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Policies and Procedures

All active-duty military students who are unable to complete course requirements due to change in employment duties, work schedule or deployment to a duty assignment may be administratively withdrawn from current semester courses. Students are required to furnish a copy of their military orders to the Office of the University Registrar. Upon receipt of the copy of military orders, the student will be withdrawn from all courses unless a faculty member objects that the student’s classroom performance is such that a withdrawal (W) would not be appropriate; if a faculty member objects, the faculty member will inform the University Registrar and the original grade assigned by the faculty member will stand. A refund of tuition will be processed following an audit of the student’s account and returned to the appropriate party. In addition, the University Registrar will notify the following offices so that additional refunds can be processed as appropriate: Housing and Residence Life, University Card Center, Transportation and Parking Services, and the University Village Bookstore. Students who are deployed while actively attending the University should make an effort to notify the University Registrar as soon as possible so that records can be updated, providing a copy of military orders or verification of a new duty assignment.

University Housing and Dining Services – Upon notification by the University Registrar, the Executive Director of Housing and Residence Life will authorize a refund based on prorated charges for the semester calculated on the days in residence. If the student is deployed prior to the start of the semester, but has made a formal commitment for University housing, the student will be released from the housing agreement without penalty and the deposit will be fully refunded.

Dining/Monarch Plus Card/Transportation and Parking Services – Upon notification by the University Registrar, prorated refunds will be made for partially used meal plans. Funds remaining on the Monarch Plus card will be refunded to the student. Refund of payment for a parking decal will be prorated based on percentage of use.

Course Materials – Upon notification by the University Registrar, the University Village Bookstore will allow for full refunds and/or exchanges of course materials for any student called to official active military duty as long as the materials are in resaleable condition.

Deposits for Admission – Freshman and transfer students who are new applicants for admission to the University but who have not registered for classes may receive either a refund of the admission deposit or defer admission up to one year by submitting a request to the Office of Admissions.

Monarch Orientation Fee – Students who have paid but have not attended Monarch Orientation will receive full refund of the orientation fee.

Academic Credit – If the student has begun attending classes and sufficient time has passed in the semester, the incomplete grade policy may apply.

A grade of Incomplete (I) indicates assigned work yet to be completed in a given course or absence from the final examination and is assigned only upon instructor approval of a student request. The I grade may be awarded only in exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as illness, and only after 80% of the time allocated for the course has elapsed and substantial progress has been made toward completion of course requirements with the exception of courses that do not fit within the traditional semester calendar.

In cases of exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control, it is the responsibility of the student to approach the instructor to request an I grade and to provide documentation, including a written statement of when the work will be completed, to support the request. The authority to award an I grade rests with the instructor whose decision is final. Students whose requests for I grades are approved must not re-register for the class until the I grade has been resolved. The I grade becomes an F if not removed when grades are due the following term according to the following schedule: I grades from the fall semester become F’s if not removed by the day grades are due for the spring semester; I grades from the spring semester and the summer session become F’s if not removed by the day grades are due for fall semester.

When there is an existing incomplete grade and the instructor who assigned the incomplete has left the University or is no longer available, the chair of the department or the program director will be responsible for making sure that the completed work is graded, and a final grade is submitted.

An I grade may be changed to a W only in very unusual circumstances and when the student’s situation has changed since the I grade was awarded. In these cases, the request for a change to a W must be in writing, documented, and approved by the instructor, department chair and dean. Students will not be allowed to graduate until all grades of I have been resolved.

In the case of courses that do not fit within the traditional semester calendar, the faculty member assigns the I grade. The time periods for the removal of I grades before they become grades of F are the same as those stated in the previous paragraph.

Extension of the I time limitation normally will not be approved except for reasons beyond the student’s control and only if the supervising faculty member is available and willing to supervise the work beyond the normal time limit. Students should submit the request to the instructor, who should submit approval, via the chair, to the University Registrar in order to retain the I. The approval from the instructor should designate the expiration date of the extension.

If the student is unable to complete the incomplete grade because of prolonged deployment the student should provide justification and documentation directly to the course instructor. At the instructor’s discretion, the course instructor can authorize the University Registrar to administratively withdraw the student using this policy. The student will be withdrawn from the course, a grade W will be posted to the academic record and refund of tuition to the appropriate party will be processed. If the instructor is no longer employed at the University, the student should consult the department chair. In the event of a disagreement about a grade, the normal grade appeal process described in the University Catalogs will apply.

