The Steering Committee has established the following policy reflecting grade standards:
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- In order to count as successfully “passing” a course, a student must earn a minimum of a B. A grade of B- or below is considered failing and must be remediated in some way.
- Students must maintain a “B” average across all coursework. Any student whose GPA drops below a 3.0 is automatically placed on academic probation by the program and by both graduate divisions. A student may not remain on academic probation for more than one year.
- Any time a student receives two grades below a B (i.e., a “B” minus or lower, or No Credit) Steering will formally review that student’s progress and make a determination of whether or not the student will be allowed to continue.
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Remediating an Unsatisfactory Grade
A student who earns an unsatisfactory grade in a course (i.e., a grade below a B) must do the following:
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- Immediately inform both Co-Directors in writing; email is an acceptable method to do this.
- Contact the professor who gave the “below B” grade and request a written statement regarding the nature of the poor performance; this statement should provide the specific areas needing remediation. Remediation options may include auditing or re-taking the course that was failed.
- Prior to Advancing to Candidacy, students must demonstrate remediation for each course in which a B minus or below was received. Such demonstration must be to the satisfaction of the Co-Directors and is not a prerogative of the Guidance Committee.
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Each student is responsible for keeping his/her Guidance Committee apprised of his/her classroom performance (i.e., grades), so that the committee can best assist if any modification or remediation is needed. Specifically, a grade of B- or below must immediately be brought to the attention of the Guidance Chair and a guidance committee meeting must be scheduled.
Students who elect to take additional courses (other than JDP requirements) at SDSU should note the following:
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- The grade in any class (graduate or undergraduate) taken at SDSU will be included in the official doctoral GPA. There are no exceptions to this rule.
- Graduate students are not allowed to replace a failing grade with a higher grade by taking the course a second time.
- Students seeking the M.P.H. should be cognizant of this as they complete that program’s requirements as well.