Quick reference: Policies and procedures

The information listed below, along with more detailed program information, is included in the SOS program handbooks (linked above) or on the Graduate College website. Please consult your handbook or reach out to a graduate advisor with any questions.

Back to Graduate policies, procedures and forms

Academic integrity

The School of Sustainability takes academic integrity seriously and requires students to 1) have a good understanding of what academic integrity is and why it’s important, 2) understand what types of activities and behaviors violate the student honor code and ASU’s academic integrity policy as well as have an awareness that resources exist to help prevent academic integrity violations, and 3) report all academic integrity violations as soon as they arise.

Each college/school has an academic integrity officer who can address questions related to academic integrity. The School of Sustainability is part of the College of Global Futures. If students have questions, they should reach out to the officers from the college/school that offers the course.Newly admitted graduate students will receive a “priority task” on their MyASU, directing them to complete a blackboard module on academic integrity. The module consists of a PowerPoint that outlines academic integrity, and students must take a quiz and pass with an 80% or higher.

The School of Sustainability and College of Global Futures have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of academic dishonesty. Penalties for unethical behavior range from failing grades to dismissal from the program. The school follows the university’s policies and procedures when responding to an academic integrity complaint and determining sanctio

Change degree program

If you are a sustainability graduate student wishing to change your degree from sustainability, you must apply and be admitted to the other degree program. If you wish to change your degree to sustainability, you must apply and be admitted to the program following posted admission guidelines.

Following admission into the new program, you will be prompted to formally withdraw from your original program. You should meet with an advisor/coordinator from each program before submitting a new application.

Concurrent degree programs

Additional information about pursuing concurrent degrees and programs can be found here.

Course petitions

If you are a School of Sustainability graduate student wanting to use a course that isn’t already approved to fulfill degree requirements, you can submit a School of Sustainability Graduate Petition for consideration.

In the form, please list the course you want to take, which degree requirement you want to use it for (e.g., methods elective, foundational elective, normative elective, etc.), the course you want to replace (choose a related course from the approved checklist) and details as to why this course should be considered. You will also need to attach a syllabus for the course you wish to take. If you can obtain a syllabus from the course you want to replace, that is strongly recommended.

MSUS Students: Please submit the completed form and related documentation to [email protected] The graduate coordinator will send the petition to the MSUS Supervisory Committee for review at their monthly meeting and let you know the decision via ASU email.

MA/MS/PhD Students: Please submit the completed form and related documentation to your committee chair for review. If the chair approves, ask the chair to sign the form or send an approval email to [email protected] At that time, you will also need to send the completed form and related documentation to [email protected] The graduate coordinator will send the petition to the School of Sustainability administration for the final review and let you know the decision via ASU email. Please allow up to two weeks for processing.

Course withdrawal – medical/compassionate withdrawal

You can be considered for a medical/compassionate withdrawal if you experience an extraordinary medical circumstance (such as serious illness or injury) or an extraordinary personal circumstance not related to your health (such as caring for a seriously ill child or a death in the immediate family) that prevents you from continuing in courses.

Please read the College of Global Futures Medical and Compassionate Withdrawal Policy for additional information and instructions. You may also meet with a graduate coordinator to discuss your situation.

All requests must be accompanied by excellent documentation of the circumstances. Requests without appropriate documentation will not be approved. “Partial” withdrawal requests (requesting withdrawal from fewer than all courses in the semester/session) are rarely approved unless there is a documentable reason why not all courses were affected (e.g., if you have a broken leg and wish to request a partial withdrawal for a dance movement course).

Defense presentations – reserving a room and advertising

A defense is required for Barrett, The Honors College students, MA/MS, and PhD students. When you are ready to arrange the final details of your defense, you can work with staff to reserve a room and help advertise your defense or presentation.

This is a three-step process, and you should only start the process after you have confirmed that the proposed day and time of your defense or presentation works for all faculty that need to be present (if applicable).

MSUS students do not need to go through this process. They will schedule their culminating presentation through SOS 593.

For more information, please see Scheduling a Defense in the School of Sustainability.

Grade appeal and academic grievance process

If you feel there is an issue with your grade, you should follow the university policy for grade appeal and make every attempt to resolve any grade disputes informally, as outlined in steps A through C.

If a formal grade appeal is warranted, you may submit a School of Sustainability Graduate Petition for review by the School of Sustainability graduate director. Enter all pertinent information about the course, including the semester and year taken, and the name of the instructor. Explain the rationale for your appeal. Attach any relevant supporting documentation you would like the graduate director to see. Be aware that the graduate director will seek instructor feedback, and your appeal may be shared with the instructor.

If an additional review is needed, it will be sent to the School of Sustainability dean. The dean’s decision will be final, and no additional appeals will be considered beyond that point. Submit the completed School of Sustainability Graduate Petition and related documentation in person to the Student Services Center front desk in Wrigley Hall, Room 108, or submit it electronically to [email protected] You will be notified via ASU email when your appeal has been processed. Please allow up to two weeks for processing.

Incomplete grade request

Additional information about incomplete grades can be found here. If you wish to request an incomplete for a School of Sustainability course, you must fill out the Incomplete Grade Request. You will need to work with the instructor to outline the remaining assignments and deadlines for each, which must be listed on the form. The completed form must be submitted to the School of Sustainability Student Services Center in Wrigley Hall, Room 108, or scanned and emailed to [email protected]

The “I” grade will become a permanent “I” on the transcript if not resolved within one year. As a School of Sustainability graduate student, you cannot have more than two “I” grades on your transcript and remain in good standing. Three permanent “I” grades on a transcript may result in dismissal from the School of Sustainability graduate program.

