Student Status

STUDENT STATUS 

A. Introduction. Unlike many undergraduate and other graduate programs, ours is not driven by the number of credits earned nor by the letter grades in specific courses; rather the requirements for each student are developed by the student and the faculty committee under the general requirements spelled out in the Graduate School Bulletin and Chapters II and III of this Handbook. The department's faculty operates on the assumption that all the degree program work that the student does is under the explicit direction of the student's advisor and/or faculty committee.  Students who work outside the framework of explicit advisor/committee direction jeopardize their place in the program (see sections I and J, below). 

B. Registration Status. According to Graduate School policy, each student must enroll every semester, both spring and fall, from initial Graduate School registration until the terminal degree is awarded. The student maintains enrollment each semester by either registering for course/thesis/dissertation credits or by paying for continuous enrollment/program fees. 

C. Residency Requirement. While there is no specific residency requirement for MA candidates, Ph.D. students must spend a minimum of two consecutive semesters (fall/spring or spring/fall) in residence at the university.  During this year, the student must spend some part of each week physically on campus and may not be employed on more than a one-half-time basis. According to Graduate School policy, a student must be enrolled on a full-time basis (minimum 9 credits each semester) during the two semesters that fulfill this requirement (see the following section). 

D. Full-time student/part-time student. The department operates on the assumption that students devote at least  20 hours per week during the academic year in the pursuit of the MA and/or the PhD degrees. These 20 hours exclude time devoted to meet teaching and/or research assistantship or other contractual or employment obligations.  If the student devotes less than 20 hours per week to the program, then the student and faculty committee must develop an explicit and written program of part-time study, a copy of which is entered in the student's file.  However, no student may be on a part-time program while completing the residency requirement. 

Frequently, the student wishes to certify to others (e.g., banks, the Graduate Registrar, the Financial Aid Office)  that he or she is a full-time student. There are two ways to accomplish this depending on the circumstances: 

1. The student who is registered for 9 or more credits per semester is automatically certified to be a full-time student by the Graduate Registrar. 

2. All others who are full-time (working at least 20 hours per week on a faculty committee-approved course of study) and need certification must complete Form 11, have it endorsed by the advisor, and give it to the program coordinator who has it signed by the GPD, copies it, and sends it to the Graduate Registrar. The  Graduate Registrar then can issue the appropriate certification, although the student may have to instruct the Registrar where to send this certification. This certification is good only for the current semester. 

E. “Reasonable” Progress. Students are expected to work full-time on their degree programs and to demonstrate reasonable progress toward the degree(s), considering the expectations of the faculty committee. There are few hard and fast rules to define what reasonable progress is; this is a faculty committee decision. Students whose rate of progress is less than what their faculty committees expect are placed on probation (see section I below) and may be dismissed from the program. 

1. The statute of limitations. The Graduate School has established specific time limits on the length of time students may take to complete all program requirements. For "MA only" students, all Master's Degree requirements must be completed within three calendar years of the date of first registration in the MA program. The statute of limitations for "MA/Ph.D." students is six years to the completion of the PhD, and for "Ph.D.-only students (who have already earned the MA in Anthropology) it is four years. 

2. Extending the statute of limitations. Our experience has been that anthropology students often need more time to finish their degree programs than the Graduate School's statute of limitations allows. The Dean extends the statute of limitations when presented with a strong case that the student is making good progress and that the student has developed a credible schedule for completing all remaining requirements. 

If you need more time to complete your degree program, you must make a plausible case first with your faculty committee and with the GPD that you have indeed used your time in the program well and that you have developed a realistic schedule for finishing up. You should draft a memorandum to your committee addressing these two points. You should expect some discussion to ensue before you and your advisor can sign Form 10. After completing Form 10, append your memorandum of justification to it and submit it to the program coordinator who will get the GPD to sign it, make a file copy, and send it to the Dean. 

Be sure to submit your request for an extension of the statute of limitations to the GPD well in advance.  Here are the deadlines: (these dates may vary by semester.) 

