Admission

Belmont University's graduate programs are open to applicants without regard to race, sex, national origin, or religious preference. Admission to the graduate programs is based on qualifications and space availability. The university seeks student diversity that enriches the academic community.

International students applying to Belmont University graduate programs may contact International Student Services for information regarding TOEFL testing, student visa information, health insurance, housing, work permission, and social activities sponsored by the International Student Association.

Honor System

The members of the Belmont University community seek to provide students with a high-quality education while encouraging in the entire community a sense of ethics, social responsibility, and interdependence. We believe that trust is a vital part of this enterprise and that self-discipline and responsibility to one another are also essential elements. We also believe that any instance of dishonesty is a violation of the entire Belmont University community. Therefore, the Belmont University Honor System aims to cultivate a community based on trust, academic honesty, and social responsibility that promotes the following:

• to ensure that students, faculty, staff, and administrators understand that the responsibility for upholding honor at Belmont University lies with them;
  
  
• to ensure that all members of the Belmont University community understand that all forms of dishonesty represent a profound violation of the entire community;
  
  
• to clarify what constitutes academic dishonesty and to define standards of behavior expected of all members of our community;
  
  
• to promote an environment at Belmont University where honor is expected and respected and where dishonesty is not tolerated;
  
  
• to define a statement of expectations at Belmont University regarding behavior, as well as a mechanism for a consistent and reasonable adjudication process for violations of our community.

Affirmation of Academic Integrity

The Belmont community values personal integrity and academic honesty as the foundation of university life and the cornerstone of a premiere educational experience. Our community believes trust among its members is essential for both scholarship and effective interactions and operations of the university. As members of the Belmont community, students, faculty, staff, and administrators are all responsible for ensuring that their experiences will be free of behaviors which compromise this value. In order to uphold academic integrity, the university has adopted an Honor System. Students and faculty will work together to establish the optimal conditions for honorable academic work.

Student Honor Pledge

I will not give or receive aid during examinations; I will not give or receive false or impermissible aid in course work, in the preparation of reports, or in any other type of work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of my grade; I will not engage in any form of academic fraud. Furthermore, I will uphold my responsibility to see to it that others abide by the spirit and letter of this Honor Pledge.

Standards for Academic Integrity

Generally, academic fraud and dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following categories: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, multiple submissions, obtaining unfair advantage, aiding and abetting, and unauthorized access to academic or administrative systems.

Cheating: using unauthorized notes, aids, or information on an examination; altering a graded work prior to its return to a faculty member; allowing another person to do one's work and submitting it for grading.

Plagiarism: submitting material that in part or whole is not one's own work without properly attributing the correct sources of its content.

Fabrication: inventing or falsifying information, data, or citation; presenting data gathered outside of acceptable professorial guidelines; failing to provide an accurate account of how information, data or citations were gathered; altering documents affecting academic records; forging signatures or authorizing false information on an official academic document, grade, letter, form, ID card, or any other university document.

Multiple Submissions: submitting identical papers or course work for credit in more than one course without prior permission of the instructor.

Obtaining Unfair Advantage: a) gaining or providing access to examination materials prior to the time authorized by an instructor; b) stealing, defacing, or destroying library or research materials which can deprive others of their use; c) unauthorized collaboration on an academic assignment; d) retaining, possessing, or circulating previously used examination materials without the instructor's permission; e) obstructing or interfering with another student's academic work; or f) engaging in any activity designed to obtain an unfair advantage over another student in the same course.

Unauthorized Access: viewing or altering in any way computer records, modifying computer programs or systems, releasing or distributing information gathered via unauthorized access, or in any way interfering with the use of availability of computer systems/information.

Aiding and Abetting: providing material, information, or other assistance which violates the above Standards for Academic Integrity; providing false information in connection with any inquiry regarding academic integrity.

For additional information regarding procedures for upholding the Honor System, including sanctions for violation of the system, contact the Office of Student Affairs.

