Policies and Procedures

Sarah Lawrence College admits students and selects employees regardless of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, disability, national and ethnic origin and thereafter accords them all the rights and privileges generally made available to students or employees at the College. The College is strongly committed to basing judgments about individuals solely upon their qualifications and abilities, and to protecting individual rights of privacy, association, belief and expression.

Inquiries concerning the application of the federal laws and regulations concerning equal employment and educational opportunity at Sarah Lawrence College may be referred to the Director of Human Resources, who has been designated by the College to oversee the continued application of the College's nondiscriminatory policies. Inquiries may also be directed to the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202.

Academic Responsibility
Continuing Enrollment
Degree Requirements
Leaves of Absence
Quality of Work
Time Limits

Academic Responsibility

Standards of Progress and Performance

The academic progress and performance of graduate students are subject to review at any time by the faculty of the program in which they are enrolled. Graduate students whose progress or performance fails to meet the standards of the program, as determined by the faculty of that program, may be required to withdraw from the program and the College. If a graduate student's performance or progress is unsatisfactory, the faculty may assign additional work requirements.

Standards of Integrity

In an academic community in which integrity and truthfulness form the basis of intellectual development and trust, graduate students are expected to be motivated by honesty and self-respect and are required to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. When that trust is violated, disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the College, will be taken.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism and fraud. The following are examples of academic dishonesty: representing the ideas or language of another as one's own; falsifying or inventing any information, data or citation; representing work already submitted for one course as original work for another course; permitting another to represent one's work as her/his own or otherwise receiving or providing unauthorized assistance to another in formal academic work. When an issue of academic dishonesty is raised, the graduate student is notified by the program director and is given an opportunity to respond to the charges before a final determination is made. Any student guilty of academic dishonesty is subject to penalties to be determined by the faculty member involved in conjunction with faculty from the student's program. Penalties may include dismissal from the program and expulsion from the College.

Appeals

Graduate students who have been required to withdraw from a program because of unsatisfactory progress or performance, or who have been disciplined or expelled for academic dishonesty, may appeal to the Committee on Graduate Studies, provided they do so in writing within 30 days of receiving notice of the action being appealed. The committee reviews the matter and renders a decision. The committee's decision is final.

Grievance Procedures

If a graduate student wishes to make a complaint against a faculty member or administrator, the following procedures are followed: Students who have a complaint should meet with the Dean of Graduate Studies; if the complaint is with the Dean of Graduate Studies, the student will meet with the Dean of the College. It is the intent that this meeting would lead to an informal discussion and resolution of the complaint. However, if resolution does not occur, the student may appeal to the Committee on Graduate Studies. The committee reviews the matter and renders a decision. The committee’s decision is final.

Note: College fees, programs, dates and regulations in this web site are subject to change without notice.

Continuing Enrollment

A fee, equivalent to one credit, is assessed during the semester of thesis completion. This assessment is for thesis supervision and processing the thesis beyond one semester after completion of course work.

Degree Requirements

Graduate students become candidates for degrees after successfully completing all requirements, receiving the recommendation of the program director and approval from the Committee on Graduate Studies.

In general, graduate programs require successful completion of 36 course credits and a thesis/performance or project/fieldwork component equivalent to 12 or more credits. The Art of Teaching program requires 38 course credits; the Health Advocacy and the Human Genetics programs require 40 course credits. Please refer to the specific program's "Program and Courses" for complete degree requirement information.

Leaves of Absence

Requests for leaves of absence are discussed with and approved by an individual student's program director, and notification is given to the director of Graduate Studies. Leaves are granted for only one year at a time and rarely for more than two years in total. An unapproved leave is a withdrawal. Students with loans should consult the Financial Aid Office regarding loan obligations during the leave.

Quality of Work

Graduate course credits are earned in one or more of the following ways:

graduate courses or seminars
selected undergraduate courses
conference courses and independent study

To remain in good academic standing, a graduate student must maintain a grade of B- or higher. Conference course requests must be made by teachers and approved by the Committee on Graduate Studies before students can register. In the performing arts, M.F.A. students may do all course work in the area of their specialization, or they may take a small number of credits in a related area. A maximum of 10 graduate credits deemed appropriate by the graduate advisor and the committee, at grade B or higher, may be accepted in transfer from another school.

Time Limits

A student who has not completed the degree in four years will be withdrawn from the program unless a written request for an extension has been approved by the Committee on Graduate Studies.