General Regulations

Academic Probation

Upon falling below a cumulative graduate grade-point average of B, computed including grades earned at KU for all courses acceptable for graduate credit, the student is placed on probation by the Graduate Division of the school or college. The grades of P, S, U, and I, for which no numerical equivalents are defined, are excluded from the computation. If the student’s overall graduate average has been raised to B by the end of the next semester of enrollment after being placed on probation, the student may be returned to regular status. If not, the student is not permitted to re-enroll unless the Graduate Division acts favorably on a departmental recommendation for the student to continue study.

If admitted provisionally due to deficiencies in grade point average, a student must earn an overall graduate average of at least B during the first semester of enrollment (in which case the student is considered to have achieved regular status) to be permitted to re-enroll. A student admitted provisionally who fails to earn a B average in the first semester may be dismissed immediately. If provisionary continuation is recommended by the department or program and approved by the graduate division, the student may remain on provisional status for one additional semester. Students who have been dismissed from a graduate program may be readmitted for further graduate study at KU only by petition of the graduate division that will accept the student. The petition must be approved by the dean of graduate studies.

Course Numbering System

Courses that may give graduate credit are numbered according to the following scheme:

Courses numbered 500-699 are designed primarily for juniors and seniors, but are also taken by some graduate students who have fewer than 30 hours of graduate credit.

Courses numbered 700-799 are designed primarily for graduate students who have fewer than 30 hours of graduate credit, but they are also taken by some undergraduates.

Courses numbered 800-899 are designed primarily for graduate students who have fewer than 30 hours of graduate credit.

Courses numbered 900-999 are designed primarily for graduate students who have 30 or more hours of graduate credit.

Courses that contain a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students should set requirements for graduate credit beyond or different from the requirements for undergraduate credit. No course, regardless of its number, can give graduate credit unless it has been approved for graduate credit by the appropriate Graduate Division and is taught by a person holding a current appointment to the Graduate Faculty.

Credit by Examination

Credit by examination is not accepted toward graduate degrees.

Credit by Transfer

Six hours of graduate credit taken at a regionally accredited graduate school may be transferred and applied to a program leading to one of the master’s degrees if the credit hours were taken before the final semester of enrollment at KU and have the approval of the major department and the appropriate school.

Eight hours may be approved for transfer if the student holds a baccalaureate degree from KU.

The total of transferred credit, including graduate continuing education credit and distance-learning courses taken at KU may not exceed 6 hours, or 8 if the student holds a baccalaureate from KU.

Only work graded B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or higher may be transferred. KU does not accept transfer credit for courses that have been graded B– or below. KU also does not accept transfer credit for institutes, workshops, or for life/work experience. Any exceptions to this must be approved by the department, schools/divisions, and Graduate Studies.

Credit does not transfer for courses that were counted toward the requirements for an undergraduate or graduate degree, whether completed at KU or another institution.

No credit is actually transferred toward the doctorate, but departments may take relevant prior graduate work into consideration in setting up programs of study.

To transfer credit, the student’s department must initiate the appropriate paperwork.

Enrollment

All graduate students are expected to fit into one of the following enrollment categories—regular, leave of absence, discontinued, dismissed—at all times while completing the credit hours required for the fulfillment of their degrees.

Regular Enrollment. This includes full-time and part-time enrollment.

Full-time enrollment for a graduate student is 9 credit hours a semester or 6 hours a summer session. Full-time students normally are not permitted to enroll for more than 16 hours a semester or more than 8 hours in summer session as dictated by Candidacy under Doctoral Degree Requirements, Doctor of Philosophy.

Part-time enrollment for a graduate student is less than 9 credit hours a semester or less than 6 hours in summer session.

Employment at the University and Regular Enrollment: If a student is on the staff of the university (with the exception of Graduate Teaching Assistant and Graduate Research Assistant appointments (for information, see Financial Aid in this chapter), the Office of Graduate Studies allows the hours of enrollment to be limited accordingly; aceptable enrollment is no more than 10 hours for students who hold half-time positions or at least 6 hours for students who hold full-time positions.

