Enrollment

Validation of admission

Students must register for a minimum of 1 credit during their term of admission; failure to do so will result in cancellation of admission.

Graduate grading system

The following grading scale is employed at the graduate level:

A	= 4.00	B-	= 2.67	D+	= 1.33
A-	= 3.67	C+	= 2.33	D	= 1.00
B+	= 3.33	C	= 2.00	D-	= 0.67
B	= 3.00	C-	= 1.67	F	= 0.00

The grading system at the graduate level is defined as follows:

A—Excellent

B—Satisfactory

C—Below graduate standard

D—Failure

F—Failure

The following marks are also used:

P—Satisfactory completion (B- or better)

NP—No credit, unsatisfactory

I—Incomplete

IP—In progress

W—Withdrawn

X—No basis for grade

M—Missing grade

AU—Audit

Responsibility for dropping courses

It is the student’s responsibility to drop courses they do not wish to attend. Non-attendance does not cancel the tuition charges nor prevent the course and grade (F, NP, X, or M) from appearing on the student’s academic record.

Non-completion of course

A student who has participated in a course but has failed to complete essential work or attend examinations, and who has not communicated with the instructor, will be assigned the appropriate grade based on coursework completed.

Incompletes (I grades)

A student may be assigned an I grade by an instructor when all of the following four criteria apply:

1. Quality of work in the course up to that point is C level or above.
2. Essential work remains to be done. “Essential” means that a grade for the course could not be assigned without dropping one or more grade points below the level achievable upon completion of the work.
3. Reasons for assigning an I must be acceptable to the instructor. The student does not have the right to demand an I. The circumstances must be unforeseen or be beyond the control of the student. An instructor is entitled to insist on appropriate medical or other documentation. In no case is an Incomplete grade given to enable a student to do additional work to raise a deficient grade.
4. A written agreement, signed by both the student and the instructor, should include a statement of the remaining work to be done to remove the I grade, and the date, not to exceed one year from the end of the term of enrollment for the course, by which work must be completed in order to earn credit toward the degree. The instructor may specify the highest grade which may be awarded upon completion; the grade awarded should not exceed the level of achievement attained during the regular course period.

To remove an Incomplete, the instructor must submit a grade change to the Office of the Registrar within one year (e.g., by the end of fall 2015 for a course registered for fall 2014).

An Incomplete grade becomes part of the permanent transcript record after the one-year deadline expires, unless a waiver is approved by petition to the Graduate Council.

Withdrawals (W grades)

Withdrawal from a course must be initiated by the student. It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw properly by the published deadlines dates.

A student may withdraw with no record on the transcript up to the end of the second week of the term. As a courtesy, students are advised to notify the instructor concerned of the intended or completed withdrawal.

A student who withdraws after the second week will have a W recorded on the transcript. A student may withdraw for any reason during the third or fourth week, but withdrawing between the fifth and seventh weeks requires instructor approval.

A student wishing to withdraw after the seventh week must petition the Deadline Appeals Board. A W is recorded if the petition is approved. Reasons for withdrawal beyond the seventh week must be beyond the student’s control, and medical reasons must be documented. Instructor’s comments are required on the petition.

Refunds are automatic and are calculated from the date of official course load reduction. The refund is 100 percent only if withdrawal occurs within the first week of the term.

The above deadlines refer to Fall, Winter and Spring terms. For deadlines during Summer Session, consult the Summer Session website.

No Basis for Grade (X grades)

An X grade indicates No Basis for Grade and is used when there is little or no attendance and there is no work/performance upon which to base an academic evaluation. X grades cannot be changed after initial submission, and other grades cannot be changed to an X.

An auditor may also be assigned an X for insufficient attendance.

Missing Grade (M grades)

If an instructor does not award a grade during the open grading window, an M grade (Missing) is automatically assigned. Effective Fall 2011, M grades will change to a grade of X one term after the M was initially assigned. Once converted to an X, the grade cannot be changed.

