Catalog 2012-2013

College of Computing, Engineering and Construction

Graduate University Policies

· Graduate Transfer

· Transient Student Admission

· Readmission of Inactive Students

· Graduate Program Course Level

· Degree Completion within Six Years

· Second Masters Residency Requirement

· Graduate Program Independent Learning

· Credit Earned as a Post-Baccalaureate

· Graduate GPA Policy

· Satisfactory Academic Progress

· Dismissing a Student from a Graduate Program

· Graduate Dual International Degrees

· Graduate Admissions

· Graduate Certificate Programs

Graduate Transfer

The residency requirement at UNF is 24 semester credit hours; 18 of which must be taken at the 6000 level. No student may earn a UNF graduate degree without 24 hours of UNF graduate course credit. It is also required that students earn a majority of credits toward their degrees at UNF.

Individual programs have particular requirements concerning transferring in credits; most graduate programs at UNF allow a student to transfer in approximately 20 percent of the overall graduate credits required for a degree (rounded up to the nearest number divisible by 3) from another regionally accredited institution, as allowable under the residency requirement and as approved on a course by course basis at the discretion of the appropriate graduate program director. Additional credits may be transferred in via special petition, subject to the approval of the appropriate graduate program director and the Graduate Dean. No student may transfer in more than 40 percent of the overall credits required for a degree.

A student who transfers in more than 20 percent of the credits required for a degree may not apply any credits earned as a transient student (hours taken at another institution while the student is matriculating at UNF) toward fulfillment of that degree's requirements without prior approval of the appropriate graduate program director and the Graduate Dean. Students wishing to enroll in courses at another institution for the purpose of transferring credits into their graduate program of study must complete a "Concurrent Enrollment" form and have prior approval from the appropriate graduate program director.

Additional credit transfer conditions:

1. The student must have completed the course work subject to the time limits applicable to his or her current graduate program.
2. The student must have earned grades of 3.0 or higher in the courses.
3. The student is not entitled to apply transfer credits toward the 18 hour minimum of 6000-level courses required for all master's degrees.
4. The student is not entitled to transfer credit for correspondence courses, courses included in a completed degree program, or portfolio-based experiential learning that has taken place prior to admission to the current graduate program.

Transient Student Admission

Special Admission
Under certain circumstances students currently enrolled at other universities may enroll at UNF as "transient students" on a space available basis.

Special Admission for Transient Students
A student in good standing at an approved institution may apply to UNF for one term to complete work; the credit for which will be transferred back to the student's home institution. Applicants must submit either an official transcript or a letter from their college or university's Registrar verifying their good standing. A transient enrollment form or other documentation may be required by the program in which the student seeks to take coursework.

Special Admission for Inter-Institutional Transient Students
A student in good standing at a school participating with UNF in various exchange programs or exchange agreements may apply to UNF for one term, or for the duration of a special program, to complete work the credit for which will be transferred back to the home institution. The student must be sponsored by his or her academic dean, who is responsible for arranging with the UNF Registrar's Office and the appropriate college dean for the student's visit. The student will register at UNF and pay UNF tuition and registration fees. The process is the same for UNF students seeking to attend other institutions for a single term or for the duration of a special program. UNF students must have the support of their academic dean, who is responsible for arranging their visits. UNF students will register at and pay the tuition and fees of the institution they are visiting.

Readmission of Inactive Students

Students who have been accepted previously but who never enrolled or who have not taken courses for one year (three consecutive terms, including summers) must update their admissions applications with the Graduate School. They must do so at least six weeks before the beginning of the term in which they wish to enroll. They will be responsible for meeting any new general admissions requirements or program specific requirements.

Graduate Program Course Level

Eighteen (18) hours of any UNF graduate degree must be successfully completed at the 6000 level. All graduate and post-baccalaureate professional degree programs at the University of North Florida shall include only courses at the 5000 level and above. This does not include (1) pre-requisites, (2) minors, (3) teacher certification add-on programs, or (4) field-based coursework connected to teacher certification programs.

Degree Completion within Six Years

All coursework for a graduate or post-baccalaureate professional degree must be completed within six years of a master's degree-seeking student being admitted to a graduate program. All coursework for a doctoral degree must be completed within eight years. All exceptions must be approved by the student's Graduate Program Director and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Second Masters Residency

For a second master's degree, at least 24 hours of UNF graduate coursework in residency is required. Coursework counted in the fulfillment of any other UNF degree requirements cannot be counted toward this second master's residency requirement.

