Curry School of Graduate Education: Academic Rules, Regulations, and Information

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All students are subject to the academic policies specified in the section titled “University Regulations.” In addition, students must follow the policies of the Curry School of Education. Until B/MT Teacher Education students advance to graduate status, they should consult their undergradaute school of enrollment’s regulations (the College of Arts and Sciences or School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) as well as those of the Curry School of Education’s policies.

Academic Standing  A student is considered to be in good academic standing if course grades earned are B- or higher. A student may incur academic probation during any semester in which he/she fails to meet the minimum academic standards. A student on probation is expected to meet with his or her advisor and program coordinator to determine a plan for academic improvement. If the student does not regain good standing by the end of the next semester, the student may be suspended or forced to withdraw. A student may also be required to withdraw if the academic advisor, departmental faculty and the associate dean determine that the student is making unsatisfactory progress toward a degree or fails to comply with all applicable University, School, and departmental policies, including but not limited to, those governing student conduct, academics, and the Code of Honor. Students who have been forced to withdraw must apply for readmission.

Enrollment Ph.D. students are expected to maintain continuous enrollment each fall and spring semester. All other graduate degree seeking and non-degree students must register for at least one course every two years before a new application for admission will be required. Students must meet required time limit for their degree program.

Adding a Course or Changing the Grading Option All additions to course schedules or changes in the grading option for a course must be completed by the last day to add a course. These changes are made via SIS. Any required course must be taken for a grade (not pass/fail). B/M.T. students should consult the policies of the undergraduate school of enrollment.

Independent Study/Research Courses require an independent study contract be submitted and approved by the instructor. A copy of this contract should be kept on file in the departmental administrative office that the course is associated with. http://curry.virginia.edu/uploads/resourceLibrary/learning_contract_for_independent_studies.pdf

Applying for Graduation All students must apply for graduation through SIS by Curry deadlines. In addition, students must complete Curry’s Application for Graduation. The Curry School and the Registrar’s Office will audit each student’s transcript; if requirements are missing, students will not be allowed to graduate.

Attendance Students are expected to attend classes throughout the session, with the exception of University holidays, unless permission to be absent temporarily or to withdraw has been first granted by the instructor. The Department of Student Health does not furnish routine excuses for illness either to the student or to the instructor. If final examinations are missed for serious medical reasons, the Department of Student Health notifies the dean. Upon request from the dean, the Department of Student Health may evaluate the effect of any illness upon a student’s attendance and academic performance. Failure to attend classes or other prescribed activities in a course may result in enforced withdrawal from the course or other penalties as determined by the instructor.

Changing Degree Level and/or Program of Study: A student may move to a lower level of academic study within his current program, as long as he obtains signatures of approval from his advisor and department chair on Curry’s Change of Status Form.  To move from certificate level to degree status, from M.Ed to Ed.S. status, from Ed.S. to Ed.D. status, Ed.D. to Ph.D. status, or to move to a different program area of study, a student must submit a new application for admission by the deadline specified on the program area website.

Course Grades All required courses must be taken for regular, graded credit (no S/U or CR/NC), including grades of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-. C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F. Internships, practica, and student teaching are generally graded S/U. Courses taken for graduate credit should be at or above the 5000 level, and must receive a grade of B- or better in order to earn credit for the course.

Student work may be graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis in certain courses within the Curry School. The specific S/U graded courses and the maximum number of credits that may be completed under this system and applied toward a graduate degree must be approved by the student’s major program advisor and the dean.

Course Load Full-time enrollment for a graduate student is a 12-credit load. Special permission from the advisor and dean’s office is required to take more than 18 credits during a given semester.

Dropping a Course A student may drop and void registration in a course until the official drop date. Courses dropped after the University’s official drop date will be graded as W. This notation does not affect a student’s grade point average; nor does a course with a grade of W count toward credits earned. Off-grounds and online campus students are subject to different timelines for adding/dropping courses without penalty. These off-grounds and online timelines are posted on the Curry website.

Enforced Withdrawal See the University Regulations section.

