline for correcting course. The student will be notified that they are being placed on probationary status for the following semester:

• end of spring for the fall semester
• end of fall for the spring semester

Warnings

Students who fall below a GPA for a semester (3.5 for TA/GAs), but whose cumulative GPA remains at the appropriate level (3.5 or above for TA/GAs) will be sent a warning letter informing them that they are at risk of being put on probation should their cumulative GPA dip below the threshold for maintaining their financial award.

Concluding Probation

the student must have at least one committee meeting during the probationary period, with the Graduate Director present. After meeting with the advisor, student, and committee members (if a PhD post-qualifying student), the Graduate Director can make one of three possible decisions:

1.  Dismissal;
2.  Probation is extended for one semester, under a new advising structure. This could include a switch to an entire new lab or a much larger role for a co-advisor;
3.  Student returns to good academic standing.

Dismissal from the Program

If the committee's decision of a dismissal is decided upon after a student has been put on probation, a letter is written to the student within ten calendar days of the end of the probation period.

If the student chooses to appeal a negative decision, the student must make a written appeal to the Graduate Director within ten days of notification of the faculty action, stating the grounds for appeal. The only grounds for appeal are (1) technical error; (2) new information; or (3) extenuating circumstances. The Graduate Director then makes a decision and communicates this decision to the student, the student's advisor, and the graduate committee. If the student accepts the decision at this stage, the Graduate Director notifies the Senior Associate of the Dean of the Graduate School-Camden.

However, if the student does not accept the Graduate Director's decision, they will appoint an ad hoc appeals committee of three faculty members, all of whom must have taught in the MA or PhD programs. The student presents his or her case, the Graduate Director presents his or her case, the committee decides, and the decision is usually considered final. Again, if the student accepts the decision, the Graduate Director notifies the Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School-Camden that the student is terminating his or her studies. While action within the faculty is normally treated as final, a student may still appeal to the Graduate School-Camden if he or she feels that the decision was unfair. Students at any stage may further appeal dismissal to the Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Rutgers Camden.