Graduate Program Independent Learning

All graduate and post-baccalaureate professional degree programs at the University of North Florida include opportunities for students to participate in independent scholarly/research engagement and/or appropriate professional preparation experiences. These opportunities may be offered through traditional thesis or dissertation experiences, through culminating-experience projects, or through assignments embedded in particular courses in a program.

Credit Earned as Post-Baccalaureate

A student may apply up to 10 hours of graduate course work taken at UNF as a post-baccalaureate. (Such credits will be included in the student's UNF graduate GPA.) The student must receive the approval of the Program Director, who will then inform The Graduate School.

Graduate GPA Policy

The Graduate GPA includes all graduate credits taken once the student has been accepted as a degree-seeking graduate student. This includes all graduate credits, even before official admission to a graduate program, when those credits are used to fulfill degree requirements.

Graduate credits taken as a post-baccalaureate student, when those hours are not counted toward fulfillment of degree requirements, are not counted in the construction of the Graduate GPA. Undergraduate credits, no matter when they are taken, are not counted. Transfer credits are not counted, with the exception of joint international degree programs. All graduate credits from these programs are used to calculate the graduate GPA.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Good Academic Standing
A graduate student who has a cumulative UNF Graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher is considered to be in good academic standing.

A graduate student must have a cumulative UNF Graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher to be eligible for graduation and the award of a graduate degree.

Graduate students who hold assistanships and fellowships are expected to be in good academic standing.

Academic Probation
A graduate student who fails to maintain a cumulative UNF Graduate GPA of at least 3.0 will be considered not in good academic standing and will be placed on academic probation. Probation shall be noted on the academic transcript for each term in which the cumulative UNF Graduate GPA is below 3.0.

Academic Suspension and Dismissal

1. If, while a graduate student is on probation, the cumulative UNF Graduate GPA does not reach 3.0 in the next academic term, the student is eligible for suspension or dismissal from the program.

2. If, while a graduate student is on probation, he or she earns a D or F in a graduate course in his or her program of study, the student is eligible for suspension or dismissal from the program.

The decision concerning whether the student is actually placed on academic suspension rests with the particular program's Graduate Program Director and/or the program's Graduate Program Committee (should the program have one).

Academic suspension is noted on the academic transcript. A graduate student may not register for courses while on academic suspension. The decision to release the student from academic suspension rests with the particular program's Graduate Program Director and/or Graduate Program Committee.

Decisions made by Graduate Program Directors and/or Graduate Program Committees may be appealed by graduate students; such appeals are made through the normal academic appeals process as specified in the Graduate Catalog and Student Handbook.

Program-Specific Policies
Many programs have program-specific policies further defining good academic standing and related matters. These program-specific policies, if inclusive of higher standards than those of the university, supersede university policy. Please refer to individual program requirements for more information.

Dismissing a Student from a Graduate Program

When a student is being considered for dismissal from his/her graduate program, either at the end of a term or during a term, the Graduate Program Director and the Graduate Program Committee (should there be one) will:

ensure dismissal of a student from the program is supported by published policy;
inform the student, both through email and regular mail, of the matte;
offer the student an opportunity to meet with the Graduate Program Director to plead his/her case, if the decision to dismiss the student is to be made by the Graduate Program Director;
offer the student an opportunity to address a meeting of the Graduate Program Committee, if there is to be a Graduate Program Committee meeting for the purpose of deciding whether or not to dismiss the student;
inform the student of available appeal procedures and describe them, if it has been determined the student is to be dismissed from the program.

If any meetings occur, with or without a committee, the Graduate Program Director must write formal minutes. If no meetings occur, the Graduate Program Director will write a memorandum describing the decision-making process. Minutes of meetings, memoranda, and all appropriate supporting documentation, will be shared with the department chair, college dean, and the graduate dean.

If the student is dismissed from his/her graduate program, the student's transcript will bear an appropriate notation, and the student will receive no refund of tuition or fees.

Graduate Dual International Degrees

Effective fall 2010, all dual graduate degrees offered through joint, cooperative, or collaborative academic arrangements between UNF and international institutions must meet the following requirements:

The minimum number of graduate credit hours required is 48 hours;
Students must earn a minimum of 50% of the total number of credit hours, including the international coursework, from UNF;
The graduate GPA includes all graduate credits taken as part of the degree including those from the international institution(s).
In an effort to provide accurate student transcripts, UNF will include course names and grades on the students' UNF transcritps for all degree-required, earned credit courses that are transferred into UNF as part of pre-approved international programs operating under collaborative academic arrangements. Courses listed will be printed under a header indicating that they are part of a university-approved program.

