Policies, Procedures and Forms - School of Education and Human Development

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Policies, Procedures, & Forms

Except where noted, policies and procedures are the same for all of the graduate programs within the School.

Admission Requirements

Except in the case of the Graduate Teacher Certification Programs (all of which share the same admission procedures) admission requirements differ among programs within the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. Refer to the individual program sections in this catalog for information regarding their respective admission procedures.

Transfer Policy: Ordinarily, students will not be allowed to transfer more than six credit hours from other institutions. Only courses with grades of A or B may be transferred, and all are subject to the approval of the academic department. An official record of such work must be on file in the student's department office by the time s/he submits the Application for Candidacy to Graduate (ACG). Generally, no credit will be allowed toward a Master's degree or graduate certificate for work taken earlier than ten years before acceptance into the program. Any exceptions to the requirements and policies stated above must have the approval of the Dean of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development.

Degree Requirements

Degree requirements differ among the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development’s graduate degree programs. Refer to the individual program sections for specific requirements.

University Enrollment and Academic Records Standards

Confidentiality of Education Records: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is a federal law that grants to students the right to inspect, to obtain copies, to challenge, and to a degree control the release of information contained in their education records. The Act and Regulations are very lengthy, and for that reason SMU has issued guidelines that are available to students in the Division of Enrollment Services. Policy 1.18 of the University Policy Manual, accessible on SMU's Intranet, also discusses this law.

In general, no personally identifiable information from a student's education record will be disclosed to any third party without written consent from the student. Several exceptions exist, including information defined by SMU as Directory information, which may be released unless the student sends a written request to the Registrar that it be withheld.

Student File Number: A student's SMU identification number is an eight-digit number assigned by the University. Students also are asked to provide their Social Security numbers. The SMU ID number or Social Security number should be furnished on all forms when requested, as they are the primary means for identifying the student's academic records and transactions related to the records.

Name Change: A student who has a change in name after his or her last enrollment at SMU, or a change from the name submitted on his or her application for admission, must provide his or her Social Security card or the form issued by the Social Security Administration. Enrollment or records services for the student under a name different from the last enrollment cannot be accomplished without the above documents. All grade reports, transcripts, and diplomas are issued only under the person's legal name as recorded by the University Registrar.

Mailing addresses, Telephone, and E-mail Address: All students are to provide the University Registrar a current home address and telephone number, a current local mailing address and telephone number, and a current billing address and telephone number.

Students who have a change in any of their addresses or telephone numbers should update this information using SMU's web-based self-services, Access.SMU, or report the change in writing to the University Registrar. Students can be deemed ineligible to enroll or be administratively withdrawn from the University for providing insufficient or improper address and telephone number information.

The University issues all students an e-mail address. Students may have other e-mail addresses, but the University assigned e-mail address is the official address for University electronic correspondence, including related communications with faculty members and academic units.

University official correspondence may be sent to any of the student's mailing addresses or the SMU e-mail address. It is the student's responsibility to provide updates to all of their mailing addresses and to regularly check both their mailing and e-mail addresses, which are used for official correspondence from the University. Students are responsible for complying with requests, deadlines and other requirements sent to any of their mailing addresses on file or to their SMU e-mail address.

Transcript Service:* A transcript is an official copy of a student’s official permanent academic record maintained by the University Registrar. The permanent academic record includes all SMU courses attempted, all grades assigned, degrees received, and a summary of transfer hours accepted. Official transcripts and certifications of student academic records are issued by the University Registrar for all students of the University. Copies of transfer transcripts from other schools must be requested from the institutions where the course work was taken.

Transcripts should be requested in person, by mail, or by fax. Telephone and e-mail requests are not accepted. No partial or incomplete transcripts including only certain courses or grades are issued. Transcripts cannot be released unless the student has satisfied all financial and other obligations to the University.

*Chapter 675, S.B. 302. Acts of the 61st Texas Legislature, 1969 Regular Session, provides: Section I. No person may buy, sell, create, duplicate, alter, give, or obtain; or attempt to buy, sell, create, duplicate, alter, give, or obtain a diploma, certificate, academic record, certificate of enrollment, or other instrument which purports to signify merit or achievement conferred by an institution of education in this state with the intent to use fraudulently such document or to allow the fraudulent use of such document.

Section II. A person who violates this act or who aids another in violating this act is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 and/or confinement in the county jail for a period not to exceed one year.

