Academic Policies

Students in master’s programs must complete the degree with a GPA of 3.0.  No more than two grades of “C” will count toward degree requirements, and no grade lower than “C” will count toward the degree.  All grade records remain on the master’s transcript and count toward the GPA.  A student who has received two grades of “C” will be placed on probation and required to meet with an advisor on a regular basis.  A student who receives a third grade of “C” will be dismissed from the program.

Course credit is based on units designated as semester hours. One semester hour, or one base contact hour, equals a minimum of 750 minutes; this equation translates to a minimum of fifteen, 50-minute class hours per semester. Time required for class preparation is not a consideration in the calculation of course credit. A three semester hour course will require six to nine hours of work outside of class each week. Courses involving laboratory work give one semester hour of credit for each two, three or four hours of scheduled work in the laboratory during a week, depending on the course. Internships require a minimum of 2,250 minutes for each hour of credit. 

Students may enroll in no more than 15 master’s level credit hours per semester for fall and spring semesters.  This same limit applies during the summer term. Graduate students are considered full-time in fall and spring semesters if they are registered for 9 credit hours and half-time if they are registered for 5 credit hours.  The same credit hours apply to summer term.

Students must complete the master’s degree within six calendar years from the term they initially enroll. Students should check the program Web site and/or specific program section of the Catalog to determine specific degree requirements.

Students who have not been in attendance for three consecutive semesters, including summer, need to submit a reapplication form. Students requesting readmission must be in good academic standing and must submit their application for readmission to the master’s program in which they have been enrolled.

No course can count both toward the master’s degree and the bachelor’s degree.

The Student Code of Conduct applies to all Metro State students, regardless of level. It may be found on the Metro State Web site at: www.mscd.edu/policies/student_code_of_conduct/student_conduct_code.shtml.

The College residency requirement for master’s programs is the total number of semester hours required for the program minus 9.

The Incomplete (I) notation may be assigned when a student, who was achieving satisfactory progress in a course and who had completed most class assignments, is unable to take the final examination and/ or did not complete all class assignments due to unusual circumstances such as hospitalization or disability. Incomplete work denoted by the Incomplete “I” notation must be completed within one calendar year or earlier, at the discretion of the faculty member. If the incomplete work is not completed within one year, the “I” notation will convert to an “F.”  Students must have completed at least 75% of the course work to qualify for consideration for an Incomplete. The student must be passing the course in order to be granted an Incomplete.

Determination of eligibility does not guarantee that an Incomplete will be granted. Students who do meet the qualifications may request an Incomplete from the faculty member who is teaching the course. The decision to grant an Incomplete is up to the faculty or the Department Chair’s discretion. The decision to grant an Incomplete as an accommodation based on a student’s disability shall be made by the faculty member, or the Department Chair if the faculty member is not available, in consultation with the Director of the Access Center.

If an Incomplete is granted, the student and instructor should fill out and sign an Incomplete Agreement form in order to clarify what the student needs to do to complete the course.

If a student receives an “I” in an online class, the instructor should contact the Educational Technology Center which will add the student to the online course roster so that the student will be able to logon to the course. This must be done by the instructor each semester the student continues to work on the course.

In order for an “I” to be changed to a letter grade, the incomplete work must be completed for the course for which the student originally registered. The student should NOT re-enroll for the same course unless his/her intent is to retake the entire course. In this case, the student will pay tuition and fees.

The No Credit (NC) notation is not a grade. It may indicate withdrawal from the course or course repetition. The NC deadline should not be confused with the add/drop deadlines. During the add/drop period, a student may drop a course, and it will not appear on the student’s academic record. 

Students can withdraw from a class online at MetroConnect according to the published deadline in the Academic Calendar at www.mscd.edu/academic/acal. Proportional time frames are applied for part-of-term courses, weekend courses, workshops and summer terms. These deadlines are available from the Office of the Registrar or the Office of Student Accounts. Deadlines for full-term, summer classes are published in the class schedule. 

After the NC Deadline (or proportional time frame for part-of-term courses, weekend courses, workshops, and summer terms) of the semester, students cannot withdraw from a course. The “I” notation may be used during this period, as long as the conditions specified are included in the incomplete policy. 

Students who fail to withdraw from their course or courses by the published NC deadline will be assigned the grade they had earned, based on the course syllabus. 

Students who need to withdraw from a course or courses because of the death of an immediate family member, serious illness or medical emergency, or employment changes beyond their control may request a tuition refund by filing a Tuition and Fees Appeal Form through the Office of Student Accounts. Students who receive financial aid are encouraged to speak with a counselor in the Office of Financial Aid prior to filing a ‘Tuition and Fee Appeal’. 

The “NC” notation is used in self-paced courses to indicate that the student has not completed the self-paced course(s) and requires additional time to increase the student’s proficiency. In this case, to earn credit the student must re-register and pay tuition and fees for the course in a subsequent term.

The number of quality points awarded for a course is determined by multiplying the number of semester hours for that course by the quality point value of the grade received. The cumulative GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points by the number of semester hours attempted.

To be eligible for a degree, a candidate must have a minimum number of quality points equal to twice the number of semester hours attempted in addition to meeting other prescribed requirements. The following notations have no effect on the GPA: CC, I, NC, NR, P, S, U.

If students have reason to question the validity of a grade received in a course, they must make their request for a change before the end of the fourth week of the semester following the completion of the course (the following fall semester in the case of the spring semester). The Grade Appeal Guidelines can be obtained from the students’ respective deans. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate a grade appeal within the time limit, and to follow the procedures specified for grade appeals in the current Student Handbook (handbook.mscd.edu). The handbook may also be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs. All decisions of the Grade Appeal Committee are final.

In times of emergency, certain students (e.g., reserve military units, individuals with specialized skills, or firefighters) are called to provide services to the state or country. When the call for services or emergency deployment is issued, it is often necessary for students to interrupt their coursework in mid-semester without advance notice. The college recognizes that normal refund and withdrawal policies may not be appropriate and therefore will make the following provisions for individuals who leave the institution mid-semester to respond to a national emergency.

Students who must withdraw from all classes during a semester due to a serious personal or medical emergency should contact the Student Accounts Office, CN 110, 303-556-6188 for assistance and information on emergency withdrawal procedures.

Students who must withdraw from all classes during a semester due to a military or state call to action should contact Veterans Education Benefits, CN 105 or call 303-556-2993, for assistance.