Advising
Each student will be assigned an academic advisor upon acceptance into a graduate program. Only members of the graduate faculty are authorized to serve as program advisors for graduate students. The program advisor is responsible for helping students be aware of and understand the expectations and requirements of their academic programs (e.g., degree requirements, deadlines, program and University policy). Program advisors are responsible for assisting students with questions regarding their academic programs and professional guidance. These responsibilities include explaining Graduate School policies and procedures, expectations for comprehensive examinations, theses, capstone, or dissertation, and internships, as guided by program, department, school, university and Graduate School as well as professional conferences and publications. Any deviations from published program requirements or plans of study are communicated to the Graduate School, in writing, by the program advisor to assist the graduation check process. It is the responsibility of the program or school to notify the Graduate School of the advisor assignment and any change in advisor assignment.
The importance of the program advisor cannot be overstated. Program advisement includes all aspects of students' present and future academic and professional planning. It is often the program advisor who is able to help students conceptualize their academic program within the context of their own professional goals and aspirations. This responsibility is likely to involve extensive discussions of academic or professional goals well beyond the current program.
Application for a Change of Major
Currently enrolled graduate students may apply to change their major from one graduate program to another or from one emphasis to another with the approval of the school for both program areas and final approval by the Graduate School.
The student must complete a Request for Change of Major form and receive appropriate school approvals: www.unco.edu/grad/forms/pdfs/ChangeMajor.pdf. The program in which the student is current enrolled sends the student's file to the newly requested program for review.
NOTE: A change of emphasis is equivalent to a change of major.
Comprehensive Examinations
Also see specific degree requirements. Records of written comprehensive examinations are maintained in the program area for a period of 12 calendar months. These examinations are confidential and available only to the student who completed an exam and program or school faculty to address potential appeals and/or questions of administration and grading procedures. Students may request to review their comprehensive examination but may not be allowed access to written responses of other students. Program faculty may use past comprehensive examination responses as models for instructional purposes as long as all student identifications are removed by faculty.
Graduation Requirements
Graduation requirements are checked in accordance with the university Catalog and Degree Works. The student must specify the Catalog under which he/she wishes to be evaluated and must meet all requirements in that Catalog. The Catalog used to meet graduation requirements is normally the one published for the academic year during which the student first enrolls after admission to the university.
The student may select any subsequent Catalog up to and including the current one, provided the student was in attendance at the university during that academic year. However, a student may not choose to meet partial requirements in one version of the Catalog and other requirements in another version of the Catalog.
To graduate in any given semester, all graduation requirements must be completed (with relevant documentation submitted to the Office of the Registrar and Graduate School, as necessary) by the Wednesday prior to the date that diplomas are released for the semester.
Degrees are not awarded during the Interim term; students who complete their graduation requirements in an Interim term are considered graduates of the subsequent Spring semester.
Letter of Completion
Usually, an official transcript is proof of completion of a degree. If a student needs proof of the degree prior to the availability of official transcripts with degree indicated, he/she may contact the Graduate School in writing, for a letter of completion. A letter of completion can be issued only after all the degree requirements have been officially verified as complete, including posting of grades for the current semester by the Registrar.
Petition for Exception
Graduate students may petition to be excepted from certain procedures, rules, policies, and requirements within the purview of the Graduate School. Students discuss the need for the Petition with their academic advisor prior to submitting the request to the Graduate School. The petition must include the specific policy or guideline from which the student desires to be excepted, a clear rationale for the exception, and a description of how the exception, if granted, would enhance the academic program, allow the continuation of a productive academic program, allow recovery from lost opportunity due to health or traumatic events or allow the student to profit from unique educational opportunities impeded by Graduate School regulations. When requesting an extension of program time limit, the student must document the specific academic and degree requirements to be completed and proposed timeline for completion. Signatures of the program advisor and school director or department chair are required on this form prior to submitting the request to the Graduate School. Faculty signatures indicate approval of and support for the request. Petitions submitted without the required signatures will be returned to the student. The Graduate Student Petition for Exception form is available in school offices or on the Graduate School website www.unco.edu/grad/forms/pdfs/GraduateStudentPetitionForException.pdf.
Program Termination
A student's degree program may be terminated for one or more of the following reasons:
- The major school/program recommends that the student's program be terminated based on an overall evaluation of the student
- The graduate student has not maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 in graduate level courses. A graduate student may not graduate with a cumulative grade point average below 3.00. If student's cumulative grade point average drops below 3.00 after taking at least 9 graduate level credit hours, a warning letter will be sent to the student. The degree program of a student who has been sent a warning letter will be terminated if the student's grade point average is below 3.00 after completing an additional 9 or more graduate level credit hours in which grades of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” are earned. All grades earned during the semester which the 9th hour is earned are used in the calculation of the grade average;
- Fails the retake of the written comprehensive examination or its approved equivalent as reported to the Graduate School by the student's program;
- Fails the retake of the oral comprehensive examination as reported to the Graduate School by the student's program; fails to meet the "may pass" conditions documented stipulated after the dissertation defense or
- Submits an unsatisfactory thesis or dissertation as determined by the student's program and the Graduate School.
Readmission Subsequent to Program Termination
A student whose degree program has been terminated may be considered for admission to a different degree program. The following policies apply:
- The student must apply for admission to a different degree program.
- If admitted, the student must complete all standard requirements of the program to which he/she has been admitted.
- A maximum of 9 semester hours from the terminated program may be counted in the new program if approved by the new program advisor and the Graduate School.
If the student's former program was terminated due to failure of the retake of the comprehensive examination or its equivalent, the student will be allowed only one opportunity to pass the comprehensive examination or approved equivalent in the new program.
Research Involving Human Subjects
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Before any research involving human subjects can be conducted under the auspices of the university, an Intuitional Review Board (IRB) review is required. Data from human subjects are not to be collected until written approval is received by the student from the University's Institutional Review Board. The main considerations and responsibilities of the IRB are to assure that ethical standards and the protection of human rights are maintained in any research conducted while at UNC.
Researchers are advised to obtain and submit an IRB packet early in their research process to allow time for a thorough review. Graduate students and faculty members can request an IRB packet from the Office of Sponsored Programs via their website: www.unco.edu/osp.
Student Liability
To protect against liability claims, all research involving subject consent requires a statement informing potential subjects that their participation is not covered by university liability insurance. The subject consent form must include the following statement:
If injuries occur during the course of research, subjects are advised that the University of Northern Colorado is a publicly-funded institution of higher education and as such, liability may be limited under and governed by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act.
The State of Colorado's Risk Management Division (the unit responsible for UNC's liability insurance) has concluded that student researchers are not protected by the state against claims unless they are student employees, interns, or authorized volunteers assigned to a research project (most student researchers would not be). This means that most graduate students working on their master's theses or doctoral dissertations are not protected by the state of Colorado against claims resulting from their research.
This decision has serious implications for student researchers who are working with human subjects. Any student researcher who is placing subjects at some level of risk should be concerned. For example, student researchers are engaged in a variety of activities that could potentially harm their subjects (e.g., they draw blood, conduct therapy sessions, and evaluate physical conditioning). Regardless of how responsible researchers may be, accidents can happen. Though the researcher is ultimately responsible for the health and safety of research subjects, low risk research, as defined by Health and Human Services (HHS) Guidelines and described in the IRB instruction packet, may not be recommended for special liability insurance coverage.
For moderate to high risk procedures, the IRB committee will strongly recommend that student’s purchase liability insurance either through a professional association or an alternative source.