Final Examinations Final examinations are given during a designated period of time at the end of each semester. Examinations may only be given at the University-assigned time unless authorized by the dean. Students are not authorized to take final exams before the regularly scheduled time. However, under serious conditions, and with their instructor and advisor’s permission, students may be allowed to postpone the examination to a time convenient to the instructor. Students who have three exams in one day or four in a two-day period may petition to have one examination moved using Curry’s form for policy exemption requests http://curry.virginia.edu/resource-library/request-for-exam-postponement

Grade Appeal Policy Students who wish to appeal a grade must first attempt to resolve the issue with the instructor of the course.  Absent a satisfactory outcome, the student consults with the chair of the department. Students may consult with the Curry School’s associate dean for academics and student affairs to confirm which department chair should be contacted. If this path proves unsuccessful in the resolution of the matter, the student may appeal to the dean of the Curry School.  The dean’s decision is final. At each stage of their appeal, students should provide any supporting documentation they believe is important to their appeal. Appeals must be initiated within one month of the final date by which grades are posted for the term in question.

Grade Changes No grade may be changed after it has been submitted to the University Registrar without the approval of the dean. The dean is not authorized by the faculty to change a grade submitted to the University Registrar except when an instructor certifies that, because of errors in calculation or transcription, an incorrect grade has been submitted. All grade changes must be entered into SIS.

Grievance Procedure Due process is guaranteed to all students. See “Grievance Procedures” in the University Regulations section or consult the associate dean’s office, 102 Ruffner Hall.

Licensure The Curry School of Education affirms the distinction between degree requirements and licensure requirements in its programs. While many programs contain both kinds of requirements, and major portions of the two may be synonymous, one may meet one set of requirements and not the other (i.e., receive a degree without qualifying for recommendation for licensure). Information concerning licensure requirements is provided to students through their program of study. Licensure applications are processed through the Office of Admissions and Student Services of the Curry School of Education and the Office of Teacher Education.

Readmission Students who wish to return to the Curry School of Education after a suspension, withdrawal, or an unapproved absence must be formally readmitted. Application must be made to Curry’s Office of Admissions and Student Services at least 60 days prior to the start of classes during the semester a student wishes to matriculate. Applications must include a statement that (1) verifies the student has addressed serious difficulties (e.g., financial, medical, personal hardship) and is ready to resume coursework; and (2) outlines an academic plan for remaining semesters. Readmission is not guaranteed.  Applications must be approved by Curry’s Associate Dean for Academics, the Department of Student Health, the Office of Student Financial Services, and the Office of the Dean of Students.

Reenrollment Students who have been on an approved leave of absence may apply for re-enrollment when returning to the Curry School of Education, as long as their return is within the agreed-upon time fram arranged through Curry’s Office of Admissions and Student Services.

Repeating Courses If a student’s grade in a 5000- or higher-level course is below a B-, the student must repeat the course or take an approved substitute in its place to receive credit. (See also Academic Standing, above) Credits for only one of the offerings will count toward cumulative credits.

State Assessments Under the Commonwealth of Virginia’s approved program status for schools of education, all students enrolled in administration and supervision, reading education and teacher education programs must take the appropriate licensing exams required by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Information is available on program area websites.

NC-SARA The University of Virginia is currently working to comply with federal regulations that require it (and all other higher education institutions) to recieve official state authorization to offer courses to students physically located outside of Virginia. Due to these state authorization regulations, out-of-state students whishing to enroll in online courses or degree offerings must reside in a state which is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). The Curry School can only accept online course and degree applications from students in approved states listed here.

Transfer Credits  Students may be eligible to transfer credits from other academic institutions (or other programs at UVA prior to admission) if the following criteria are met: courses are listed on the transcript from the transferring institution as “graduate level”; the student earns a final grade of B- or higher; the courses are deemed aligned with the rigor and content of the student’s program of study; and the course credits are no older than 5 years at the time of matriculation. 

