GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
Graduate Students
General Principles
I.
A.
Purpose and Necessary Conditions of Graduate Study
1.
The pursuit, dissemination, discovery, advancement, and application of knowledge
are the purpose of the Graduate School of Marquette University; therefore, freedom
of inquiry, freedom of thought, and freedom of discussion are necessary conditions
for its work. Faculty, students, administrators, and staff have the right and
responsibility to maintain these conditions through intellectual openness, tolerance
of varying opinion, and civility in all aspects of graduate college life.
B.
Basic Rights and Protections of Graduate Students
1.
The Graduate Student as a Member of Society
A graduate student of Marquette University is not only a member of the university
community but also a member of the larger society and retains the rights,
protections, and guarantees held by citizens or granted to aliens legally residing in
this country. By the same reasoning, a graduate student must abide by local, state,
and federal laws, ordinances and regulations. The University works to uphold the
laws and legal practices of the larger community of which it is a part.
2.
The Graduate Student as a Member of the Student Body
A graduate student is not only a member of the entire student body of Marquette
University, but is one who is pursuing higher scholarly education beyond one’s
bachelor degree. He or she has the rights and responsibilities established as
regulations of the university by trustees, administrators, staff, faculty, students and
articulated in the Academic Honesty Policy Marquette University and in the
Student’s Rights and Responsibilities Document.
3.
Policies that Govern Graduate Students
The policies and procedures that have been adopted by trustees, administrators, staff,
faculty, and students to implement and maintain graduate education at Marquette
University govern a graduate student. Those policies are published in, among other
places, the Graduate Bulletin, the Marquette Student handbook and in individual
departmental or college handbooks. Links to these references can be found on the
Graduate School webpage: www.marquette.edu/grad/handbook.shtml.
C.
Central Responsibilities of Graduate Students and the University
A graduate student’s essential responsibility is to learn, to develop competence, to
acquire skill, and to develop both academic responsibility and intellectual independence.
The University’s essential responsibility is to provide the opportunities, privileges, and
protections that foster such learning.
D.
Respecting Rights of Others
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
Just as a graduate student exercises his or her right to learn, he or she incurs the
responsibility to acknowledge that others have rights essential to learning with which he
or she may not interfere.
Role of the Faculty Members
II.
A.
Central Role of Faculty
Curricula, programs of study, degree eligibility and requirements are developed in part by
faculty; therefore, the faculty’s central role in the educational process and its
responsibility for the intellectual content and integrity of graduate study must be
recognized and preserved.
B.
Academic Policies and Practices
Faculty has authority and responsibility for academic policy and practices in areas such
as degree requirements, course content and grading, classroom procedure, and students’
eligibility for degrees. Admission to programs is determined by the Dean of the Graduate
School with the recommendation of the academic unit.
C.
Relationship of Faculty to Student
The relationship between faculty member and student should be one characterized by
integrity, mentorship, respect for each other, and shared commitment to the educational
process.
D.
Guidance and Mentorship
Faculty who teach graduate classes or who supervise graduate work incur and accept the
responsibility to provide scholarly guidance and mentorship to graduate students not only
during class but also during office hours and other mutually agreed upon conference
times.
III. Advising
A. Advising
1. Careful, Competent and Timely Advising
Marquette strives to provide careful, competent, and timely advising to ensure that he
or she has full access to information concerning academic requirements, criteria for
acceptable academic standing, requirements for graduation, and notification of special
conditions which may apply to his or her matriculation at Marquette University.
2.
Quality Advising
Marquette strives to provide quality advice concerning program planning, selection of
courses and professors, and opportunities for research, scholarly and/or creative work,
provided by a department, unit and/or the greater University.
3.
Accurate and Timely Communication of Policy Changes
Marquette strives to provide accurate and timely communication of any policy
changes. Because most such communication is via email, addressed to the student’s
Marquette email address, the student has the responsibility to activate and monitor the
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
Marquette email account, and to read communication sent to that account from
departments or colleges within Marquette University.
