Grades and Credit

Upon beginning the dissertation process, each doctoral student is responsible for the establishment of their dissertation committee, including the chair of the committee. Either students or faculty may withdraw from such assignments. Students are entirely responsible for the replacement of all members of the dissertation committee, including the dissertation chair. If a doctoral student is unable to successfully negotiate a replacement dissertation committee chair within 90 days, Fielding Graduate University reserves the right to withdraw the student from the program.

Students enrolled in master's degree or academic certificate programs may or may not have faculty advisor/mentor assignments, depending upon the philosophy and delivery of those programs. If such faculty assignments are required, the above policy applies.

Policy Revised 01/01/2003

Documentation of courses attempted and completed is maintained in the student's file. Units of credit and grades are recorded on the student's transcript.

Any non-term courses, clinical training, research training, or dissertation steps completions (e.g., steps or hours were accrued) that occurred during a term break will be credited in the previous term, except in cases of exams administered during the term break, which will be credited to the next subsequent term.

After graduation or withdrawal, Fielding keeps only those records necessary to verify the transcript or as required by law.

Credit Hours

Fielding Graduate University monitors compliance with federal rules concerning the amount of work required for a unit of credit. This policy requires that an amount of work for each unit of credit be institutionally established, represented in intended learning outcomes, and verified by evidence of student achievement. Credit hours do not directly reflect the total number of hours per week a student spends in class and instead reflect each course’s workload.

Fielding’s policy, which is in compliance with federal, state and accreditation standards, and is in historical alignment with the Carnegie formula, is that every one unit for which credit is given is understood to represent approximately three hours of actual coursework per week for the average student. This formula directly relates to instructional assignments, both in and out of class, and applies to all Fielding courses regardless of delivery method (e.g., residential with seat-time, independent study, online or hybrid). Coursework includes class contact time either asynchronously or synchronously, individual faculty/student contact time, and time spent studying, doing research, and completing homework assignments.

Credits to be earned per course Hours per week 7 week course

Total hours per module 12 week course

Total hours per term 15 week course

Total hours per term

1 credit

2 credits

3 credits

4 credits

6 credits 3 hours 21 hours 36 hours 45 hours

6 hours 42 hours

9 hours 63 hours

12 hours 84 hours 72 hours 90 hours

108 hours 135 hours

144 hours 180 hours

18 hours 126 hours 216 hours 270 hours

A student enrolled in 16 units of coursework (4-5 courses), should expect to work on coursework for about 48 hours per week.

Exceptions to this formula such as for internship courses are delineated below.

Applied Media, Research Practica and Clinical Training Practica/Experiences

A clock hour to semester credit ratio of 40:1 or 80:1, as appropriate and as defined in the course description for the respective course will be used.

Continuing Education

CE credits for psychologists that are offered through the APA approved provider program in the School of Psychology are awarded on the basis of 1 hour equaling 1 credit. Credits awarded through all other continuing education programs at Fielding are based upon the Continuing Education Unit (CEU), which is defined as 10 hours equaling 1 CEU.

Psychological Assessment Labs and Research Skills Seminars

One half semester unit (0.5) is assigned per full lab day (6-8 clock hours).

Short Courses

A course offered in a term of less than 15 weeks shall contain the same contact hours, preparation time, content, and requirements as the same course would if offered over a 15 week semester.

Variable Units

Courses that are listed for variable units must specify in the syllabus how unit values will be assigned. Requirements should be clearly delineated for each unit value offered. Students should be expected to perform work in proportion to the number of units for which they have registered.

Unit value for course offerings and justification for same is determined per program in the course or curricula proposal. Credit hour assignments are expected to be reviewed for accuracy during each program’s periodic renewal/audit.

Grading System

Fielding's faculty assign grades to represent satisfactory completion of graduation requirements. Some degree programs may have more restrictive grading policies than others. Related policies specific to a particular school or program are available elsewhere in this catalog.

A Outstanding, original or excellent, demonstrating high competence and participation.

B Substantial in quality, demonstrating basic competence and participation.

C Average; not acceptable for doctoral level work.

F Failing; competence has not been demonstrated.

CR Credit; given for areas of study inappropriate to letter grading, or at the student's request, for completion of work at a level of B or better.

I Incomplete. See below for additional explanation.

IP Work in progress; final grade to be assigned upon completion of course.

NC No credit; competence has not been demonstrated.

W No credit; student withdrew or was withdrawn from time-bound course.

R Repeated course; original grade replaced.

AU Audit. Auditing is attending class without benefit or expectation of receiving credit.

Credit/No Credit Grade Option

In general, the grading default for courses is letter grading with a student option for credit/no credit (pass/fail). In some cases, the program will have determined that credit/no credit grading is always preferable for a course, or that only letter grading is allowed. Courses that are only available for credit/no credit grading are noted in the course catalog with a grade option of "Credit/No Credit Only." Courses that are only available for letter grading are noted in the course catalog with a grade option of "Letter Only." A course that is typically offered with a default letter grade schema, but on a particular occasion will be offered as credit/no credit only will announce this in the syllabus.

If available, a student can choose the credit/no credit option at the time of registration and may not change the grading basis in a course after the deadline given in the University's Master Calendar.

