| ACADEMIC REGULATIONS |
SECTION
5
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The university maintains approximately one hundred official bulletin boards at key locations on campus. Through consecutively numbered Official Announcements, academic departments and other divisions of the university communicate essential and timely information to students; it is the responsibility of the student to read and know the contents of the announcements that affect his or her program.
The main campus of East Carolina University operates on the semester system. The fall and spring semesters are each approximately fifteen weeks in length. The summer session is divided into two equal terms of approximately five and a half weeks each. Doctoral students may enroll for a single twelve-week summer term. The Division of Continuing Education will supply calendars for the off-campus centers.
The university is in session five and a half days a week. Classes usually meet for 50-minute periods, but some of the courses meet for three hours in one evening or on Saturday morning.
Only courses numbered 5000 or higher can be counted toward completion of graduate degrees or CAS programs. At least one-half of the credit for a master's degree must be earned in courses for graduates only, numbering 6000 or above.
During the summer terms, most courses are offered during the daytime. Three semester hour courses meet one and a half hours daily; five semester hour courses meet 150 minutes daily. Other courses meet for the appropriate times in order to meet the total contact hour requirement. The university offers many graduate courses, workshops, conferences, and short courses during the Summer Session. Graduate degree credit can be earned only at the rate of one semester hour of credit for each calendar week of attendance.
Graduate students who seek and obtain permission to take courses at other institutions for subsequent transfer to degree programs at East Carolina University may obtain credit only at the rate of one semester hour of credit for each calendar week of course attendance. Degree or CAS credit cannot be obtained through completion of correspondence courses.
Students who have received a letter of admission from the Graduate School report to the office of the school or department in which they are enrolled to be assigned an adviser who will assist in scheduling classes and completing registration. Each student, new or continuing, has primary responsibility for assuring that he or she is completing degree requirements and is allowed to sign his or her own on-line registration schedule. To register, a student must complete an on-line registration schedule, consult an adviser, if necessary, and register via terminal operator or telephonic registration. To complete the process and be officially registered and entered on the class roll, a student must pay fees to the cashier's office. No person will be admitted to any class unless officially registered either for audit or for credit.
Students are expected to complete registration (including the payment of all required fees) on the dates prescribed in the university calendar. Students who register during the early registration period are required to pay their fees and secure their official schedules during a stipulated period prior to registration day. Students who fail to pay fees by this date will have their schedules canceled.
Early registration is a time designated each semester for currently enrolled, readmitted, or newly admitted students to meet with their advisers, if necessary, to review their records and plan their courses for the upcoming semester. The student will complete an on line registration schedule, after consulting an adviser if necessary, register via terminal operator or telephonic registration, and receive a tuition and fee schedule giving further instructions.
A graduate student may add a course or courses through the day following the last day to register for the semester. The student must process and take to the Office of the Registrar the schedule change form but needs only the signature of the adviser, indicating the adviser's awareness of the action, and the signature of the instructor or department chairperson, indicating the space is available in the class.
A graduate nondoctoral student may drop a course and receive no grade up to two weeks prior to the last day of classes. The student must process the schedule change form by taking the form signed by the program adviser to the Office of the Registrar and having it entered into the computer. The adviser's signature indicates awareness of the change. Within the last two weeks before examinations and during the examination period, a student who drops a course will receive a final grade of F unless he or she has permission from the dean of the Graduate School to drop for medical reasons or other justification.
Doctoral students may drop courses only with permission of their department chairperson or graduate committees.
Students should pay particular attention to procedural directions printed on the forms. No course is officially dropped or added until the required procedure is completed.
Students desiring to withdraw officially from the university should apply to the associate vice chancellor for student success for a withdrawal form. After the student has obtained the signatures of the various officials designated on the form, it must be submitted for final approval to the associate vice chancellor for student success.
During that part of the semester up to two weeks prior to the last day of classes, a graduate student withdrawing from school shall receive no grades for courses in which he or she is enrolled. During the two weeks prior to the beginning of examinations and during the examination period, a graduate student withdrawing from school shall receive a grade of F for all classes that he or she is failing at the time, unless in the judgment of the dean of the Graduate School the failures were caused by circumstances beyond the student's control.
