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Each graduate student assumes full responsibility for knowledge of the rules and regulations of the Graduate Program and departmental requirements concerning the individual degree program. A statement on student rights is included in the Student Handbook. Copies of the handbook are available in the Division of Student Affairs (223 Administration Building).
Withdrawal from Graduate Studies
If a student no longer wishes to be a graduate student, he/she must complete a “Withdrawal from Graduate Studies” form available in the Graduate Studies Office or online. If the student later wishes to be readmitted to Graduate Studies, he/she must complete an application for admission, pay the non-refundable application fee and meet admission requirements in effect at that time.
Drop, Add and Withdrawal from the University
Drop Policy
Within First Eight Weeks. With permission of a student’s adviser, a course may be dropped during the first eight weeks of the semester. Drops executed during the first 14 days will leave no record on the student’s academic transcript. A drop executed after the fourteenth day through eighth week will result in a grade of W (withdrawal).
After First Eight Weeks. Courses may not be dropped after the first eight weeks of a semester unless it can be clearly demonstrated that one of the following exists:
- serious illness or injury of the student as verified by Student Health and Counseling Center or private physician;
- serious personal or family problems as verified by a minister, physician, or other appropriate professional; or
- necessary change in work schedule which conflicts with the class being dropped, as verified by the student’s employer submitted in writing on company letterhead.
In the event of such certification, and the approval of the student’s adviser and the registrar, the student will receive the grade of W (withdrawal). Under normal circumstances a student may not drop a course after the last day of class or after administration of the final exam, whichever occurs first.
Note: A student will not be permitted to drop a course after the first eight weeks of the semester simply to avoid a poor grade.
Summer Deadlines: Students should consult the summer term timetable for the appropriate summer deadlines.
Add Policy
Adding Courses. With permission of the student’s adviser, a course may be added through the first week of class for the fall and spring semesters. All course section adjustments must be completed during the first week of the semester. Students should consult the summer term timetable for the appropriate summer deadlines.
Withdrawal Policy
Withdrawing from University. All official withdrawals (dropping the student’s entire schedule) from the university are processed by the Office of Academic Records.
Within First Eight Weeks. Withdrawals executed during the first 14 days of the fall and spring semesters will leave no record of the courses for which the student registered. Withdrawals executed after the fourteenth day through the eighth week of the semester will result in a grade of W (withdrawal) in all courses for which the student registered.
After First Eight Weeks. Withdrawals are not permitted after the first eight weeks of a semester unless it can be clearly demonstrated that one of the following exists:
- serious illness or injury of the student as verified by Student Health and Counseling Center or private physician;
- serious personal or family problems as verified by a minister, physician, or other appropriate professional; or
- necessary change in work schedule which conflicts with the class being dropped, as verified by the student’s employer submitted in writing on company letterhead.
In the event of such certification, and the approval of the vice chancellor for student affairs, the student will receive the grade of W in all courses for which the student registered. Under normal circumstances a student may not withdraw from the university after the last day of class or after administration of the final exam, whichever occurs first.
Note: A student will not be permitted to withdraw after the first eight weeks of the semester simply to avoid a poor grade.
Summer Deadlines: Students should consult the summer term timetable for the appropriate summer deadlines.
A full load is nine semester hours. Four hours will be considered a half-time load and six hours will be considered a three-quarter load. Undergraduate hours taken to meet degree requirements will be included with all graduate hours to determine course load.
The maximum load for a graduate student is 15 semester hours during fall and spring semesters and six semester hours per session during summer. To register for more than the maximum during any semester requires approval of the appropriate Graduate Coordinator/designee. Maymester is limited to three hours only.
Students who are employed full-time must secure permission from the appropriate Graduate Coordinator/designee to enroll for more than six hours of graduate coursework. Graduate assistants and others who have part-time duties with the university may enroll only for an appropriate fraction of the maximum load such as follows:
Assistants employed 20 hours per week-maximum of nine (9) semester hours.
Assistants employed 15 hours per week-maximum of 12 semester hours.
Assistants employed 12 hours per week-maximum of 15 semester hours.
Course Numbers
Courses numbered 500 and above are for graduate credit. Courses in the 700 group are for graduate students only. Courses in the 500 and 600 groups are the same as specified 300- and 400-level courses for undergraduates but have additional requirements beyond those expected of undergraduate students. They may be taken for graduate credit when offered in the course schedule under the 500/600 number if the student has not already completed the undergraduate equivalent. The last two digits for these 500/600-level graduate courses are the same as their undergraduate equivalents.
