Graduate Student Handbook

Index

NMT Graduate Studies Academic Procedures

Continuous Registration

If you are admitted to a degree program, you are required to maintain continuous enrollment until you have completed the degree. You may not elect to take a semester off, even if all you have to complete is writing your thesis.

Under certain circumstances, you may qualify for a Leave of Absence for a semester. If you fail to maintain continuous enrollment, you must apply for readmission and you must meet all of the requirements of new catalog if you are readmitted.

Summer Registration Requirements and Employment

New Mexico Tech requires that graduate students register for the summer semester if they are in residence. You are “in residence” if you are making progress toward your degree or using the facilities (i.e., library, computers, lab, office) or staff (i.e., advisor, committee) of the Institute. If you will be receiving an assistantship, fellowship or other support that is disbursed to you through NMT, you must register.

If you are:

not in residence for the summer (see above), but you are
pre-registered as a full time student for the fall semester,

you may qualify for a Work Authorization (on-campus employment up to 40 hours per week) for the summer. You and your academic advisor must indicate that the on-campus employment is unrelated to degree progress and that you will not be using the facilities or staff of the Institute to progress toward your degree during the summer semester. The job may be related to the degree program, but not directly related to your personal degree progress or research project.

Domestic graduate assistants may be registered full-time and carry full-time (40 hour) contracts during the summer session. Because of restrictions imposed upon international students by the federal government, they may not have contracts for more than 20 hours per week in the summer if registered full-time. Contracts for international students may be written for up to 60% more per pay period than was paid during the preceding Spring semester to permit working for more than 20 hours per week between sessions (before and after summer session).

Students may also consider summer off-campus employment. If you decide to take the summer off from your studies and get a job in an area unrelated to your interests, you don't need to register. If you are working off-campus on a summer job that is related to completion of your degree (i.e., at a research lab at Sandia, Los Alamos, or even a private company), you are required to be registered.

Lower Level Courses

Generally, you will be granted permission to register for lower level courses if they are pertinent to your graduate program; however, these courses may not be used toward your graduate requirements. You are required to return and have approved by the Graduate Dean a completed Lower Level Class Approval form in the Center for Graduate Studies before taking a lower level course.

Graduate students who are registered for 12 credits of approved coursework for a given semester, may register for a 13th credit of classes without completing the Lower Level permission (i.e., graduate students may take a physical recreation, health & wellness, or fine arts class).

Registration Check

You are responsible for proper registration. Failure to properly register can lead to the cancellation of all forms of financial aid and/or an academic warning / probation.

The Center for Graduate Studies may check your registration each semester. A registration hold may be put on your account if any of your forms are late, missing, or if there are discrepancies in your records. Be sure to inform the Center for Graduate Studies of all changes. Approximately one week after the close of registration, the Center for Graduate Studies may check your registration.

You may audit one course with up to three or four credit hours per semester (this may be a course with a lab), but because audits are not graded, they cannot be used toward the 30 credit hours required for graduation. Community college and physical recreation and similar courses do not count toward fulltime registration and may not be used to complete degree requirements. It is up to you and your academic advisor to see that you meet requirements and that your progress is updated on the Advisory Committee Form (forms for certificate, MS, Professional Masters, and PhD are located at http://www.nmt.edu/gradstudies).The form must be present at each advisory committee meeting; get it from the Center for Graduate Studies before, and return it after, each meeting.

Leave of Absence

All regular graduate students are required to register every fall and spring semester and in summer semesters, when in residence, until certified for their degree. Occasionally, factors make it necessary for you to interrupt your studies for a short period of time. If you find yourself in one of these situations, you may request a leave of absence if you are in good academic standing and have written approval from your advisor, the department chair, and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

There is no established form for a leave request. The leave request may be a memo or letter on paper or in digital form (an email). The request must include an explanation for why the leave is needed, and a time frame (calendar) for your return to complete all remaining degree requirements. This should be routed to the Dean of Graduate Studies via the advisor and department chair with endorsements
added by each.