Auditing a course consists of attending classes and listening but taking no part in the class. An auditor may not enroll in a participation course (art classes, laboratories, etc.). An auditor is not responsible for any assignments, nor is he or she allowed to take any tests or examinations. However, in order to have the audited course recorded on the official transcript, a student must attend classes regularly. Under no circumstances will a grade be assigned, evaluations be made, or performance reports be issued for students auditing a course. No credit may be earned in an audited course by examination or otherwise. A course that has been audited may not be taken later for credit.
Students wishing to audit course(s) must have the approval of the instructor and the appropriate department chairperson or school dean prior to registering or adding the course(s) to their schedule. An audit fee is to be paid to the cashier by persons enrolled to audit.
Class attendance is expected of all students. If class sessions are missed, and the student does not present an official university excuse, the decision as to whether the work may be made up or not will be determined by the instructor and the student.
At the first scheduled class meeting, the instructor must state the basic requirements and assignments of the course and indicate his or her method of evaluation.
In the Graduate School, grades consist of A, B, C, I, F, and N.
A change of grade, other than I, for any reason, must be made within one year from the date the original grade was received.
As soon as they are determined at the end of each semester or summer term, grades are posted electronically and a report of grades is sent to the student at his or her permanent home address. Students may also secure their grades using the automated voice response system (252-328-2149) and via the World Wide Web, using their pin numbers. Questions about final examination grades should be directed to the instructor who determined the grade.
PRIVACY OF STUDENT EDUCATIONAL RECORDS POLICY
The university policy for the administration of student educational records is in accordance with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as the Buckley Amendment or FERPA. This policy provides that the student has a right of access to student educational records maintained by the university or any department or unit within the university. The policy also protects the confidentiality of personally identifiable information in student records. A copy of the university policy dealing with the privacy of student educational records is maintained in each professional school and academic department within the university. Each member of the faculty should be thoroughly familiar with this policy and comply with its provisions.
ACCESS TO STUDENT EDUCATIONAL RECORDS
In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, it is the policy of the university that students have the following rights in regard to official educational records maintained by the university:
However, it is expected that the student normally would exhaust the administrative remedies for relief available to him or her according to the university grievance procedures before filing such a complaint.
RELEASE OF DIRECTORY INFORMATION
The university routinely makes available in an annually updated printed directory and in an on-line directory certain information about its students. This policy is for the convenience of students, parents, other members of the university community, and the general public. In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the university will continue this policy of releasing directory information, including the following: the student's name, address (including e-mail address), telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institute attended by the student. If any student does not wish any or all of this directory information released without prior consent, the student must notify the Office of the Registrar in writing within seven days after registration day of the current term of enrollment.
The residence requirement for a nondoctoral degree program is met when a student has earned at least half of the graduate degree credit for his or her program (a program is defined as 30 or more s.h.) while in residence, which is defined as taking courses on the campus of East Carolina University or at designated off-campus residence centers. The chairperson of a department or dean of a school may petition the Administrative Board of the Graduate School to consider cases where the residence credit is less than 50 percent.
PhD students must complete at least five consecutive semesters in residence. Not more than one twelve-week summer enrollment may be counted as a semester in residence. In exceptional cases and with adequate academic justification, the departmental graduate committee may waive this requirement.
Students in the EdD program must complete one full year of residency. This requirement is met by completing 9 s.h. in two consecutive regular semesters; summer sessions may not be used to meet the residency requirements.
CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT (OR REGISTRATION)
Graduate students who have previously registered for all credits in a graduate degree program but who have not completed all requirements (e.g., thesis, professional paper, internship, etc.) must continue to register each semester (except summer terms) until all degree requirements are completed and filed with the registrar. Under special circumstance, exception to continuous registration may be approved by the dean of the Graduate School. Students must be registered for the semester of graduation (except summer, if registered for the prior spring semester).
The time limit for completing all credit (including transfer credit) in nondoctoral programs is six years (except for the master of science in social work which is limited to four years for full- and part-time students). School and departmental petitions for time extensions for completion of degrees will be reviewed and acted upon by the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. The Administrative Board is empowered to establish the length of time for extensions that are granted and to specify the conditions governing time extensions that student petitioners must meet.
Students in the EdD program must complete their course work in six years. An extension may be granted with the approval of the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and the Administrative Board of the Graduate School.
For limitation of PhD programs, see Section 7, Curricula.
