MLS Program Checklist (provided to students)

Transcription

1 Handbook for MLS Advisors An Overview of the MLS Advisor s Responsibilities Evaluate application file. See the section below titled Evaluate an applicant s file for more details. 2. If admission is recommended, create file for applicant. Update file on regular basis. 3. After receiving a copy of acceptance letter from the Graduate School, contact the student. 4. Develop a Program of Study using the Program of Study form. Please submit the form electronically to the MLS Program of Director. Information on the form should include a. The list of courses in the student's program b. The student's MLS faculty committee c. See "Graduate Degree Program & Admission to Candidacy Guidelines" for more detailed instructions. 5. Monitor progress - contact advisee at least once a semester. Please note the Graduate School's deadlines for signing up for exams, etc. 6. Remind student to submit an Application for Admission to Candidacy. 7. Work with student a. To prepare student for comprehensive exams. b. On culminating experience. If thesis, help student understand thesis requirements and deadlines. 8. Remind student to sign up for comprehensive exams. 9. After student has completed comprehensive exams, file the Examination Report form. See "Graduate Degree Program & Admission to Candidacy Guidelines" for more detailed instructions. 10. Remind student to file a completed Intent to Graduate form. 11. Congratulate student on successful completion of MLS degree! Back to the Table of Contents MLS Program Checklist (provided to students) Following Admission to a Degree Program IMPORTANT! Check your Scatcat account regularly for important information regarding deadlines, approved Program of Study (see the next item), and other announcements.

2 Consult with your faculty advisor about your Program of Study. Your Program of Study consists of the courses that you will take to meet the 31-hour requirement, the requirement to complete a culminating experience, and the research component requirement. IDS 804, one of the four core courses, automatically meets the research component requirement. Your Program of Study also lists your MLS committee, the topic of the next item on this list. After the first or second semester of classes, work with your faculty advisor to put together your MLS committee. Your MLS committee should consist of at least three faculty members. The chair of that committee must be a member of FHSU's Graduate Faculty. Your MLS committee will evaluate your culminating experience and may read part or all of your comprehensive exams. Your MLS committee is listed on your Program of Study. A copy of your Program of Study, signed by your advisor and the MLS Director, must be submitted to the Graduate School. Preregister and/or enroll in classes on your Program of Study, after consulting with your faculty advisor, according to dates listed in the class schedules. You can pre-register through your faculty advisor earlier in the year than you can request courses online. Ideally, you should complete the ten-hour core (IDS 801, IDS 802, IDS 803, and IDS 804) before taking courses in your concentration, and certainly before completing 19 hours in your MLS Program of Study. Deviations from this recommendation should be discussed with your advisor. Admission to Degree Candidacy After completion of at least nine hours of graduate work, complete an Application for Admission to Candidacy form with the assistance of your advisor. This form should be sent to the Graduate School. For Admission to Candidacy, you must have achieved at least a 3.00 grade point average in all coursework on the graduate degree program. For example, if you have a C in one class, you must have an A in another class. Complete all departmental conditions of admission, including any deficiency work. Complete the 10 hour core. Complete your 18 hour emphasis. Your culminating experience has been identified and approved by your faculty advisor. Work closely with your faculty advisor while completing your culminating experience. Your culminating experience will be evaluated by and defended before your MLS committee. An inperson defense is not necessary; that defense may be done virtually. If your culminating experience is a thesis, obtain the thesis packet from the Graduate School and follow the instructions provided therein. You must defend your thesis after it has been accepted by your MLS committee.

3 Getting Ready for Graduation Sign up for comprehensive exams in the Graduate School. Specific times are set each semester in the Graduate School Deadlines. You should begin preparing for your comprehensive examinations long before you take them, so it would be a good idea to consult with your faculty advisor well in advance of the date you will take your comprehensive exams. If your culminating experience is a thesis, then you will need to take only one four-hour comprehensive exam. If your culminating experience is either a project or an internship, then you will need to take two four-hour comprehensive exams. A ballot reporting the result of your comprehensive exams should be prepared by your faculty advisor. Your MLS committee will indicate on the ballot whether you have passed the comprehensive exams. This ballot will be sent to the Director of the MLS program for a signature, then forwarded to the Graduate School. File the Intent to Graduate form in the Graduate School by the deadline date for that semester. Pay the required graduation fee. Check with the Graduate School to update file for graduation.