Statute expires on: Submit extension request by: (these dates can change per the Graduate School deadlines and calendar)

January 15: submit by December 1 

April 30: submit by March 31 

August 31: submit by May 15 

F. Leaves of Absence. A student, for several reasons, may have to interrupt participation in the program for some time. The student should draft a memo to the GPD explaining the need to suspend participation in the program. If the request seems reasonable to the GPD, s/he will petition the Graduate Dean on the student's behalf.  The Graduate Dean normally grants leaves of absence for two years or less when petitioned to do so by the GPD.  Students on leave of absence must register each semester on a program fee basis. The Dean automatically increases the statute of limitations by the length of the leave of absence. If you need to take a leave of absence, talk with your advisor and the GPD. 

Note: It is not possible to be certified as a full-time student (for example, to defer student loan repayment obligations) while on a leave of absence. 

G. Probation. Students whose record of performance in the degree program is below standard are placed on probation for one year. The department engages in an annual Graduate Review process to identify students who show cause for concern. 

The GPD writes a memorandum to a student and her/his committee chair indicating that departmental probation  may be invoked when: 

1. the student's cumulative GPA has fallen below 3.0; or  

2. the student has two or more grades of incomplete (excluding thesis or dissertation credits). 

Within 30 days, the committee chair, after consulting with the student and other members of the committee, will respond to the GPD in writing with a specific recommendation either to invoke probation or not to invoke probation.  In either case, specific reasons are to be cited. 

If the committee chair recommends probation, the GPD writes the student a memorandum indicating that s/he  has been placed on departmental probation for one year. This memorandum must stipulate what the student must do in the ensuing twelve months to have the probationary status lifted. A copy of this memorandum is placed in the student's file. 

The GPD may also place a student on probation after receiving a recommendation to do so from the student's committee on the grounds that the student has failed to meet the committee's expectations of productivity or timeliness in meeting requirements. 

The GPD also places any student on probation when for two successive semesters, s/he/they fail to constitute a faculty committee. 

If the student fails to meet the conditions of the probationary period, the GPD normally will recommend to the  Graduate School that s/he be dismissed. 

H. Withdrawal/Dismissal. 

1. Voluntary Withdrawal. If for any reason you wish to withdraw from the program, write a letter or memo to that effect to the Graduate Dean via the GPD, indicating your reasons. The GPD must endorse this  request and attest to the Dean about the student's standing in the program (e.g., on probation, in good standing, on leave, etc.). If the student is registered for courses, these courses must be formally dropped  (see the Graduate School Bulletin for details on how to drop courses). 

2. Failure to Enroll. Graduate students who fail to register for course, thesis, or dissertation credits or who do not pay the program fee by the end of the late registration period will automatically be withdrawn from the university by the Graduate Registrar for failure to maintain continuous enrollment. 

3. Administrative Withdrawal. The Graduate School may administratively withdraw a student from the university—after due notice—for failure to satisfy overdue financial obligations or for failure to comply with administrative requirements of the University. 

4. Academic Dismissal. A graduate student who in any two semesters (consecutive or not) has a GPA of or below 2.8 is subject to dismissal from the graduate program.  

5. Unsatisfactory Progress. A graduate student who fails to meet specific requirements of the GPD and/or his/her faculty committee during a year of departmental probation is subject to dismissal from the graduate program (see section I. Probation above). 

I. Grievance Procedure. To protect students’ rights and to ensure a fair way to resolve disputes between students and faculty or between a student and the Graduate School, both the department and the Graduate School have developed grievance procedures. Experience has shown that most grievances can be resolved easily through voluntary conciliation on the part of both parties. When these fail, two alternatives are available: 

1. When the grievance concerns a matter of a faculty member's academic judgment of a student's work, the student may discuss this matter with the GPD and/or the departmental chair, who will seek to resolve the matter through conciliation. When these fail, the student should seek the services of the University  Ombudsperson. 

2. When the grievance concerns other matters (except the substance of University, campus, or Graduate School policies and regulations), the student may avail herself/himself of grievance procedures developed by the  Graduate Council, which call for efforts similar to those cited in the preceding paragraph. A copy of the  Grievance Procedures for Graduate Students is available from the GPD, the program coordinator, and also from the Graduate Dean's office.