In order to change graduate degree programs, a student must file a petition to change programs on forms obtained from the Graduate School. The student's credentials will be sent to the new school or department for evaluation and recommendation. The petitioning student will be notified by the graduate school concerning the outcome of the petition. A student who petitions successfully for transfer to a new degree program must complete new program requirements in force at the time of the change of program. Any courses credited from the old program must meet the time frame requirements for completion of the new program.
No more than 15 s.h. of work may be taken in any one semester. A student is considered to be enrolled full-time when registered for a minimum of 9 s.h. during a regular semester. Appropriate allowance can be made and equivalent credit can be given if work other than formal courses undertaken by the student contributes to the educational program.
Programs require completion of a research skills component. How the research skills requirement is completed is defined by the academic program.
A comprehensive examination covering the field of concentration is a requirement in all graduate programs except the MBA. A candidate is eligible to take the examination when approved by the school or department. Each MAEd program that prepares students for practice in a K-12 school setting shall incorporate content for educational foundations and research into the comprehensive examination in accordance with guidelines set by the School of Education. A study guide, which explains the purpose and scope of the general comprehensive examination, should be obtained from the student's academic adviser upon entry into the graduate program. A student may take the comprehensive examination no more than twice, and the student must wait at least one semester to retake the examination. Failure on a second administration of a comprehensive examination will terminate a student's graduate program. Additional information may be found in descriptions of degree programs in Section 7, Curricula.
THESIS: RESEARCH, EXAMINATION, PREPARATION, AND DELIVERY
In programs where a thesis is prepared, the student must comply with the specific regulations of his or her school or department and the general requirements of the Graduate School. These requirements are specified in the Manual of Basic Requirements for Theses and Dissertations which is approved by the Graduate School and available on the Graduate School’s website, www.research.ecu.edu/grad. The manual contains details on the form, preparation, and binding of theses and dissertations.
Thesis topics must be approved by the thesis adviser, dean or chairperson of the school or department, and the dean of the Graduate School. All students whose thesis projects involve human subjects must have their proposals approved by the Review Committee on Human Research before beginning their studies. A copy of the committee approval must be submitted with the title of the thesis.
Copies of the thesis must be presented by the student to his or her faculty thesis adviser for the use of the examining committee not later than one week prior to the date on which the examining committee will conduct the oral examination and defense of the thesis. At this oral defense of the thesis, the examining committee may ask the student questions regarding the subject matter in the major field. A student may attempt to defend the thesis no more than twice.
Students in the EdD program must complete a scholarly dissertation. Specific requirements for the proposal and the dissertation are available from the coordinator of the EdD program.
After the thesis or dissertation has been defended successfully, the original copy of the thesis or dissertation, prepared and printed on the required paper with the required format, properly signed by the director of the thesis or dissertation committee and the dean of the school or chair of the major department, must be submitted to the dean of the Graduate School. It must be delivered at least ten days prior to the last day of classes of the student's final semester and it must be left in the Graduate School for five full days for complete review.
After approval by the dean of the Graduate School, additional copies of the thesis or dissertation may be prepared by photocopy or printed by offset printing.
Three copies (including the original) of the final, approved thesis must be submitted to the university library. These three copies will be bound at no cost to the student. Two of these copies remain in the university library and the third is delivered to the school or department of the student's major. Additional copies may be bound at the student's expense. These optional copies may be for the thesis director and the student's personal use.
For copy requirements and binding procedures for PhD dissertations, see program descriptions, Section 7, Curricula.
Application for graduation must be made on a form provided by the registrar at least one semester prior to completion of the requirements of the degree. The graduation fee ($25) must accompany the application.
Some schools and departments offer graduate course credit by examination according to policies adopted by such schools and departments and the regulations described below. Not more than 20 percent of a degree or CAS program may be earned through credit by examination and credit thus earned will not be counted as residence credit.
Graduate students who are currently enrolled and who have been accepted in a nondoctoral degree or CAS program may receive credit by examination for a course in which they have not been enrolled for either credit or audit. This requires approval by the appropriate dean of a professional school or by the chairperson of a department in the College of Arts and Sciences and finally by the dean of the Graduate School. Appropriate forms are available in the Graduate School.
