Graduate Admissions and Academic Policies

Graduate Admissions

A student applying for an NCWU graduate program must provide the following criteria:

1. Complete and submit online graduate application
2. Submit proof of undergraduate degree in subject or related field by requesting official transcript from regionally accrediting institution(s)
   Note: If graduate level credits have been attempted, official transcript must be requested from all institution(s)
3. Resume with two references (Must be able to provide reference letters upon request)
   Note: MSCJ students require two years of experience in criminal justice or related field. Students not meeting this criteria will be required to complete an internship once admitted to the program
4. Complete a statement of purpose
5. Minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5
   Note: Graduate school applicants with a cumulative GPA below 2.5 may still be considered based upon other factors submitted in the application
6. Completed Background Check
   Note: Applications for admission are considered for acceptance to the University when all required information is submitted. All will be subjected to a background check which may impact admission consideration

The applicant is responsible for providing accurate and current information. If falsification, misrepresentation or omission occurs, admission may be revoked. Financial aid may not be received until all transcripts have been submitted.

Readmission

Students who previously attended Wesleyan and wish to return must apply for readmission. An Application for Readmission of Former Students can be obtained from the Office of Admissions at any of the University’s locations.

If the applicant has attended another post-secondary institution during the absence, an official transcript from each institution must be submitted. Students who have been academically or socially suspended may be required to submit additional materials for review by the University before a decision is made concerning their formal readmission. Students approved for readmission into the university must successfully pass a criminal background check.

Students who have been academically suspended, may not be eligible for readmission. 

Change of Program

Students currently enrolled in a NCWU graduate program, wishing to change graduate program must complete the Change of Graduate Program form, which can be requested from the academic advisor.  The request will undergo administrative review and may require additional documentation from the policy. 

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Graduate programs will have a minimum of 30 semester hours but no more than 36 semester hours.

A student with a GPA of at least 3.0 is considered to be in good standing. A student that is academically suspended for failing to maintain the GPA requirement or the course grade requirement may be placed on academic warning, probation, or academically suspended. Students placed on warning or probation may appeal this decision through the appeals progress; however, students academically suspended will have no recourse for appeal.

Honor Societies 

Students have opportunities to be recognized in national and university honor societies. Students are encouraged to speak with their program directors regarding field-specific honor societies. 

• Alpha Phi Sigma 
• NSLS  
• Sigma Beta Delta  
• Omicron Delta Kappa 

Additional information can be obtained from the academic advisor.

Academic Policies

Academic Advising 

To help students complete their academic program, students are assigned to a faculty member or a professional advisor who serves as their academic advisor. The advisor helps the student to plan the academic program, select courses during the registration period and is available throughout the year for additional advising on college success. Advisors will make every attempt to give effective guidance to students in academic matters and to refer students to those qualified to help them in other matters. The responsibility for meeting all academic requirements for a selected program rests with the student. 

To facilitate effective advisement and degree completion, students should take the following steps: 

1. Check their official NCWU email regularly to receive information from instructors and advisors and notification of upcoming events and deadlines. 

2. Communicate with their academic advisor at least twice during each semester to review their progress toward degree completion. 

3. Run the Degree Audit Worksheet (through their my.ncwu.edu portal) each semester to plan and monitor their progress toward degree completion. 

4. Check your final grade report each semester. Students can access their grade report under the academic information section in my.ncwu.edu. 

Understand and adhere to university policies, deadlines and degree requirements as stated in the catalog.

Full-time Graduate Student Definition

A student enrolled in at least six graduate credit hours per semester is defined as a full-time graduate student.  

A student enrolled in three credit hours per semester is defined as a part-time graduate student. 

Note: Students enrolled in three credit hours per semester may delay the graduation date due to part-time enrollment. 

Academic Overload 

Taking more than 12 semester hours qualifies as a course overload; this must be approved by the Provost. Overload tuition is charged on a semester hour basis.  

Grading System 

A student’s grade point average is determined by multiplying the number of credits for a given course by the numerical value of the grade received, then adding the values for all courses completed and dividing by the total number of credits completed. Courses failed must be included in the calculation.

Grading Rubric

All grades submitted at the end of each term will be permanently recorded. 

Academic Standing

A student who earns one grade of C will receive a notice of Academic Warning. The student must meet or confer with the Program Coordinator to discuss the circumstances and receive academic counseling. 

A student who earns two C grades will be notified in writing and they will be placed on Academic Probation. The student must meet or confer with the Program Coordinator to discuss the circumstances and receive academic counseling. 

A student who earns three C grades will be notified in writing that they will be academically suspended, and immediately dropped from the graduate program. 

Academic Suspension

A student who receives a failing grade for a course will be flagged and removed from the program for academic suspension.  