4.
Consultation With Advisers
Graduate students are responsible for seeking early and regular consultation with
departmental graduate advisers and for familiarizing themselves with University,
Graduate School, or departmental policies stated in the publications noted above.
Each graduate student is responsible for reading and becoming familiar with the
General Policies and Procedures governing graduate education at Marquette
University as stated in the Graduate Bulletin; department and college handbooks; the
General Requirements for the graduate degree or graduate certificate she or he seeks;
and the requirements specific to his or her graduate program as set forth in the
Graduate Bulletin and in any printed departmental statements of graduate policy.
When a graduate student is uncertain about the implications of a given policy,
regulation, or requirement, he or she should seek clarification from the departmental
graduate adviser or advisers, departmental Director of Graduate Studies or Chair, or
the Dean or Assistant Dean of the Graduate School.
5.
Obligation to Follow Advice
Graduate students have an obligation to follow programmatic and scheduling advice
provided by the adviser and to notify the adviser of any circumstances that might
result in a temporary departure from the sequence of courses or program that has been
set up.
6.
Errors in Advising
While departmental advisers will strive to provide careful and competent advice, it is
possible that an adviser will make an error or misunderstand a Graduate School
regulation or policy. In such cases, the published Graduate School regulation or
policy has priority and will govern the actions that follow. Students are responsible
for following all published guidelines as published in the Graduate Student
Handbook, the Marquette Handbook, and within departmental or college handbooks.
IV. Records
A.
Maintenance of Records
1. Departments
Departments shall maintain records for their graduate students, specifying
requirements for the degree or program of study, documenting course waivers or
substitutions, program changes and other stipulations affecting a student’s admission
status, program of study, and/or graduation requirements. At appropriate times, the
department adviser, Director of Graduate Studies, or Chair shall forward documents
such as programs of study, revisions of such programs, and notifications of exams
passed, competencies attained, or requirements satisfied to the Graduate School.
2.
Graduate School
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
The Graduate School maintains files for graduate students that include application
materials and other documents relating to students’ graduate programs. The Dean of
the Graduate School must approve all programs of study, waivers, and changes in
programs.
a.
Access to Student Files
Students have a right to review items in their Graduate School files by
appointment pursuant to FERPA.
V. Principles of Course Work
A.
Classroom Environment
Graduate students and faculty both have the responsibility to maintain at all times the
kind of classroom decorum and collegial atmosphere upon which effective teaching and
learning depend.
B.
Right to Acceptance and Expression of Views
The graduate student may take reasoned exception to information and views offered in
the classroom and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion, without fear of penalty.
C.
Integrity of Scholarship, Grades, and Professional Standards
The graduate student shares with the faculty the responsibility for maintaining the
integrity of scholarship, grades, and professional standards.
D.
Right to Competent Instruction
Marquette University strives to provide responsible, competent instruction. While
competency of instruction can be rightly judged only by professionals, a graduate student
may participate in the evaluation of instructors via the process established by the
university.
E.
Access to Course Requirements, Grading Standards, and Criteria of Evaluation
The graduate student has a right to know all course requirements, including the grading
standards and criteria of evaluation. This information and the syllabus for the course will
be provided in writing at the beginning of the semester or session or sufficiently in
advance of any actual evaluation. Independent study courses may not entail a formal
syllabus, but must have a written contract that includes a course description. The
instructor and student shall enter into an agreement that will govern the nature and the
amount of work to be done.
F.
Responsibility to Learn Course Content
The graduate student is responsible for learning the content of a course of study
according to standards of performance established by the faculty.
G.
Academic Evaluations
The graduate student has a right to timely academic evaluations, including but not limited
to course grades, which represent professional judgments of performance made in good
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
faith by course instructors or graduate committees established for judging exams, theses,
dissertations, or oral defenses of theses and dissertations.
1.
Appeal of Academic Evaluations
A graduate student has a right to question academic evaluations felt to be unfair or
unfounded by means of the appeal processes described in The Graduate Bulletin.