Successful petitioners must pay to the university cashier a nonrefundable fee per semester hour in advance of the examination. The forms, bearing the receipt of the cashier, must be shown to the instructor conducting the examination who, in turn, must report the grade to the registrar and the dean of the Graduate School. The examination must be conducted within one week following approval of the petition by the dean of the Graduate School.
The following departments and schools do not offer credit by examination: English, geography, history, political science, music, and nursing.
TRANSFER AND EXTENSION CREDITS
Up to 20 percent of the credit hours in a nondoctoral program may be earned in a different but regionally accredited institution. No credit hours completed as part of an earned master’s degree can be counted toward a second master’s degree. Master’s degree students in business administration, public administration, and social work and doctoral students are governed by statements in degree requirements in Section 7, Curricula.
Graduate-level course work taken elsewhere is not automatically applicable to a graduate degree program at East Carolina University. Applicants for admission must indicate clearly on application forms their attendance at other graduate-level institutions and petition school or departmental advisers to apply such earned credits to their programs. School or departmental petitions for application of transfer credit must be approved by the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. Ordinarily the board will approve the application of graduate course transfer credit only if (1) the school or department so recommends; (2) the graduate credit was earned at a regionally accredited institution; (3) the student was admitted to a formal graduate degree program at the time the credit was earned with a minimum final course grade of B; and (4) the credit can be satisfactorily incorporated within the applicable time frame for completion of all degree requirements. Official transcripts which will provide adequate evidence to support such petitions must be supplied.
Graduate students who have been admitted to the Graduate School at East Carolina University may enroll at other regionally accredited graduate-level institutions for course work which is applicable to their programs provided they have obtained advance permission from their school or departmental advisers and the dean of the Graduate School. Forms for permission to take course work elsewhere may be secured from the Graduate School office. Such transfer work is included in the 20 percent maximum application of such credit to degree programs. Transfer credit for short courses or workshops can be obtained only at the rate of 1 s.h. of credit for each calendar week of course attendance; concurrent enrollment in two or more short courses or workshops is not permitted.
Up to 50 percent of the credit toward the nondoctoral degree may be accepted from approved extension courses offered by the East Carolina University Division of Continuing Studies. But a combination of transfer credit, East Carolina University extension credit, and credit earned by examination may not exceed 50 percent of the credit for the degree.
Off-campus centers are integral parts of East Carolina University. Courses taken at the centers for credit are courses in residence at East Carolina University.
TERMINATION OR CONTINUANCE OF GRADUATE STUDY
Each graduate student is admitted to study on the recommendation of the graduate faculty of a school or department, or its authorized agent, responsible for courses and research in the major field of the student's program. When a student's record indicates that he or she has failed to maintain standards described in this section, or specific standards of the student's program described elsewhere in the graduate catalog or in school or departmental program descriptions, the dean of the Graduate School will notify the student by letter (copy to the adviser of the student) that his or her program must be terminated unless special arrangements for continuance are recommended by his or her major faculty, or an authorized agent, and approved by the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. The adviser will confer with the unit graduate faculty, or its authorized agent. Any appeal by the student must be considered at this stage in the process. Following conference and possible student appeal, the adviser will forward a written recommendation (copy to the student) to the chairperson of the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. If the recommendation is for termination, the student's program is terminated. A recommendation for continuance should stipulate requirements through which the student could complete his or her graduate program.
The Administrative Board may either accept the requirements or request that the student's major faculty modify them. When the requirements are acceptable to the Administrative Board, the dean of the Graduate School will inform the student by letter of the approved requirements (copy to the dean of the Graduate School and the adviser of the student). The Graduate School office will ensure that these requirements are met before the student graduates.
A student who has had a graduate program terminated by the Graduate School for any reason may apply for readmission to the terminated program or to another program. In either case, the student will complete an application for readmission, which will be forwarded to the academic program for its review. If the graduate faculty of the academic program does not approve readmission, they will convey that decision in writing to the Graduate School office and the dean of the Graduate School will communicate that decision to the student in writing (copy to the director of graduate studies). If the graduate faculty of the academic program wishes to admit the student, they will forward that decision in writing to the Graduate School Administrative Board for review. The academic program must state the specific conditions the students must meet to be admitted and complete the program. If approved by the Administrative Board, the dean of the Graduate School will communicate the decision of the graduate faculty and the Administrative Board to the student in writing (copy to the director of graduate studies).