Graduate Academic Policies

Grading System

Grades and their point values are as follows:

The highest passing grade of A is awarded for distinguished course work. The low passing grade of C- is awarded for work that is minimally acceptable at the graduate level in business. For education students, the low passing grade of C is awarded for work that is minimally acceptable at the graduate level. D grades are not awarded nor are they accepted in required undergraduate courses. The failing grade of F is given for work that is unsatisfactory.

Standards of Academic Integrity

An academic community must operate with complete openness, honesty, and integrity. Responsibility for maintaining this atmosphere lies with the students, faculty, and administration. Therefore, the achievement of personal and academic goals through dishonest means will not be tolerated.

Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to:

1. Cheating: The unauthorized use or exchange of information before or during a quiz, test, or semester examination is prohibited. Unauthorized collaboration on a class assignment, submitting the same work in two courses without the professor’s permission, and buying or selling work for a course are also forms of cheating.
2. Plagiarism: The representation of words or ideas as one’s own is prohibited. The various forms of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, copying homework, falsifying lab reports, submitting papers containing material written by another person, and failing to document in one’s written assignment words secured from publications or other sources.
3. Providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the professor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic evaluation including papers, projects, and examinations; presenting as one’s own the ideas or words of another for academic evaluation without proper acknowledgement.
4. Doing unauthorized academic work for which another person will receive credit or be evaluated.
5. Attempting to influence one’s academic evaluation by means other than academic achievement or merit.
6. Misconduct assistance: Cooperation with another in an act of academic misconduct is not tolerated. A student who writes a paper or does an assignment for another student is an accomplice and will be held accountable just as severely as the other. Any student who knowingly permits another to copy from his or her own paper, examination, or project shall be held as accountable as the student who submits the copied material. Students are expected to safeguard their work and should not share papers, projects, or homework with other students unless specifically directed to by their professors.

Penalties for Academic Misconduct

Penalties for any infraction are cumulative in that they are imposed in light of a student’s record at Mount St. Mary’s. The minimum penalty for the first offense will be a grade of zero for the assignment or examination; an instructor may impose a more severe penalty if circumstances warrant it. A second offense will result in a semester grade of failure (F) for the course in which this second incident occurs. The penalty for the third offense will be expulsion from the University. If a professor has reason to suspect that academic misconduct has occurred, the professor will speak with his/her Program Director and Executive Director of Graduate, Continuing, and Professional Studies in order to determine the appropriate actions.

If a formal charge is warranted:

The professor will notify the student of the infraction in writing. Ordinarily, notification of the student should come no more than three weeks after the due date of the assignment in question. The professor is responsible for keeping the evidence of academic misconduct in its original form and need not return the original version of the materials to the student. Copies of the student’s work and information about other evidence will be provided to the student upon request.

The professor will notify the Executive Director in writing (with a copy of the notification to the department chair) and forward copies of all information and materials. The Executive Director will consult with the Associate Provost about prior offenses and then will officially notify the student in writing of the charge and the student’s right to appeal. The Executive Director will maintain all records of the charge. The Associate Provost will be responsible for maintaining the necessary electronic records that ensure that the penalties for the second and third offenses are administered by the University.

Graduate Appeals Procedure

Students may appeal charges of academic misconduct, and they may appeal a final course grade. An appeal of a charge regarding academic integrity may be made if the student disputes the charge. A course grade appeal may be submitted only on the grounds that a grading policy is either unclear or has been unfairly applied.

In either case, recourse should be made first to the professor concerned, and then to the program director (i.e., MBA, Education). A student wishing to pursue the matter further must register a written appeal to the Executive Director of Graduate, Continuing, and Professional Studies no later than the fourth week of the session following the posting of the grade or the academic misconduct charge. After receiving an appeal, the Executive Director will ask the chair of the Graduate Academic Committee (GAC) to convene the Graduate Appeals Board, a standing subcommittee of the GAC. This board consists of two graduate students, two faculty members and the chair of the GAC. Both student and faculty membership are appointed by the chair of the GAC for the period running June 1-May 31. Only three members of the Graduate Appeals Board are required to hear an appeal (one graduate student, one faculty member, and the chair of the GAC). Once the chair of the GAC is asked to convene the Graduate Appeals Board, the board has 60 days to determine whether an appeal is warranted.