H.
Office Hours of Instructors
The graduate student has the opportunity to confer with the instructor of a course during
the instructor’s office hours. The instructor will inform graduate students of his or her
office hours and office location via commonly accepted methods that may include
posting, email notices, D2L communication, and/or web announcements.
I.
Faculty – Student Relationship Expectations
1. Trust and Civility
The graduate student has a right to scholarly relationships with faculty based on
mutual trust and civility.
2.
Personal or Intellectual Exploitation
The graduate student has a right to be protected from personal or intellectual
exploitation and to receive recognition for scholarly, professional, or creative
assistance to faculty.
3.
Sexual Harassment
Both faculty and graduate students are expected to conform to Marquette University’s
Sexual Harassment Policy.
VI. ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING
A.
Director of Graduate Studies, Coordinator, or Adviser of Students’ Programs
The graduate student will be informed of the name and hours of availability of the
Director of Graduate Studies, Coordinator or Adviser for his or her program, and have the
opportunity to meet with that person, or the departmental chair, or a substitute approved
by the chair for advising and information.
B.
Student Responsibility to Know Program Requirements and Policies
Graduate students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the general Graduate
School and the specific program requirements as set forth in the Graduate Bulletin, the
Marquette Student Handbook, and departmental and college handbooks. Additionally,
departmental chairs or graduate advisers should review program requirements and
explain departmental procedures to incoming graduate students.
C.
Changes in Policy and Curriculum
Programmatic, policy, and curricular changes in graduate programs must be
accomplished through the appropriate Marquette University committee structures, and
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
any changes affecting students in program must be published in departmental, Graduate
School, and appropriate university documents, and via email, and announced within
departments until the publications are issued.
D.
Scheduling
A graduate student will be given a system of scheduling that provides opportunities to
take prerequisites and required courses in a fashion that allows completion of the course
requirements within the time limits of the degree or certificate program. Scheduling
should also allow students to experience a variety of instructors.
E.
Scheduling Needs of Part-Time Graduate Students
Departments should make reasonable efforts to meet the scheduling needs of part-time as
well as full-time students. Part-time students should consult regularly with their advisers
about availability of needed courses and their delivery on campus.
F.
Course Sequence
Graduate students have the responsibility to take courses in appropriate sequence and to
avail themselves of the opportunities to take required courses when they are offered.
G.
Qualifying and Comprehensive Examinations
A graduate student shall be given opportunities to take qualifying or comprehensive
exams, which will be offered at least once a year. Faculty will evaluate performance on
said exams in a timely manner, and will convey the results promptly and in writing to the
student. A written notice of successful completion of such exams shall be forwarded to
the Graduate School. When an unusually large cohort takes exams, some departments
may require more time for evaluation. In such instances, departments will explain to
examinees the procedures and anticipated time-line for giving and grading the exam.
H.
Codes and Professional Standards
Each department or degree-granting unit shall communicate to graduate students at the
time of their admission to a degree or certificate program any specific codes or
professional standards of conduct expected of them as part of their study and training that
may be different than those standards of conduct commonly expected of all graduate
students.
I.
Evaluation of Academic Progress
A graduate student has the right to periodic evaluation of his or her academic progress.
Evaluation includes, but is not limited to, course grades, results of language exams,
reviews of GPA’s, results of qualifying and comprehensive exams, reviews of internship
or field experiences, reviews of performance, results of defenses or exams of thesis and
dissertation proposals. Evaluation can also come in the form of verbal or written
assessment of a student’s progress toward the degree and the adequacy of his or her
performance. An active student has a right to receive a progress report at least once each
year, and a written summary of that assessment should be given to the student and placed
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
in his or her departmental file. When a department or degree-granting unit determines
that a student’s progress or performance is unsatisfactory, the student shall be notified in
writing, the areas in which performance is unsatisfactory shall be cited, and criteria for
satisfactory performance shall be reviewed.
