DRAFT of Proposed New Policy
 PS #____

DRAFT

TITLE:

 Graduate Student Scholastic Appeals Committee

AUTHOR:

 Director of Graduate School

APPROVAL DATE:

EFFECTIVE DATE: 

PURPOSE: 

 To establish rules and guidelines by which the Graduate Student Scholastic Appeals Committee operates

REVIEWER AND

 Graduate Council

REVIEW DATE:

 Every five years

 OPERATING DETAILS

1.    The Graduate Student Scholastic Appeals Committee shall consist of one graduate faculty member from each department with a graduate program to be appointed each year by the deans of the colleges/school in which those departments fall.  The Registrar will serve as ex officio member. Members’ names are not to be identified in public documents for anonymity and integrity of this committee.

2.    The Chair of the Graduate Student Scholastic Appeals Committee shall be elected by the members of the Committee.  

3.    Any student who has been excluded from a graduate program at Mississippi University for Women for academic reasons shall have the right to appeal her/his exclusion. A graduate student may appeal to this committee only once during his or her graduate-student career.

4.    Detailed procedures for appealing an academic expulsion shall be clearly stated in the current edition of the MUW Bulletin and shall be posted on the University website.

5.    The student's appeal shall consist of a letter, in her/his own words, addressed to the Graduate Student Scholastic Appeals Committee in care of the Director of Graduate Studies. It should contain salient information detailing possible reasons and explanations for sub-standard academic performance, any extenuating circumstances, etc. In addition to the student's own letter, any letters of support for the student from outside parties should also accompany the letter.

6.    The Director of Graduate Studies shall forward the appeal information to the Chair of the Graduate Student Scholastic Appeals Committee.  The deadline for receiving appeals shall be the working day prior to the published registration date for the semester for which the student intends to register.

7.    Neither the student, nor any other parties, shall be granted the privilege of a personal appearance or hearing before the Committee.
 
8.    The Committee shall reserve the right to seek any relevant academic information pertaining to the student, such as class attendance records and transcripts, before rendering a final decision on the exclusion of the student.

9.    The Committee shall have the right to impose certain academic requirements or conditions on any student it readmits to the university. These may include, but are not limited to, prescribing certain courses, determining semester course load, requiring a specified level of scholastic performance, and requiring academic counseling.

10.    A written statement concerning the actions of the Committee on each student's appeal shall be forwarded to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will then notify the student in writing of the Committee’s action with copies to the Registrar and the student’s Academic Department.

11.    The Student Scholastic Appeals Committee represents the highest performance review board to which the student may appeal an academic expulsion. The decisions of the committee are not subject to review or change by any other university authority.

 
 


Created:  09/11/09