The student may appeal suspension on two separate occasions, but in the event of a third suspension, the student would be expelled from the university, with no opportunity for appeal or readmission. 

Academic Expulsion

A student that is expelled will not be considered for readmission to the University. 

Appeals Process

A student may appeal a final grade in a course for any of the three reasons:

1. The instructor made a calculation error in determining the grade.
2. The instructor failed to follow the grading policy described in the syllabus.
3. The instructor did not follow one or more of the university policies.

If the student finds it necessary to appeal a course grade, he/she should:

1. First, contact the instructor of the course and attempt to resolve the situation.
2. If a resolution is not forthcoming and the student wishes to proceed, they must consult with the Coordinator or Director of the program in which they are enrolled for mediation. If the instructor is also that Coordinator/Director, the student must consult with the Provost.
3. If the dispute remains unresolved, the student may next appeal the grade (in writing) to the Graduate Council. The function of the Graduate Council in a grade appeal is to evaluate the appeal in terms of the stated grounds for the appeal. The Council’s decision may be to keep the assigned grade or to change the assigned grade. The Council shall provide a written justification to the Provost for its decision, including minority opinions when they exist, no later than one calendar week after the Council’s meeting. The Provost shall inform the student, the instructor and the registrar of the Council’s decision and provide all parties with copies of their report. 
4. In the case of a change of grade, the Provost shall implement the change of grade as recommended by the Council on the student’s official transcript through the change of grade procedure. This shall be the last step in the deliberation of the formal grade appeal.

A student must appeal within three business days after the grade posts in the course and should include the following: 

1. Specific academic reason(s) for appealing the grade. 
2. Evidence supporting the grade appeal such as copies of graded assignments, course syllabus, relevant emails, etc. 
3. Contact information (including email and mailing address) to which communication from the Chair of the Graduate Council and Provost will be sent, and
4. Any additional information which supports the grade appeal.

The student should send all appeals to the Office of the Registrar for forwarding to the Graduate Council. 

Appealing Academic Suspension

A student who wishes to appeal their suspension must appeal in writing to the Graduate Council. The Graduate Council normally will not approve an appeal unless it is based on personal, medical or psychological problems of an extreme nature that were unforeseeable and uncontrollable. The student should provide evidence that the situation has been remedied or is manageable.  The written appeal must contain the following information: 

• Rationale for the appeal
• Documentation of personal, family or medical problems
• Evidence that the problems have been resolved

Credit Hour Policy 

North Carolina Wesleyan University uses the Carnegie Unit as the minimum standard for assigning credit hours. A one credit hour course requires at least one hour (50 minutes) of classroom instruction and two hours of outside work per week for approximately 15 weeks. Therefore, for a three credit hour course, students should expect 3 hours of classroom instruction and at least six hours of outside work per week throughout the semester. Courses offered in non-traditional formats require an equivalent amount of work and are required to meet the same learning outcomes as the traditional 15 week course. Students enrolled in these accelerated or alternative format courses should expect substantial amounts of outside work to meet the same learning outcomes as the traditional class. 

Second Master’s Degree

There are circumstances when a student may decide to pursue a second master’s degree.  In these cases, a maximum of 9 semester hours may be shared between the two plans of study, the courses would be approved at the discretion of the department granting the second degree. Coursework applied to the second master’s must have been completed within five years of the date of enrollment in the second degree. The student would need to complete 30 semester hours of unique courses in each degree. 

Honors 

Traditional undergraduate honors awards (cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude) are not recognized for graduate students. 

Commencement

A graduate student may march in the Commencement Ceremony only if they have completed all requirements for the graduate degree and have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher.  A student who cannot graduate in a semester for which the application for graduation was submitted, will need to submit a new application for any future graduation date.

Student Military Deployment Policy 

Statement: North Carolina Wesleyan University appreciates the dedication of our students who continue to serve on active duty, guard or reserves while pursuing their education. 

Purpose: This policy provides equitable consistent treatment to its military students who are deployed or placed on active-duty status so that they may continue their education once their deployment or military service is complete. 

Policy: Students who are deployed/placed on active duty (defined as anyone with official active-duty orders including reservists and guard members serving on regularly scheduled Unit Training Assembly (UTA) weekends) status during the term they are enrolled may choose one of the following options: 

1. Continue the coursework through online/email participation. When deemed feasible by the instructor, the university will allow the student to continue the course by arranging with the instructor using either online resources or email correspondence during the time of deployment/active-duty status. 

2. Receive a grade of “incomplete.” The instructor will allow the student to continue working on the coursework for a time to be determined but no longer than 8 weeks past the term end date. Students must complete the course requirements within the period of time specified by the university to avoid receiving a failing grade for the course. Instructors will provide the assignments due and due dates to the student in writing via email. In the event that a student is required to participate in a field trip or an in-person, synchronous, or other activity within or outside the normal class meeting which conflicts with a scheduled drill weekend or other military training, the student will be excused from the activity and given the opportunity to make up work at a later time within the course when feasible. 