VII. Graduate School Appointments
A.
Professional Development
Graduate Assistants and Fellows, first and foremost, are students and valued members of
the community of scholars. Although the service aspect of an Assistantship is emphasized
in the definition, Assistants are chosen for their scholarship and manifest interest in the
discipline as well as for their ability to perform the needed service for an academic
semester or session. Assigned activities of graduate appointees, then, shall be relevant
professional experiences, and graduate appointees can expect professional guidance and
timely evaluation in the performance of their duties.
B.
Work Requirements
1.
Rules and Guidelines for Graduate School Financial Aid
The official rules and guidelines of all Graduate School-administered assistantships
and fellowships are enclosed with each award offer sent by the Graduate School. The
Rules and Guidelines for Graduate School Financial Aid brochure or insert is also
accessible through the Graduate School’s Web site.
2.
Kinds of Work Required
The kinds of work required of Graduate Assistants may vary among academic units,
each of which determines its own range of appropriate possibilities subject to
administrative review by the supervising dean or vice-president. A full assistantship
in any unit consists of twenty hours of work per week and a half time assistantship
consists of ten hours of work per week. Graduate assistants are not allowed to
accept additional outside work without the approval of the Graduate School.
3.
Notification of Work Requirement
The work requirement will be stated in the letter of appointment to the graduate
assistant. A copy of the appointment letter, signed by the appointee attesting to the
appointee’s agreement with the terms of the assistantship and service requirement,
must be returned to the Graduate School by the deadline stated in the letter.
4.
Responsibility to Complete Training
Assistants whose work requirement includes teaching are required to complete
satisfactorily all conditions, where applicable, of any department’s graduate teaching
assistant training program.
5.
Teaching Assistantship Obligations
A graduate student involved in teaching has the obligation to provide students in the
classes he or she teaches with appropriate course materials, including but not limited
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
to, syllabi and assignment materials according to university and departmental
procedures.
6.
Communication of Duties and Responsibilities
A graduate student involved in or assisting with research has the right to clear
articulation of his or her duties and responsibilities and continued guidance or aid in
the performance of his or her duties.
7.
Right to Clear and Directed Instruction
A graduate student involved in or assisting with research has the right to clear and
directed instruction or training in the proper use of equipment, materials, and
required safety procedures unique to each assignment.
8.
Ethical Conduct
Graduate students involved in research have the responsibility to observe the ethics
of academic research, to conduct his or her own research, to use other authors’
material only with proper citation, and not to plagiarize pursuant to the Academic
Honesty Policy.
9.
Duties and Renewals
A graduate student who is involved in teaching, assisting with teaching, research, or
assisting with research or any other approved assignment is expected to fulfill
responsibly and effectively his or her assigned duties. Graduate teaching assistants
must abide by the requirements of FERPA in protecting the students being taught.
Renewal of graduate appointments depends upon, among other things, effective and
appropriate performance of assigned duties.
VIII. Graduate Student Participation in Governance
Graduate students are accorded opportunities for participation in governance, and for this
reason the university has established and helps to support the Graduate Student Organization,
a body that aims to increase graduate student participation in the university community and
to represent graduate needs and concerns. Through this organization, graduate students who
have been admitted to graduate programs are eligible to participate in shared governance,
including appointment of one representative to the Academic Senate, and to university
councils and committees that determine policies and procedures affecting graduate students
and their education at Marquette University. Graduate students have a right to representation
on the following bodies:
University Board of Graduate Studies
University Library Committee
University Media Committee
University Student Appeals Committees
University Committee on Academic Policies and Issues
University Committee on Teaching
GSO / Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities
Academic Senate
IX. Protection of Graduate Student Rights
If a graduate student believes his/her rights are violated, he/she is entitled to appeal such
actions by the existing policies and procedures of the Graduate School and/or the
University as specified in the Graduate Bulletin.
Sections of this document have been taken and modified from graduate bills of rights and
responsibilities from several other universities.