4 Evaluating an Applicant s File An applicant must have completed a Bachelor s degree from an accredited school before he or she can be accepted in the MLS program. An application file is complete only if it includes (a) a completed application form; (b) a Personal Statement; (c) copies of transcripts from all post-high school institutions that the applicant has attended; and (d) at least two letters of recommendation. In order to be admitted to the MLS program, the applicant must have at least a 2.5GPA in the last sixty hours of his or her Bachelor s degree, though this requirement can be relaxed in certain instances for example, if the person is returning to school after a long absence and now appears to be ready for graduate school, or if a student has completed advanced degrees. If your concentration has additional requirements for example, a higher GPA or a certain number of hours in the discipline that is offering the concentration please make sure that the MLS Program Director has been notified and that the concentration requirements have been approved. The applicant s file goes through a four-stage process. First, the Graduate School puts together a file. Second, the relevant material is sent to the MLS Program Director (hereafter Director ) so that she or he can evaluate the applicant. If the Director recommends that the applicant not be admitted, the Graduate School is notified. If the Director recommends that the applicant be admitted, the file and a routing slip are forwarded to the appropriate MLS advisor you. In the third stage, you would review the file and, if entrance requirements for your concentration are different from those of the MLS program, you would ascertain whether the applicant meets your concentration s entrance requirements. If you recommend admittance, then you would keep the file and return the routing slip, with your recommendations and requested stipulations, to the Director. In the fourth and final stage, the Graduate School will be notified of your recommendations and the recommendations from the Director, and then make a decision of whether to admit the student. No MLS advisor should welcome an applicant to the MLS program until the applicant has been formally notified by the Graduate School that she or he has been admitted to the MLS program. If the applicant is admitted to the MLS program, you will receive a copy of the acceptance letter. You should contact the newly admitted student within a week of the time that she or he was admitted to the MLS program. The MLS program has a policy that it will contact all newly admitted MLS students two weeks after admittance. Program of Study A student s Program of Study lists the courses the student will take, the members of the student s MLS faculty committee, and other pertinent information (see page Graduate Degree Program & Admission to Candidacy Guidelines, page 21, for more detail; see also the Program of Study form, page 14). A Program of Study should be developed soon after the student has taken nine hours in the program. The Program of Study must be submitted to and approved by the Director, who then submits it to the Graduate School for final approval.

5 The MLS degree is a 31-hour program consisting of a ten-hour core, an 18-hour concentration, a three-hour culminating experience, and comprehensive exams. Each of these is explained below. The Ten-hour Core The ten-hour core consists of the following courses: IDS 801 Introduction to Graduate Liberal Studies (1 hr) IDS 802 Ways of Knowing in Comparative Perspective (3 hrs) IDS 803 Emerging Knowledge Society Origins and Implications (3 hrs) IDS 804 Information Literacy (3 hrs) The ten-hour core is one of the distinctive features of the MLS program and is meant to serve as the intellectual and skill foundation for the MLS degree. IDS 804 meets the research requirement for a graduate degree. The Director will not approve substitutes for courses in the core. Ideally, each concentration would, in its courses, continually refer back to the foundation. Students should therefore be strongly encouraged to take the core before taking any classes in the 18-hour concentration. One important rule is that a student will not be allowed to take more than 19 hours of credit if he or she has not yet completed the ten-hour core. If a student is completing a second MLS degree, he or she would not need to repeat the ten-hour core. Instead, the student would work with his or her faculty advisor to select other courses deemed appropriate. A student completing a second MLS degree must complete all other parts of the program: 31 hours of approved courses (including a culminating experience), an MLS faculty committee, and comprehensive exams. The 18-hour Concentration You probably serve as an MLS Advisor for a concentration that has already determined its curriculum. You do have the flexibility of modifying that curriculum and including other courses into a student s program of study, if that meets the student s needs and also is acceptable to you, the Director, and the Graduate School. The key is to make sure that the student s curriculum is a coherent whole. Please work with the student early in his or her program (as soon after the first nine hours as possible) to select courses for the concentration and to put together the student s Program of Study. A student may request that credits taken at other universities be transferred in to the MLS program. While up to 15 hours can be transferred, it is preferred that not more than nine to twelve hours be transferred. There are two reasons for this: first, writing and grading comprehensive exams may otherwise be difficult; and second, with 15 hours of transfer credit it s not much of a FHSU degree. Only a course meeting all of the following criteria can be transferred:

6 1. must be offered for graduate credit 2. must be offered by an accredited school 3. must be for a grade (no pass-no pass or satisfactory-unsatisfactory courses) 4. must have a grade of B or better 5. if included in the student s program of study, no more than six years can elapse between the time that course was completed and the time that the student graduates with an MLS degree Even if a course meets all of these criteria, you determine whether to accept courses into the student s Program of Study. You could, for example, ask for a course syllabus and use the syllabus to determine whether you will allow a course to transfer into the student s Program of Study. The Culminating Experience The requirement to complete a culminating experience can be met by an internship, a project, or a thesis. The MLS faculty committee should evaluate the culminating experience and voice its approval before a grade for the culminating experience is reported. A brief discussion of each option follows. INTERNSHIP. You and the student select an appropriate organization in which the student can serve as an intern. You would serve as the student s mentor while she or he was serving as an intern. You would determine the requirements that the student should meet to earn a grade for the internship, but please make sure that the student serves at least 144 hours as an intern (assume a three-hour class - one in-class hour plus two out of class hours, three days a week, for a sixteen week period). The student could sign up for internship credit in your department (you will need to create a Virtual College section to do this) or for IDS internship credit. You would serve as the mentor in either case, and in the latter case you would report the student s grade to the Instructor of Record (who most likely will be the Director). You could ask the student to report on her or his internship on a regular basis (for example, once a week) and you could ask someone in the organization in which the student is interning to report frequently on the student s internship. You could also provide a reading list and ask the student to incorporate into his or her reports references to the books/articles in the list. Finally, toward the end of the student s internship you could ask him or her to write up a critical analysis of her or his experience (guided by a list of questions given to the student by you). PROJECT. A project has an intuitive sensibility to students in the arts or humanities: for example, an exhibition for an art student, or performance of a composition for a student in music. A project may be appropriate for your student as well. You may agree with your student that he or she will write a research paper and then develop a series of presentations, or a series of web pages, for example. A project should not be a thesis-lite it should be just as demanding as a thesis (though with different requirements). You are welcome to consult with the Director regarding what would be appropriate for a project. THESIS. This option is undoubtedly familiar to you, so not much will be said here. The student must do both secondary and primary (original) research. The Graduate School does have

7 requirements that a thesis must meet, so please work with your student to make sure he or she complies with those requirements. If possible, the student should orally defend her or his thesis. This could be done via a conference call for a Virtual College student. The Comprehensive Exams If the culminating experience is a thesis, the student would need to pass one, four-hour comprehensive exam. If the culminating experience is either a project or an internship, the student would need to pass two, four-hour comprehensive exams. The comprehensive exams are, collectively, an opportunity for the student to demonstrate mastery of his or her subject. The comprehensive exams should be more than a test on the courses taken. They should afford the student an opportunity to demonstrate familiarity with the relevant literature covered both in and outside of her or his coursework, and an opportunity to provide a nuanced, complex, and critical and analytical response to the questions at hand. Once the student has passed the comprehensive exams, you should prepare a Ballot that reports the results. Each member of the MLS faculty committee should sign the form and each should mark whether the student has satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily passed the exam. In the MLS program, the Director is considered the Chair, so the Ballot should be submitted to the Director for a signature prior to being sent to the Graduate School. Pre-registration Pre-registration is not the same as pre-enrollment. Pre-registration occurs earlier than preenrollment. Pre-registration is done by a faculty member and the student must make tuition and payment arrangements on or before the date specified. Pre-registration holds a student s spot until payment is made. Pre-enrollment is done by the student. A student can go online and request pre-enrollment but must pay tuition and fees at the time he or she makes the request. Summer and Fall pre-registration usually starts at the end of March or beginning of April and Spring pre-registration starts at the end of October or beginning of November. Forms The Graduate School s website for forms and applications can be found at The Graduate School s website for deadlines can be found at The following forms are in this handbook Application for Graduate Assistantship Program for the Master s Degree

