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All graduate programs are regulated by the general requirements of the graduate program catalog. Each student is responsible for knowing the content of this publication. Meeting the requirements and standards of their graduate program rests with the student.
Grading System
Providence College uses the following scale to determine grades and corresponding grade point averages for courses offered by the graduate programs:
| A |
Superior 4.00 points per each credit hour completed |
| A- |
3.67 points per each credit hour completed |
| B+ |
Very Good 3.33 points per each credit hour completed |
| B |
Good 3.00 points per each credit hour completed |
| B- |
2.67 points per each credit hour completed |
| C+ |
Above Average 2.33 points per each credit hour completed |
| C |
Average 2.00 points per each credit hour completed |
| C- |
1.67 points per each credit hour completed |
| D+ |
Passing 1.33 points per each credit hour completed |
| D |
Low Passing 1.00 points per each credit hour completed |
| D- |
0.67 points per each credit hour completed |
| F |
Failure 0.00 points per each credit hour completed |
Satisfactory Progress
If a degree candidate does not maintain a B (3.00) average, his or her status will be reviewed immediately by the appropriate academic director in consultation with the appropriate faculty members of the department. Such review may result in the candidate being placed on probationary status or dismissed from the program. Students who are permitted to continue on provisional status must achieve a cumulative average of B (3.00) or better in graduate level coursework during the next semester. Students failing to achieve the necessary B (3.00) average will be subject to dismissal.
Incompletes are computed in the average until removed from the academic record. Any incompletes that are incurred must be completed within one year. After that time, an incomplete will be converted to a WD and the student will have to take the course again if he or she wants to receive credit for it. If the course requirements are not completed satisfactorily, then the incomplete becomes a WD. A student who has two incompletes may not register for another course without written permission from the dean.
Bulletins
Course bulletins, which contain a listing of courses offered, are issued prior to each term. Bulletins are available from the respective graduate program office. Course schedules are also posted on the CyberFriar Web site (http://bannerweb.providence.edu.)
Length of Program
A limit of five calendar years is the maximum time allotted for the completion of all the requirements for the master’s degree, with the exception of the programs in theology.
Interrupted Program of Study
If a student engaged in graduate study leaves the College for a significant period before completing the degree, courses will be counted toward the program of study only if the time period of interrupted study is less than 10 years. That is, the period between the last and present (or new) enrollment does not exceed 10 years.
In special circumstances, courses completed more than 10 years previously may, at the discretion of the appropriate dean, be counted toward a degree, if, in the judgment of the dean, the College’s curricular requirements and the content of those courses have not undergone significant change during the period of interrupted study.
Courses completed 10 or more years previous to any current enrollment will not be counted in the student’s grade point average, unless the appropriate dean has made specific course exemptions from this policy. The transcript will indicate separate sets of courses, those completed 10 or more years previous to a new or continued enrollment and those rostered after the student’s return to the College.
Academic Amnesty
A student applying for readmission to Providence College after a leave of five or more years may present to the dean a petition for academic amnesty for academic work completed five or more years previous to the term of readmission.
Academic amnesty, if allowed, will remove from any calculation of the student’s grade point average and from any calculation of courses or credits needed all academic amnesty has been granted. At the time of the application for readmission, the student must file an application for academic amnesty and must acknowledge in writing that, once academic amnesty has been granted, it will not be rescinded.
Academic amnesty will not be on a course-by-course basis and will apply to all terms and therefore all courses and credits completed at Providence College during the period for which amnesty is granted. Amnesty may not be granted on a selective term-by term basis. The student must identify the term at which academic amnesty begins; the award of academic amnesty will then cover all course work undertaken from the beginning of the amnesty period to the time of application for readmission.
Transfer Credits
In order to transfer credits, the following conditions must be fulfilled:
- A maximum of six graduate credits may be transferred.
- They must be from an accredited institution of higher learning.
- They must have been taken within five years of the date of transfer.
- A minimum grade of “B” is required.
CyberFriar
Continuing students who have already applied for admission or who have taken courses in previous semesters may access the CyberFriar Web site (http://bannerweb.providence.edu) to register for courses, view course schedules, and make schedule changes. Additional features will be made available throughout the semester including:
- access to mid-term and final grades
- access to billing and financial aid information
- access to individual transcripts and degree audits (curriculum advising tools)
- ability to view/update personal information (e.g., address changes).
While some information is available through CyberFriar’s “public” access views, many of its features are only available through the system’s secure password-protected log-on page for members of the Providence College community. Every Providence College student and faculty and staff member is assigned his or her own unique Banner ID and Personal Identification Number (PIN).
If you have not yet received your Banner ID, you may do so by contacting the Office of Enrollment Services/Academic Records at 401.865.2982. Your initial PIN has been assigned as your birth date in numeric month/day/year format (MMDDYY). You must change your PIN to something more unique once you have gained access to the CyberFriar. As with all your personal information, it is vitally important that you maintain the utmost confidentiality with your User ID and PIN since those with access to your personal Banner ID and PIN would have full access to view or alter your personal information (addresses, registered courses, etc.).
Course Archive/Reactivation Policy
The College maintains an archive of courses that have not been offered in recent years and are not expected to be offered in the near future. Academic departments/programs may choose to reactivate courses from the archive within 10 years from when last offered upon review by the Executive Subcommittee of the Graduate Council. See www.providence.edu/coursearchive for the current list of archived courses.
Student Identification Cards
All graduate students may obtain an ID card from the office, either at the time of registration, if done in person, or during the first week of classes. Graduate students are entitled to the use of campus facilities such as the library, language labs, dining areas, and parking (see Admission ) upon presentation of a valid ID card. This card can be obtained without charge through their respective graduate program director’s office.