A graduate student will not be certified for graduation who has any M grades in PSU graduate courses that could potentially be letter graded, even if the courses are not applied to the student's degree.

Audit (AU)

Graduate students may take any course for which they have the prerequisites and which is open to them on the basis of their admission category on an audit (no-credit) basis. The tuition and fees for auditing courses are the same as for taking the courses for credit, but a student’s load (total credit hours) does not include audit enrollments. Audited courses cannot be used to meet any requirement for degrees or certificates, for required registration for graduate assistants, or for scholarship students. Students cannot receive financial aid for audited courses. During the add-drop period, a student registered for a course for audit may change to credit status or vice versa through the official methods; thereafter, the change cannot be made.

Academic record sealed after degree awarded

PSU academic records are sealed thirty days after the conferral of a degree. After this date, no changes can be made to the academic record, such as removal of Incompletes or grade changes.

Catalog eligibility

To earn a graduate degree, students must meet the degree requirements published in a single, valid PSU Bulletin (catalog). The requirements in a catalog are valid for seven years; for example, the 2015-16 Bulletin can be used through summer 2022 graduation. Students can only use a catalog year during which they were both admitted and enrolled.

At the time a graduate program has a change to their curriculum approved, they may set more restrictive limits about which set of requirements can be used.

Credit distribution and limitations

Courses applied to any graduate certificate or degree program must be at the 500 or 600 level. Courses at the 700 and 800 level are not acceptable in any graduate certificate or degree programs, with the exception of 800-level courses in the master’s degree programs in the Graduate School of Education as well as some M.A.T./M.S.T. programs; these programs may allow a maximum of 6 credits at the 800 level.

Students who take 400/500 courses at the 500 level must complete additional work beyond the requirements for the 400-level section. With the exception of coursework reserved for graduate credit, graduate tuition is charged for all graduate-level coursework.

At the master’s level, a minimum of 12 credits in a 45-credit program must be taken in residence in 500, 500/600, or 600 course level categories. The remainder of the required credits may be 400/500 courses taken at the 500 level.

Limitations are placed on the number of 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 508, and 509 credits that can be applied to master’s degrees. In a 45-credit program, the limits are as follows: a maximum of 12 credits in 501, 502, and 505 combined; a maximum of 9 credits in 504, 508, and 509 combined; a range of 6 to 9 credits in 503. Courses numbered 60x are included in these limitations.

Repeat of graduate courses

If a graduate course is repeated, the grades awarded both times are included in the GPA. Repeating courses with the sole intent of raising the GPA is not acceptable.

A graduate course cannot be repeated and applied to degree requirements twice unless the course was originally approved as repeatable for credit.

If a course offered as a 400/500 level course is taken at the 400 level, the same course cannot be taken again for credit at the 500 level.

Correspondence credit

Under no circumstance will credit earned through correspondence study be acceptable toward a graduate degree or certificate.

Academic load

Full-time enrollment for graduate students is 9-16 credits. Graduate students must seek approval of registration in excess of 16 credits via the Overload Approval form. A student registering for 17 to 19 credits must obtain the approval of the department chair or faculty adviser. A student registering for 20 credits or more must obtain the approval of the department chair and the Office of Graduate Studies. A graduate assistant registering for more than 16 credits must obtain approval from the department chair and the Office of Graduate Studies.

Minimum enrollment

PSU requires that graduate students who are involved in activities requiring faculty time or the use of University facilities register every term (excluding summer), including those engaged in any phase of research, such as collecting or developing data; or when engaged in any aspects of a project, thesis, or dissertation.

After advancement to candidacy, doctoral students must be continuously enrolled for a minimum of one graduate credit every term (excluding summer) through graduation.

A minimum of one graduate credit of registration is required in any term (including summer) when students are completing a major milestone for the degree, such as taking any comprehensive or final examination; when holding a thesis/dissertation proposal or defense; and in the term of final thesis/dissertation submission and graduation.

The student’s department can require additional registration in any given term in relation to the amount of time required of faculty or the use of University facilities during the term.

