Time Limits

A time limit of eight calendar years from the date of first enrollment is permitted for achieving the M.B.A. degree. Any courses (except for transfer credits discussed below, but including challenge exams) taken more than eight years before the date of graduation are not counted toward the degree. Students are required to retake such courses.

Incomplete Coursework

If, for legitimate reasons, a student is unable to complete all the required coursework or examinations, a faculty member may choose to submit a grade of INC (incomplete). If the coursework is not completed, the INC is automatically changed to an F on February 1 for the summer trimester, June 1 for the fall trimester, and September 1 for the spring trimester. Justified reasons for the submission of the grade of INC might include illness requiring medical attention, personal emergency obligations claimed by the student and recognized as valid, recognized religious holiday(s), and severe inclement weather causing dangerous travel conditions.

Students incurring more than two INC grades in the same trimester may be contacted by the scholastic standing committee. The committee reserves the right to place on probation any student who consistently fails to complete coursework on time, in which case that student will be permitted no future INC grades.

Scholastic Standing

Students must maintain an academic average of no less than 2.5. The student's average is computed on the basis of all courses taken for credit. Each grade received in a course that has been failed and then repeated is included in the calculation. Grades received in courses not given at a graduate department of Rutgers, New Jersey Institute of Technology, or the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey are not included in the computation.

Grades are rounded to the third decimal place; a 2.499 is not equivalent to a 2.5. The Office of Student Services reviews each student's academic record at the end of each trimester. Students will receive a letter of academic warning from the executive director ofM.B.A. programs the first time his or her semester grade point average falls below 2.5. If the student's grade point average falls below 2.5 a second time, he or she will be reviewed by the M.B.A. Policy Committee for dismissal. The student will be notified by the executive director of M.B.A. programs if he or she is dismissed based on failure to uphold academic standards.Appeals of these actions may be submitted in writing, addressed to the chair of the M.B.A. Policy Committee. E-mail or drop off such appeals to the Office of Student Services in Newark. Students on academic probation may be required to follow a program of study prescribed by the M.B.A. Policy Committee. The successful completion of such a program is a condition of the student's continued enrollment at Rutgers Business School: Graduate Programs-Newark and New Brunswick (RBS).

Grade Deficiency

A student may repeat a failed credit or not-for-credit course only once. Both grades will be used in computing the grade-point average. A second failure in that course will be grounds for the dismissal of the student from the program.

Conflict with Faculty

Sometimes students want to appeal a faculty member's decision. Matters such as review of a specific grade given by a faculty member should first be discussed with the faculty member and then referred to the department chair. However, if unresolved, the university policy allows students to appeal to the following persons in the exact order listed:

1. professor
2. department chair
3. executive director, M.B.A. program
4. senior associate dean for academic programs
5. dean
6. chancellor, Newark Campus
7. university president

Each appeal to these individuals must be made in writing with a copy to the school for the student's file. Each person in turn will respond in writing with a copy for the student's file. If a student appeals to all of the above persons without gaining satisfaction, he or she may then engage independent legal counsel.

M.B.A. Credit by Challenge Examination(s) and Transfers

Students may apply to sit for a challenge examination in core course and foundations subjects. There is a $50 fee for each examination. Contact the Office of Student Services for information.Students must complete challenge exams within the first three semesters following first enrollment.Any exceptions to this rule must be approved by the executive director ofM.B.A. programs. 

Students in the part-time M.B.A. program may receive approval for previous coursework in a degree program from an institution accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB).The course must have been completed within 5 years of first enrollment, and the student must have received a grade of B or better in the course. This approval must occur during the semester of first enrollment.

The total number of credits which may be granted toward the M.B.A. degree based on challenge exams or transfers from other institutions cannot exceed 11 credits, except in the case of students enrolled in joint-degree programs at Rutgers.Please check with the Office of Student Services or our website for the specific requirements of joint degree programs.