Catalog 2022-2023

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Advancement Policies

Advancement Policies

Detailed grading system and policies can be found here.

The Dental Hygiene Progression Committee reviews the performance of each Dental Hygiene student at the middle and end of each semester. On the basis of progress and final grades, the Committee determines one of the following actions for each student:

  • Unconditional advancement;
  • Remediation;
  • Conditional advancement;
  • Probationary advancement (repeat a course, repeat or remediate the year); or
  • Academic dismissal recommendation to the Faculty Assembly

The Faculty Assembly must approve all recommendations pertaining to academic dismissal or graduation. A description of the determination actions appears below.

Student Attendance

A student who does not meet published Dental Hygiene attendance policies and Dental Hygiene course standards for attendance may lose the opportunity for remediation. Students with a pattern of unexcused absences who receive one or more failing or deficient grades may be recommended for dismissal. Extenuating circumstances should be identified at the time the absence occurs.

Appeals

A student may appeal the determination of the Dental Hygiene Progression Committee or the Faculty Assembly on the basis of compelling additional information or extenuating circumstances, either of which could not have been previously considered. The appeal must be made in a written submission delivered to the Dean for Academic Affairs and the Director of the Dental Hygiene Program.

The appeal must be submitted within five working days of the date on which the student receives written notification of the determination of the Progression Committee or the decision of the Faculty Assembly. The written appeal must include: the decision the student is appealing; the compelling additional information or extenuating circumstances that could not have been previously considered by the Progression Committee and the reason why the information was not previously presented; and the academic status that the student is requesting. The student may present and prioritize more than one alternative academic status.

The appeal will first be reviewed by an ad hoc panel composed of the Dean for Academic Affairs and two department chairs to determine if the appeal reasonably meets the specified criteria. Should the panel determine the appeal does not reasonably meet the specified criteria, the appeal will be denied. In these circumstances, there is no further consideration and the determination of the Progression Committee or the decision of the Faculty Assembly is final.

If the ad hoc panel determines the appeal reasonably meets the specified criteria, the panel will forward the appeal for consideration to the appropriate body, either the Dental Hygiene Progression Committee or the Faculty Assembly.

The appropriate body, either the Dental Hygiene Progression Committee or the Faculty Assembly will review the appeal, meeting within ten working days of receiving the appeal from the ad hoc panel when feasible.

The appropriate body will issue a written decision on the appeal, acting within five business days of meeting, when feasible.

The appeal decision of the appropriate body, either the Dental Hygiene Progression Committee or the Faculty Assembly, is final and there is no further appeal. Decisions of the Dental Hygiene Progression Committee will be forwarded to the Faculty Assembly for information. Decisions of the Faculty Assembly will be forwarded to the Dean for information. In all cases, a record of the decision will be made part of the student’s academic file.

Determination Actions

Unconditional Advancement

Students must achieve a 2.00 grade point average and receive passing grades in all courses to advance unconditionally to the next semester.

A grade equivalent of 2.00 or higher must be earned in all courses applied to earning the Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene. A student must attain a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher to qualify for graduation with the BS degree.

In the CDHL BS/MS Dual Degree Track, students must maintain a minimum, cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the M.S. Degree in Dental Hygiene.

Probationary Advancement for Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene

A student receiving a grade below C in any BS course will be on academic probation and is required to remediate (if applicable) or repeat the course and obtain a passing grade of C or higher. A student may repeat a course only one time. If the student does not pass the repeated course with a grade of C or higher, the student is subject to probationary advancement or may be academically dismissed from the Dental Hygiene program subject to discretionary review by the Faculty Assembly.

Any student who does not pass a core Dental Hygiene course (e.g; DHYG 311 or DHYG 316), is subject to academic probation or may be academically dismissed from the Dental Hygiene program subject to discretionary review by the Faculty Assembly.

Any student earning a semester or cumulative GPA below a 2.00 or earning below a C in any course, will be placed on academic probation. The Dental Hygiene Progression Committee may recommend to the Faculty Assembly that a student who is on academic probation for more than one semester be dismissed from the Dental Hygiene Program.

At the discretion of the Dental Hygiene progression committee, students with a final grade of F in one or more courses at the end of the semester:

  1. May be permitted to advance on academic probation. During the probationary semester, the student must remediate (if applicable), or repeat all courses in which there was a deficiency to a passing grade of C, achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.00, and must pass all courses with a grade of C, taken during the probationary academic semester. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the Dental Hygiene program subject to discretionary review by the Faculty Assembly.
  2. May be placed on academic probation and assigned to a special academic program where the student may complete the curriculum over additional terms, with special conditions as specified by the Progression Committee if applicable.
  3. May be subject to immediate dismissal from the program as determined by the Dental Hygiene Progression Committee and approved by the Faculty Assembly.

Academic Dismissal

If the Progression Committee determines that probation or remediation will not bring the student to a passing level, immediate dismissal will be recommended to the Faculty Assembly.

Probationary Advancement - Master of Science in Dental Hygiene (CDHL Students)

Repeating Courses

CDHL students must maintain a minimum, cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the M.S. Degree in Dental Hygiene. CDHL students who earn less than a 3.0 cumulative GPA may be granted permission to repeat non-passed courses or courses earning less than a B by the Progression Committee. However, students will not be permitted to enroll in any given course more than twice. If a student repeats a course, both grades are recorded on the transcript. The second grade, whether higher or lower, replaces the original grade in the calculation of the cumulative GPA.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

In order to remain enrolled, the MS in Dental Hygiene requires all students to maintain satisfactory academic progress, which is defined as follows:

• Minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in all courses applied to the MS degree.

Academic Probation/Dismissal

Students who are not making satisfactory academic progress are subject to Academic Probation, with a permanent notation on the transcript. Students who remain on Academic Probation for more than two academic terms and/or fail more than three courses will be subject to dismissal as approved by the Faculty Assembly. Students may also be dismissed for violations of the SOD Code of Conduct or other SOD, UMB or USM policies.

 

Revised 11/23/16

Updated 8/12/20

Approved Faculty Assembly 8/24/20