Graduate Students
Policies, Dates and Forms
Some of the policies at Ryerson pertain to both graduate and undergraduate/continuing education students, including the Student Code of Academic Conduct, the Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct, the Accommodation of Student, Religious, Aboriginal and Spiritual Observance and the Academic Accommodation of Students with Disabilities.
In addition to the above, there are other policies that apply specifically to graduate students. The Graduate Admissions and Studies Policy is particularly relevant as it covers many of the issues you may encounter during your time at Ryerson.
There are a number of significant dates and deadlines throughout the term that you should be familiar with. You can find them on the Significant Dates link of the Graduate Student section of Ryerson’s website.
The Graduate Student Forms page has links to relevant forms you may need.
Graduate Supervision
The Graduate Supervision Policy sets out the roles and responsibilities of graduate students, supervisors, supervisory committee members and Graduate Program Directors. The document covers the procedures for choosing and working with a Supervisor. It also includes Conflict Resolution guidelines, which explain what steps to take if you find yourself in a conflict with your Supervisor.
Grades and Academic Standing
For full information on Grades and Academic Standing see Section 4 of the Graduate Admissions and Studies Policy.
The Graduate student grading scale at Ryerson requires a grade of at least B- (70-72) at the Master’s level and B (73-76) at the PhD level to pass a course; all grades below this are recorded as an F. If you have some work outstanding in a course, and have come to a prior agreement with your Instructor, you may request an INC (incomplete) grade until you have completed it.
There are three Academic Standings for graduate students as outlined below.
To achieve a CLEAR standing and be able to continue in their program of study, Master’s students must earn a GPA of 2.67 in each course and PhD students a GPA of 3.00.
A student will be placed on PROVISIONAL standing if any of the following apply: an Unsatisfactory (UNS) progress report for a Milestone; one failed grade; a cumulative GPA lower than 2.67 for Master’s students; a cumulative GPA of lower than 3.00 for Doctoral students; failure to meet a specific program requirement. Students with PROVISIONAL standing must meet with their Supervisor and Program Director to come up with a Provisional Plan, designed to correct academic deficiencies, before they can continue in their program.
Graduate students will be WITHDRAWN if any of the following apply: two Unsatisfactory (UNS) Milestone progress reports; two failed grades; one failed grade and one Unsatisfactory (UNS) Milestone progress report; failure to develop a Provisional Plan; failure to meet the requirements of a Provisional Plan; a final performance designation of Fail for a thesis, MRP, or dissertation; failure to complete the graduate program within the allowable time for completion. A student who has been WITHDRAWN from a program is not eligible for readmission into that program.
Appeals and Academic Consideration
If you become ill or experience a personal difficulty and will miss a test or assignment you should speak to your Instructor or Program Director as soon as possible to request alternate arrangements. The same holds true for accommodations required for a religious observance or because of a disability. In each of these cases you will be asked to provide documentation of your circumstances.
If you believe a test, exam or assignment has been marked unfairly you must review your concern with your Instructor within 10 days of receiving your grade. Requests for re-grading are possible, however keep in mind that if a re-graded work ends up with a lower grade that is the grade that will stand.
Details about Academic Consideration and Re-Grading are found in Sections IB and IC of the Graduate Student Academic Appeals Policy.
Academic Appeals are reserved for issues related to GRADES or ACADEMIC STANDING that could not be resolved with your Instructor or Program Director. The grounds on which you may submit an appeal are prejudice, medical, compassionate, course management or procedural error. Your responsibility in an academic appeal is to explain why you believe should be treated differently than other students given your situation. Academic appeals are decided on a "balance of probabilities," which means that after hearing both sides of the story and examining all of the information, the decision maker must be able to say: "More likely than not, the fair decision in this case is...."
For assistance in preparing an appeal you can contact the Student Advocate who can be contacted at advocacy@rsuonline.ca
Full information about the Appeals process is found in the Graduate Student Academic Appeals Policy.
The deadline for submitting a Winter 2012 Graduate Appeal is Monday, September 10th, 2012.
Leave of Absence
Graduate students are required to maintain continuous enrolment in each semester and pay fees accordingly. However, in special circumstances you can request a Leave of Absence (LOA). Specifically, you may write to your Program Director to request a LOA for medical or compassionate reasons, or to take care of a new child in your life.
Details about Leaves of Absence are found in Section 3.3 of the Graduate Admissions and Studies Policy.
Academic Misconduct
The Student Code of Academic Conduct sets out the standards of academic integrity you are expected to follow as a graduate student at Ryerson. It also outlines the procedures that are followed, and appeal mechanisms available, if you are charged with academic misconduct. See our page on Academic Misconduct for more information on this topic.
Graduate Funding
There are a number of internal and external sources of funding that you can apply for as a graduate student. The Funding of Graduate Students Policy sets out the parameters of this funding. See also the Funding link of the Graduate Students section of Ryerson’s website for more information.
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