Residency requirements

Residence credit is defined as credit taken at PSU after formal admission to a graduate degree program. Residency requirements are intended to ensure that students work in close association with other graduate scholars in the intellectual environment of PSU.

In a master’s program, to meet the residency requirement a student must earn a minimum of two-thirds of the credits applied to the degree after formal admission to a master’s degree program at PSU.

In a doctoral program, the residency requirement can be satisfied in one of the follow ways:

• Three terms of full-time enrollment (minimum 9 graduate credits applicable to the degree program each term) during the first two years after admission to the program.  This may include one or more summer terms.

• Six terms of part-time enrollment (minimum 1 graduate credit applicable to the degree program each term) during the first two years after admission to the program.  This may include one or more summer terms.
• A doctoral student who was enrolled in the same major at PSU, and whose matriculation to the doctoral program immediately follows (within one calendar year) the master's degree program, may fulfill the residency requirement during the period in which the student was enrolled in the master's program.

Pre-admission and transfer credit

Courses taken at any institution, including PSU, before the term of formal admission to a PSU graduate degree program are pre-admission credits. Courses taken at any other institution at any time are transfer credits. For all graduate certificate and degree programs, pre-admission and transfer credits must be graduate credit taken at a regionally accredited institution and applicable to a graduate degree program without qualification at the originating institution. Pre-admission and transfer credits cannot be correspondence credit.

A master’s student must earn a minimum of two-thirds of the credits applied to the degree after formal admission to the graduate degree program at PSU and must earn a minimum of two-thirds of the credits applied to the degree at PSU. Departments may have stricter limitations. Pre-admission and transfer credits for master’s degrees must meet all the following requirements: must be letter-graded B- or higher (pass or similar grading methods are not acceptable); must not be used for any other degree at any institution; must be no older than seven years old at the time the master’s degree is awarded; and must total no more than one third of the required credits for a master' degree program. For master’s degrees, pre-admission credits taken at PSU are requested via a DARS exception submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. This request should be made soon after admission to the graduate program. Transfer courses from another regionally accredited institution are requested via the Proposed Transfer Credit form (GO-21M) submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. It is strongly suggested that this form be submitted early in the student’s program. (The M.S.W. program has specific transfer credit allowances resulting from accreditation requirements and inter-institutional agreements, but a minimum of 42 credits applied to the M.S.W. must be taken at PSU.)

For graduate certificates, two-thirds of the required credits, or 15 credits, whichever is higher, must be taken at PSU. Individual programs may set higher minimums. Transfer credits for graduate certificates must be letter-graded B- or higher (pass or similar grading methods are not acceptable) and must be no older than seven years old at the time the graduate certificate is awarded. Transfer credits from other institutions must be approved by the graduate certificate program and the Office of Graduate Studies using the Proposed Transfer Credit form (GO-21M). Although pre-admission limits do not apply, reserved credit limits do apply. Students are encouraged to apply for and be admitted to graduate certificate programs as early as possible.

For doctoral degrees, pre-admission and transfer limits are at the discretion of the individual doctoral programs. Transfer credits are requested via the Proposed Transfer Credit form (GO-21D) submitted to OGS

Approved graduate transfer courses from other institutions are not entered on PSU transcripts and are not considered in the computation of PSU cumulative graduate GPA. However, transfer courses are included in the approved program of study for all graduate certificate and degree programs and are used to calculate the program GPA, which must be 3.0 or higher in order to graduate.

Pre-admission and transfer credits from international institutions are subject to the same requirements and limitations. Requests for international pre-admission and transfer credits must include additional documentation to facilitate verification of eligibility; contact the Office of Graduate Studies for details.

Reservation of coursework for graduate credit

Graduate-level course work taken while working toward a student’s first bachelor’s degree can be reserved for use in a PSU graduate program. Only credits earned at PSU can be reserved for graduate credit. Reserved graduate credit is limited to 12 completed graduate credits letter-graded B- or higher earned within the last 45 credits prior to awarding of the student’s first bachelor’s degree and not used to fulfill the requirements for any bachelor’s degree. Such courses are pre-admission credits and subject to all pre-admission requirements and limitations. Departments may have stricter limitations.

