Policies

EXTRA CREDIT

The Department of Psychological Sciences has established a policy that no extra credit will be granted in its courses. This policy applies to all courses.

GRADES

The Department of Psychological Sciences is committed to having assigned grades reflect mastery of content and skills appropriate for this course. You should also know that the standardized tests often required for entrance to graduate school compare the performance of students from colleges and universities across the U.S. Students should also note that a D- is a passing grade and is acceptable in an MSU Denver Psychology class for the major and minor, although an overall 2.0 average in the major or minor is required for graduation.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

All psychology classes (excluding internships, independent studies, and seminars) will have finals, projects, or presentations during final exam week. Students wishing to use websites as sources for term papers may only use refereed electronic journals and other sites specifically approved by the instructor; each source must be documented for the professor.

ADMINISTRATIVE DROP DUE TO NON-PARTICIPATION PRIOR TO CENSUS DATE

As outlined in the university’s Mandatory Participation Verification policy for determining a student’s financial aid eligibility, for any class in which a student who has not engaged in an academically related activity during the first two weeks of a full-term course, or prior to the Census date for a part-of-term course, the student will be administratively dropped from that course. For all courses offered by the Department of Psychological Sciences, the following will be used to define “participation in an academically related activity”. Such participation in a face-to-face course is defined as attendance in at least one class meeting OR submission of at least one graded or ungraded assignment during the first two weeks (or before census date for part-of-term courses). Such participation in an online course is defined as submission of at least one graded or ungraded assignment during
the first two weeks (or before census date for part-of term courses).

INCOMPLETE REQUIREMENTS

The ‘I’ or Incomplete grade may be granted if all university requirements for the ‘I’ are met. In addition, the student must have completed 75% of course contact hours (i.e. participation, or engagement in an online course) as well as a minimum of 51% of the total coursework. All work for the I must be completed within 90-days of the end of the course, unless prior approval is granted by the Department Chair. If an incomplete is granted the student and faculty member must fill out and sign an Incomplete Agreement Form (Incomplete_Form_PSY) to clarify what outstanding work the student should complete within the designated timeframe.

REQUIRED REPORTING

Faculty, staff, and advisors in the Department of Psychological Sciences may be required to report information about students who are in distress and/or whose safety and well-being are at risk. For example, students who share—either orally or in written work—that they are experiencing current suicidal ideation, plans to harm others, or sexual harassment will be referred to the University CARE team and/or other administration. We encourage students to disclose issues when you need support; however, faculty, staff, and advisors cannot keep information private when students are at risk of harm or when a disclosure is made that indicates a violation of University policy. If you are wishing to disclose information with a greater assurance of confidentiality, we encourage you to do so with a member of the Counseling Center.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

Attendance during the first week of class is required. It contributes greatly to teaching and learning. Some departments determine a student’s enrollment in a course based upon attendance during the first week of class. Consult the department for more information about the attendance policy for the class that you are attending. Students who drop classes are financially responsible for those classes in accordance with withdrawal/refund policies. . . .
Students at MSU Denver who, because of their sincerely held religious beliefs, are unable to attend classes, take examinations, participate in graded activities or submit graded assignments on particular days shall, without penalty, be excused from such classes and be given a meaningful opportunity to make up such examinations and graded activities or assignments provided that proper notice and procedures are followed. For further information, see the Class Attendance policies page.