2022-2023 Bulletin: Policies and General Information 
    
    Oct 09, 2024  
2022-2023 Bulletin: Policies and General Information [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Progress to Degree


In additon to the University requirements described below, students should refer to specific sections for Master’s and doctoral degrees as well as to their individual program requirements.

 

Milestones

Individual degree requirements that are not courses are called milestones.  Milestones may include qualifying exams, research tools, defenses of dissertation proposals and dissertations, and the completion of theses or dissertations.  Milestones are recorded on the student’s transcript under a section entitled “Non-Course Milestones.”

While individual programs may have specific policies regarding the completion of milestones, the University sets the following campus-wide guidelines for successful completion of milestones and their relationship to satisfactory academic progress.

  • Completion of all milestones must be accomplished within the University’s policies for time to degree.
  • Students who fail to pass a milestone may, if permitted by department policy, undertake a second attempt.  Second attempts must be completed within one year of the first attempt.
  • The University and departments are not required to provide additional opportunities for students who fail their second attempt at passing a milestone.
  • Students who are unable to complete a milestone within two attempts may be dismissed from the University and the program.

Completion of Degree Requirements

Completion of coursework and other degree requirements does not automatically mean the student graduates or receives a degree.  Neither is completion of degree requirements a guarantee of institutional recommendation for teaching or administrative credentials. Specific degree requirements are detailed in the individual academic program sections.

In addition to individual program requirements, University policy has established the following requirements that apply to all programs and students wishing to graduate and receive degrees from CGU.

Satisfactory Academic Progress.  Students who do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)  standards may not graduate from CGU.

Registration.  Students must be registered during the semester in which they intend to receive a degree or certificate, with the exception of students who have completed all coursework for a degree and intend to graduate during the summer term. Students graduating during the summer term who are not enrolled in coursework must have been enrolled or on a university-approved leave of absence during the previous spring term in order to be eligible. Students with loans or other financial aid should understand that loan deferment periods are generally based upon a student’s last semester of enrollment, not the date of graduation.

Full Graduate Standing. Full graduate admission is awarded to individuals who are admitted without reservation and from whom all required application documents have been received. Only students who have full graduate standing may become candidates for a degree.

Degree Requirements Complete status. If all academic and institutional degree requirements, including the removal of outstanding Incomplete grades and receipt by the Registrar’s Office of all forms including all required signatures, are accomplished prior to the first day of classes for that next semester, the student may not be required to register in the semester of degree conferral. In these cases, the academic department should confirm that all approvals have been recorded prior to the first day of the term and then inform the Registrar’s Office that the student is in degree requirements complete status. This status will be recorded on a student’s transcript, and they will remain in active status until the first available date of degree conferral and will not have to register for Continuous Registration or Doctoral Study. This status is only applicable for students who were enrolled at CGU during the term immediately preceding the term of graduation (for fall graduates in degree requirements complete status, enrollment in the preceding spring or summer term is required). Students on a university-approved leave of absence in the previous term or who are reinstating to the university in the semester of graduation are not eligible. Students are also not eligible if they are working on additional degrees at CGU that are incomplete.

Declaration of Intent to Receive a Degree.  Students must submit the Intent to Receive a Degree/Certificate form and the Degree Completion Survey (both available from the Registrar’s Form Index webpage) Registrar’s Office by the deadline announced in the Academic Calendar .  The Intent form is valid only for the semester in which it was originally filed.  In the event that a student does not meet all of the degree deadlines within the intended semester, a new Intent form must be submitted for the next semester in which the student expects to graduate. In addition, enrollment for another semester of Continuous Registration/Doctoral Study may be required.

Completion by Semester Deadline.  All degree requirements must be completed by the deadline announced in the Academic Calendar .  Completion includes, but is not limited to, receipt by the Registrar’s Office of all final approval forms and, for doctoral students and some master’s students, receipt of the final, revised dissertation or thesis.

Exceptions

Exceptions to any degree and graduation requirements must be requested by petition and may require the approval of the student’s dean/chair and the Provost.  For additional information, refer to the registrar’s Petitions & Exceptions to CGU Policy webpage.