Scholastic Standing
Undergraduate Programs
Students in undergraduate programs at SC&I are admitted to the university through a four-year school at Rutgers and maintain their affiliation with that school throughout their matriculation. The scholastic standing policies of those schools apply to each student's scholastic standing with the university. Details of each school's policies may be found in the Rutgers University–New Brunswick Undergraduate Catalog at http://catalogs.rutgers.edu/generated/nb-ug_current/.
A GPA of 2.0 in the major is required for graduation from all SC&I majors. Only courses with grades of C or better will count towards any SC&I major.
Master's Programs
Candidates for School of Communication and Information master's degrees are expected to earn grades of B or better in their coursework and maintain a 3.0 GPA.
Within each program, no more than 6 credits bearing a grade of C or C+ may be used in meeting requirements for the master's degree.
A total of no more than 42 credits may be taken to meet degree requirements for the master of information (M.I.) degree, or a total of no more than 54 credits to meet degree requirements for the master of communication and information studies (M.C.I.S.) degree, including credits bearing the grade of IN. All grades will count in the cumulative GPA for a student, including repeated classes. Throughout a student's matriculation in the program, he or she may repeat only one failed course one time.
Poor Academic Performance
Each academic program has a Scholastic Standing Committee that includes the program director and at least two other faculty members, and the assistant dean for student services as an ex-officio member. This committee will review cases of students who have received grades below a B, which are defined as the following grades: C, C+, F, IN, TC, TC+, TF.
Warning. A student is warned in writing when he or she has received one grade below a B in any class, or at any time the Scholastic Standing Committee feel that the student's academic performance is such that he or she may be in difficulty unless the work improves.
Probation. The Scholastic Standing Committee will review for probation any student who has received two grades below a B. A student receives written notification of being placed on probation if the committee determines that probation is appropriate. When placing a student on probation, the Scholastic Standing Committee may impose conditions on the student in order to continue in the program, such as limiting the number of credits to be attempted in the following semester or requiring completion of previous incompletes before additional credits may be attempted. Being on probation means that the student is continuing in the program with the understanding that he or she must improve the level of work and meet the conditions of probation set by the Scholastic Standing Committee.
A student who is within two semesters of the time limit for the M.I. degree who, based on outstanding credits, has no possibility of completing the degree on time should consider themselves in academic jeopardy and must make an appointment with the program director in order to register for the penultimate semester, regardless of whether that student is notified in writing about their academic jeopardy.
Dismissal. The Scholastic Standing Committee will review for dismissal any student who has received three or more grades below a B. A Student receives written notification of academic dismissal if the committee determines that dismissal is appropriate. Students who are dismissed from the program will not be permitted to take courses for credit unless they formally are readmitted to SC&I. The minimum dismissal time before readmission is one full semester, not including the summer.
Scholastic Standing Committees will notify students of probation or dismissal in the weeks following a fall, spring, and summer semester before the following semester begins. Due to the scheduling of Winter Session, grades from that term will be considered with spring grades.
Appeal. Students who wish to appeal a decision of probation or dismissal by the Scholastic Standing Committee should follow the appeal procedure carefully.
1. Applicants must appeal in writing to the program director within 30 days of the decision date. The appeal request should explain why the student believes the original decision should be overturned, including any additional information the student believes was not considered by the Scholastic Standing Committee when they made their original decision.
2. The program director will acknowledge receipt of the appeal request within five work days.
3. Upon receipt of the written appeal, the program director will review the student's file to ensure that the scholastic standing review was handled according to established policies and procedures. After this procedural review, the file will be returned to the members of the Scholastic Standing Committee that made the original decision, with the request that the decision be reconsidered.
4. The Scholastic Standing Committee will reconsider the case using any additional information submitted in the appeal. The Committee may either render a new decision or confirm the original decision. The student will be notified in writing within 30 days of the submission of the appeal.
5. Should the student be dissatisfied with the disposition of the first appeal, a subsequent appeal may be made in writing directly to the dean of the school within 30 days of the receipt of the Scholastic Standing Committee's decision. The dean will review the file and consult as necessary with the Scholastic Standing Committee. The dean's decision is made in writing to the student, with copies of the decision to the Scholastic Standing Committee and to the Office of Student Services. The dean's decision is final.
Readmission. Students who have been dismissed for academic reasons cannot be considered for readmission until they can provide evidence that they can successfully complete the program. Such students must reapply to the program. The faculty may stipulate one or more of the following:
1. A minimum period of time following the dismissal (at least one semester not including Summer Session) before an application for readmission will be considered. If reapplication will be within one year of the dismissal, the student need not provide new transcripts or recommendation letters as part of that process.
2. Any other evidence (e.g., medical report) or requirement that might be deemed appropriate for a particular student.
Students usually are not readmitted after a second dismissal action.
PH.D. Program
Policies governing the scholastic standing of students in Ph.D. programs may be found in the catalog of the Graduate School-New Brunswick at http://catalogs.rutgers.edu/generated/nb-grad_current/.
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