Reviewing Student Progress

The Annual Progress Report

Each architecture graduate student will fill out the School's Annual Progress Report prior to an annual adviser-student meeting. The adviser will confirm the progress, comment as appropriate on the student's experience in the program, and then forward the outcome to the Director of Graduate Studies. The DGS will meet with the student if necessary, make recommendations for actions and add the report to the student's record held by the Graduate Program Manager. A copy of this annual report is given to the student.

Annual Progress Report Information

The information that serves as the basis for the report includes, but is not restricted to the following:

• Cumulative GPA (must be 2.8 or greater to graduate)
• Recommendations for, and records of, awards, scholarships, and assistantships
• Evaluations of TA or RA performance by students or faculty
• Other academic, professional or service efforts, recognition in studio or classes.
• Filing of milestone documents (e.g., degree program form)

The following apply to the M.Arch professional graduate student:

• Cumulative design studio GPA (must be 2.67 or greater to graduate)
• Individual design studio grades (@ B- or better to continue without permission)
• Satisfactory evaluation the Master’s Final Project.

Evaluation Decisions and Conditions

Students who do not meet either the general Graduate School degree requirements and/or the School's established expectations will be provided with clear written instructions on the conditions that must be met to remain in good standing as a graduate student in the program. These conditions may include ways to meet a minimum GPA and eliminate incomplete grades, a timeframe for meeting such conditions, and the outcomes if the requirements or conditions are not met.

Record-keeping

The Graduate Program Manager will maintain the graduate student's annual evaluations, with a copy placed in each student's file. Any post-graduation correspondence will also be included in the file, as it may assist with future professional applications (e.g. AXP, AIA issues, NCARB inquiries, state registration examining board requests).

Probation, Holds and Termination of Graduate Student Status

Progress Review for Unsatisfactory Grade Performance or Progress in the Program

The Progress Review is a meeting held in the event of unsatisfactory grade performance, and may result in a probationary status being placed on the student's file. The conditions of this probationary status will include specific goals for the removal of that status. The student's adviser, the DGS, and the Graduate Program Manager participate in the review with the student. An ad hoc review committee will be assigned to conduct the review when necessary for personnel absences, changes in progress, or other unforeseen circumstances. The DGS may ask for a separate review or initiate a sequence of post-semester reviews when there is evidence that the student is having difficulty meeting the satisfactory progress criteria.

Holds

Holds are a measure of last resort. A hold may be imposed for unpaid tuition or fees (e.g., library fines) or for disciplinary or scholastic reasons. For example, a hold can be placed on a student's record due to low GPA (below 2.8), excessive incompletes, or failure to file required Graduate School forms in a timely manner. A hold is placed on a record at the discretion of the DGS and is removed by the DGS once the situation is resolved. If you have a hold on your record, you may not register for classes or thesis credits or obtain official transcripts.

Termination of Graduate Student Status

When performance is unsatisfactory in terms of grades or normal progress toward the degree objective and the student has failed to complete the goals to remove the probationary status, an Academic Standards Committee will consider a termination of status in the School of Architecture and the Graduate School. The ASC will include one or more members of the architecture faculty, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the adviser, if appropriate.

The Dean of the Graduate School may terminate the student's graduate status because of the student's failure to maintain the minimum standards of achievement or progress as stipulated by the Graduate School and the architecture faculty. The degree program is obligated to publish its standards and criteria either in the form of a handbook for students or on its website (or both). The Dean shall act after reviewing the student's academic record and the recommendation of the adviser, the faculty of the graduate program, or any committee charged by the faculty with the evaluation of student progress.

Records Policies

All correspondence concerning the student's status—admissions, degree program forms, petitions, GPA/academic records, written faculty studio evaluations, filed annual reports, thesis topic and related matters, copies of Graduate School approvals and forms—will remain in the School. The Graduate Program Manager will maintain the graduate student's annual evaluations, with a copy placed in each student's file. Any post-graduation correspondence will be included in the file; this may assist with future professional applications (AXP, AIA issues, NCARB inquiries, or state registration examining board requests).

Privacy: the DGS, faculty and staff have access to the file on a need-to-know basis, per FERPA regulations. The student has access, per written request to the DGS, to contents in his/her file to which s/he has not waived viewing rights.

Grade Changes

Reasons for a grade change

Grade disputes involving an instructor's judgment in assigning a grade based on academic performance may be resolved informally between the instructor and the student. A student may ask an instructor to review the original grade submission. Grounds for a grade change might include an error in calculation, a dispute over a final exam, or an assignment that changed the expected grade. Acceptable reasons include but are not limited to errors and omissions on the part of the instructor or re-evaluation of the work. Unacceptable reasons are submission of late work or additional work.

Procedure for a grade change

The instructor of record submits all grades electronically. If an instructor has reason to believe the grade of record was incorrect, he or she will submit a supplemental electronic grade change and select a reason for the change. The DGS must electronically approve the grade change for it to become official. When the instructor of record is off-duty, the DGS may approve the request directly in order to preserve the integrity of the graduate transcript as an accurate record of a student's academic progress.