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Graduate College of Social Work
Academic and Professional Behavior Policies - MSW Program
Enrollment Status
Applicants request admission into either full-time, flex, or weekend college option enrollment status. Full-time students complete the program in 21 months. This requires enrollment in 15 credit hours in the fall semester and 14 credit hours in spring semester, plus six credit hours of enrollment in the summer (first year only). Flex option students have a maximum of four years in which to complete all degree requirements (including field practicum). Flex option students are required to take 15 credit hours in the foundation semester fall and 6–9 hours in the spring, plus some summer enrollment. See section on Master of Social Work Course Requirements for explicit full-, flex, and weekend college option enrollment models.
Most students are admitted into the specific enrollment status to which they have applied; however, the GCSW reserves the right to limit the number of full- time and flex option students admitted in a given year. Students who wish to change their status prior to their initial enrollment may have to postpone starting the program for a full year if all slots are full. Once enrolled officially (i.e., tuition and fees are paid), students may change their status only with the approval of the academic advisor or the Director of Student Affairs.
Academic Probation and Suspension
A student whose grade point average (GPA) falls below 3.0 (B) will be placed on academic probation, and will be allowed to continue his/her enrollment only with the written recommendation of the academic advisor and approval from the dean. Permission to continue will be granted only if there is reasonable likelihood that the grade point average will improve in the subsequent semester. Removal from academic probation is granted when the grade point average is raised to B (3.0 or above).
The grade of S (satisfactory) is equivalent to a grade of B (3.0).
Three C Rule
Effective Fall 2009, students who receive a grade of C+ or lower in 9 semester credit hours of graduate credit, whether or not in repeated courses, will be dropped fromt he M.S.W. program.
Incomplete Grades
The grade of I (Incomplete) is a conditional and temporary grade given when students are passing a course but, for reasons beyond their control, have not completed a relatively small part of all requirements. Students are responsible for informing the instructor immediately of the reasons for not submitting an assignment on time or not taking an examination as scheduled. The grade of I must be changed by fulfilling the course requirements by the deadline set by
the instructor, but no more than one year from the date awarded, or, in conformance with university policy, it will be changed automatically to F or U (in S-U graded courses).
Continuous Enrollment
Students are expected to maintain continuous enrollment throughout their course of study. A temporary, time-limited leave of absence may be granted for compelling reasons with the recommendation of the advisor and approval of the associate dean. However, students who fail to maintain continuous enrollment without initiating an official leave of absence will be considered as having withdrawn from the M.S.W. program. In such cases, students may be required to reapply for admission.
Time Limitation
As an explicit accreditation policy of the Council on Social Work Education, all requirements for the M.S.W. degree must be completed no more than four years from the date of the student's first enrollment at the GSSW.
Academic Honesty
All members of, and participants in, the academic life of the university are to be governed by the University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy.
Disciplinary Action and Termination
The nature of social work dictates that practitioners use sound professional
judgment. The college reserves the right to terminate the enrollment of
any student at any time for what the college faculty and administration
believe to be good and sufficient reason(s), such as cheating, plagiarism,
misuse of university property, or unprofessional conduct. Explicit policies
are found in the GCSW Student Standards Policy, as well in the UH Graduate
and Professional Studies Catalog (online).
Course Numbering, Credit, and Clock Hours
All M.S.W. courses are graduate level and begin with either 6 or 7; the second digit of the course number represents the credit hours (e.g., 6300=three credit hours). Required Field Practicum courses require 180 and 240 clock hours per semester in the field agency. The first required field practicum course requires 180 clock hour s while the second field practicum course requires 240 clock hours. The third and fourth field practicum courses also each require 240 clock hours.
M.S.W. Student Standards Policy
The faculty of the GCSW is responsible for creating a teaching-learning environment that fosters student growth and professional development. The Standards Policy includes criteria used to evaluate each student in six general areas: professional readiness, professional commitment, scholastic performance, attendance and punctuality, professional behavior, and ethical conduct. Evaluation is ongoing, from admissions to program entry, program entry to candidacy, and candidacy to graduation. Students are expected to demonstrate continuous progress in the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes, judgment, and behaviors to assume the responsibilities of a competent professional social worker. When students confirm their admission to the GCSW, they are provided a copy of the Standards Policy, and they are required to sign a statement indicating that they have read the policy, and agree to be bound by the provisions therein.Grievance Policy and Procedures
The Graduate College of Social Work Student Grievance Policy is available on the GCSW Web site (www.sw.uh.edu).It is the responsibility of all students to become familiar with the various policies and regulations of the university and the GCSW and to meet the conditions they impose.