Use of reserved credits is requested via a DARS exception submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. This request should be made soon after admission to the graduate program.

Course overlap between degrees and certificates

In specific circumstances, coursework only (not a project, thesis/dissertation, or other culminating activity) can be shared between programs. There are limits on the use of eligible graduate courses between graduate programs.

• A graduate course that has been used to meet the requirements for a bachelor’s degree or any undergraduate program cannot be applied to any graduate program (degree or certificate) unless the courses are part of a bachelors+masters program approved by the University, and the student has been admitted to that program.
• Graduate courses can be applied to two master’s degrees only under the dual degree option.
• Graduate courses can be applied to a master’s degree and a doctoral degree provided the master's degree is awarded prior to or concurrent with the doctoral degree.
• Graduate courses can be applied to a master’s degree and a graduate certificate.
• Graduate courses can be applied to a doctoral degree and a graduate certificate.
• Graduate courses cannot be applied to two graduate certificates.
• Graduate courses can be applied to more than one doctoral program (at the discretion of both doctoral programs), but the following items must be completed at PSU for each doctoral degree: comprehensive exams, residency, proposal, advancement to candidacy, and dissertation research.

Bachelors+masters programs

Bachelors+masters degree programs allow high-achieving students to complete a bachelor’s and master’s degree at an accelerated pace. Students with upper-division standing may apply to an approved bachelors+masters degree program. The minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA for admission to a bachelors+masters program cannot be less than 3.30 (including transfer credits); beyond the GPA minimum, individual programs will set their own admissions criteria. Students admitted to an approved bachelors+masters program can share a maximum of 15 graduate credits between a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Programs may choose to allow fewer shared credits. Shared credits will be considered pre-admission credits when applied to the master’s degree.

After admission to a bachelors+masters degree program, students must maintain a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.30 and earn a B or higher in graduate courses taken for shared credit. Upon completion of the bachelor’s degree, students who meet those requirements will be guaranteed admission to the master’s program with shared credits. Students who do not meet those requirements would need to apply for admission to the master’s degree program without the benefits of bachelors+masters shared coursework.

Dual master’s degrees

A graduate student may work concurrently toward the completion of the requirements for two PSU master’s degrees in complementary disciplines. Dual master’s degrees allow for an overlap of the credits required for two master’s degrees. The credits to be accepted for both degrees must be approved by the departments involved and may not exceed one-third of the required credits for a degree. If the two master’s programs have different total credit requirements, the one-third limit is determined by the smaller total credit requirement.

Students working toward dual master’s degrees must be admitted to the second degree program no later than the term prior to the term in which the student graduates from the first degree program. Overlapping credits used in dual master’s degrees must be approved by the student’s departments and the Office of Graduate Studies with a Dual Degree Form (GO-14) before the student graduates from the first master’s degree program. Students are limited to one use of the dual master’s degree allowance at PSU.

Leave of absence

A student admitted to a graduate program and in good academic standing may petition for leave of absence for up to one calendar year. Leave of absence status assures the student a continuation of the student’s admission in the program during the period of the leave of absence. Application for leave of absence, endorsed by the department chair or program director, must be filed in the Office of Graduate Studies not later than the Friday of the second week of the term for which the leave of absence should take effect. A leave of absence will not be approved retroactively. A leave of absence is granted only to graduate students in good academic standing and does not constitute a waiver of the time limit for completion of the graduate degree at PSU, nor does it extend the regular one-year limit for completion of a course.

A student may petition for a second leave of absence from a graduate program, but approval is required from the department chair or program director and graduate committee of the college or school as well as the Office of Graduate Studies. Students who have not enrolled for three terms (excluding summer) must submit a re-enrollment request.