Auditing Classes

Courses may be audited provided space is available and students satisfy the necessary prerequisites, except in the Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy programs. Current Belmont students and alumni need to request admission to a course in writing. Others must apply for Special Student status and can either be an observer in the class or an active participant (team projects, class discussions, testing). Admission requests should be made to the graduate office of the appropriate program. Cost for auditing is the same as credit hour tuition.

Students will be billed before the term begins. Tuition is due by the published payment deadline.

Class Attendance

Graduate students are expected to attend every class meeting. Any absence must be approved in advance by the professor of the class to be missed. Students also must meet all assignment and testing deadlines regardless of an absence. Each course syllabus will specify the individual professor's policies regarding the impact of absences on grades. Unless stated otherwise, when a student misses more than 10% of total class meeting time, the student's grade will be lowered one letter grade, while missing more than 25% of class time will mean failure of the course.

Class Load

The minimum load for full-time status is six (6) hours of graduate credit per term.

International Student Admission

International students applying to Belmont University graduate programs must contact International Student Services in order to secure Form I-20 and the F-1 (student)visa or IAP-66 for the J-1 (exchange visitor) visa.

Non-resident students must complete the following:

1. Submit a Sponsor's Statement indicating financial sponsor. Forms must be notarized and indicate person responsible for paying for educational expenses while enrolled in Belmont degree program. (Bank statements are not acceptable.)
   
   
2. After admission to the graduate program, international students must pay a $3,000 tuition deposit in order to receive their I-20 form. This deposit will be applied to the first semester's tuition. Students who do not enroll as scheduled my request a $2,900 refund of the tuition deposit, if requested in writing within 90 days after the close of registration.
   
   
3. All F-1 and J-1 visa holders must purchase and maintain health and accident insurance while enrolled at Belmont University. Group policy information for international students and their families is available in International Student Services

International English Competency

Applicants whose first language is not English must have a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) before action can be taken on their application to any of the graduate programs. International students on immigrant visas may enroll as regular students when meeting all of the requirements. Questions about the TOEFL may be directed toward the specific graduate program director.

Performance Evaluation and Feedback

Getting feedback on your performance is critical to improvement. A variety of instruments will be used by various instructors throughout your courses. Where appropriate, grades will be given that will be an overall indication of your performance. The grading scale for graduate courses is as follows:

Each hour of academic work taken for credit in the university is evaluated in terms of its relative quality, as shown by the grade received in the course. The various grades and their corresponding quality points are:

The student indicates at registration the address where the grades will be sent. The reports are usually sent within a week following the last exam of the semester.

Repeating Courses

If a student repeats a course, it must be done the next semester the course is offered. The last grade will be the permanent grade recorded, and the student's GPA will be recomputed accordingly. No course may be repeated more than once.

Transfer Credit

A student may transfer up to six (6) hours of graduate credit with a minimum grade of "B" from an accredited institution upon approval of the student's graduate director. The School of Education has a five (5) year limitation on courses that are transferable.

*The School of Physical Therapy does not accept graduate-level transfer credit from other institutions toward the Doctorate of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) degree.

*The School of Occupational Therapy does not accept transfer credit from other institutions toward its degree program.

Progression Towards Graduation*

It is essential that students make satisfactory progress toward their degree in terms of consistency and performance. Unsatisfactory progress will result in the following actions:

If a student remains on Inactive Status for more than one year without the program director's permission, the student must reapply for admission to the program.

Students on probation must raise their cumulative GPA to 3.0 or better within the next two semesters. If a student fails to meet this criterion the student is automatically dismissed from the program. Any student who is dismissed may apply for readmission, but only once.

*See page 32 for Massey Program. See page 113 for Physical Therapy program.

Graduation

In order to be eligible to graduate, a student in any master's program or doctoral program must:

• complete the specified curriculum
• have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better
• complete all degree requirements within the time period specified for each program. Time limits shall be computed from and will include the first term of credit applied to the degree program.

Students must file a graduation application with Belmont Central at the beginning of the term in the student's final graduating term (see calendar at the beginning of this catalog for deadlines). The student will be billed for a non-refundable graduation fee of $150 to cover graduation expenses of academic regalia and diploma. An additional $50 fee will be charged for each subsequent application, due to failure to complete the graduation process.