Admission: Decisions and Appeals

Each graduate program establishes and maintains its admission requirements. Admission committees composed of faculty members make admission decisions in each graduate program. A student denied admission may address a written appeal to the admission committee, providing additional information pertinent to an admission decision. Prospective students may appeal a second denial of admission to the graduate dean, whose determination for admission is final.

Advising

Each graduate student is appointed a faculty member to serve as an advisor. Until the faculty advisor's appointment, the program director serves as the advisor. The faculty advisor helps the graduate student with career planning and course selection. The advisor also functions as a mentor, monitoring the student's academic progress and working as an informal advocate for the student to the program faculty. Requests to change academic advisors should be made to the program director.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all class meetings. If unusual or emergency circumstances prevent class attendance, the student should notify the professor in advance if possible. Multiple absences from class will result in lower grades. The student is responsible for the material presented in classes missed.

Commencement Participation

To be eligible to participate in spring commencement ceremonies, students must complete all degree requirements by the following deadline: the August following commencement for Graduate Counseling graduates and the December following commencement for Conflict Transformation, MBA and MA in Education graduates.

Course Cancellation

The university reserves the right to cancel courses or to combine class sections when insufficient enrollment occurs.

Credit Hour

Courses for degree credit typically require a minimum of 15 class contact hours for each semester credit hour.

Grading System and Quality Points

EMU uses the four-point system. The grade point average (GPA) is computed by dividing the number of quality points earned by the number of graded semester hours.

Graduate students are expected to earn A and B grades. The minimum GPA requirement for graduation varies with the program.

Grade Reports

Grades are available to students through the EMU Campus Web (http://www.emu.edu/registrar/grades/viewing) within one week from the date they are submitted to the university registrar's office. Payment of account is required for the release of grades.

Grade Appeals

A student who believes that a grade received for a course does not accurately reflect his/her achievement of course requirements and expectations should:

1. Confer with the teacher who assigned the grade, stating the reason(s) she/he believes a grade change is warranted.
2. If the teacher does not agree to change the grade, the student may appeal to the program director. This appeal must state in writing the evidence the student believes indicates that a grade change is warranted.
3. If the program director does not agree to ask the teacher to change the grade, the student may appeal in writing to the graduate dean, whose decision will be final.

All grade changes must be authorized by the person who agreed to the change and use the formal grade change process of the university registrar’s office.

An appeal to any grade assigned between September 1 and December 31 must be initiated no later than February 15 of the following year; an appeal to any grade assigned between January 1 and May 15 must be initiated by July 1; and an appeal to any grade assigned between May 16 and August 31 must be initiated by October 15.

Grievance Procedures

The grievance procedures are applicable to all students, faculty and staff of Eastern Mennonite University as well as applicants for faculty, staff or student status. These procedures comply with the requirements of Title IX of the Federal Health, Education, and Welfare procedures and the general employee grievance policy of the Mennonite Education Agency.

The main concern in any grievance procedure is to bring reconciliation and growth in ways that enhance community. To implement this goal, the American Council on Education definition of grievance is adopted: "Grievable issues are those in which there is the possibility of an error in the institutional policies (or lack of them), in its prescribed procedures for carrying out the policies, in the administration of those procedures, or in varying combinations of these." If it is determined that an institutional error has occurred, the second function of the grievance procedure is to provide a process to determine appropriate redress for the grievant.

The first approach to any grievance should be non-adversarial and open, undertaken with careful attention to fostering understanding, problem-solving attitudes. The expectation is that the majority of grievances can be resolved through a flexible process of conflict resolution. These procedures are based on the understanding that differences can be resolved within the institutions of the church without adopting adversarial positions and that the resources of the wider church community are available when mediation is requested. A complete copy of these procedures is available upon request from the President's Office.

Honesty

Personal integrity and mutual trust are essential to the learning community at Eastern Mennonite University. Students are expected to uphold high standards of personal ethics, including the professional ethics associated with academic life. EMU considers a student's lying, cheating or stealing through the wrongful use or inappropriate attribution of information on tests, term papers or other academic assignments to be a serious violation of the standards of integrity in the academic community.

Plagiarism, the intentional use of ideas and words taken from another source without proper credit, is a serious ethical offense. Knowingly helping or allowing someone to cheat also violates the ethical standards of the community.

When there is confirmed evidence of academic dishonesty, the teacher deals with the student on an individual basis and may assign a failing grade for the particular assignment or for the course. In cases where any disciplinary action is taken, a written record of the offense and the action is submitted to the graduate dean.

Ineligibility

Persons with criminal histories seeking admission may appeal to the director by presenting evidence of personal change and restoration.

Open Communication Policy

Eastern Mennonite University welcomes open communication from students regarding its policies and practices. Student feedback helps administrators determine effectiveness and clarify and improve processes and procedures. If a student has a complaint, such complaint should be communicated to the administrator responsible for the area of the complaint. Most complaints can be dealt with through oral communication.

When a student wishes to lodge a more formal complaint in writing, the Student Complaint Form is to be submitted to the person to whom the complaint is addressed. Electronic communication will not be acceptable. Administration will respond in writing to written complaints, normally within ten days. The administrator will submit copies of the written complaint and response to the president's office for filing and monitoring.