During your leave of absence, you do not have access to the staff (your advisor and committee members) or facilities of the institute, and it is assumed that you are not progressing towards your NMT graduate degree. Normally leaves are approved for one semester, but may be approved for up to one year. If you take a leave of absence, your assistantship will not necessarily be held for you. You should consult with your department and supervisor to discuss possible arrangements for support on your return.

If a student does not register as required and no leave of absence is requested prior to non-enrollment or such an approved leave expires, the student will be removed from their graduate program for failure to enroll. After such failure to enroll, the student must apply for readmission to resume the graduate program and if readmitted will have to meet the requirements of the newest catalog for the program.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Each semester, and at the end of your course of study, you must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress.

If you are judged to be making unsatisfactory academic progress, you will be placed on warning. Any student who fails to maintain satisfactory progress for two consecutive semesters will be dropped from regular graduate student status. Such students, if US Citizens or Permanent Residents, may request special (nondegree) status without financial support. After completion of at least six credit hours within a single semester in courses approved for the degree program with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and no grade less than C, the special graduate student may petition the department for return to regular, degree-seeking, graduate status via a memo.

Part time students (before suspension) in this situation must complete at least three credits in a semester successfully as a special graduate to be considered for readmission to regular part time graduate status. The department will make the decision whether to grant readmission to regular, degree-seeking (full time or part time) status. Regular status is required to complete a degree.

Special graduate students who fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress for two consecutive semesters will be suspended; they will not be readmitted for a minimum of one year.

Warning Letters

If you fail to make satisfactory progress during a semester, you will receive a warning letter (academic probation) from the Center for Graduate Studies. If you fail to make satisfactory academic progress in a second, consecutive semester, you will be placed on academic suspension and be dropped from your graduate degree program. If your warning or suspension was prompted by not registering for sufficient credits while on a contract, you will not be eligible for a contract in your next full-time semester. See the section on, "Changing Student Classification," for more information on alternatives.

Student Classification

Graduate students at New Mexico Tech may be divided into those who are admitted to graduate degree programs (regular and provisional students) and those who are not (special graduate students). Degree seeking students may be admitted as either full-time or part-time students. Degree seeking students must maintain continuous enrollment or they will need to be readmitted under the current catalog to complete their degree program.

Distance Graduate Students

Distance graduate students are those who have been admitted to one of the graduate degree granting programs that New Mexico Tech offers via distance delivery. Such degree-seeking students are normally part-time regular students with respect to all requirements.

Regular Graduate Students

Provisional Students

Students may be admitted provisionally if their undergraduate work is deficient in breadth or depth. Typically, departments and programs will detail the deficiencies that must be remedied. Provisional student status is temporary, normally lasting for a single semester or two. Provisional students who make satisfactory academic progress in a graduate program are encouraged to request conversion to regular student status, which must be approved by the department chair. Assistantships and work authorizations are not allowed for provisional students.

Full-Time (Regular or Provisional) Students

A graduate student who is admitted as a full-time student must enroll for nine to twelve credit hours each semester (or six credit hours in the summer session). Regular graduate students receiving financial support are required to register for twelve credit hours. Any regular, full-time graduate student in good standing is eligible for financial support. Regular graduate students not receiving financial support may register for as few as nine credit hours. See Course Loads for more specific requirements.

Part-Time (Regular or Provisional) Students

Applicants who are employed full-time or have other responsibilities that limit the time available for study may be considered for admission as part-time students. A regular part-time graduate student is one enrolled for between one and eight credit hours per semester or between one and three credit hours in the summer session. Part-time graduate students are not eligible for financial aid.

Pre-Degree Students

Special students who are preparing to be degree seeking are designated as pre-degree and will be assigned an advisor in their proposed program. Special students wishing to become regular or provisional graduate students must apply to a graduate program.

Special Students

Special students are non-degree students and as such are not enrolled in a graduate degree program. Special students wishing to become regular or provisional graduate students must apply to a graduate program. Either the Dean of Graduate Studies serves as advisor to special students, or the Dean may assign an advisor.

If you are attending New Mexico Tech as a special student, there are certain differences from the regular graduate program of which you should be aware. First, you cannot register for more than nine credit hours in either the fall or spring semester or for more than six in the summer. As a special graduate student, you are not eligible for contracts or work authorizations. In addition, should you apply for admission and be admitted to a graduate degree program at New Mexico Tech, only twelve credit hours of the work completed as a special graduate student may be applied towards your degree. You are strongly encouraged to work closely with the chair of the department or your pre-degree advisor to maximize your success.