3. Drop without penalty. Students should consult with their primary advisor and instructors prior to dropping courses. If it is determined that dropping the class is the best option, the student should then complete the Military Leave Request including a copy of a completed Drop/Add form. Copies will be sent to the Registrar and the Academic Advisor. 

Student’s Responsibilities and Procedures: Student must alert their instructors as soon as they have a conflict or prior to the start of class, whichever occurs earlier.  Then the student must complete the Military Leave Request Form including official paperwork showing the dates of training as an attachment.  The Associate Dean of Veteran Services receives the form with documentation and alerts the student’s instructors, primary advisor, Provost’s office, business office and financial aid office. 

Readmission: Students returning from deployment will be readmitted at the same academic status as they had when previously attended. 

Deployment and Reintegration POC:  To ensure the service member is supported during the deployment, the Associate Dean of Veteran Services will guide the student through the Military Leave Request process beginning with pre-deployment through reintegration.  As needed, various other campus staff and resources will be available for the student to ensure a smooth transition back to Wesleyan. VeteranServices@ncwu.edu.  

Repeating Courses 

Graduate students are not afforded the opportunity to repeat courses for which a failing grade has been received. Graduate students may repeat a course for which a grade of C has been earned in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress. 

Practical Experiences 

Graduate student practical experiences are designed to provide graduate students with the opportunity to integrate the knowledge and skills developed during their academic program in a structured, supervised, real-world professional setting in their field. Graduate student practical experiences may take the form of practicums, internships, capstone projects, clinical rotations, or other hands-on experiences, as determined by the student’s field of study. 

Graduate students are encouraged to speak with their academic advisor(s) regarding the timing, placement, and requirements of their culminating practical experience (s).  

Students must register for their practical experience academic credit in the same term in which they are undertaking the practical experience. Students will not be allowed to register for the practical experience credit in a term before or after the practical experience is undertaken. To receive academic credit for their practical experience, students must participate in forty-five supervised hours at their practical experience site for each academic credit hour received for the practical experience.  

Attendance Policy

The University recognizes that graduate students have multiple life priorities that can sometimes conflict.  College classes should be at the forefront of a student’s priorities but in the event the student needs to miss class or are not able to complete required coursework, they must be aware of the following: 

NCWU graduate classes are accelerated classes, offered in 8-week terms. Students must attend every class session. Missing any class adversely impacts student learning and performance. 

Students are expected to attend weekly class sessions whether in-person or online. For online classes, instructors will determine what constitutes being considered “present” and the requirements may vary by class. Course syllabi will outline attendance requirements. 

Absences during first week of class: Instructors submit electronic attendance.  If the instructor records an absence (excused or unexcused) for the first-class meeting, the student will be administratively removed from the course.  

An email will be sent from the Graduate Advising Office to the student as notification of the administrative removal. Should the student wish to remain in class, the student must reply to the email from the Advisor and state an intent to continue in the class. Students are advised to reply immediately upon receipt of this email.   

In an unavoidable absence, the student must notify the instructor prior to class and follow the instructor’s course of action for dealing with the missed class. Instructors have discretion in handling situations where the student may not have been able to notify prior to class. 

If a student is absent from multiple class sessions, stops attending, and does not follow University drop processes, a grade of “F” or “XF” will be assigned. The student remains responsible for the tuition for that term.  Financial Aid will not pay for classes in which a grade of “XF” is assigned (failure due to absences). Graduate students who receive an “F” or “XF” will be suspended from the program, as outlined in the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.  

An instructor may fail or administratively withdraw any student who misses more than twenty percent of a course. Ultimately, the instructor decides how to handle absences. Students should consult the course syllabus regarding the handling of absences. The instructor reserves the right to automatically fail or exercise an administrative withdrawal for a student due to absences.  

Communication is essential to student success and the University’s ability to provide students with the appropriate guidance. Students are encouraged to communicate with program faculty and staff when absences are unavoidable.  

Plagiarism and Cheating

The University and faculty guarantee the integrity of the academic process. Since cheating and plagiarism are threats to their integrity, all members of the University community must work together to prevent their occurrence. The instructor in any course assumes the responsibility for fair evaluation of academic progress and is obligated to explain at the beginning of each course how the University’s policy on cheating and plagiarism applies to that particular course. Students are expected to perform honestly and to work in every way possible to eliminate cheating by any member of a class. Definitions: ‘Cheating’ means the giving or receiving of information illicitly with intent to deceive the instructor in his or her effort to grade fairly any academic work. ‘Plagiarism’ is ‘to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings or inventions of another’ (Oxford English Dictionary). It is plagiarism when one uses direct quotations without proper credit and appropriate quotation marks and when one uses the ideas of another without proper credit.

