ACADEMIC RULES AND REGULATIONS

DEFINITIONS
Academic Suspension — a status assigned when a student's record of academic progress and/or achievement is unacceptable. Suspended students are not permitted to continue to enroll at the University.

Attempted or Grade Point Credits — those graduate credits for which a letter grade of A, AB, B, BC, C, D, WF, or F has been earned and used to calculate the grade point average.

Credit Load — the total of all graduate credits, undergraduate credits, and audited credits being taken in a given term.

Good Standing — a status assigned when a student is achieving at an adequate level (3.0 cumulative and semester grade point averages).

Grade Point Average (gpa) — a numerical value used to express the general quality of all courses/credits completed on a regular graded basis (A, AB, B, BC, C, D, F, WF). Only attempted graduate credits taken at UW-Green Bay are computed into the graduate gpa.

Graduate Credits — those credits which are taken under a graduate course number (500-level or above) by a student enrolled with a graduate classification (MSA, MSE, MSL, GSP, GML, GMC, GMO, GSO, GMB).

Graduate Record — the permanent record of all graduate-level credits attempted and grades earned, including courses which may not be completed, such as progress (PR) or incomplete (I), as well as audited graduate credits.

Maximum Credit Load — a specific limitation of the number of credits that a student is allowed to carry at any time during an academic term. For a graduate student in good standing, this is defined as 12 credits in a semester and for a graduate student on probation the maximum is reduced to 9 credits. For a shorter term, lower pro rata limitations are in effect.

Minimum Credit Load — a specific minimum number of graduate credits for which a graduate student must be enrolled in a term to be eligible for a variety of programs and benefits, such as V.A. benefits, financial aid, and assistantships.

Probation — an academic status assigned to a student who is achieving below minimum gpa standards required for good standing. Probation is an advisory warning that improved quality of work is necessary to continue as a student.

Provisional Admission — a conditional graduate admission status which is subject to review after nine graduate credits have been attempted at UW-Green Bay.

Undergraduate Record — a separate permanent record of any undergraduate courses taken. A complete transcript includes copies of both the graduate and undergraduate records compiled at UW-Green Bay.

ACADEMIC STANDING
Every student is expected to maintain certain standards of academic achievement in university work. UW-Green Bay has established quality of work standards, as measured by semester and cumulative grade point averages.

Academic standings are reviewed at the end of each term and a revised standing is reported to every student on the final grade report issued after each academic term.

PROBATION AND SUSPENSION
The University is concerned about students whose academic achievements indicate that they are unable to meet expectations of their instructors or that they are experiencing other problems that may interfere with their studies. A probation action is an advisory warning that a student should take action to improve his or her achievement. An academic suspension action is taken when the University feels that the student's academic achievement record to date indicates a need to interrupt enrolled status to reassess and reevaluate goals and plans. A student who is placed on probation or suspension status should give careful consideration to factors involved. The University encourages such students to seek assistance from counselors, graduate advisers, and course instructors.

Every student is expected to maintain at least a B average (3.0 gpa) on all graduate work carried, whether passed or not. Failure to achieve this minimum B average in any term results in a probation, continued probation, or academic suspension action at the end of that term, as shown below. Academic suspension actions are taken at the end of each term.

1. Student in Good Standing
Grade point requirements and actions:

• A 3.0 or better end-of-term cumulative gpa results in continuing good standing.

• A 2.0 to 2.999 end-of-term cumulative gpa results in probation status.

• A 1.999 or less end-of-term cumulative gpa results in academic suspension status. Student's graduate committee reviews his or her record up to that time and recommends for continued enrollment or for the suspension status to go into effect.

• Action on part-time students is withheld until at least nine credits are attempted at UW-Green Bay.

2. Student on Probation
Grade point requirements and actions:

• A 3.0 or better end-of-term cumulative gpa results in a return to good standing.

• A 2.999 or less end-of-term cumulative gpa may result in an academic suspension status at the end of any term after a cumulative total of 15 or more credits is attempted at UW-Green Bay. Student's graduate committee reviews his or her record up to that time and recommends for continued enrollment or for the academic suspension status to go into effect.

APPEALS
Academic probation is a non punitive warning that is not subject to appeal. Academic suspension status may be appealed by means of a special appeal to the associate dean of graduate studies. The associate dean may seek advice from the graduate faculty board of advisers. Appeals must be filed within two weeks after the end of the semester. A student who is allowed to continue will be on probation and is subject to any other special conditions that may be designated. Any appeal must include a clear explanation of the problems causing the inadequate achievement and how the student proposes to resolve those problems.

