All students taking CJP courses for graduate or undergraduate credit are subject to the policies below and the overall graduate program policies. Exceptions to the policies stated below are at the discretion of the graduate program and will be made in consultation with the Academic Program Coordinator and the student’s academic advisor.
Review the university-wide graduate program policies found in the graduate school catalog.
Advisors
When a faculty member goes on sabbatical or is otherwise absent for part/all of the academic year, the Academic Program Coordinator will assume advising responsibilities in their absence unless alternate arrangements have been made. In the case of certain specialized Graduate Certificate programs where mentors are used no academic advisor will be assigned. Refer to the graduate program policy on “Advising” for additional related information.
Class participation and absences
Students should be aware of the importance of regular class attendance, particularly in the case of CJP classes that meet weekly or over several weekends. Being absent for more than one class leads to a student missing a large portion of the class content. In addition to consistent class attendance, students should make every effort to arrive to class on time out of respect for the learning process, fellow students and faculty. Refer to the graduate program policy on “Class Attendance” for related information.
Course extensions, incompletes and continued coursework
Course extensions
For fall and spring semesters, all coursework is due by the end of the semester. For SPI classes, all course work (for non-degree or part-time students or students doing the graduate program through SPI) is due by October 1. Residential full-time CJP students must complete all SPI course work before the start of the next semester; August 20 for those who will be full-time in the fall semester.*
If a student will not be able to complete a course on time, the student must submit a request one week before the end of the semester or, in the case of SPI or other non-traditional graduate classes, one week before all coursework is due. If the request is granted the student will receive an “I” (incomplete) for the course which will later be replaced by a final grade when the work has been turned in on the agreed upon date (nothing will be retained on the student’s permanent record noting that the course was completed after the initial deadline). If the request for an extension is denied, the student will receive a grade for the work that has been completed up until the time the course was expected to have been completed. If no work or not enough work to pass the class has been submitted, the final grade will be an F (or W under unusual circumstances and with the approval of the Academic Program Coordinator).
Extensions will be given only for legitimate and unusual situations. Extensions are contracted by the student with the program for up to a maximum of 6 months after the deadline for the course work.
Follow these procedures if you need to request an extension for a fall, spring or summer course.
Send an email to the instructor of the course, your academic advisor and the Academic Program Coordinator that includes the following information:
• Pax # and Course Title
• Reason for requesting an extension
• How much time you are requesting
PLEASE NOTE: If the outstanding course work is received within the first 6 weeks of the extension, no grade reduction will be imposed; after 6 weeks, unless special arrangements have been agreed upon, any outstanding coursework will be reduced by ½ letter grade. If the extension deadline is not met, the instructor will submit the final grade based on what has been received to date.
Under exceptional circumstances, an additional 6-month extension may be granted by special petition to the Academic Program Coordinator, the student’s academic advisor and the instructor of the course. To receive this additional extension, a letter of petition is expected with full rationale for the reason unable to finish by the due date and a practical plan on how the student will finish if this extension is permitted. This must be submitted to the above persons at least one week before the end of the first extension. A student is encouraged to use this only when absolutely necessary.
*Request the policy “Analysis and Practice substitute for Limited-Residency MA students” for deadlines for these students.
Grading
In cases where students receive extensions for fall and spring courses, instructors are expected to do everything possible to turn in grades 1 month after all coursework has been submitted to them – if this will not be possible they will let the student know (and the Academic Program Coordinator) when to expect the grade and feedback. For all summer coursework, grades should be submitted and feedback to students within a month of the course completion deadline.
Registration
If a student has outstanding coursework this may impact their registration in future terms. Prior to registering a student the Academic Program Coordinator may check to see whether the student has any outstanding coursework. If so, the student may be asked to get special permission from their advisor before being allowed to register for additional classes. This will provide an opportunity to discuss their plans for completion of outstanding coursework.
Courses for reduced credit hours
Students are welcome to take non-core 3 SH classes for 2 SH with permission of the instructor. A student is permitted to take up to 2 courses per semester for reduced hours. Syllabi for CJP classes will outline course assignments for reduced hours when applicable or will note if the class is not appropriate to be taken for reduced hours. Please note that no 2 and 3 SH courses cannot be taken for 1 SH. Please note that changes to the number of credit hours a student is registered for in the course follow the normal drop/add periods.
Credit hour limit
Graduate students are permitted to take up to 12 SH in the fall and the spring terms. Taking more than 12 SH requires written permission to the Academic Program Coordinator from the student’s academic advisor. Students can take no more than 2 SPI courses (5-6 SH) if they plan to return full-time in the fall semester (only 1 course is recommended for students who plan to do an internship/work over the summer or extensive travel).
Directed/Independent study coursework
MA students may take up to 2 directed or independent study courses (up to 6 SH) during their course of study and Graduate Certificate/GC students may take 1. Approval for these credits to be used towards the MA or GC is given by the student’s academic advisor. Refer to “Transfer credit” policy for additional related information.