Re-enrollment

Admitted graduate students who fail to enroll for credits for three consecutive terms (excluding summer) must submit a Graduate Re-Enrollment Request to their department. If this request is supported by their department, the form is signed and forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies for processing.

Students submitting the Graduate Re-Enrollment Request who have enrolled in coursework elsewhere since PSU admission must also submit one sealed, official transcript to the Office of Graduate Admissions from each institution attended subsequent to PSU graduate admission.

To ensure timely registration, the completed Graduate Re-Enrollment Request should be received by the Office of Graduate Studies no later than three weeks prior to registration.

Per Executive Order 13607, students who are re-enrolling after an interruption due to military service can re-enroll in the same program, with the same enrollment status and the same academic standing, which they had when the military service began if they wish. The period of military service and an additional period of up to three years (limited to five years total), may be excluded from standard University time limits. Students must notify the Office of Graduate Studies that they are returning from military services (and present appropriate documentation) so that the possible impact on time limits can be identified.

Cancellation of admission to graduate program

If a student does not validate admission by registering and paying for at least one credit at PSU in the term of admission, that admission will be cancelled unless the student contacts the Office of Graduate Admissions and requests that the admission be updated to another term within a one-year period. If the student does not validate admission within a one-year period, the admission will be cancelled and the student must submit a new application and a new application fee.

A student with validated admission to a graduate certificate or degree program who during a one-year period (1) does not have an approved leave of absence and (2) does not successfully complete a graduate course in the approved program of study for the degree OR does not make satisfactory progress toward the degree (as determined by the department) may have admission to the degree program canceled. Additionally, a doctoral student who has not been registered for three years will have admission to the degree program canceled.  For further information, students are urged to contact individual departments for departmental policies and practices. 

Faculty as student policy

PSU faculty members are encouraged to pursue additional advanced degrees at other institutions. Specifically, faculty members above the rank of instructor are not eligible to receive an advanced degree in their own department or school at the University; however, in special circumstances, they may earn a degree in a department or school in which they do not hold an appointment.

Academic Standing

All admitted graduate certificate and degree students at PSU must maintain good academic standing during the course of their graduate program. Good academic standing is defined as maintaining a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00 or higher in all graduate credits earned at PSU. All graduate students, especially those in a conditional admission status, are expected to keep in close communication with their departments and to avail themselves of departmental advising.

Academic probation

An admitted graduate student is placed on probation if the student's cumulative graduate GPA at PSU, based on the completion of 9 or more letter-graded graduate credits after admission to the graduate level at PSU, falls below 3.00.

While on academic probation a student will not be permitted to graduate, to be admitted to a new or different graduate certificate or degree program, to be advanced to doctoral candidacy, to have a thesis or dissertation committee appointed, to receive or continue to hold a graduate assistantship, or to register for more than a total of 9 credit hours in any term. A student is removed from academic probation if the student’s cumulative graduate GPA is brought up to 3.00 or higher within the next 9 letter-graded graduate credits after beginning probation status

Academic disqualification

Disqualification occurs if:

1. A student on academic probation fails to achieve a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00 or higher within the next 9 letter-graded graduate credits after beginning probation status; or
2. A student becomes subject to academic probation for a second time.

A student who is disqualified may not register for any graduate courses at PSU.

Readmission after disqualification

Readmission after disqualification is not automatic. A disqualified student may petition for readmission as a student in a graduate certificate or degree program after one calendar year. Readmission after the mandatory one-year period is initiated by the student's filing of a petition for readmission to the Graduate Council through the Office of Graduate Studies. Such a petition would need to address the circumstances that led to disqualification and provide evidence of preparedness to resume graduate study.

If a student's graduate program recommends readmission, the Graduate Council may grant readmission, with or without additional academic requirements, or may recommend continued disqualification. A readmitted student must raise the cumulative graduate GPA to 3.00 or higher within the first 12 letter-graded credits after readmission or the student will be disqualified.

Graduate courses completed at other institutions while a student is under disqualification at PSU will not be applied toward a graduate program at PSU.