Masters degree credit requirements vary by department and program. Consult the Curry webpage for updated program information. As a minimum, all masters degree and Ed.S. students must complete 30 credits of graduate work (additional credits are required in selected programs) and students may apply no more than 6 graduate credits taken either at another institution towards the total number of required credits, or from U.Va. prior to admission. The decision for transfer approval is made in concert with the student’s advisor and the program coordinator.

Doctoral degree credit requirements vary by department and program. Consult the Curry webpage for updated program information. As a minimum, all doctoral students must successfully complete 72 credit hours (60 course credits plus 12 or more research/practicum credits). A maximum of 24 credits from a current master’s degree may be applied toward the doctoral degree providing the above criteria is met. The decision for transfer approval is made in concert with the student’s program committee and department chair. A minimum of 36 credits must be earned on grounds excluding internship, independent study, practica, and dissertation credit.

Policies Specific to Doctoral Students

Quality Teaching Experience for Full-time Doctoral Students All full-time doctoral students will be provided with quality teaching and supervision experiences, consistent with students’ career aspirations and expected program competencies. Such experiences could include, but are not limited to:

• Co-planning a course with a mentor
• Co-teaching a course with a mentor (e.g., teaching several course sessions)
• Teaching an undergraduate course, under the supervision of a mentor
• Assisting in the delivery of a graduate course, after having taken relevant coursework or possessing a relevant master’s degree or the equivalent, under the supervision of a mentor. While they may assist an instructor in various ways, graduate students may not serve as the instructor of record or assign grades in graduate-level courses.
• Supervising student teaching interns
• Conducting an intern support seminar
• Co-planning assessment and grading of assignments. This means participating in a full assessment process, which includes for example, considering criteria for success, creating rubrics, providing feedback to improve student performance. 

Program area faculty will work to afford any doctoral student the opportunity to teach prior to graduation. The number of courses a doctoral student may teach per semester will be determined by program area faculty with the approval of the student’s mentor and the Dean. The program director in conjunction with the Department Chair will make all formal graduate teaching assignments. No teaching assignments should be assumed by students, as these appointments are made at the discretion of the program director and Department Chair.

All full-time doctoral students teaching a course shall be evaluated in a way consistent with typical course evaluations (e.g., course participants will fill out Collab course evaluations of the doctoral student, or mentors will add questions to the Collab course evaluations to elicit feedback on the quality of the doctoral student’s teaching).

The Curry MT initial licensure program is awarded TEAC accreditation by the Inquiry Brief Commission of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) for a period of seven years, from April, 2015 and April, 2022.  The accreditation does not include individual education courses that Curry offers to P-12 educators for professional development, re-licensure, or other purposes.

Administrators, faculty and staff at the Curry School of Education seek to support all students in whatever ways possible during their program of studies. Any number of life circumstances can interrupt students’ studies, either for a short or long period of time. Life events can include family crises, major illness, or the adoption or birth of a child. The following guidelines represent the position of the Curry School of Education when students need to request accommodations during coursework, graduate assistantships, mentorships or internships.

Whenever possible, students are expected to be proactive in making arrangements for anticipated absences from classes and other commitments. This often entails meeting with their advisor, instructors and other individuals (e.g., clinical or internship supervisors, doctoral mentors, graduate or teaching assistantship supervisors) with whom they are working during the semester.

Each supervisor, advisor, and/or instructor will evaluate the content, schedule, workload and other elements of study within his or her own domain and work with the individual student to determine the amount of leave time needed from academic commitments. In the case of coursework, the instructor will decide if the coursework or field experience can be made up later, if an incomplete is appropriate, or if a course will need to be retaken at a different time. Typically, if a student expects to miss more than 20% of class time, it may be to that student’s benefit to take the course at a later time. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and instructors may approach absences from their classes differently from one another. When the absence will affect assistantships or internships, supervisors will work with students and determine ways in which the student can meet requirements given the specific personal circumstances, such as extensions or reorganization of a student’s commitments on a short-term basis. Decisions will be made in concert with the student, instructor, advisor, program coordinator and department chair.

It is the goal of the Curry School of Education to both ensure a rigorous academic program for its students and accommodate their life circumstances to the extent possible.