Students who are administratively withdrawn from the University under this policy are strongly encouraged to maintain contact with the University through the Office of Student Engagement and Enrollment Services.

Students who are called to active duty during an academic semester who have completed 75 percent of the course requirements at the time of activation and who meet other specified requirements also have the option to accept the grade earned to date. It is the responsibility of the student to provide a copy of the military orders to the Office of the University Registrar. The Registrar will provide documentation to the instructor in support of the student’s request to receive the grade earned to date.

Reinstatement – As soon as plans are made, returning students should contact the Office of Admissions to verify their student status and to reactivate their record, if necessary, prior to reenrolling in classes. Students who leave the University in good standing remain eligible to reenroll. A student who has left the University for more than a year must complete a reactivation/readmission form available on the Office of Admissions web site. If the separation from the University was longer than five years, the applicant will need to resubmit all official transcripts and necessary credentials. There are no additional fees if the student has previously paid the admission fee.

Students who return following a prolonged absence due to military deployment should be aware of the time limits for Catalog election.

Undergraduate Return to Program – It is presumed the undergraduate student will remain eligible to return to the same program of study. The student should contact the chief departmental advisor for the major if returning to the same program of study. The content of some programs may require that the student repeat previously passed courses to maintain currency in the field.

If the program of study is no longer available for any reason, the student should seek the assistance of the academic advising unit in the Center for Advising Administration and Academic Partnerships and access the degree evaluation system, available online as DegreeWorks, to determine a suitable alternative major.

Undergraduate Time Limits – Undergraduate students may choose to graduate under the Catalog in effect at the time of their first enrollment (part-time or full-time) or any subsequent Catalog provided that the students graduate within six years from the date of the first enrollment. Students who have prolonged deployment may be required to elect a more recent Catalog or the Catalog in effect at the term of re-enrollment at the University. Returning students should consult their academic advisors to verify the correct Catalog for graduation purposes. Students should refer to their “general student record” in LEO Online to verify the Catalog selected at the date of first enrollment. The Catalog “year” begins with the fall semester each year.

In all cases, students must have been duly admitted to the University and an academic program of study and meet all of the requirements for graduation in one Catalog. Students may not “tailor make” their own degree requirements by selecting partial requirements from more than one Catalog.

Graduate Return to Program – It is presumed the graduate student will remain eligible to return to the same program of study. The student should contact the graduate program director prior to resuming studies. If the program of study is no longer available for any reason, the student should consult the graduate program director or the college dean for alternatives.

Graduate Time Limits – All requirements for a graduate degree must be completed within eight calendar years from the date of beginning the initial course following admission to the program. Exceptions to these time limits must be approved by the graduate program director and the college dean. Academic credits older than eight years at the time of graduation must be validated by an examination before the work can be applied to a graduate degree. See the “Policy on Re-Validation of Out-of-Date Graduate Credit.” Students whose graduate study is interrupted for military service will be granted an extension of time for the period of their military service, not to exceed five years. Courses older than eight years at the end of the extension, however, must be re-validated.

Re-Validation of Out-of-Date Graduate Credit – Academic credit granted outside the eight-year time limit established for graduate degrees must be re-validated by an examination. To be revalidated, the work must have been completed at �һ�������Ƶ Dominion University or be acceptable as transfer credit in lieu of an �һ�������Ƶ Dominion University course.

The following procedure shall be used to re-validate out-of-date work. The student must receive the permission of his or her graduate program director and the chair of the department/school or dean of the college in which the course is offered to re-validate the course credit. The form for validation of out-of-date credit shall be used to record all transactions and submitted to the Office of the University Registrar upon completion of re-validation of work. The graduate program director, department/school chair or dean shall make appropriate referrals to faculty member(s) (an individual or a committee) teaching the course to request that an examination be prepared and evaluated. Before the examination, the faculty member(s) shall inform the student of the area of knowledge or course content on which he or she is to be examined. After the examination has been completed, the re-validation form shall be filled out, signed by the examining faculty member(s), and forwarded to the dean of the academic college offering the graduate degree program for approval. Copies of the completed form shall be sent to the student, the graduate program director, and the Office of the University Registrar. Re-validation for any given course normally can be sought only once.

The Office of the University Registrar will maintain records of administrative withdrawals completed under this policy.