The course descriptions for 500-level courses appear in numeric sequence under the equivalent 300- level course. The 500 number appears in parentheses after the 300 number. No more than three semester hours of 500-level coursework may be applied toward a degree. The course descriptions for 600-level courses appear in numeric sequence under the equivalent 400-level course. The 600 number appears in parentheses after the 400 number.
Prerequisites
Graduate study in any department must be preceded by sufficient undergraduate work in the major field and/or related areas to satisfy the department that the student has adequate background for graduate work in that field. The catalog lists some, but not necessarily all, prerequisites since these may vary with the individual student’s background, goals and competencies.
Graduate students taking undergraduate prerequisite courses must make a C or better in each course. Students who do not achieve the required grade in undergraduate prerequisite courses will not be allowed to take additional graduate coursework until a satisfactory grade is achieved in the undergraduate course(s) in question.
Course Substitutions and Student Petitions
A course substitution request may be filed when there is just cause for the substitution (e.g., cross-listed course was previously taken for undergraduate credit). For a course substitution request to have final approval, it must receive approval from the adviser, the graduate coordinator/designee and the college committee. To avoid possible delay in graduation, students should obtain these approvals prior to scheduling any course which they believe can be substituted for a required course.
Graduate students wishing to petition for changes in their program or for other matters should consult with their adviser.
The appropriate forms for submission of course substitution and overload requests or student petitions may be obtained from the graduate program coordinator/designee. Graduate Council approval is also necessary, in addition to the approvals stated previously, for any requests involving university policy. If the petition warrants action by the Graduate Council, the student will be notified both of the meeting date and of the final decision by the dean of graduate studies.
If the Graduate Council denies a student request, it may not be resubmitted to the council. Any appeal to the vice chancellor for academic affairs must be limited to an alleged procedural violation.
Transfer Credit
A maximum of 12 semester hours completed at an accredited institution may be transferred into a student’s master’s program if all of the following conditions are met: (For M.B.A. students, no more than nine (9) hours of the 12 hours may be applied toward required courses.)
- if taken for graduate residence credit, i.e. no correspondence or extension credit allowed (see below);
- if passed with a grade of B or better (no transfer credit will be accepted for courses graded P/F or S/U);
- if part of an otherwise satisfactory graduate program (B average);
- if the transferred coursework was not earned more than six years prior to the semester in which the student completes all degree requirements; and
- if approved by the student’s adviser, the appropriate graduate coordinator/designee and the dean of graduate studies. Note: If already matriculated at UT Martin, approval should be obtained before enrolling in the proposed course(s).
Transferred work will not be counted in computing the grade point average on courses completed in the graduate program.
The total number of transferred residence courses may exceed 12 semester hours when within The University of Tennessee system. Credits transferred into the master’s program will not reduce the residence requirements. No correspondence work may be used to meet master’s degree requirements. No credit designated as extension credit at other institutions may be transferred into a student’s master’s program.
Grades and Grade Appeals
Graduate students are required to make an overall minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00 in courses taken for graduate credit. The cumulative GPA for graduate students is based on graduate coursework taken at UT Martin. M.B.A. students must also have at least a 3.00 GPA in courses approved for use in the M.B.A. degree program. Graduate education students are allowed to earn two grades of C in courses required for graduation. If a third grade of C is earned in a course required for graduation, the student can petition the College of Education, Health, and Behavioral Sciences Graduate Committee to repeat one of the C grades. Students requesting to retake a course must submit a written request to their adviser who will then submit the request to the College of Education, Health, and Behavioral Sciences Graduate Committee and dean of graduate studies. If the petition to retake a class is approved, the repeated class must be taken at UT Martin. Any subsequent grades of C will make the student ineligible for continuation in the degree program. Graduate credit is allowed only for courses completed with grades A, B, C and P (Pass or Progress). Grades of D or F are counted in computing the scholastic average but carry no credit toward graduation.
Only the subsequent grade received in any course which is approved for repeat (see section Repeating a Course) will be used to calculate the grade point average. Transferred work will not be counted in computing the grade point average of courses completed in the graduate program. The grade of P (Progress) or N (Insufficient Progress) will be assigned to students registered for thesis or final project courses.
The work of a student who is passing a course satisfactorily but cannot complete all the requirements due to illness, accident, or unavoidable circumstances may be reported as Incomplete (I). It is expected that the student will remove the Incomplete during the next semester after it is received. The student granted a bona fide I by his/ her instructor may have the next full semester to complete the work necessary to erase the Incomplete before it is computed as an F. Thereafter, it shall be computed as an F until changed by student action within one calendar year of receiving the I or by automatic action after one calendar year when the I shall become a permanent F. The student need not be enrolled to remove the Incomplete. A faculty member may also give an Incomplete (I) to a student in a course whom the faculty member regards as deficient in English language in that course, but who is otherwise passing. The Incomplete (I) will be removed when the Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages certifies to the instructor that the student has made the necessary improvement.