Enrollment: Preceding each session of the University, there is an enrollment period during which the formal process of enrollment in classes is completed. Prior to each enrollment period, the University Registrar publishes instructions for the completion of enrollment. Students are responsible for complying with enrollment procedures and for the accuracy and completeness of their enrollment.

Readmission and Schedule Changes: Continuing students who do not enroll for two consecutive regular semesters will be considered inactive and must be readmitted to the program. A student must consult his/her respective program office to initiate this procedure.

The deadline for adding courses, dropping courses without grade record, and changing sections for each enrollment period is listed in the University Calendar. A student may drop a course with a grade of W (withdrawal passing) through the deadline listed. After the deadline, the student may not drop a class. All schedule changes must be processed by the deadline date specified in the University Calendar. Schedule changes are not complete for official University record purposes unless finalized in the Office of the University Registrar.

Audit Enrollment (Course Visitor): Students desiring to audit (visit) a class, whether or not concurrently enrolled for regular course work, are required to process an Audit Enrollment Request form and pay the audit fee established by the Registrar’s office. Forms are available in each program office, in the Registrar’s office, or on the Registrar’s website in the forms library. Space must be available in the class, and the auditor must obtain permission from the course instructor and his/her program director. The following regulations are applicable:

No grade is assigned and no credit is recorded; no laboratory privileges are included.
If credit is desired, the course must be enrolled for and repeated as a regular course, and the regular tuition must be paid.
The student's name does not appear on class rosters or grade sheets.
Regular admission and enrollment procedures are not conducted for auditors.
The audit fee is nonrefundable.

Drops and Withdrawals: Please be aware of the difference between a drop and a withdrawal. They have different deadlines and separate financial policies. The deadlines are posted each term on the Official University Calendar at www.smu.edu/registrar. A drop occurs when a student removes one or more courses from his/her schedule and remains enrolled in at least one credit hour for the term. A withdrawal occurs when removing the course or courses will result in the student being enrolled in ZERO hours for the term. If a student removes all courses from his or her schedule PRIOR TO THE PAYMENT DUE DATE, the transaction is considered a Cancellation and does not result in financial penalty or impact the student’s transcript. Reduction of tuition and fees is based on the schedule listed in the publication Financial Information: Southern Methodist University and is determined by the effective date of the withdrawal. Students receiving financial aid should refer to the Financial Information section of the catalog.

A student who wishes to withdraw must contact his/her program office to initiate a Student Petition for Withdrawal form and obtain approval from his or her academic adviser. The effective date of the withdrawal is the date on which the Student Petition for Withdrawal is processed in the Registrar's Office. Drops can usually be done by the student through his or her ACCESS account.

Discontinuance of class attendance or notification to the instructor of intention to withdraw does not constitute an official drop or withdrawal. At the discretion of the instructor, Director, and/or Dean, any student who has not attended a class for three class meetings may be dropped administratively.

Medical withdrawals provide a daily pro rata refund of tuition and fees and have conditions that must be met prior to re-enrollment at SMU. Medical withdrawals must be authorized by the Medical Director, Psychiatric Director, Counseling and Testing Director, Dean of Student Life, or Vice President for Student Affairs. Authorization may be obtained prior to or after the withdrawal, but no later than six months after the withdrawal.

Probation, Suspension, and Dismissal: Failure to meet established minimum acceptable standards of academic or disciplinary performance can result in probation, suspension, or dismissal.

Graduate students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00. If in any term the student falls below this GPA, the student will be placed on probation for one term. If at the end of the term of probation the cumulative GPA is not up to 3.00, the student may be removed from the program at the discretion of the Program Director and/or Dean.

The status of academic probation is a stern warning to the student that satisfactory progress toward graduation is not being made. A student on probation is considered in "good standing" for certification purposes and is eligible to enroll. No entry is made on the permanent academic record. Students who are notified of probationary status are strongly urged to contact their academic adviser.

Suspension and Dismissal are involuntary separations of the student from his/her program. Suspension is for a set period of time. Dismissal is permanent. A suspended or dismissed student is not in good standing and is not eligible to enroll as a student during the suspension period. "Academic Suspension (or Dismissal)" is recorded on the permanent academic record.

Grades: The grade of a student in any course is determined by the instructor of the course. The following grades are authorized for recording on the student's official graduate academic record maintained by the University Registrar.