8 Application for Admission to Candidacy Examination Report used for comprehensive exam Ballot report over thesis Intent to Graduate

9 Application for Graduate Assistantship GRADUATE SCHOOL, FHSU APPLICATION FOR GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP Please read instructions below. Name Soc. Sec. No. Last First Middle Permanent address Street City State Zip Present address Street City State Zip Graduate Major Degree Sought Undergraduate Major Date of Degree Undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) Graduate GPA Business Phone Home Phone

10 ( ) ( ) Specify the semester(s) and year that you are applying for an assistantship: Is this a new or renewal application? Fall 20 Spring 20 Summer 20 New Renewal* *If renewal, the application form is all that is required. Give names and addresses of all colleges and universities attended: Institution Location Dates Attended Major Degree & Date

11 I certify that to the best of my knowledge all statements that I have made on this application are complete and true. Student s Signature Date INSTRUCTIONS 1.Complete this form (type or print). 2. Students applying for a graduate assistantship in Biology, Business Administration, Communication, English, or History are required to attach a personal letter in which you (a) state the reasons that you desire this award and (b) make a statement about your work experience. 3.Request recommendations from two professors to be sent directly to the Graduate School. (Recommendations from your file will be used if they were required by the department for admission to Graduate School.) 4.You must be formally admitted to a graduate degree program at Fort Hays State University before you can be considered for a graduate assistantship. 5. If your native language is not English, an official copy of your Test of Spoken English (TSE) or SPEAK Exam Score is required by the Graduate School. Please submit all application materials to: The Graduate School Fort Hays State University 600 Park Street Hays, KS (800) 628-FHSU FAX: Notice of Non-Discrimination Fort Hays State University does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, age, disability, Vietnam era veteran status or special disabled veteran status in its programs and activities. The Director of Affirmative Action, Coordinator of Title IX, Title VI, Section 504, and ADA Regulations may be contacted at 600 Park Street, Hays, KS 67601, (785)

12 PROGRAM FOR THE MASTER'S DEGREE Name of Student Address SS# Date Major Major Advisor NO. TITLE OF COURSE GR CR DATE If Split, Second Advisor Committee Comments Only grades of A, B, or C are accepted on final program. Do not write in this space Date Approved: Dean, Graduate School

13 APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL NAME SOCIAL SECURITY NO. / / ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP A. Graduate Major MLS B. Major Advisor C. Program Hours 1. Hours Completed 2. Hours to Complete a. Current Enrollment b. Yet to Enroll c. Incomplete Grades Total hours to complete (a+b+c) TOTAL PROGRAM HOURS (1+2)

14 D. Anticipated Date of Graduation This student is eligible to apply for candidacy having met the following conditions: a) Completion of all departmental conditions of admission, including any deficiency work. b) Has an approved program of study signed by the Graduate Dean on file in the Graduate School. c) Has completed at least 9 graduate credit hours on the graduate degree program. d) Has maintained a "B" average throughout the graduate degree program to date. e) Has been recommended for candidacy by the student's graduate committee and department chair. I approve this application Major Advisor Date GRADUATE SCHOOL OFFICE USE ONLY 1. Date Taken GMAT MAT Date Received GRE: V Q An Adv 2. Current G.P.A. 3. Departmental Preliminaries Passed 4. Deficiencies for Graduate Study Removed 5. Approved Program of Study on File