The instructor is not required to provide you with an “I” grade. Additionally, the instructor is not required to give you an entire year to complete the coursework. Therefore, it is important to fill out the incomplete form so you, the instructor and the advising staff know the requirements and deadlines that have been agreed upon.

Late enrollment or drop/add requests

Late drops from School of Sustainability courses are not allowed. However, you can withdraw from courses following the regular course withdrawal process.

If you wish to add a School of Sustainability course after the official drop/add deadline, you may request special permission to do so. Instructor approval is required; however, instructor approval does not guarantee school approval. Drop/add deadlines are posted on the Academic Calendar.

Complete the Enrollment Change Request Form in its entirety. On the back of the form, you must describe how you will make up any late work. You must also obtain the instructor’s signature on the back of the form. A copy of an email directly from the instructor granting you permission to add the course late may be substituted for an actual signature.

Note: the “Advisor” signature on the form is for the graduate coordinator to sign, not your specific faculty advisor or mentor. Submit the completed form in person to the Student Services Center front desk in Wrigley Hall, Room 108 or email it to [email protected]

Course override requests

Course overrides allow you to register for a course you are, for one reason or another, ineligible to register for. There are several types of override: prerequisite, section full, department/instructor consent and time conflict.

Overrides can only be granted by the department/school offering the course. If you would like to request an override for a course offered outside of the School of Sustainability, contact the advising unit for that department/school for their policy and procedure.To request an override for a School of Sustainability course, please submit the Course Override Request Form.

Exams, proposals and defenses

If you are an MSUS, MA or MS student, you must submit a proposal; if you are a PhD student, you must submit a prospectus. In both instances, you must have it approved before you will be issued overrides to enroll in your culminating experience (MSUS), thesis or scientific paper (MA and MS) or dissertation hours (PhD).

MA/MS/PhD Students: If you are an MA or MS student, you must write a research proposal in conjunction with your entire supervisory committee. You will hold a formal committee meeting in which you present your research proposal. If the committee approves, you must sign the MA/MS Thesis/ Scientific Paper Proposal Form. You must then submit the signed form and your proposal paper to the School of Sustainability Student Services Center in Wrigley Hall, Room 108. The original form must be submitted, but the proposal can be sent by email to [email protected] After the proposal is approved, you can successfully request a course override when ready to register for either a thesis or scientific paper.

MSUS Students: You will submit a Culminating Experience Proposal as part of the SOS 582 Project Management course requirements. Once approved by the MSUS Supervisory Committee, you can successfully request a course override when ready to register for your culminating experience course (if applicable).

PhD Students: If you are a PhD student, you must pass the written comprehensive exam and have your committee sign the PhD Comprehensive Exam Results Form. Please submit the original form to the School of Sustainability Student Services Center in Wrigley Hall, Room 108.You must successfully defend your prospectus within six months of passing the written comprehensive exam. Prospectus defenses are open to the public (this requires a room reservation and defense announcement) and require committee participation. Upon passing the prospectus defense, your committee will sign the PhD Prospectus Defense Results Form. You must submit the original form to the School of Sustainability Student Services Center in Wrigley Hall, Room 108. The graduate coordinator will enter the results of the comprehensive exam and the prospectus defense into the university system. You will then advance to “PhD Candidate” status. At that time, you can successfully request a course override when ready to register for your dissertation.

Readmission

If you have withdrawn or been discontinued from the university and would like to resume your program, you must submit a new application. Applications will be evaluated against the current application pool and readmission is not guaranteed. If you are If you have withdrawn or been discontinued from the university and would like to resume your program, you must submit a new application. Applications will be evaluated against the current application pool, and readmission is not guaranteed. If you are readmitted, earned credits are subject to limitations on pre-admission credit policies listed in ASU’s Graduate Education Policies and Procedures Handbook.

Registering for thesis, scientific paper or dissertation credits

MA/MS Students: If you are an MA or MS sustainability student who wishes to register for thesis or scientific paper credits, you must first have an approved proposal on file. At that point, you can submit a Course Override Request Form for each semester you want to register for thesis or scientific paper credits.

PhD Students: If you are a PhD student who wishes to register for dissertation credits, you must have reached candidacy first. Once you’ve reached candidacy, you can view it on your MyASU page. At that point, you can submit a Course Override Request Form for each semester you want to register for dissertation credits.

Reserving space in Wrigley Hall (WGHL)

School of Sustainability students can reserve conference rooms through WGHL first floor front desk staff or by emailing [email protected] if:

  • They are reserving the room for a thesis, dissertation, or other type of culminating experience defense, but they must have already confirmed their defense day and time with all faculty on their committee and the Graduate Coordinator (for graduate defenses) or the Experiential Education Specialist (for honors theses). Room reservations for this purpose should be made at least two weeks prior to the defense.
  • They are reserving the room on behalf of a faculty or staff member that will be present with them during the meeting.

School of Sustainability students can reserve the enclaves through 3rd and 4th floor WGHL front desk staff under the following circumstances:

  • They can only reserve the enclaves between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (and cannot be in the building past 5 p.m. unless there is a faculty or staff member with them).
  • Their reservation may be canceled if a faculty or staff member needs the space for a meeting.
  • Their group isn’t larger than the capacity that the enclaves hold (i.e., they cannot move chairs into the enclave to accommodate more students).
  • They are not using the space as individual study space.
  • They should check in at the front desk on the 3rd or 4th floor before their reservation.

In both instances, students are responsible for providing their phone number for the reservation and making sure the room is cleaned up at the end of the meeting. Those reserving conference rooms for students should designate in Outlook when the reservation is for a student.

Here are options to recommend to students looking for space:

Still have questions”

Additional questions regarding Graduate Policies and Procedures can be directed to [email protected] (for the MA, MS, MSUS, or PhD), [email protected] (for the MSL) or [email protected] (for the EMSL).

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