In the event that a student is not satisfied with the response to the complaint, the student may choose to follow the grievance procedure for resolution.

The university recognizes its obligation to ensure that students who make complaints do not suffer adverse treatment as a result of the complaint. In the event that a student alleges such treatment, the student shall be referred to the grievance procedure for resolution and reconciliation.

Approved by President’s Cabinet, March 12, 2007

Registration

Registration materials will be provided by graduate program personnel prior to each term of study. A student wishing to add or drop a course shall contact his or her advisor. For courses offered on a standard semester basis, the following applies: courses may be added through the first five days of the semester and may be dropped with no grade through the first four weeks. Courses dropped during the fifth through ninth week are recorded as "W" (withdrawal). No change is permitted after the ninth week. Drop/Add deadlines are adjusted accordingly for courses offered on other time frames.

Standards

Academic warning
Students who have completed nine hours in a graduate program will be placed on academic probation if their GPA falls below 2.75. The director of the program will notify such students in writing of the probationary status, which remains in effect until they raise their GPA above 2.75 or are dismissed from the program. Those on probation should work with their faculty advisor to develop a plan for maximizing future academic success.

Dismissal
Graduate students may be dismissed from a graduate program upon:

1. Falling below a 2.75 GPA after at least 12 hours of graduate study or
2. Receiving a grade of "C" or below on nine hours of graded work or
3. Receiving a second grade of "F" or
4. Exhibiting attitudes, behaviors or lifestyle inconsistent with the mission of Eastern Mennonite University or the graduate program.

The admissions committee in the graduate program makes all dismissal decisions.

Student Responsibility

The graduate student carries complete responsibility for knowing and fulfilling course requirements, program regulations and degree requirements. Graduate students should take the initiative to meet with their advisors to assure that they are making satisfactory progress toward meeting all program requirements. Students are subject to program requirements in effect at the time of their admission. They may elect to graduate under a subsequent catalog, subject to approval by their advisor.

Time limits for completing degree requirements

All work for a graduate degree must be completed within six years from the date of initial admission to the graduate program. To request an extension of the time limit, the student must submit a written request to the director of the graduate program specifying the amount of time needed and the reasons an extension is necessary. The director, in consultation with the program faculty, will notify the student in writing of the decision on an extension request.

Transcripts

To assure confidentiality of academic records, all requests for official transcripts must be submitted by the student in writing. Requests should be made to the university registrar's office, allowing one week for processing. Requests can be made at the following URL: www.emu.edu/registrar/transcripts/. There is a $3 charge for each transcript.

Requests for transcripts may be submitted by fax with payment to follow. If a student requests to have a transcript faxed to another location, the university registrar's office carries no responsibility for the confidentiality of the record and may charge an additional fee for the fax transmission.

Transfer Credits

EMU graduate programs accept a limited amount of graduate transfer credit from other colleges and universities. The transfer credit must meet the graduate program requirements for electives or core requirements. The director of the graduate program makes the final determination of the applicability of transfer credit to an individual's graduate program. See respective graduate program for additional transfer regulations.

Withdrawal (Voluntary) and Refunds

A student considering withdrawal from graduate courses should discuss the reasons with his/her advisor and the program director. Before the student discontinues attendance, he/she must complete an application for withdrawal and secure the proper signatures. Official withdrawal is required for honorable withdrawal and possible tuition refunds.

Writing Standards

A excellent

 This essay or writing has clarity of purpose, as well as depth of content. It displays insight or originality of thought and demonstrates quality and breadth of resources. The structure is coherent and logically developed. The author uses very effective transitions. The writing is concise, eloquent and rhetorically effective. Sentence structure is nicely varied. The writing is engaging throughout and enjoyable to read. Sentences are well constructed and there are virtually no errors of conventions. Sources are cited for all quotations, paraphrases are credible and cited correctly, a reference page is included, and there are virtually no errors in documentation style..

B minimal expectations

This essay or writing has clarity of purpose and substantial information, as well as sufficient support. It contains some originality of thought and uses quality resources. The structure is coherent and logically developed. The author uses smooth transitions. The writing displays concern for careful expression. Sentence structure shows some variation. The writing is generally enjoyable to read. The author usually has well-constructed sentences, makes minimal errors in grammar and spelling, and generally uses accurate words. Sources are cited for all quotations, paraphrases are credible and usually cited correctly, a reference page is included, and there are minimal errors in documentation style.

C below expectations

This essay or writing has clarity of purpose but lacks depth of content and may depend on generalities or the commonplace. It has little originality of thought while using mostly quality resources. The structure is coherent and logically, but not fully, developed. There are some awkward transitions. Although the writing shows some personality, it lacks imagination and may be stilted. Little variation in sentence structure is present. The writing is not very interesting to read. The author does not always have well-constructed sentences, makes several errors in grammar rules and word choices that distract the reader, and frequently uses jargon and clichés. Sources are cited for all quotations. Most paraphrases are credible and sometimes are cited correctly. A reference page is included, but there are several errors in use of sources.

Approved by University Faculty, April 28, 2004
Revised by the Writing Committee, April, 2008