15 EXAMINATION REPORT FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY THE GRADUATE SCHOOL ( ) REPORT OF COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION DAY ONE DAY TWO BOTH ( ) REPORT OF FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION (M.F.A.) (RESEARCH PROBLEM) ( ) REPORT OVER THESIS OR FIELD STUDY The Chair of the Committee is to submit this form to the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. Name of Student Date of Examination Degree Thesis/Field Study Non-Thesis/Research Problem The student was examined over his or her (major field) or (major & minor field). [cross out one] Student s Major: Student s Minor This is to certify the above named student has been given: ( ) a Comprehensive Examination ( written, oral, both written & oral) ( ) a Final Oral Examination over (M.F.A.) (Research problem, Ed. Spec.) ( ) an Oral Examination over (Thesis) (Field Study) as of the date indicated above and by majority votes was declared to have performed: (Satisfactorily) or (Unsatisfactorily) [Cross out one] Graduate School policy requires that a majority of the examining committee must vote satisfactorily for the report to be satisfactory. Committee Members Satisfactorily** Unsatisfactorily**

16 Chair: **Check appropriate column or add any appropriate remarks. The Report of Comprehensive Examination or other examinations are due in the Graduate School within 48 hours after the examination, or on the date below. Department Chair Major Professor FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL USE Reviewed by : Dean of Graduate Studies and Research Date This form must be on file in the Graduate School by 4:00 p.m. Intent to graduate FOR OFFICE USE ONLY SPRING SUMMER FALL INTENT TO GRADUATE FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY NAME YOU WANT ON YOUR DIPLOMA:

17 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: TELEPHONE NUMBER: DATE: (daytime) ADDRESS: CURRENT ADDRESS: PERMANENT ADDRESS: (for mailing diploma) HOMETOWN YOU WISH TO HAVE IN THE COMMENCEMENT BOOK: DEGREE DATE: MAY JULY DECEMBER ADVISOR: MAJOR: M.S. M.A. M.A.T. M.B.A. M.F.A. M.L.S. M.S.N. E.D.S. PREVIOUS DEGREE: MAJOR:

18 WHERE RECEIVED: CITY: STATE: ARE YOU WRITING A MASTER S THESIS OR SPECIALIST FIELD STUDY? YES NO NUMBER OF COPIES: FINAL TITLE: If you need disability arrangements made for the commencement ceremony, please box ) (FOR OFFICE USE ONLY---- Date Registrar s Office Notified PLEASE NOTE: ***IN THE EVENT YOU DO NOT GRADUATE*** In the event you do not graduate, a new Intent to Graduate form must be completed before the specified deadline date for the semester or summer term in which you plan to graduate. Intent to Graduate forms will not be held over for students who fail to graduate. The names of those who fail to meet all deadlines will be removed from the graduation list. Students should contact the Graduate School for another Intent to Graduate form and the new deadline dates for completing all requirements for graduation. (Date) (Signature) Please return Intent to Graduate Form to the Graduate School, FHSU, Picken Hall 202, 600 Park Street, Hays, KS Graduate Degree Program & Admission to Candidacy Guidelines modified for the MLS program PLANNING, PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

