Policies and Procedures
Each semester that you do not take courses, you must submit a Program Fee form and pay a fee to keep your file active before the end of the add/drop period at the start of the semester. Otherwise, you will have to pay a late fee or apply for readmission later, for which there is a larger fee! Please keep the Program informed of your plans.
CCT instructors want every student to complete their courses, but our experience is that the desired learning rarely takes place during a drawn out incomplete, despite the best intentions of student and instructor. There is no substitute for the development of teaching/learning interactions that happens in a class over the course of the semester. Students who ask for incompletes in CCT courses should, therefore, take note of the following:
1. Before granting an incomplete CCT instructors will require an explicit signed contract in which the student indicates when the work will be completed and the instructor specifies what the grade will be if the work is not complete by the specified date. A copy should be submitted to the CCT Faculty Advisor for the student's file.
2. Students should not assume faculty will be ready to comment on work during the breaks between semesters, a time when faculty have to concentrate on research, writing, and course preparation.
3. The Graduate Registrar converts an incomplete to an IF (incomplete-fail) after one year.
4. The Graduate Registrar will not allow students to register for the next semester who have three or more incompletes or IFs. A leave of absence must be taken until the incompletes are made up.
5. The guidelines 1-4 are not inflexible, but the instructor and/or Faculty Advisor will be less likely to bend them and write supporting petitions if the student has let the course end without explicitly arranging the terms of the incomplete with the instructor (see 1 above).
The Graduate Bulletin specifies the process to be followed when students believe a grade has been assigned unfairly. The instructor has full responsibility for grading. The process gives Program Directors -- in CCT's case, the Program Coordinator -- a mediating role, which means they must be very careful lest they be seen as taking one party's side. This means that students who want advice about whether to pursue the matter should, after acquainting themselves with the formal process, consult someone other than the Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator has to limit his/her role to neutral acts, such as ascertaining the facts as both parties see them, sharing those accounts so each party can respond to the other's version, and convening a meeting where both parties can experience the other person listening to their concerns.
Students are automatically placed on academic probation when their cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0. A letter will be sent informing students of their probationary status and strongly urging consultation with their graduate program director/faculty advisor to review the forthcoming semester's program. While on academic probation, students shall not be eligible to hold office in any recognized student organization or recognized professional association, or to represent the University in any sense on or off campus. Students will be removed from academic probation either when their cumulative GPA exceeds 3.0 or upon the request of the Faculty Advisor to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.
In 1996 the home college for CCT became the Graduate College of Education (GCE) (after more than fifteen years within the College of Arts and Science, CAS). CCT's administrative home is now formally in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the focus of which is Teacher Education and Special Education, and the chair of C&I has power over staffing, funds, new courses, and so on. Almost all of the CCT faculty members still reside in Liberal Arts Departments outside the GCE and the core faculty members meet and consult with each other before making recommendations or taking initiative concerning new courses, admissions, student concerns, measures for recruitment and outreach, development of the Program. To get questions and suggestions discussed by the core CCT faculty bring them to the attention of CCT's Program Coordinator.
Early in 2001 the College of Education eliminated its Program Director title and the course release that went with those positions, but the Program Coordinator (a.k.a. Faculty Advisor or Program Area Leader) continues to undertake the duties of the Program Director. A departmental constitution that acknowledges the inter-college makeup of the Program's faculty was approved in Spring '06, but is now in limbo.
In the fall of 2007, some course load reduction for the Program Area Leaders was
initiated but is now under review.
For university Requirements and Policies not covered in this Handbook, students should consult with the general information contained within the Graduate Bulletin which stipulates all University rules and regulations regarding admissions requirements; tuition fees and payments; assistantships and financial aid; general academic regulations; degree requirements; and students' rights and responsibilities. You should also procure a Student Handbook which is available from the Office of Student Affairs, as well as The Graduate Handbook, which may be obtained from the Office of Graduate Studies.