When a graduate student wishes to appeal a grade, the appeal process must be initiated within the first three weeks of the next semester. The aggrieved student shall first discuss the matter with the faculty member involved to see if there is some error or misunderstanding which can be resolved between them. Failing this, the student should follow the appeal process that is described in the Student Handbook if he/she wishes to pursue the matter.
Repeating a Course
No graduate student will be allowed to repeat a course (or a designated “same as” course) for the purpose of raising a grade. Students wishing to repeat required courses in which they have received a grade of D or F must have the prior approval of their adviser, the graduate program coordinator/designee and the dean of graduate studies. Students in the College of Education, Health, and Behavioral Sciences earning more than two grades of C in courses required for graduation can petition and, if approved in advance of registration, replace only one C (see Grades and Grade Appeals section). Approval must be granted by both the committee and dean of graduate studies before retaking a C. Violation of these regulations will result in the deletion of the grade and credit for the invalid repeat from the official university records. A student’s enrollment in UT Martin’s equivalent of any non-transferrable course does not constitute a repeat. Students may retake courses that have expired.
Academic Continuation
Students are required to have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 to receive the graduate degree from The University of Tennessee at Martin. The cumulative GPA for graduate students is based on graduate coursework taken at UT Martin. Academic standards of performance have been established to ensure satisfactory progress toward a degree. These performance standards form the basis for the following academic classifications:
- academically eligible
- academically eligible-warning
- academically ineligible
Guidelines and procedures for placing students in the previous classifications are explained in the following paragraphs.
Academically Eligible. A student is considered to be academically eligible so long as the number of graduate quality points earned is equal to three times the number of graduate GPA hours attempted. This is equivalent to a cumulative GPA of 3.00.
Academically Eligible-Warning. A student will automatically be placed on academic warning at the end of any semester if he/she fails to have a 3.00 cumulative GPA. (EXCEPTION: A student with Conditional or Unclassified admission status will be academically ineligible for graduate study when he/she fails to have a 3.00 cumulative GPA.) The warning status will be removed upon the achievement of a 3.00 cumulative GPA. If a student on academic warning fails to achieve a 3.00 cumulative GPA, the student will remain on warning as long as a 3.00 graduate semester GPA is earned, indicating satisfactory progress. Should the student fail to demonstrate satisfactory progress after one or more continuous semesters of warning, he/she will be academically ineligible.
Academically Ineligible. A student on academic warning for one or more continuous semesters will be academically ineligible unless one of the following occurs: (1) the cumulative GPA is raised to 3.00 or better; or (2) a 3.00 or better semester GPA is achieved. A student may appeal for reinstatement to the term immediately following his/her academic ineligibility.
Dismissal and Reinstatement Policies
- Graduate students admitted on a conditional or unclassified basis must maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA or become academically ineligible.
- Graduate students who fail to maintain a cumulative 3.00 average will automatically be placed on academic warning. Such students will be continued on academic warning until a 3.00 cumulative average is achieved as long as they maintain a 3.00 semester average on graduate work during the academic warning period. If they fail to achieve a 3.00 semester average any semester during the academic warning period, they will become academically ineligible and will be dropped from the graduate school.
- Students may be reinstated to Graduate Studies only one time and should begin the process by consulting with the appropriate coordinator/designee. Reinstatement, however, is not automatic and requires approval of the dean of graduate studies. The approval will be based upon recommendation of the appropriate graduate committee (for students dropped from the program for reasons outlined in #1 above) or upon recommendation of the appropriate coordinator/designee (for students dropped from the program for reasons outlined in #2 above).
- A student may appeal a negative decision for reinstatement by sending a written statement to the Graduate Council (c/o Graduate Studies Office). The student will be notified when the petition will be brought before the Council and will have an opportunity to appear in person to present his/her case. The dean of graduate studies will notify the student of the Council’s decision.
Appointment of an Adviser
The graduate coordinator/designee in the student’s major area is the general adviser for all graduate students in that program. A permanent adviser in his/her major should be appointed during the first semester of enrollment.
Intent to Graduate
An Intent to Graduate must be submitted no later than the beginning of the semester prior to the anticipated final semester. Submission is an online process.
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