Once the Graduate Appeals Board is convened, a simple majority vote of the board will determine whether an appeal is warranted. If the board decides to hear an appeal, it may invite testimony from the student and/or the faculty member involved in the case and may, at its discretion, solicit other pertinent information. Decisions in appeal hearings will be made by majority vote. Once the board determines that an appeal is warranted, it has 90 days to render a final decision. If this deadline is not met, the appeal will go automatically to the associate provost for a final decision.

The board’s decision may be appealed to the associate provost. The decision of the associate provost is final. Both the associate provost and the Graduate Appeals Board are responsible for ensuring that the process is followed correctly and that all evidence is examined thoroughly, confidentially, and in as timely a fashion as reasonably possible (this ordinarily means no later than the end of the semester following the semester in which the appeal was initiated).

Repeating a Course

Students may retake any course in the graduate programs. If a student retakes a course, the original grade will continue to appear on the transcript, but in the computation of the cumulative grade point average the new grade will replace the original. This policy will apply regardless of whether the new grade is higher or lower than the first.

If a student repeats a course that was originally passed (with a grade of C- or better), no additional credits will be earned.

Auditing a Course

Students may audit a graduate-level course under the following conditions:

• there must be space available
• the student must hold at least a bachelor’s degree
• permission must be granted by the program director
• a course registration form must be submitted to the program director, with the letters AU noted in lieu of credit hours

The charge for auditing a graduate course is $75 per credit. An audit symbol will be recorded on the student’s transcript and cannot
subsequently be changed to a letter grade.

Academic Probation

Should a student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA) fall below 3.0, he or she will be placed on academic probation until such time as his or her cumulative GPA rises to 3.0 or above. Students who do not maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for two or more sessions may be academically dismissed from the program at the sole discretion of the program director.

All academic dismissals are final and may not be appealed.

Coursework Deadline

The deadline for all graded course assignments is the last scheduled day of the term or the last day of class (often the final exam date), whichever comes first. Professors are not permitted to extend assignment deadlines beyond the last day of the term.

Incomplete

Given the accelerated, compressed nature of graduate programs, students are strongly encouraged to complete their courses on time and to not withdraw. In certain limited cases, a professor may grant the student a grade of Incomplete (“I”), allowing the student additional time to complete the course work.

A faculty member may grant an Incomplete grade only when all the following conditions are met: 1. The student has a serious reason to make the request, such as a medical or family emergency; 2. The student requests the Incomplete; and 3. The student has completed at least 75% of the work, and is able to finish the course with minimal assistance from the professor.

The professor must submit an Incomplete Form detailing the terms for finishing the course requirements to the Registrar’s Office, and enter a grade of “I” by the grading deadline. Once required work is complete, the professor submits a grade change form. If the Incomplete is not resolved by the end of the term following the one in which the incomplete grade was received, an Incomplete reverts to the grade specified on the form or to an F, and is entered as such on the official transcript. Grades of incomplete may not remain on a student’s transcript for more than one semester.

Failing Grades

A student is permitted one failing grade (F, FA, or I converted to F). Two failing grades on a transcript will result in academic dismissal from the program.

Adding Classes

The deadline to add a class is 5 PM on the Friday before the course begins.

Students may add using the Registration Form available on the Graduate Studies web site.

Dropping Classes

The deadline to drop a graduate class is 5 PM Monday of the Second Week of classes.

The refund schedule for dropped classes is as follows:

Drop forms are available on the Graduate Studies website: http://msmary.edu/mountgrad

Withdrawing from a Class

After 5 PM Monday of the second week of class students cannot drop a class but may withdraw.

