UMass Amherst Online MPH Degree ProgramsNew Student Orientation

Module 3: UMass & SPHHS Online MPH Policies

**Note: This module is required. All students must sign the acknowledgment form in the additional resources and submit this to the advisor prior to enrollment.

UMass Amherst Graduate School and SPHHS Online MPH-PHP Department Specific Policies

All matriculated students in the online MPH-PHP degree program are responsible for knowing and abiding by the policies outlined herein.

This module will present the following policies:

Grading policies

Course Enrollment: add/drop, withdrawal, late withdrawal, Continuous Enrollment, Refunds, readmission

Transfer course Policies

Graduation Requirements

Grading Policies 1: UMass Graduate School

Grades earned: Students may be awarded the following grades:

A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+,C, fail and sat/unsat

All students must meet the minimum standard for satisfactory work with a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

If you fall below this mark for one semester you may be placed on academic probation.

If you fall below this mark for two or more semesters you may be dismissed from the University

Graduate students may not take a course pass/fail

Students may earn an incomplete (INC) at the discretion of and agreed arrangement with the faculty

Grading Policies 2: SPHHS Online MPH

In addition to meeting the University required GPA, all matriculated students must meet the following GPA and course achievement specific requirements:o All students must achieve a “B-” or better in each of the following courses:

Pubhlth 540-Introduction to Biostatistics

Pubhlth 565-Environmental Health Practices

Pubhlth 601-Application of Social & Behavioral Theory

Pubhlth 620-Introduction to US health care system

Pubhlth 630-Principles of Epidemiology

Research Methods requirement course

o If a student does not meet the minimum B- or better, the course must be retaken at the students expense.

o There are no exceptions to this rule.

Enrollment definitions

Enrollment appointment-the date in which you can begin to enroll in courses

Add/drop-the date by which you can add or drop a course with no penalty and a full refund (minus the registration fee)

This date is usually 2 weeks into the semester, except for summer term it is 3 days into the term

No record on your transcripts

Withdrawal period-the mid semester date. You can withdraw from a course and receive a 50% refund. A grade of DR will appear on your transcripts

Continuous Enrollment-if you need to take a semester off or a leave of absence you must maintain your place in the program by enrolling in this option. There is a $275.00 fee for this.

Late withdraw-anytime after the end of the semester. No refund. A grade of Withdraw pass (WP) or Withdraw Fail (WF) is placed on your transcripts. You must retake the course. Any grade of WF will count in GPA calculation.

Course Enrollment

Open dates Fall enrollment=Mid-July

Spring enrollment=Mid-November

Summer Enrollment=Mid-March

Failure to enroll Must enroll by Add/drop deadline

2 weeks into the semester

Failure to enroll by this date

Automatically withdrawn from university

Must apply for readmission

$125.00 fee

Course Enrollment

Dropping a course Students may drop a course and receive a full

refund (minus the $45 registration fee) during the add/drop period.

This date is specified in the academic calendar and will be announced by your advisor.

As a general rule, add/drop ends at the end of the first 2 weeks of the term. Or the first 3 days of a summer session.

No record of a dropped course will appear on your transcripts if you drop during add/drop

A link to the current academic calendar can be found on the Module 3 home page under Additional Resources

Withdrawing (prior to mid-semester) The withdrawal period begins the day after

add/drop ends and ends at the midpoint of the semester

Students may withdraw for any reason during this period.

Students will receive a 50% refund of tuition

A grade of “DR” will be recorded on your transcripts

You should contact your advisor and the financial aid office prior to withdrawing to ensure there are no adverse implications to this action

Course Enrollment cont.

Late Withdrawal (after mid-semester) Any withdrawal that occurs after the mid-semester date

Cannot be granted for failing the course

There is no refund

A grade of either withdraw pass (WP) or withdraw fail (WF) will appear on transcripts. As reported by faculty, based on date of last attended.

A grade of WF will count as a F in GPA calculation

Must get advisor permission

Late withdrawals can be considered after the end of the semester on a case-by-case basis for medical issues, military deployments, or change in employment/family circumstances

Refund Appeals under the late withdrawal period may be considered in cases of extreme medical conditions and military deployment. Contact with the advisor is required

It is important to contact your advisor as soon as you know there is an issue. It is easier to solve during the semester, as opposed to after the semester has ended.

Taking Time Off

Taking off just one semester Continuous Enrollment

Students are always welcome to take one (or more) semesters away from the program

Students must enroll in the continuous enrollment option prior to add/drop end date.

The fee is $275.00 and maintains your place in the program.

If you take more than one term away you must enroll in continuous enrollment for each spring and fall term you will be away.

Summers are optional and do not fall into the continuous enrollment requirement.

Requesting a Leave of Absence If you know you will be away from the program for more

than 2 semesters (one academic year) you must contact your advisor and request a formal leave of absence.

A memo must be sent for this request to be official.

The following are acceptable leave requests:

Pregnancy, adoption, caring for an elderly relative, medical conditions, financial constraints, military deployment, and other approved conditions.

You must continue to enroll in continuous enrollment for each spring and fall term you will be away and pay the fee each term. Again summer is not included.

The continuous enrollment fee is waived for military deployment with the submission of formal travel/deployment orders.

When you are ready to return you simply enroll in the next term.

Taking Time Off cont.

Withdrawing from the University Should you come to the point where you are no

longer able to continue in the program and wish to withdraw permanently, this is allowed. Please follow these steps:

Contact your advisor

Review the leave of absence requirements

Review the readmission requirements

Confirm with the advisor this is your intent

A formal withdrawal memo will be sent on your behalf.

You do not need to do anything else at this point, unless you owe money to the Bursar.

You can withdraw for any reason.

Requesting Readmission Readmission can be requested after you have either

been automatically withdrawn for failure to enroll or if you have withdrawn yourself. Readmission after academic suspension is based on policies outlined in the Graduate School Bulletin (Please see the link on the module 3 homepage under additional resources.

Follow these steps to request readmission: Contact the program advisor with request. The

advisor will review your transcripts and if approved write a memo requesting your readmission

Contact the Graduate school. You will need to pay the readmit fee $125.00 and the continuous enrollment fee for each spring and fall term you were away, up to $2000.00 max.

Course Transfer Policies

Non-degree UMass courses:

If you took courses as a non-degree student prior to matriculation please contact the advisor to request the courses transfer into the degree

Courses will transfer as long as you got a B or better in each course

You are limited to 4 courses or 12 credits, no more than this will transfer

If you combine non-degree and outside UMass courses, you are limited to 2-non-degree and 2 outside for a total of 4 courses

Outside UMass courses

If you took courses at another institution, up to 2 courses or 6 credits may transfer if they meet the following criteria:

The course is Graduate Level

Course is from the US. Foreign courses will not transfer

The course is not older than 3 years

You got a B or better

The course has not been used to obtain any other degree or certificate

You provide a syllabus and official transcripts and the course is approved by UMass faculty as equivalent

Graduation

Completion of 42 credits or currently enrolled in final course/s

Achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher

Achieved a B- or better in all 5 core courses and the research methods course

Completion of all incompletes

Completion of the Capstone

No outstanding Bursar bills

Submission of the Master’s Degree Eligibility form-you will be contacted by the advisor during your last semester

3 deadlines each academic year: September, February, and May

All students are invited to march in commencement in May of each year.

Acknowledgment of Policies

You have now completed module 3. Please go to the module 3 webpage and download the Acknowledgment of Policies form.

You must sign this form and return it to Lori Peterson (phonline@schoolph.umass.edu ), department advisor no later than July 15th, 2015.

Thank you!