READMISSION
Readmission after an academic suspension is not automatic. The associate dean of graduate studies may decide to deny or to grant readmission subject to specific requirements or conditions. A student who is readmitted after an academic suspension is always readmitted on probation and is subject to normal standards of achievement required to continue as a graduate student. An application for readmission should be submitted to the associate dean of graduate studies at least 30 days in advance of the desired term of admission to allow for the review process.

GRADES AND GRADE APPEALS
Each student receives a grade from the instructor in charge of a course at the end of each semester or session. Grades must be in the Office of the Registrar no later than 96 hours after a final examination. Information on current grading policies accompanies the grade rosters distributed by the registrar each semester.

If a student is dissatisfied and wishes to appeal a particular course grade, he or she must first contact the instructor who issued the grade. If the student is still dissatisfied, he or she may appeal to the associate dean of graduate studies who must, in turn, consult with the course instructor. A student who wishes to appeal beyond this level consults with the dean of professional studies and outreach who then consults with the instructor and the associate dean of graduate studies. The dean or associate dean acts in an advisory capacity to the student and instructor.

GRADE CHANGES
All final grades, with the exception of incomplete's (I) or progress (PR), become permanent grades at the end of the following semester. Any discussions with faculty regarding grade levels or missing (N) grades must be pursued within this time period.

INCOMPLETES
If a student is unable to take or complete a final examination or other course work, due to unusual but acceptable circumstances, he or she may arrange with the instructor to receive an incomplete. The instructor files an incomplete removal form, stating both the conditions for removal and the deadline, before an incomplete grade is accepted for recording. A tentative academic action may be assigned on the basis of grades and credits received in other courses. Tentative actions are reviewed after the incomplete has been converted into a permanent grade.

Incompletes for Graduating MSGT Students
Students who expect to graduate in December must have all incompletes removed within 15 working days following the end of the fall semester. Students who expect to graduate in May must have all incomplete's removed within 15 working days following the end of the spring semester. All grades on the record become permanent as of that date with no possibility for removal or change.

Removal of Incompletes
The course instructor sets a specific deadline for removal of an incomplete and informs the student and the Office of the Registrar. If no earlier deadline is specified, an incomplete (I) must be removed no later than the last day of classes for the next semester.

The incomplete removal form is filed with two tentative grades. One indicates the quality of work to date; the second is to be assigned if no more work is completed.

A student may file a special petition for an exception to the incomplete removal deadline if bona fide unanticipated extenuating circumstances prevented compliance with the removal deadline. These circumstances might be valid:

• The student has serious physical or mental health problems, which are documented by statements from a physician or professional counselor.

• The student has had a death or serious illness in the immediate family and this is documented by a physician's statement.

• The course instructor is on leave during the semester for removal.

REPEATING COURSES
Students may repeat a course only upon special petition to the associate dean of graduate studies. All repeated courses are designated with a letter R after the grade on the transcript. When a repeated course is completed, the original grade and entry on the transcript remain on the transcript, but the credits, grade, and grade points earned for the most recent completion are the only course records that affect cumulative attempted credits, grade points earned, and the grade point average. Courses repeated at another institution have no effect on the grade point average at UW-Green Bay.

MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM CREDIT LOADS
A graduate student in good academic standing may register for any number of credits up to a maximum of 12 credits per semester. A student will not be allowed to register for credits in excess of 12 if he or she does not have prior written permission from the associate dean of graduate studies to carry an overload. Additions of any course that would have the effect of exceeding the maximum will not be processed if prior overload permission has not been granted.

A student may register for or reduce a program below nine credits in a semester with the Understanding that for certain purposes he or she will then be considered a part-time student. A student who reduces graduate credit level below nine should consult the appropriate offices about implications for financial aid, government benefits, and other programs with credit load eligibility stipulations.

Maximum Credit Load for Probationary Students
The maximum semester credit load is nine credits for a graduate student on probation.

COURSE ADDS
After registering a student may add other courses to his or her program if the addition does not exceed the maximum credit load limitation and is completed before a specific deadline for additions. During a normal semester, the add period is limited to the first two weeks of classes; for shorter terms an earlier deadline is in effect. A student may petition for an exception if unforeseeable extenuating circumstances prevented deadline compliance.

COURSE DROPS
The course drop deadline is established to allow students time to discover what content a course will cover, the type of readings and projects to be assigned, the instructor's teaching style, and the methods of evaluation. In some courses, feedback from a formal evaluation process may not be available before the drop deadline. In such cases, it is the student's responsibility to contact the instructor before the drop deadline to obtain information useful in making the decision to drop. Therefore, lack of feedback in the form of grades on papers or examinations is not acceptable to justify a late drop.