Any program approved prior to fall 2010 (GlobalMBA, Ibero-American MBA) is exempt from item 1 and 2 listed above.

Graduate Admissions

(1) The following are the minimum requirements for admission to graduate programs at the University of North Florida.

(2) Applicants who hold baccalaureate degrees from an international institution must submit a course-by-course degree evaluation from a UNF and NACES approved evaluation service or, on exception, a course-by-course evaluation performed by the University's International Center.

(3) Additionally, all applicants to master's programs must meet the following specific requirements:

(4) Additionally, all applicants to doctoral programs must meet the following specific requirements:

(5) The University may grant a limited number of exceptions to those applicants who do not meet the basic admission requirements. All applicants requesting an exception must submit GRE, GMAT, or MAT scores, as appropriate, prior to making the request. Students granted an exception will be placed in a provisional admission status for the graduate degree program that they wish to enter. Continuation as a graduate student will depend upon successful completion of provisional admission requirements and any subsequent work.

(6) Applicants from countries where the official language is other than English must achieve the minimum required test scores on the TOEFL or University of Cambridge IELTS as set by the University of North Florida.

(7) The following are required of all applicants:

(8) Admission to graduate study is granted on an individual basis with a review of the entire academic record of the applicant, including quality of past performance, standardized test scores (if required), appropriateness of work taken, and suitable professional experience. To ensure that all pertinent application materials are received in time, applications for admission must be received by the published deadlines of the university and of the program to which the application is being made.

Graduate Certificate Programs

Credit bearing, graduate certificate programs are comprised of related courses that constitute a coherent body of study within a discipline. These programs must be approved through the university and faculty governance processes. Furthermore, these programs must establish student-learning outcomes and assess the extent to which students achieve these outcomes. This is done via the Graduate Academic Learning Compact (GALC). Additional information about the assessment of learning outcomes can be found in the GALC policy. GALC must be developed for all graduate certificate programs.

The number of graduate credits within a graduate certificate program cannot be less than 9 or more than one-half of the credits necessary for a related master's degree. Certificate programs approved prior to the implementation of this policy are exempt from these credit limitations.

Student pursuing a graduate certificate will be required to meet the same academic requirements as those defined for degree-seeking students to remain in "good standing."

All graduate certificate students must meet all prerequisites for courses in which they wish to enroll.

Application of Credits towards Degree programs

When concurrently enrolled in a graduate degree program, and with the approval of the sponsoring college, students can apply required coursework to both the graduate certificate program and, if applicable, their chosen graduate degree program. Students cannot return for a retroactive certificate award following graduation. Students who have graduated from a degree program and wish to return to pursue a graduate certificate will need to apply to the Graduate School, and the specific certificate program, and pay a new application fee.

If a student later returns to UNF to earn a graduate degree, up to 12 hours of UNF credit earned as a graduate certificate student may be applied to satisfy graduate degree requirements. Any application of such credit must be approved by the graduate program and must be appropriate to the program. It should be noted that not all programs allow credit earned as part of a graduate certificate to be applied towards a similar graduate degree.

Completion of program requirements

Students are subject to the individual requirements of the graduate certificate program and will need to complete at least fifty percent of the required coursework in residence at the university (e.g., face-to-face, distance learning). Successful completion of the graduate certificate program will be noted on the student's official transcript separately from his or her degree program.

The graduate certificate is not viewed as a guaranteed means of entry into a graduate degree program.

Admissions to Graduate Certificate Programs

Currently enrolled UNF students who wish to pursue a graduate certificate program are required to apply through the graduate school and be accepted to the desired program in accordance with program-specific admissions criteria. No application fee is required.

1. All students applying for graduate level certificate programs will submit an application to The Graduate School.

2. The Graduate School will refer the application to the appropriate department for an admission decision.

3. Each program will develop its own admission criteria for certificate programs.

4. Acceptance to the graduate certificate program is dependent on student eligibility and, if required, departmental approval.

Certificate and Transcripts

Once the program coursework is satisfied the student may be eligible to receive a document acknowledging completion that is separate from a diploma conferral. Printing and conferring all completion documents from university certificate programs will be the sole responsibility of the Registrar and the Office of Enrollment Services Processing. All materials required to print and package the completion documents will also be housed within the Enrollment Services Processing Office.

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