2007 Self-Study - University of Nevada, Reno

partment/program review the materials and
make admission recommendations which are
then sent to the Graduate School for the final
admission decision. Any changes to admissions
requirements either in general or specific to a
program requires review and approval by the
Graduate Council, which is composed of graduate
faculty from the colleges/programs.
2.F.4 Graduation requirements for advanced
degrees offered by the institution
are determined by the faculty teaching in
the applicable graduate programs. At a
minimum, the policies governing these
graduation requirements include: the specified
time period in which the degree must be
completed; the number of credit hours that
must be completed at the degree-granting
institution, normally at least two-thirds of
those required for the degree; the minimum
number of graduate-level credits, normally
at least 50 percent of those required for the
degree; for the master’s degree, a minimum
of one academic year of full-time study or its
equivalent, with a minimum of 24 semester
or 36 quarter hours; the number of graded
credit hours that must be earned for the degree;
the minimum standard of performance
or acceptable grade point average, normally
a B or its equivalent; the types of qualifying
and exit examinations which the candidate
must pass; the proficiency requirements the
candidate must satisfy; and the thesis, dissertation,
writing or research requirement
which the candidate must satisfy.
Graduation requirements at the University,
which address all of the above specified criteria,
are published in the Graduate School section of
the University General Catalog. The specific details
regarding qualifying and exit (comprehensive)
examinations are also described in this section
of the catalog, as well as in many (but not
all) departmental student handbooks, web pages
and the departmental sections of the University
General Catalog. These criteria are reviewed periodically
by the Graduate Council (composed of
appropriate graduate faculty representatives), as
well as reviewed in part by the regularly conducted
external reviews (RD GP 2.1: University
General Catalog, 2007-2008, Graduate
School, pp. 325-335).
Communication of these requirements to students,
staff and faculty remains a challenge, as
there are always new entrants to each of these
categories. Ongoing training needs to assure that
criteria are both widely publicized and applied.
Exit interview data indicates that students would
like “graduation workshops.” This suggestion
has resulted in a regular workshop sponsored by
the Graduate School beginning in fall 2006.
Communicating policy changes to the needed
audiences (for example, the upcoming changes
in the GRE general test) also pose challenges.
2.F.5 Transfer of graduate credit is evaluated
by faculty based on policies established
by faculty whose responsibilities include
a major commitment to graduate education,
or by a representative body of such
faculty who are responsible for the degree
program at the receiving institution. The
amount of transfer credit granted may be
limited by the age of the credit, the institution
from which the transfer is made, and the
appropriateness of the credit earned to the
degree being sought.
The policies regarding transfer credit approved
by the Graduate Council are published in the
Graduate School section of the catalog. Appropriate
graduate faculty submit requests for transfer
credit evaluation to the Graduate School,
where final approval is granted. The transfer
policies address the number of transfer credits
and the age of the credit. The Graduate School
also considers the institution from which the
transfer is made and the appropriateness of the
credit earned to the degree being sought (RE GP
2.1: University General Catalog, 2007-2008,
Graduate School, Transfer Credits, p. 329).
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