Email accounts
Each graduate student is supplied with an EMU email address for the duration of their time of study and up to one year following graduation. The expectation is that while a student is enrolled in the program, they will be responsible for the material sent to their EMU email address. That address is seen as the primary mode of communication with students. Programmatic information, including information regarding course expectations and deadlines, registration for classes, and community events are circulated to students via email. Students are welcome to forward their EMU emails to an alternate address or change their subscriptions to mass EMU email listserves (see https://emu.edu/broadcast/) to cut down on the number of emails received at that address.
Leave of absence
Graduate students who intend to interrupt their enrollment in the graduate program for more than one full year are required to submit a written request to the Academic Program Coordinator and academic advisor. This request will then be processed and a decision given to the student. The program may choose to withdraw the student from the program for lack of sufficient academic progress. Acceptable reasons for requesting a leave of absence include, but are not limited to: medical circumstances, inadequate financial resources to continue or family crises. If a student does not submit a written request for a leave of absence for review and approval, their admission into the program may be revoked and the student would need to reapply should they wish to continue in the degree program at a later date. Refer to the graduate program policy on “Time limits for completing degree requirements” for additional related information.
Non-degree seeking students
Non-degree seeking students may enroll to take fall or spring classes for graduate credit when there is room in a class and with permission of the instructor. For non-degree seeking SPI students, permission to take the courses will be granted by the Academic Program Coordinator. Persons who are not currently degree-seeking students wishing to take CJP courses, will be asked to submit a registration form to the Academic Program Coordinator, including information on what class(es) they wish to take and the reason for wanting to take the class. Full preparation for the class and fulfillment of all course requirements is required, in addition to regular attendance and participation. Guidelines for each class for those students taking courses for graduate credit will be outlined in the syllabus for the course.
Pass/Fail courses
For certain CJP courses “Pass” is the highest grade possible. The “Pass” grade is not factored into the overall grade point average (GPA). Most classes are evaluated with a standard letter grade range: A, B, C. However, for the practicum (required of all MA students) and some courses, this type of evaluation is less appropriate. For example, while a faculty member supervises the practicum student, a practicum is usually accomplished by working with another organization or program outside our community, making a nuanced evaluation difficult.
Students switching MA to Graduate Certificate or Graduate Certificate to MA
In certain cases a student pursuing an MA at CJP may choose to only finish the Graduate Certificate. In this case, they are asked to submit their plans in writing to the Academic Program Coordinator and to their academic advisor. In the case where a student is enrolled in the Graduate Certificate program and wants to move to the MA program, they need to follow these procedures:
- Submit a written request to their academic advisor and the Academic Program Coordinator.
- Depending on the length of time they have been in the program, an additional letter of recommendation may be requested.
- The Academic Program Coordinator will circulate the request with the Admissions Committee for final approval of the internal transfer of program and then communicate the decision to the student and advisor.
- The student is responsible for the MA curriculum as it is when they are admitted into the full MA program (not what it was when they began their Graduate Certificate studies).
Transfer Credit
Transfer credits may be applied to a student’s program of study with the approval of the Academic Program Coordinator, who will handle decisions on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the student’s advisor.
Traditionally, a maximum of 6 SH may be applied to the MA degree (3 for a GC). Additional SH may be considered for transfer under special circumstances. All transfer work must have a grade of A or B and have been completed for graduate credit at an accredited college or university. Transfer credit taken more than five years before a student is admitted may not be used to satisfy degree requirements. Students requesting to transfer work must submit the request in writing with an official transcript from the university which previously awarded the credit.
Please note that the normal expectation is that no more than 6 SH for a GC student and no more than 12 SH for an MA student would come from outside normal CJP coursework. Credits coming from outside CJP coursework might be comprised of transfer credits from outside EMU or courses taken in other EMU graduate programs or the Seminary.
Transfer of credits completed at EMU to another institution is at the discretion of that institution. Candidates should check with the institution to which they wish to transfer regarding the transferability of EMU credits.
Student pursuing two Graduate Certificates (GC) or a GC and an MA from CJP
This policy is intended to clarify the credit hour and curriculum requirements should a student wish to pursue completion of two Graduate Certificates (GC) at CJP or a GC and an MA degree both within CJP.
If a student wishes to pursue two Graduate Certificates (GC) – CT and RJ - a total of 6 credit hours will be shared between the two programs. The core (Foundations I or Analysis and Practice/Formation for Peacebuilding Practice) will be satisfied for both programs. Outside of those 6 credits, the student will need to take the number of additional credit hours and the specific courses needed to satisfy GC requirements.If a student wishes to pursue a GC in CT alongside an MA in RJ, an additional 3 credits is required. If a student wishes to pursue a GC in RJ alongside an MA in CT, an additional 6 credits is required, and specific RJ requirements for the GC must be fulfilled. In the instance that a student has already taken courses that are required courses in the 2nd program being added, they do not have to retake those courses, but will need to select additional courses to fill out the required credit hours and meet their learning objectives. The Academic Program Coordinator will review individual cases and can make a decision on a case-by-case basis to accept more credit hours. Especially in cases where a recent GC graduate (like WPLP) wishes to add on the MA degree, it makes sense to consider bringing in all the credits.