ACADEMIC STANDING

Registration and Course Selections

Graduate students are required to file registration forms online via their portfolio at the beginning of each semester.  A student who fails to complete his or her semester's registration by the time appointed by the Office of Graduate Student Services shall be charged a fee of $25 for the privilege of late registration.

Time Limits and Tuition Charges

Requirements for the degree of master of arts may be satisfied in two years of full-time study.  The requirements must ordinarily be met within four years from the start of the semester in which the student was admitted to candidacy.  There is a $250 registration fee per semester after the two years of study.  The student must have approval of the faculty advisor or chair of the department to continue past the regular two years.  A student who fails to complete the required work within this period may be readmitted to candidacy only if a new application for admission is approved by the department and the Office of Graduate Student Services.

Graduate students at the PhD level who are paid a stipend continue to receive full tuition waiver and insurance benefits as part of their compensation for service to the University as either a teaching assistant, a research assistant, or in some other capacity.

     Student Category                                                  Tuition Charges

     Grad students in the BA/MA program                    None (waived)

     Grad students not on stipend

           Tutorial/Research, first credit                            $250/semester

           Regular Courses                                              $4,795/credit/1 course (2008/09)

     Grad students supported on stipend                       None (waived)

Grades and Completion of Work in Courses

A student's academic performance in individual courses taken at Wesleyan will be graded either by the use of letter grades (A-F), or by the designations credit (CR) or unsatisfactory (U). At the discretion of the instructor, all the students in a course may be restricted to a single grading mode, or each student may be allowed to choose between the two modes. Instructors announce the grading options in WESMaps . In courses in which students have a choice of grading mode, the final choice must be made by the end of the drop/add period.

The numerical equivalents of the letter grades are:

A student's work toward the MA or PhD degree is graded as follows: A, excellent, numerical value, 95;B, good, 85; C, 75; D, 65; E, 55; and F, 45.  Letter grades may be modified by the use of plus and minus signs.

A faculty member, in designing any course or tutorial, has the option of giving grades of CR (credit) or U (unsatisfactory) to all members of the course.  This option is declared when the course is submitted to the department for inclusion in the curriculum, and information that the course is to be graded on a CR-U basis should be available to students before their registration in the course.  Any faculty member employing the CR-U system shall submit a written evaluation of each student's work in the course to the registrar.

In programs leading to the degree of doctor of philosophy or master of arts, the student must earn a grade of B-minus (80) or better in courses where letter grades are awarded.  This required minimum grade also applies to the student's performance on the oral examination in the department's master's program, to the thesis independent study, and to thesis research.

In case of failure to complete the required work of a course, the grade of IN (incomplete) may be awarded to a graduate student only with the written permission of the instructor granting the incomplete.  Grades of incomplete will be accompanied by a provisional grade that will become the final grade if the outstanding work in the course is not submitted by the first day of classes the subsequent semester.

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Academic Review and Promotion

Students whose academic performance is deficient will be subject to the following forms of academic discipline, according to the seriousness of the deficiencies:

1.Warning—The mildest form of academic discipline, usually recommended for students whose academic work in one course is passing but unsatisfactory.

2.Probation—The category of academic discipline used when the academic deficiency is more serious.

3.Strict Probation—The category of discipline used in very serious cases of academic deficiency.

Students on strict probation are required to attend all classes, to complete all work on time, and meet regularly with their faculty advisor. Two or more semesters on strict probation, sequential or not, may require a student to resign from the University.

4.Required Resignation—The category of discipline used when the student's academic performance is so deficient as to warrant the student's departure from the University for the purpose of correcting the deficiencies. The notation “resigned” will be entered on the student's official transcript. The performance of students who are required to resign will usually involve at least one of the following deficiencies:

a. For all students

(1) Failure to earn the required number of credits for promotion

b. If a student is in good standing

(1) Failure in two or more courses

(2) Failure in one course and passing but unsatisfactory (below C-) work in two others

c. If a student is on probation

(1) Failure in one course and passing but unsatisfactory work in one other

(2) Unsatisfactory work in three or more courses

d. If a student is on strict probation

(1) Failure in one or more courses

(2) Unsatisfactory work in two or more courses

(3) One or more unapproved incompletes

(4) Failure to earn removal from strict probation, even if there is a period of good standing

Students who are required to resign may not be on campus or in University housing, nor may they participate in student activities or the life of the college in any way. Students who are required to resign may be readmitted by the dean of the college after an absence of at least two semesters. The process of application for readmission requires a demonstration of academic preparedness and fulfillment of all the specified requirements for return. Students readmitted after being required to resign will be placed on strict probation.

5.Separation—The category of discipline used when the student's academic deficiencies are so serious to warrant the student's departure from the University without eligibility for read mission. The notation “separated” will be entered on the student's official transcript. Separation is imposed if a student's academic performance warrants required resignation for a second time.

6.Appeals—Students who are required to resign or are separated from the University and who have new information about the factors that they believe affected their performance may appeal their status to the Director of Graduate Studies. 

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Special Graduate Students

The University will admit, up to the limit of space available in its classes, special graduate students who attend on a nonmatriculated, nondegree, part-time basis.  This service is extended to members of the Wesleyan community, local residents and those in the Middletown area which consists of the following towns: Cromwell, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Haddam, Killingworth, Middlefield, Middletown, Moodus, Portland, and Rocky Hill.  It applies to the courses offered in the two semesters of the academic year only and not to the summer school.  There is a $55 application fee that is nonrefundable.  All persons holding a BA degree or its equivalent will be counted in the category of special graduate students, regardless of the level of instruction (undergraduate or graduate) or the field of study in which they plan to work.  Like all graduate students, special students must submit an official transcript of their most recent academic work before their application will be considered.  In addition and prior to registration, the special graduate student will be required to obtain written permission to enter courses from the instructor of the course in which he or she wishes to be enrolled, and permission from the chair of the department under which the course is offered.  Forms are available in the Office of Graduate Student Services.

Special students are not eligible for financial aid or housing.  They are not permitted to utilize the student health center.  They are subject to the honor system but not to the graduate activity fee.  Regularly matriculated students have prior claim over special students in spaces available in classes.  For information concerning enrollment and registration, prospective special graduate students should contact the Graduate Student Services office.

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