Persons with disabilities can receive assistance from Disability Resources, Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 22, Lawrence, KS 66045-7518, (785) 864-2620 (Voice/TTY).

Information and certification services for eligible veterans and their dependents are available in 151 Strong Hall in Lawrence and 3001 Student Center on the KU Medical Center campus.

Note: Ahtough this may satisfy the Office of Graduate Studies policy, all students should confirm that this is acceptable to the Office of Student Financial Aid; their home department, school, or division; any visa requirements; as well as any scholarship, fellowship, GTA, or GRA contracts they may hold.

Residence Requirement, GTA, and GRA Appointments: In order for doctoral students to meet residence requirements—or for any master’s or doctoral student to qualify for fellowship tenure, student loan deferment, and similar certification—the student must be enrolled in at least 9 credit hours. Or, the student must maintain a course load of 6 credit hours with the addition of a half-time teaching, research, or fellowship position*. These figures are the minimum number of credit hours a student may carry and still be certified full time, and they are the minimum residence requirements. Consult your school or college for additional requirements. A student may enroll for more hours with the approval of the department or program adviser, within the general guidelines of the Office of Graduate Studies. *Students who are employed as GTAs or GRAs more than half time, but are not employed full time, must be enrolled for at least 6 hours a semester to be certified as full-time students.

In order for a student who is a full-time employee to fulfill the residence requirement, the KU employment must contribute substantially to the student’s graduate program. For additional information on residence requirements for doctoral degrees, see the requirements for those degrees.

Student Visas and Regular Enrollment: To maintain their legal status, international students in F-1 and J-1 status also must comply with federal immigration requirements for pursuing a full course of study each semester. All international students must conform to residence requirements, even though immigration regulatory requirements may be lower.

All students should check with their graduate degree programs to determine if the program has additional enrollment requirements.

Leave of Absence. A leave of absence may be granted upon request to the graduate program in advance of leave. Leaves may be granted in cases of illness, emergency, to pursue family responsibilities, or to pursue full-time activities related to long-range professional goals. The time taken for a leave of absence does not count against the time limit for earning the degree. However, if the total time for the leave extends more than five years, the student loses his or her place in the program and must reapply for admission. To request a leave of absence, the program must complete a Progress-to-Degree form.

Discontinued. A student may voluntarily resign from a program by requesting a discontinuance. When this request is granted, the student resigns her or his place in the program. If the student chooses to return at a later date, he or she must reapply for admission. Discontinuance is requested through the Progressto-Degree form.

Dismissed. Graduate programs are responsible for evaluating the students in their programs to ensure that they are making satisfactory progress toward a degree. If the graduate program finds that a student is not making satisfactory progress (due to, but not limited to, cases in which a student has exceeded the time limit for the degree, or a student has neither been enrolled nor received an approved leave of absence for two consecutive semesters, or cases of academic misconduct), the program may recommend to the school or college that the student be dismissed from the program. Dismissal is requested by the graduate program through the Progress-to-Degree form.

Students who have been dismissed from a graduate program may be readmitted for further graduate study at KU only by petition of a Graduate Division that will accept the student. The petition must be approved by the dean of Graduate Studies.

Academic Probation and Dismissal: Upon falling below a cumulative grade-point average of B (3.0), computed including grades earned at KU for all courses acceptable for graduate credit, the student is placed on probation by the Graduate Division of the school or college. The grades of P, S, U, and I, for which no numerical equivalents are defined, are excluded from the computation. If the student’s overall grade-point average has been raised to B (3.0) by the end of the next semester, the student may be returned to regular status. If not, the student may be dismissed unless the Graduate Division acts favorably on a departmental recommendation for the student to continue study.

Graduate Divisions in the schools and the college may have more stringent dismissal policies; consult the school or college.

Grading

The basic system is an A, B, C, D, F system, where A designates above-average graduate work; B, average graduate work; C, passing but not average graduate work (C– is not considered a passing grade); D and F, failing graduate work. C–, D, and F work does not count toward fulfilling degree requirements.