For 4 Week mini-courses, the deadline to withdraw is Friday of the 3rd Week of Class.

For 8 Week Classes, the deadline to withdraw is Friday of the 5th Week of Class.

For 15 Week Classes, the deadline to withdraw is Friday of the 11th Week of Class.

A grade of “W” will appear on the student’s transcript and there will be no refund of tuition. Withdrawal forms are available on the graduate studies website. Fax withdrawal forms to 301-682-5247, email to holden@msmary.edu, or bring them in person to the Frederick office.

After the withdrawal deadline for a given course, the student receives the calculated letter grade for the course.

Withdrawal from the Program/Inactivity

If a student finds it necessary to withdraw permanently from a graduate program, he or she should notify the program director in writing. A student is not officially withdrawn from the graduate program until the student receives written confirmation that his/her letter has been received by the program director.

If a student plans to temporarily withdraw from the program for a period of two years or less, no action is necessary. Provided the student is in good academic standing, he or she may re-enroll in classes at any time.

If a student chooses to remain inactive for a period of two or more years, without notifying the program director in writing, the student’s status will be converted to “withdrawn.” After such time, he or she will be required to re-apply for admission and will be subject to any changes in the curriculum that may have occurred in his or her absence.

Graduation

Degrees are awarded in May, September, and December. There is a commencement ceremony in May.

An Intent to Graduate form must be completed by February 1 of the graduation year for those expecting to graduate in May. If you expect to graduate in September, please complete the Intent to Graduate form by July 15 of the graduation year. If you expect to graduate in December, please complete the Intent to Graduate form by August 31 of the graduation year.

The Intent to Graduate form is available on the student portal, and must be completed and submitted to the Registrar’s Office in order to participate. Official graduation documents are mailed to each candidate by the Registrar’s Office. In order to participate in Commencement, students must be registered for all courses required to complete the degree by the end of the Spring semester.

If a student does not complete requirements by May 31st, the student will not be considered a Mount St. Mary’s graduate for that May, and the student’s degree (diploma) will be awarded at the end of the term following the completion of all requisite requirements. Note that students who complete requirements in the summer term(s) will receive their degree in September.

Graduation with Honors

Graduate degrees conferred by the University are awarded with honors for exceptional quality. Graduation with honors is awarded to those students who earn a cumulative graduate grade point average of 4.0.

Visiting Students

Visiting students are those enrolled in graduate programs at other colleges. In order to attend classes at the Mount, visiting students should:

• Complete an application for admission.
• Request a “letter of good standing” from the college or university you are currently enrolled in or submit official undergraduate transcripts to the graduate program office.

International Students

Mount St. Mary’s seeks and encourages the cultural diversity that international students bring to programs.

All international applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the English language. International students demonstrate proficiency by:

• Submitting official test scores from TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
• A minimum overall TOEFL score of 100 (internet-based) or 250 (computer-based test) is required.

OR

• A minimum overall IELTS score of 7.0 is required.

OR

• Holding a U.S. high school diploma or U.S. General Equivalency Diploma (GED) or international high school diploma, e.g., U.S. military base, business/diplomat expat community, etc., in which instruction is delivered primarily in English

OR

• Completing (with passing grades of C or better in all courses) a minimum of two (2) academic terms at a regionally or nationally accredited U.S. post-secondary institution in which instruction is delivered primarily in English

OR

• Holding the equivalent (evidenced by credential evaluation) of a U.S. baccalaureate degree from a non-U.S. institution in which instruction is delivered primarily in English

In order to enroll, international students must:

• Please submit certified course by course evaluations in English translation from World Education Services (www.wes.org), or an equivalent service, of college/university transcripts.
• Complete an International Student Information Sheet so that Mount St. Mary’s can process the I-20 form. More information about international students’ rights and responsibilities can be found on the Mount’s website at www.msmary.edu/internationalstudents.