Policies for Students in the Master of Science Programs

Students are expected to know the requirements of the academic program in which they are enrolled. The official program and course requirements are outlined in the appropriate Rowan Catalog and students are expected to follow the Catalog requirements associated with the academic year in which they matriculated. Additional information and details about specific academic program policies (especially concerning benchmarks, placements, etc.) should be obtained from the official Catalog and Program Overview or directly from the academic program/department. While faculty and staff will assist in every possible manner, students are responsible for becoming aware and remaining informed of their current academic program and graduation requirements, their status in that program, and their progress toward graduation. For the best possible academic experience, students should meet with their Academic Advisor throughout their program to ensure their registration and path toward program completion is on track.

Policy Disclaimer: The University reserves the right to amend, modify or cancel the policies, terms and conditions, course information and other materials within the Rowan Student Handbook or on official policy websites as needed. Errors or omissions in this information are subject to the appropriate University policy or legislation, which takes precedence over language of University publications.

Graduate students in any Master of Science are required to be familiar with all the policies and procedures related to the program. These include the official Rowan University policies as defined through the Provost office. The policies of the Graduate School/Division of Global Learning & Partnerships, and the programmatic rules as articulated by the Computer Science Department endorsed by the Dean’s Office in the College of Science & Mathematics.  Failure to be in compliance with the rules and regulations among these academic units can result in penalties including dismissal from the program.

Graduate School/Division of Global Learning & Partnerships policies can be found here: https://sites.rowan.edu/student-success/_docs/gac-policy-guide.pdf

Rowan University policies can be found here: https://confluence.rowan.edu/display/POLICY/Administrative+Policies

Attendance in Graduate Courses

The Computer Science Department at Rowan University values faculty and student engagement and expects students to abide by the official Rowan University policy on attendance: 

“Students are expected to attend each meeting of each scheduled class for which they are officially registered and are responsible for knowing their instructors’ attendance policies as stated in the syllabus.” 

Therefore, lack of attendance and participation will negatively impact your grades.  Please be aware of the official university policy on attendance in terms of student and faculty responsibilities:  https://confluence.rowan.edu/display/POLICY/Attendance+Policy

Inclement weather is not accepted as a reason for absence/lateness/disengagement from any online component of a course (whether fully online or hybrid).  Online, hybrid and off-site courses do not necessarily close down when Rowan University closes. 

Statistics regarding student usage are collected.  Faculty and administration can track student usage throughout the system including the number of times a student logs into Canvas and every section, tool, page that a student visits within the system (duration of time spent in the system is not tracked, nor does it have any bearing on attendance).

Attendance in online courses and/or the online portion of hybrid courses: To officially be considered “present” in the online portion of the course, system tracking reports must show that the student in question has visited each page, tool, or assignment as is reasonably necessary to conduct class work by the end of that week. This includes at least one visit to all materials and tools presented in the current weekly lesson folder as well as any other materials associated with class work for that week as specified in the current weekly overview. Instructors may actively check attendance and provide students with written notice regarding their attendance records at their discretion. Additional policies regarding attendance and consequences for failure to meet the attendance requirements for this course, if any, are provided in the official course syllabus.

Credit Maximum for the Computer Science Department

The maximum number of credits allowed per semester for matriculated Graduate Students in the Department of Computer Science is 9.

Graduate students may not register for more than 9 semester hours/credits each semester unless approval is obtained from the Program Coordinator, the Computer Science Department Head, and the Assistant Dean of the College of Science & Mathematics and forwarded to Rowan Global Enrollment Services or Computer Science Graduate Advising.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress is imperative in Graduate Programs.

The Master of Science Programs are designated as a Category 3 program this means that the following rules apply.

To maintain Minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress in and to successfully graduate from a Category 3 program students must:                 

• Earn no more than two total C grades of any combination of “C+” or “C.” (“C-“grades are not acceptable).
• Earn no grades lower than a “C”
• Earn an official cumulative GPA (according to matriculation level) of at least 3.000 on Rowan’s 4.000 scale. See “Calculation of the Official GPA at Rowan University” section for more details.

Graduate Assistantships or Graduate Research Assistant Recipients have unique, stricter standards and are detailed within their respective agreements. 

Details on Satisfactory Academic Progress can be found here:  https://sites.rowan.edu/student-success/_docs/gac-policy-guide.pdf