The letter P is used only to indicate participation in thesis, dissertation, and research enrollments (related to thesis or dissertation), and in the first semester enrollment of a two-semester sequence course. In any semester, an instructor may, at his or her option, assign a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F when evidence about performance is available. Upon completion of thesis/dissertation or research hours leading to a master’s or doctoral degree, the P remains on the final transcript except for the last semester of enrollment. A letter grade (A, B, C, D, or F) is assigned in the last semester of enrollment to characterize the quality of the final product. The I grade is not appropriate for enrollment in thesis, dissertation, or research, and is not accepted.

For enrollments other than thesis, dissertation, or research, the letter I indicates course work that has been of passing quality, some part of which is, for good reason, unfinished.

As stated in University Senate Rules and Regulations, Article II, Section 2.3.2:

“A student who has an I posted for a course must make up the work by the date determined by the instructor, in consultation with the student, which may not exceed one calendar year, or the last day of the term of graduation, whichever comes first. An I not removed according to this rule shall automatically convert to a grade of F or U, or the lapse grade assigned by the course instructor, and shall be indicated on the student’s record.”

The grades of S and U may be used to designate satisfactory and unsatisfactory performance, respectively, in continuing education, workshop, and institute courses upon the recommendation of the department offering the course. No more than 6 hours total of graduate courses graded S are permitted to count toward a degree.

In courses numbered 800 or above for which specific authorization has been given, the instructor may report a grade of S for students who have satisfactorily attended the course but for whom it has not been possible to evaluate the quality of performance.

Once the S grade for a particular course (or a particular faculty member’s section of a multi-section course) has been recommended by the department and approved by the Graduate Division, it must be applied to the entire student enrollment in the course or section. This applies to those 800- or 900-level courses eligible for the S grade (or its alternative of F) as well as to Continuing Education, institute, and workshop courses. The S and U grades are not used in computing the grade-point average.

The Credit/No Credit option is not authorized for graduate students’ enrollments, including, but not limited to, courses taken to fulfill the research skills requirements, undergraduate deficiencies, etc.

The individual schools have the option of using or not using +/–, according to the policy adopted by the particular school. B– does not represent satisfactory work in graduate studies.

In the grading system defined above, at least a B average is required on course work counted toward any of the master’s degrees or the Specialist in Education degree at KU, and only courses graded A, B, or C (excluding C–) may be so counted. Course work counted toward a doctorate, including that for a master’s degree if obtained at KU, should average better than a B. Courses graded P, S, U, or I are excluded from the computation of the average.

Performance is graded Honors, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory for the following examinations:

1. The general examination for the master’s degree.
2. The general examination for the degree of Specialist in Education.
3. The comprehensive oral examination for the doctorate.
4. The final examination for the doctorate.

Graduate Credit

Three conditions must be met for a student to receive graduate credit for work satisfactorily completed at KU:

1. The student must have gained admission.
2. The course must have been approved for the award of graduate credit.
3. The instructor must have gained appointment to the Graduate Faculty.

Courses on permanent records assigned course classification codes of S (social welfare) and L (law) do not earn graduate credit and are not reflected in computation of the grade-point average.

Grievances

A graduate student who believes himself or herself to be unfairly or unlawfully treated in an academic matter may present a grievance to the academic department or program chair. Each academic unit, all Graduate Divisions, and the College have established grievance policies and procedures. Appeal of a grievance heard at one of these levels is made to the Judicial Board. Guidelines have been established for graduate student petitions in certain categories that may not be under the jurisdiction of other hearing bodies. The Executive Council of the Graduate Faculty has identified two categories as the purview of Graduate Studies:

1. Cases involving the Graduate Divisions of two or more schools or colleges.
2. Cases involving the interpretation of policy as it pertains to the Graduate Division of a school or college.