When a faculty member believes an academic integrity violation has occurred in his or her class, the faculty member will discuss with the student the reasons for his or her suspicion of an academic integrity violation. The student will be given the opportunity to respond and to explain any circumstances that he or she believes the faculty member needs to consider with regard to the situation. Following this discussion, the faculty member makes a decision as to whether the student committed a violation.

If an instructor determines a student is guilty of cheating or plagiarism, the instructor will submit a written report of the incident to the Office of the Registrar with copies to the student. The report will be filed in the student’s permanent folder. No student may drop a course or withdraw from the University prior to resolving an Academic Integrity Charge.

The accused student will be reported immediately to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (or Designee). The student will be required to meet or confer with a council consisting of the Instructor of the course, the Program Coordinator, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, and any other parties requested by the Vice President of Academic Affairs. The meeting will offer the student the opportunity to plead their case or confess. The council will determine the appropriate penalties for the student (Penalties may include the following: grade of zero credit on assignment in question, immediate withdrawal and grade of F for the course, immediate withdrawal from the graduate program, immediate expulsion from NCWU and any other penalties the council deems fitting). If the student wishes to pursue an appeal of the council’s decision, he/she must follow the NCWU appeals process and submit the appropriate documents to the Academic Policy Committee. See Academic Integrity Violations: Reporting, Penalties and Appeals .

Transfer of Graduate Credits Earned at Other Universities or NCWU Programs 

A course that was completed in another NCWU graduate program, or at another college or university may be considered for transfer to a master’s program provided that the following criteria are met: 

1. The course is classified as a graduate course (500 level or above).  

2. The course was completed while the student was in a graduate or post-baccalaureate classification. 

3. The grade received for the graduate course was a B or better.   

4. The college or university where the graduate course was completed is regionally accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. 

5. Course(s) taken more than 3 years ago, are subject to additional review for transfer credit. 

6. Final decisions regarding transfer credit are made by the graduate program director. The number of credit hours that can be transferred from another college or university are determined by each individual graduate program. Students are encouraged to consult with the graduate program director of their specific program for transfer credit questions. 

Services

Academic Computing

The University maintains two laboratories equipped with 24 computer workstations for student instruction. The computers are available for student use when not being utilized for instruction. Students also have access to additional computer workstations in the library and in the Hartness Center. All residence hall rooms have network connections.

Library Services 

The library serves the North Carolina Wesleyan community at all campuses by providing access to appropriate resources, effective instruction, and inviting learning environments. In Rocky Mount, Pearsall Library is a place on campus that provides print, media, and electronic resources to support both academic and recreational needs. The library offers comfortable study space for both independent and collaborative work and includes a Flexible Instruction Lab, Media Production Lab, and the writing Center. Library staff are readily available in person, email (reference@ncwu.edu), telephone (252-985-5350) or through online chat (available 24/5). Staff members can assist users in finding and using information in all formats and to help them with technology needs. The library website links to a wide array of electronic information resources. These include online databases that provide access to full-text articles and eBooks and streaming videos. The library has specific resources for Adult Studies and online students. Those resources and many other can be accessed on campus or off-campus, using their campus ID and password, at any time, 24/7 at https://ncwu.edu/academics/library/.  

Books and articles that are owned by the library or accessible in our databases may be requested, free of charge via interlibrary loan by using the online request form on the library website or contact the library at (252) 985-5350. The library’s website also provides online research guides and tutorials to help students find and use information resources. The library provides laptops for students to checkout with their student ID cards. The library’s hours during the academic year can be found on the library homepage at Library | North Carolina Wesleyan University (ncwu.edu) 

Writing Center

The Writing Center offers students in all courses one-on-one help in writing at any stage of the writing process. By working collaboratively with students, the Writing Center staff help students to develop their writing skills and to value consultation and reflection as an integral part of composing. In addition to conducting face-to-face tutorials, the Center also operates an Online Writing Lab (OWL) that enables students to access an Internet data bank and hundreds of handouts on writing, to e-mail questions about writing and to engage in online consultations with members of the Writing Center staff.

Registrar

The Registrar’s Office is responsible for maintaining student academic records. Students may request that the Registrar provide copies of their academic transcript to another college or university, a prospective employer or other third party.

Office of Career Development and Leadership

This area assists students’ professional and leadership development while also serving as a resource to students, faculty and the business community. By emphasizing hands-on learning as an important tool for both full-time employment and development of a career path, programs and services help students realize their career goals and leadership growth. Specific services include career exploration/planning, creating job/internship search materials (resumes, etc), and developing interview skills while also assisting with the identification of internship/career opportunities through career fairs and postings. Leadership development programming is also offered through the National Society of Leadership & Success and the Leadership Wesleyan program.