General Information

This section of the Graduate Catalog outlines the University’s policies governing graduate programs. These policies are designed to assure academic integrity and the quality of graduate degrees attained through Eastern Kentucky University. All graduate students are expected to be familiar with these policies and to abide by them throughout their program of study at EKU.

Attendance in the Graduate School at Eastern Kentucky University is not a right. It is a privilege which may be withdrawn by the University or any area of graduate study if it is deemed necessary by the Office of Graduate Education and Research in order to safeguard the University’s standards.

Catalog Applicability

Students who are continuously enrolled in a graduate program will be governed by the catalog in force during the school year in which they were officially admitted to a graduate program. Graduate students who discontinue their enrollment for a period longer than 24 months must apply for re-entry to the Graduate School and be accepted for reinstatement by the graduate program. Graduate students enrolled in an EPSB credentialed program who discontinue their enrollment for a period longer than 12 months must reapply for re-entry to the Graduate School and be accepted for reinstatement by the graduate program. Students who are readmitted under these circumstances will be governed by the catalog in force at the time of re-entry.

Any currently active student may elect to comply with the catalog currently in force. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Office of Graduate Education and Research.

Graduate Student Learning Outcomes

The Graduate School has adopted a core set of Graduate Student Learning Outcomes common to all graduate programs offered at EKU. While individual courses might not incorporate all of these, programs are expected to demonstrate that they are contained in a graduate student’s program of study.

When students graduate from EKU Graduate Programs, they will be informed, critical and creative thinkers who communicate effectively.

Informed thinkers demonstrate mastery of the significant ideas of, and skills and abilities demanded by, their discipline.

• SLO 1: Graduate students are able to explain, discuss, and apply clearly and accurately the key concepts and central theories, and demonstrate expertise appropriate to the discipline.

Critical and creative thinkers raise vital questions and problems with a clear and appropriate methodology; gather and assess relevant information in ways that distill accurate and appropriate meaning from abstract ideas; analyze assumptions through alternative systems of thought; and generate new knowledge or creative expressions through the self-reflective synthesis of problems, information, evaluation and analysis.

• SLO 2: Graduate students are able to formulate and express important/essential questions and issues related to the discipline with clarity and accuracy, and appropriate depth and breadth.
• SLO 3: Graduate students are able to identify, collect, analyze, and evaluate relevant information to understand essential questions and issues and to advance knowledge in the discipline.
• SLO 4: Graduate students are able to identify, analyze, and evaluate underlying assumptions of arguments, abstract ideas, and alternative perspectives and theories.
• SLO 5: Graduate students are able to generate new knowledge, application, or creative expressions through the self reflective synthesis of information, evaluation, and analysis of critical questions or issues/problems related to their discipline.

Effective communicators illustrate and successfully defend their point of view, information, analysis, and conclusions, using oral, visual, and written methods, in ways that demonstrate clearly and logically the appropriateness of their conclusions and the implications thereof.

• SLO 6: Graduate students are able to communicate clearly and logically using oral, written, and/or artistic forms.

Class Attendance

Students must be registered in a class in order to attend and participate. Individuals not registered are prohibited from doing so.

Research shows that students who regularly attend class are more likely to succeed. EKU students are responsible for course work covered during all class periods, including the first class meeting. Each instructor will record absences and deal with them in a manner consistent with departmental policy for that course. Since attendance policies vary among departments and for courses within departments, students must be familiar with the policy printed on the course syllabus.

If a student presents the instructor with an adequate and documented reason for an absence, the instructor normally will give the student an opportunity to make up the work missed, if this is feasible. Adequate reasons involve circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as personal illness, critical illness, or death in the immediate family, or participation in an approved University activity. No absence of any nature will be construed as relieving the student from responsibility for the timely completion of all work assigned by the instructor. Initiating the request to make up class work is the student’s responsibility.

First Day of Class Attendance

This process is designed to ensure clear reinforcement of the message that class attendance at EKU is important. All faculty (undergraduate and graduate, online and all other modes of delivery) are required by the University to drop a student for being absent (or not participating online) on the first day of class/first week of class (as scheduled by the Registrar’s Office). Students who know they will be absent should contact their instructor or the academic department office prior to the 1st class meeting to explain their absence and request that the instructor not drop them from the class.

Students are responsible for monitoring their class schedule and should never assume that missing the first day of class will automatically result in removal from that class. A student who never attends a class but remains enrolled will receive a failing grade in the course and is responsible for tuition and fees for that class.

Graduate Cooperative Education

Graduate cooperative education provides the student with an opportunity to blend theory with practice resulting in a balanced education. Learning within the classroom is combined with practical on-the-job training in business, industry, and/or government.

The determination of eligibility for participation in the Graduate Cooperative Education Program is primarily an academic matter involving the department in which the student is majoring. Prior to enrolling in cooperative education, a graduate student should normally have completed nine (9) semester hours of graduate credit. All graduate students must have a 3.0 grade point average when applying for cooperative education.

Acceptance of a student into the program is also contingent upon the location of a suitable graduate level training site and an agreement with the employer to hire. The co-op student will normally be employed full-time for a period of one semester in accordance with the employer’s schedule. The type of employment and the total hours of employment are determining factors in assigning co-op credit. The University requires a minimum of 80 hours of employment for each semester hour of academic credit for graduate co-op, field placement, practicum, internship and other such placements. The salary for each position is negotiable but must fall within state and federal wage guidelines. For additional information, contact the Office of Academic and Career Services at (859) 622-1296.

Program Planning

At the time of admission to the Graduate School, each student shall be assigned an advisor by the department offering the degree program into which the student plans to matriculate. The student shall take the initiative to become familiar with the objectives of his/her particular degree program and pertinent regulations, as they are described in this Catalog, prior to scheduling a conference with the assigned advisor. Discussion of the student’s personal and program objectives should take place prior to the first registration.

During the first term, the student must meet with his/her advisor as listed in DegreeWorks. Subsequent changes of the program plan are permissible, but must be approved on the appropriate exception form by the advisor, the department chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Student Responsibilities

Student success is an EKU priority. The General Academic Information section provides students with key information to help them succeed on the path toward completing a degree. All students should become familiar with the General Academic Information section of the Catalog as well as specific college and departmental program requirements. Being unaware of these regulations and requirements does not exempt a student from complying with the requirements. Only the Graduate Council has the authority to waive the basic requirements stated in this Catalog. No statements made by any person regarding waiver of admission/program requirements shall in anyway bind the Graduate Council.

Use of Coursework from Non-Degree or Certification Programs on Degree Programs

Normally, no more than twelve semester hours of work earned as a certification or general non-degree student may be applied to a graduate degree. Only courses with 3.0 or above earned grade points may be applied, although a grade in any course taken as a certification or general non-degree student will be considered in computing a student’s overall grade point average.