For disputes involving alleged academic misconduct or alleged violations of student rights, the initial hearing normally is held at the unit level. There is an option to hold an initial hearing at the Judicial Board level if both parties agree, or if either party petitions the Judicial Board chair to hold the hearing at the Judicial Board level and the petition is granted. The petition must state why a fair hearing cannot be obtained at the unit level; the opposing party has an opportunity to respond to the petition.

For information on guidelines, contact Graduate Studies.

Intellectual Property Policy

All enrolled students are subject to the Board of Regents and KU Intellectual Property Policies. The ownership of student works submitted in fulfillment of academic requirements is retained by the creator(s). By enrolling, the student gives the institution a nonexclusive royalty-free license to mark on, modify, retain the work in the process of instruction, or otherwise handle the work, as set out in the institution’s Intellectual Property Policy or in the course syllabus. The institution does not have the right to use the work in any other manner without the written consent of the creator(s). The policy is available in its entirety at the Provost’s Web site: www.provost.ku.edu.

Language and Research Skills Requirements (Doctoral Degrees)

See Doctoral Degree Programs.

Language Requirements (Master’s Degrees)

There is no general language requirement for any of the master’s degrees, but some departments and programs have such a requirement. Applicants should consult their prospective departments.

Leave of Absence

See Enrollment.

Seniors and Graduate Study (Coenrollment)

Seniors at KU who will complete the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in a given semester, and who have very strong academic records (grade-point average higher than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale), may apply for contingent admission as degree-seeking students and request the permission of the appropriate Graduate Division to coenroll for the final undergraduate semester. Seniors requesting the privilege of coenrollment must make formal application through the appropriate Graduate Division for admission.

If admission is approved, the student enrolls with undergraduate school and level codes. The Graduate Division is responsible for sending written notification to the University Registrar’s office, designating which courses will earn graduate credit and which will earn undergraduate credit. The student’s graduate permanent record begins with the first term of graduate enrollment following the awarding of the baccalaureate degree, although the coenrolled graduate credit applies to the graduate degree.

To meet the criteria of co-enrollment, the student must earn undergraduate credit for at least one class during the co-enrollment semester. Continuing education courses cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. Graduate courses completed beyond the initial semester of co-enrollment revert to undergraduate status if co-enrolled students fail to complete their undergraduate degrees in the specified semester.

Special Conditions for Specified Types of Research

There are certain types of research or activities that may not be pursued unless specific prior approval and/or training has been obtained.

KU Medical Center students should refer to KUMC Office of Compliance policies online at www2.kumc.edu/compliance.

The student’s responsibilities for such activities are described below:

1. Human Subjects Committee, Lawrence. KU requires prior review by the Human Subjects Committee Lawrence (HSCL) of all research projects involving human subjects. There are no exceptions. Although certain types of research may be exempt from record keeping, the committee decides which projects fall in the exempt class. It is the student’s responsibility to become acquainted with KU guidelines for research involving human subjects, to submit an application, and to observe the conditions of the committee-approved application. Normally these guidelines first are discussed with the student’s adviser, but students are encouraged to contact the HSCL co-coordinator, Mary Denning (785) 864-7385, mdenning@ku.edu, for information, applications, and instructions at any time. Expedited projects may be approved within one week. Committee-reviewed projects may take four weeks. Delays may be avoided by contacting HSCL before submitting applications.
2. Research or classroom activities involving ionizing radiation sources or class 2, 3, or 4 lasers. No student may handle sources or machines that emit ionizing radiation or class 2, 3, or 4 lasers unless that student has been appropriately trained and the Environment, Health, and Safety–Radiation Safety Service has verified, documented, and approved that training to be adequate for the proposed activities. Appropriate safety courses or training normally are available during each academic term. A source of ionizing radiation may be used only as specified in an approved permit issued by the EHS–Radiation Safety Service and/or the Laboratory Safety–Laser Safety Subcommittee. The student is responsible for knowing the conditions of the permit under which the activities will be carried out. Usually such activities will be discussed first with the research adviser or classroom instructor, but students may contact the EHS–Radiation Safety Service, (785) 864-4089, at any time.
3. Research or classroom activities involving biohazards or hazardous chemicals. No student may handle biohazards or hazardous chemicals unless that student has been appropriately trained by a qualified individual. (This may be an instructor, a research adviser or the Environment, Health, and Safety department.) Activities or projects involving the use of biohazards or hazardous chemicals require that the EHS department be notified. Some projects or activities may require an approved permit issued by the EHS department, the Laboratory Safety–Biosafety Subcommittee, or the Laboratory Safety–Chemical Safety Subcommittee. Recombinant DNA research must be approved by the Recombinant DNA committee. If the student’s activities potentially involve biohazards or hazardous chemicals, prior consultation with the instructor, research adviser, or the EHS department concerning safe use and disposal requirements is mandatory. Contact EHS at (785) 864-4089.
4. Research involving animals. All research involving animals requires prior approval of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and must be carried out by individuals appropriately trained as specified in federal regulations and approved by IACUC. The staff of the Animal Care Unit (ACU) conducts orientation and training sessions at the beginning of every semester and as needed. IACUC policy requires attendance at such a session before working with animals. Faculty members are advised of meeting times. Although the student’s adviser should be familiar with requirements, students may contact IACUC at (785) 864-8841 in Lawrence, or (913) 588-7015 at KU Medical Center, for information.