A student who registers for a course on the credit/no credit basis and earns a grade of B or better is awarded the symbol CR for the course. If the student receives a grade lower than a B, a grade of NC is recorded. If the student receives the symbol CR, the course is not included in the grade point average; if the student receives a grade of NC, the course is included in the grade point average. A CR grade will count for course credits will count towards applicable graduation requirements. A grade of NC will not count for course credits and will not fill any requirements for graduation.

Coursework requirements and methods of evaluation in a course will be the same for students registered on the credit/no credit basis as they are for students registered on the letter-grade basis. Students are still subject to the same prerequisites and requirements for a credit/no credit course as students enrolled in the course under the standard grading system.

A student who wishes to change their grade option on an eligible course should contact the Registrar's Office prior to the posted deadline. The student will need to know the course number of the class he/she wishes to change. A course is ineligible for a grade option change when the course is always graded a certain way (only letter grades or only credit/no credit) or the particular offering will be graded either only letter or only credit/no credit (as announced in the syllabus).

Once the deadline to change the grade option is over, a student who has registered for an eligible course on the credit/no credit option may not for any reason change to letter grading, or vice versa.

Students who need to document that a CR grade is passing for scholarship applications, employer reimbursement or similar needs, may contact the Registrar's office for a letter.

Incompletes

The grade of 'I' (Incomplete) may be assigned by the faculty member when the student's work is substantially complete, yet incomplete due to circumstances which were unforeseen and justifiable. A request for an Incomplete should be initiated by the student, and approved by the faculty member, prior to the deadline for submission of grades. The student's request must include the reason for the Incomplete grade request, the deliverables to be completed, and the submission date proposed for the deliverables. If the faculty approves the request for the Incomplete he/she will provide an expiration date for the Incomplete. The expiration date should take into account the student's submission date of coursework and the time necessary for faculty review of the materials in order to grade. Generally, a gap of 1-4 weeks is needed between the submission and expiration dates. The student must submit the required coursework deliverables on or prior to the submission date agreed to, and the faculty must submit the new grade to Fielding's administrative offices for processing prior to the expiration date for the Incomplete. An Incomplete grade not changed by the expiration date will revert to an 'NC' (No Credit). Incomplete expiration dates may be extended by faculty as necessary, although PSY courses are limited to expiration dates that are no later than one year from the course's end date.

Grade Points and Averages

Fielding emphasizes competence, and encourages students to value learning over grades. However, some students may prefer letter grades for a variety of external reasons. All grades can be calculated on a 4.0 scale, where 'A+' = 4.3, 'A' = 4.0, 'A-' = 3.7, 'B+' = 3.3, 'B' = 3.0, etc. Grades of 'I,' 'IP,” CR,' 'R,' 'AU,' and 'W' are not calculated into a student's grade point average. 'NC' and 'F' grades both count as zero grade points towards the grade point average. When a course needs to be retaken, both the original grade and credits and the grade and credits earned in repetition will be used in computing the grade point average, except in cases where a student has successfully petitioned to have a grade replaced.

The grade point average calculation for satisfactory academic progress may differ, as specified in the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

Grade Deadline

Instructors/faculty are expected to use the online grading system in WebAdvisor whenever possible and as implemented. In general, grades are due at the end of the university's term. Please consult the University Master Calendar for specific grade deadlines.

If the course has been graded with an Incomplete, the expiration date on the Incomplete supersedes the established grade deadline for that course in that term and becomes the new grade deadline.

Grade Changes

Students must contact their assessing faculty/instructor directly if an assigned grade for a completed course is in question. Grades are based upon the substantive judgment of the faculty member, and faculty grading decisions are final. If the assessing faculty member/instructor determines that an assigned grade should be changed, the assessing faculty/instructor should submit the request for the grade change to the Registrar's Office. For students in accelerated (module programs) such requests must be received within one month (4 weeks) of the course’s original end date. For all other programs, such requests must be received within six months of the original grade posting.

Grade Replacement

Students* can choose to repeat a course in which they earned a non-passing grade and petition to have the original grade replaced with an 'R'. For purposes of replacement grade petitions, a nonpassing grade is considered a 'B-' or below for the doctoral, postdoctoral, and postbaccalaureate certificate programs, and a 'C-' or below for master's and all other graduate certificate programs.

Courses must be repeated within one of the 3 subsequent terms from the original term in which the course was registered to be eligible for grade replacement. For students who withdraw and re-enroll, non-passing grades from before the withdrawn period must be repeated within three terms (12 months) of re-enrolling, or as directed by the university or program as a condition of their reenrollment in order to be eligible for grade replacement.

If the student has attempted the same course multiple times, only one of the non-passing grades is eligible for petition to be replaced. Students may petition for grade replacement of a maximum of 3 credit-bearing courses (up to 12 credits total) per academic program.

Course grades that have been reviewed by the disciplinary committee for allegations of academic dishonesty may be ineligible for replacement based on the outcomes of those disciplinary findings.

In the case that a course is no longer offered due to a curriculum change, a student may petition for grade replacement of an equivalent course in the new curriculum (if one exists) with the permission of the program.

To petition for grade replacement, students must submit a request to the Registrar's office after the eligible course has been successfully completed. The request for grade replacement must be submitted within one term after successfully completing the eligible course. The registrar's office will determine if the request meets the terms of this policy and if so, a grade replacement will be made.

*Grade replacement will not be permitted for Clinical Psychology PhD and Respecialization certificate students whose non-passing grade was earned Fall 2016 or later. Both the passing and non-passing grades will be calculated in the grade point average.