Graduate Academic Curriculum and Policy Committee (GACPC)
The Graduate Academic Curriculum and Policy Committee is the governing board of the Graduate Education Programs. The Graduate Academic Curriculum and Policy Committee admits or rejects candidates to the Masters programs, to degree candidacy, recommends and approves program changes, and evaluates Graduate programs. The Committee also serves as a review board in candidate academic matters, and approves new courses, programs, assessment system revisions, and policy changes. Membership includes the Provost, Dean of Education (Chair), Dean of Counseling Education, two Graduate Faculty members, and two undergraduate faculty members, preferably who teach in the Graduate Education program.
Request to Waive or Modify an Academic Policy
Students may appeal to the Graduate Academic Curriculum and Policy Committee to ask for exceptions to academic policies. Students should take care in putting together a clearly written case that supports the appeal. To facilitate this process, students should first consult their academic advisor to help draft the appeal text. Students may also ask for letters of support from faculty members when appropriate. The written appeal and supporting documents should then be sent to the Dean of Education ([email protected]), who will review the appeal for completeness. The Dean may ask for clarification or additional information. The Dean will then take the written appeal to the Graduate Academic Curriculum Policy Committee, which will then vote on the merits of the appeal based on the written evidence.
Academic COMPLAINT Procedure
Candidates have a right to appeal a grade or other faculty decision. Candidates should first seek to resolve the problem with the specific faculty member involved. If a candidate wishes to lodge a complaint against a faculty member in an academic matter that cannot be resolved directly with the faculty member, the candidate should first consult with his/her academic advisor. The advisor will guide the candidate through the options available to the candidate (informal or formal complaint).
Informal Complaint
When there is an informal expression of an academic concern, the candidate’s faculty advisor should convey the essence of that concern to the Dean of Education, who will investigate the issue. The Dean will take any necessary action to help resolve the issue. If the faculty member in question is the Dean of Education, the advisor will convey the nature of the concern to the Provost, who will investigate the issue and take any necessary action to help resolve the issue. If the faculty member in question is the candidate’s advisor, the candidate should contact the Dean of Education for resolution of the problem.
Formal Complaint
Formal complaints should be reserved for situations in which a candidate believes he or she has been adversely affected in a way that cannot be or has not been resolved through informal intervention. When the candidate wishes to lodge a formal complaint, the candidate should generally seek advice from his/her academic advisor about the best way to proceed (unless the advisor is the focus of the complaint). To make a formal complaint, the candidate must submit a written statement of the difficulty to the Dean of Education and request that the issue be resolved through the Graduate Academic Curriculum and Policy Committee. This statement should be no longer than two pages and should concentrate on the facts of the issue in question. The Dean of Education then reviews the facts, communicates with the person(s) involved, and attempts to resolve the difficulty to the candidate’s satisfaction. If that attempt is unsuccessful, the matter will be forwarded to the Graduate Academic Policy and Curriculum Committee for review. The Committee will review the facts of the grievance and make a recommendation to the Provost for resolving the problem. The final disposition of the issue is in the hands of the Provost and is final and binding.