Student Responsibilities

All graduate students are responsible for informing themselves of requirements and policies of the Office of Graduate Studies. See www.graduate.ku.edu for the most up-to-date requirements and policies. They are also expected to be familiar with the regulations and requirements of their Graduate Divisions and departments and of their graduate programs. Members of the Graduate Faculty and of the staffs of the Graduate Divisions are ready to answer questions and offer counsel.

It is each graduate student’s responsibility to know and observe all regulations and procedures relating to the graduate degree program the student is pursuing. In no case will a regulation be waived or an exception be granted because students plead ignorance of, or contend that they were not informed of, requirements, regulations, procedures, and deadlines. Responsibility for following all policies and meeting all requirements and deadlines rests with the student.

Time Limit on Graduate Courses

See Program Time Constraints under Master’s Degree Requirements and Doctoral Degree Requirements. See also Grading.

Undergraduate Student Enrollment

Well-qualified undergraduate students may be permitted to enroll in 800- or 900-level courses for undergraduate credit with the approval of the instructor, the student’s adviser, and the Graduate Division. The student must bring a Count Towards Degree form signed by the instructor, a letter of explanation and recommendation from the adviser, and current academic record to the Graduate Division for approval. If approved, the Graduate Division signs the Count Towards Degree form, which the student must present to the staff in the Student Records Center to enroll in the courses. Courses taken for undergraduate credit may not be transferred to graduate credit.

University Faculty and Advanced Degrees

Members of the university faculty having, or eligible for, tenure or holding any rank above that of instructor will not be granted degrees or certificates. Because of the variety of appointments covered by such terms as Lecturer, Associate, or the like, every case must be considered individually, with the student’s department making a recommendation to Graduate Studies before the student begins the graduate degree or certificate program, or for students already in graduate programs, before the appointment is made. Although appointing departments are expected to bring this rule to the attention of prospective appointees who plan to seek degrees or certificates, the responsibility for initiating a request for waiver of the rule lies with the student. Waivers may be granted in rare cases where the student and the department demonstrate satisfactorily that circumstances and conditions assure freedom from conflict of interest and undue influence.

Withdrawal from a Course

Complete information about withdrawing from a course is online at www.registrar.ku.edu. Select “Add/Drop/Change of Section” for current procedures. The Office of the University Registrar, Student Records Center, Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd, Room 151, Lawrence, KS 66045-7518, (785) 864-4422, kuregistrar@ku.edu, also can provide current information.

Withdrawal from the University

Complete information about withdrawing from all classes is online at www.registrar.ku.edu. Select “Withdraw” for current procedures. The Office of the University Registrar, Student Records Center, Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd, Room 151, Lawrence, KS 66045-7518, (785) 864-4422, kuregistrar@ku.edu, also can provide current information.