Maintenance of Status for Graduate Students

Policy Number: 04.0005

Introduction

Graduate students often need to complete program requirements that do not have course credit attached to them; similarly, from time to time, they need the ability to undertake work relevant to their degree for which no credit can be available. This policy for maintenance of status articulates the terms under which this may be pursued, tracked, and aided.

Purpose

This policy articulates the pathway and parameters by which graduate students maintain their institutional status when completing non-coursework requirements towards their degrees. It is compliant with the New School’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy and Title IV Federal Student Aid rules and regulations. It relies on definitions articulated in the Full Time, Three Quarter Time, and Half Time Enrollment Policy.

Scope

The audience for this policy is graduate students.

Definitions

Coursework requirements: Requirements for a degree that bears course credit.

Equivalency: A process by which the completion of non-coursework requirements for graduate degrees may be tracked by The New School using a equivalency course.

Non-coursework requirements: Requirements for a degree that are not associated with a course. At The New School, these have included the following on the graduate level: capstone, dissertation research and writing, examination, fieldwork, oral defense, professional engagement, qualifying examination, qualifying paper, research training, and thesis research and writing.

Responsibilities

Graduate program leadership: Map and maintain records of program-specific non-credit requirements, which are reported to the Assistant Director, Curriculum and Learning annually as part of the academic catalog update.

Financial Aid: Reporting of student enrollment in equivalency courses to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and appropriate financial aid packaging.

Registrar: Tracking of non-coursework requirements via equivalency courses.

Policy

Graduate programs at the New School consist of coursework and non-coursework requirements. Graduate students undertaking non-coursework requirements will be enrolled in equivalency courses, also known as equivalency, for maintenance of status. It is expected that graduate students are enrolled as full-time students unless an explicit part-time pathway through their curriculum has been articulated and approved by the program and Provost’s Office.

Graduate students who are maintaining status will be charged for maintenance of status tuition, which represent a fraction of the tuition charged for courses bearing credit. Therefore, graduate students who are maintaining status are not eligible for federal student loans for tuition support. However, graduate students enrolled in equivalency courses for at least half-time equivalency for maintenance of status are considered enrolled and may remain eligible for federal student loans to offset living expenses and other costs in their financial aid cost of attendance.

Masters students are eligible for eight semesters (or four academic years) of full time equivalency. Doctoral students are eligible for twelve semesters (or six academic years) of full time equivalency. Beyond that, students must petition for additional semesters of full time equivalency; approval of the department and executive dean, reported to the Provost’s Office, is required. Departments may only provide scholarship support to cover the cost of maintenance of status tuition for the eligible semesters per degree, absent a granted petition.

All policies related to time to degree completion still apply.

Graduate students may, with approval of their Dean’s office representative, deploy equivalency via equivalency courses alongside course credits in certain situations. Parameters in this situation are:

• Required coursework for their degree is still outstanding
• The student registers for between one and eight required coursework credits in the fall or spring semester in which they intend to deploy equivalency, or between one and five required coursework credits in the summer semester
• The student engages in non-coursework requirements

Procedure

Students seeking to complete non-coursework requirements and enroll in equivalency courses in order to maintain status must submit a request form to their department no fewer than four weeks before the start of the semester in which they intend to enroll. Departments will provide the Registrar with a list of students approved for enrollment in equivalency courses by no later than six weeks before the beginning of the relevant semester. Departments and the Registrar are jointly responsible for tracking the total number of semesters in which students have maintained status up to the maximum allowable listed above. The Registrar will report equivalency course enrollments to Financial Aid at the beginning and end of each semester.

Policy Administration

Responsible University Official: Senior Vice Provost, Curriculum, Learning, and Academic Affairs

Responsible Office: Academic Affairs

Contact Information: schluetj@newschool.edu

Policy History

Effective Date: September 23, 2024

Last Reviewed Date: September 23, 2024

Next Review Date: September 23, 2029

Revision History: N/A