Transcripts
The transcript is the student’s official academic record. Official transcripts are sent at the written request of the student to other colleges or universities, graduate schools, or prospective employers. The student’s written request must be received before a transcript will be released. The student can complete a Transcript Request Form available in the Office of Enrollment Services/Academic Records, Harkins Hall, Room 207, or send a written request. Transcripts will be withheld if the student has a financial obligation to the College. Allow two weeks for processing a transcript request.
Student Educational Records/Release of Information
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 as amended, also known as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal regulation governing the privacy of personally identifiable information in student educational records and granting certain rights to students with respect to those records. Educational records are any records maintained by the College or an agent of the College that are directly related to the student. A student has the following rights: to inspect and review his or her educational records; to request an amendment to a record that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA; to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s educational records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent; and to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. In accordance with FERPA, the College provides annual notice to students regarding these rights.
The College’s policy is to release educational information directly, and only, to students. There are a number of exceptions to this non-disclosure policy, including one for health or safety emergencies. The law permits the College to disclose otherwise private and confidential information from an education record to appropriate parties in an emergency situation if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals. Appropriate parties may include parents, law enforcement authorities, emergency responders, and other members of the community.
The College is also permitted, with or without a student’s consent, to inform parents when their student has violated any law or College policy regarding the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if the student is not yet 21 years of age.
The College discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate education interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using College employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate education interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the College.
A student has the right to block the release of directory information. Directory information is student data not generally considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed; the College, at its discretion, may release directory information. Currently, directory information is limited to name, address, telephone listing, email address, date and place of birth, major field of student, class year, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, height/weight of members of athletic teams, enrollment status, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and previous education institutions attended. A student may, to the extent permitted by FERPA, block the release of directory information for an academic year by filing timely, written notice with the Office of Enrollment Services/Academic Records.
Pursuant to Providence College’s FERPA policy, confidential information from a student’s records may be released to the parent(s)/guardians of the student, or any other designated individual, only with the written consent of the student. Unauthorized disclosure of student information is a violation of federal and state law. If the student wishes to authorize disclosure of information to parents/guardians or any other designated individual, a RELEASE OF INFORMATION AUTHORIZATION form must be filed with the Office of Enrollment Services/Academic Records, Harkins Hall 207, as soon as possible. It is strongly recommended that the form be returned within two weeks of matriculation. Once the appropriate written authorization by the student is received in this office, designated individuals may be informed of the student’s status at Providence College including but not limited to grades, academic standing, and financial obligations. If at any time after submission of the form the student wishes to revoke consent or modify the list of individuals authorized to receive confidential information, a new authorization form must be completed and returned to the Office of Enrollment Services/Academic Records. Once the consent to release is completed and signed by the student, and submitted to the College, it remains in effect for as long as the student is enrolled at the College.
Students may obtain more detailed information about FERPA, including the procedures for exercising their rights, in the Office of Enrollment Services/Academic Records.
Policy on Drug-Free Campus
Providence College, in compliance with the Drug Free Schools and Communities Act Amendment of 1989, has adopted and implemented a program to prevent the illicit use of drugs and the abuse of alcohol by students and employees of the College.
Providence College will impose appropriate sanctions for violation of standards. These sanctions include dismissal from the College, suspension for at least one semester, referral for legal prosecution, community service, fines, referral for participating in a counseling and/or education program, disciplinary probation, and such other penalties as may be determined by the College discipline officers and/or Disciplinary Board.
Discipline
The College reserves the right under academic due process to dismiss or suspend a student from the College for serious violations of its published regulations or for conduct which seriously conflicts with its stated objectives. Any such infraction is the responsibility of, and comes under the purview of, the Office of Student Affairs Administration.
In the event of a disciplinary infraction, the Office of Student Affairs Administration shall designate a judicial officer to conduct an informal hearing at which the graduate student may appear and present his or her position concerning the circumstances surrounding the alleged infraction.
The designee may impose disciplinary sanctions including but not limited to suspension or dismissal. Upon the request of the designee, the decision shall be reviewed by the vice president for student affairs administration whose decision shall be final.
Academic Integrity
The Providence College community expects all students to support a culture of honesty, integrity, and respect for the Truth. Acts of academic dishonesty (plagiarism, collusion, cheating, etc.) are subject to an appropriate penalty. The grade of “F” may be assigned to students found guilty of such acts. Plagiarism is defined as the act of taking the words, ideas, data, illustrative material, or statements of someone else, without full and proper acknowledgment, and presenting them as one’s own. Cheating is the use of improper means or subterfuge to gain credit or advantage. Forms of cheating include the use, attempted use, or improper possession of unauthorized aids in any examination or other academic exercise submitted for evaluation; the fabrication or falsification of data; and misrepresentation of academic or extracurricular credentials. It is also cheating to submit the same work for credit in more than one course, except as authorized in advance by the course instructor. Collusion is assisting or attempting to assist another student in an act of academic dishonesty.
The instructor of the course in which a violation of academic integrity has occurred will inform the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies of the offense and the action taken. If the offense is considered egregious, or if there have been repeated violations of academic integrity, the College may impose a penalty of academic suspension or dismissal. Students who earn a failing grade as a result of an academic integrity violation may file an appeal with the Academic Appeals Committee (which is charged with the review of any petitions of final grades).
Please contact the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies for more information.
Graduation
Degrees are issued in December and May. It is the responsibility of the student to complete the essential forms for graduation in his/her respective department prior to registration for his/her last course. |