The drop deadline is intended to stimulate a student to weigh carefully all of the important considerations and to do this as early as possible. If a student decides that a course does not fulfill expectations, an early drop permits the student to devote a greater portion of available study time and effort to remaining courses, and the instructor is able to devote more time and effort to the students participating in the course. The six-week deadline for 15-week semester courses provides an adequate opportunity to make drop decisions.

The phases of the course drop policy are:

Through the eighth day of classes of a 15-week semester —

• student may drop any course without the instructor's signature
• permanent records show no drop

Ninth day of classes through sixth week —

• course appears on permanent record with the symbol W (withdrew) or DR (dropped)

Seventh through 15th weeks —

• no official drops allowed; WF grade or F appears on transcript

For terms or classes of a shorter duration than 15 weeks, established pro rata deadlines are shown in the Timetable.

LATE PROGRAM CHANGES AND WITHDRAWALS
A student may receive permission to drop a course or courses after the six-week deadline, or make a complete withdrawal after the normal twelve-week deadline, if one of these specific criteria can be verified:

1. The student has serious mental or physical health problems verified by a physician's or professional counselor's statement.

2. There is a death or prolonged serious illness in the immediate family, also verified by the family physician.

An appeal with appropriate documentation should be submitted to the associate dean of graduate studies.

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY
A student who desires to withdraw from all academic course work at any time after enrolling must file an official withdrawal form at the Office of the Registrar. A complete withdrawal without failure may be requested at any time before 4:30 p.m. on the afternoon of the last day of regularly scheduled classes during the twelfth week of a semester or Wednesday of the second week of a four-week summer session. If a student has not attended classes or taken the final examination in a course, a grade of WF will be given unless official withdrawal procedures are followed.

A decision to withdraw should be given careful consideration in terms of academic retention policy, veteran's benefits, Social Security benefits, financial aid and other situations that have specific prohibitions against withdrawals.

PASS-NO CREDIT GRADING
This special grading is permitted and required only for professional projects (796), internships (797), and thesis writing (799) courses/credits at the graduate level. All other graduate credit courses must be taken on a regular graded basis.

AUDIT ENROLLMENT INFORMATION
With the permission of the instructor, a graduate student may audit an undergraduate course if space is available after undergraduate students who have enrolled for credit have been accommodated. Conditions and requirements for class participation are completely at the discretion of the course instructor. A student enrolled for credit may change to audit status for grading purposes, at any time up to the course drop deadline. Audited credits do not count in determining credit completion requirements or for any program or benefits eligibility status. Audited credits do count toward maximum credit load limitations. Any changes from audit status for grading purposes, must be completed within the course add period.

GRADUATE INDEPENDENT STUDY
Faculty approval signatures are required before registering for or adding independent study credits. Graduate faculty status includes only assistant, associate, and full professors, and full-time lecturers. Regular semester add and drop deadlines apply to independent study. Special 500-600-level numbered undergraduate courses do not require an independent study card. Graduate special (GSP) students are not eligible for 798 work except in the 006 area; graduate specials are also not eligible for 796, 797 or 799 work.

SPECIAL PETITIONS
A special petition is a formal written request for an exception to normal rules, regulations, and procedures and may be granted or denied. The rules, regulations, and requirements of the graduate program are the result of recommendations from the graduate faculty board of advisers and the Academic Actions Committee. Some rules may originate from legislative statutes or Board of Regents actions.

Exceptions to academic rules and regulations are granted if the petition states unforeseeable extenuating circumstances and relevant facts that fall within general parameters recommended by the Academic Actions Committee, and approved by the dean of professional studies and outreach. The associate dean of graduate studies is responsible for reviewing the petition. If a petition is denied, the student has the right of further appeal to the Academic Actions Committee.

Students contemplating an appeal should consider:

1. Are the relevant facts and dates clearly stated and documented?

2. Are the extenuating circumstances cited of an unforeseeable nature?

3. Are relevant recommendations from the instructor included, if this is appropriate?

4. Do the statements distinguish between needs and wants?

5. Is the educational rationale for the request stated?

VETERANS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
The primary source of information for programs administered by the Veterans Administration or the Wisconsin Department of Veterans' Affairs is the veterans' service officer of the county from which the veteran departed for service, or where he/she now claims residence. The veteran may also seek assistance from the veterans' officer on campus.

Veterans should submit the certificate of eligibility to the Office of the Registrar for enrollment certification and transmittal to the Veterans Administration regional office.

OTHER RULES
In matters not covered by the graduate academic rules and regulations as specified in this catalog, the graduate program follows rules and regulations for the undergraduate programs and courses at UW-Green Bay.