Dual Registration

Dual registered students are enrolled as both an undergraduate student and as a graduate student. Students may come to be regarded as "Dual Registered" in either of two ways:

Any qualified student may apply for dual registration status for their last semester as an undergraduate student. This approach is limited to undergraduate students who are: a) within nine credit hours of completing their bachelor’s degree; b) have a GPA of 3.0 or better; c) will complete their undergraduate work in the first semester while dual enrolled; and d) have been
admitted as a regular student to a graduate program at Tech. Students approved for dual registration must complete their bachelor’s degree in the first semester of the graduate program or they will be dropped from the graduate degree program until they have completed their bachelor's degree. After completing their undergraduate work, students with dual registration automatically become regular graduate students. When more than one department is involved, the student must also obtain the approval of the department granting the undergraduate degree.
It is crucial that students involved in any of the Five-Year M.S. programs become integrated into the graduate program no later than the beginning of their senior year. To do so as a dual registered student, the student must be following an approved course program that will permit them to receive their B.S. degree at the end of their senior year and their master’s degree at the end of the year following year. In addition, the dual registered student must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0, and a 3.0 earned grade point average in mathematics, science, and engineering courses. When more than one department is involved, the student must also have the approval of the department granting the undergraduate degree before dual registration status is approved.

Students holding dual registration are not eligible for assistantship and fellowship appointments, but may have work authorizations. Dual enrolled students are still considered undergraduate until they complete their undergraduate degree and continue to be eligible for undergraduate financial aid, but are not eligible for graduate financial aid.

Transfer Student

A student transferring into the graduate program at New Mexico Tech is treated much like any other new admission. Transfer students may petition to have up to twelve credit hours of appropriate work taken at another accredited institution applied to their degree at New Mexico Tech.

For work at another institution to qualify for transfer credit, the student must have earned at least a B and the work may not have been used to satisfy the requirements for any previously earned degree. To be applied towards the student's course program at Tech, these courses must meet with the approval of the student's advisory committee and Dean of Graduate Studies; no courses below 300-level may be transferred for a
graduate degree.

Readmission

A student who is readmitted is subject to all university requirements atthe time of readmission and is required to complete her or his degree under the current catalog unless an appeal is granted based on severe extenuating and documented circumstances.

A student who has not been continuously enrolled (excluding summer session) must submit an application for readmission to the Center for Graduate Studies. In addition to the application, a student who left while on academic probation or suspension must submit the following documents:

A one-page appeal letter that persuasively makes a case for readmission and documents the student’s plan for success;
A supporting letter or email from the student’s advisor;
A supporting letter or email from the student’s department chair;
Any other relevant documents, such as medical documents or letters of support from faculty or counselors.

A student in good standing will be readmitted by the Center for Graduate Studies. Students who left while on academic probation or suspension will not be readmitted without supporting letters from the academic advisor and the department chair. Application and material submitted by a student who left while on academic probation or suspension will be reviewed by the Dean of Graduate Studies and written notice of the decision will be given to petitioner. Student who left on probation or submission will be readmitted on probation if readmission is granted. Readmission materials may be submitted via email to graduate@nmt.edu.

Changing Departments/Majors

If you are admitted to one program and later decide that you would like to change to another program, you may do so, but there are some requirements. If you are in good standing in your current program, you may transfer departments with the approval of your advisor, department chair, and the Dean of Graduate Studies as long as the new program has granted you admission. This requires an application to the new program.

Should you wish to change departments after being dropped from a program, you must wait one semester before the new department may consider your application. During this waiting period, you may enroll in classes at New Mexico Tech only as a special student.

Readmission

If you abandoned your studies, you may return to those studies only after successfully seeking readmission to the program. In the readmission process, you should expect to provide all of the information required of any applicant. The department may or may not readmit you. If you are readmitted, you will be required to follow the current NMT Program and Course Catalog requirements, which may include course work and/or research beyond that expected of under your original catalog.