19 The primary goals of the Graduate School are to encourage independent scholarship and develop competence in research or other creative activity. The objective of graduate study is not merely to take courses. The purpose is to plan a well-rounded, coherent program of courses and research that will contribute to the student s general academic goals and aspirations. Students are expected to follow general program planning procedures by undertaking these initial steps: (1) After admission to the Graduate School, if not previously assigned an advisor, the student will go to the MLS Program Director for the assignment of an advisor in the area of proposed specialization; (2) The advisor, or another member of the departmental staff designated by the advisor, and the MLS faculty committee is responsible for directing the student in the graduate program. The student s MLS faculty committee should consist of the advisor as chair, one other faculty member from the major field, one from the related or minor field, and one who has no connection with the graduate student s degree program. The committee responsible for developing the program of study typically also serves as the thesis committee, therefore, it is imperative that a graduate faculty member serve as the major advisor and that as many graduate faculty members as possible serve on the committee. Some departments have limited graduate faculty, but all efforts should be made for the committee members to hold graduate status. (3) The student will take tests as prescribed by the advisor and the MLS faculty committee; (4) The advisor will counsel with the student, and together with the MLS faculty committee or its delegate, will arrange a program. The degree program should include only the courses required for completion of the degree. The student should become acquainted with the members of the MLS faculty committee as quickly as possible and should consult with them, as well as with the advisor, about the graduate program; and (5) The completed program, approved and signed by the major advisor, all committee members, the MLS Program Director, and the Graduate Dean, should be filed in the Graduate School on or before the completion of nine hours of graduate credit. Any coursework beyond nine hours taken prior to the arrangement of a degree program may not necessarily be counted. The Graduate School will send copies of the approved program to the graduate advisor and to the graduate student. The student, the advisor, the MLS faculty committee, and the MLS Program Director must agree upon any changes in the approved graduate degree program. The MLS Program Director must send an amended program with the new date or appropriate documentation outlining any additions or deletions to the Graduate School for approval and for inclusion in the student s file. The program of study serves an important function. It is the guide utilized by most graduate students throughout their graduate study at Fort Hays State University, and it becomes part of their permanent record in the Graduate School. It should be completed as soon as possible upon admission and no later than the completion of the first nine graduate hours. A step-by-step guide for the completion of a program of study and general reminders follow.

20 IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF FILING A PROGRAM Each graduate program submitted to the Graduate School should: 1) Provide the student s name and current address 2) Indicate the date the program was completed 3) Provide the student s social security number 4) Supply the correct major and emphasis area (if there is one) Examples: Liberal Studies (Social Science) Liberal Studies (Assistive Technology) 5) Indicate the advisor s name. Please remember to initial or sign the program (next to the typed name of the advisor) before forwarding it to the Graduate School. The program will not be processed until the advisor has initialed it indicating approval. 6) Provide the names of the student s MLS faculty committee members. As stated in the University Catalog: The student s committee shall consist of the advisor as chair, one other faculty from the major field, one from the related or minor field, and one who has no connection with the graduate student s degree program. There should be three committee members in addition to the adviser. 7) Specifically list the courses on the Program. There are several things to remember: a) Make sure you have the correct course number including departmental abbreviation. Example: EAC 810 or HHP 810 b) Indicate the course section number, if applicable. c) Make sure you have the correct and complete course titles. Example: Seminar in Education: (Higher Education), instead of simply Higher Education.

21 Abbreviations are acceptable. Example: Sem. In Ed: Higher Education d) If the course has been completed at the time of program submission, please supply the appropriate letter grade. Only grades of A, B, or C are accepted on a final program. e) Provide the total number of credit hours for each course. If the same course number is to be taken at varying dates, please list it as two different courses, not simply one with the total number of hours, if you are aware that they will be taken separately. Example: NURS Nursing Practitioner Preceptorship for 3 hours one semester and for 1 hour a subsequent semester. Poor Example: NURS 888 Nursing Practitioner Preceptorship - 4 hours Good Example: NURS 888 Nursing Practitioner Preceptorship 3 hours F04 NURS 888 Nursing Practitioner Preceptorship 1 hour S05 f) Denote the required research course. The best way is to place an asterisk * at the end of the course title; and in the Comments Section, please type an asterisk * followed by Research Course. IDS 804 can count as the required research course. g) Supply the semester each class will be completed, if known. Please use the following abbreviations: Fall = F04, Spring = S05, Summer = U05. h) If electives are unknown but will be taken at a later time, please type the following: 8) Transfer courses: Elective: (upon approval by the Graduate Dean) 3 credit hrs a) A course may not be transferred for use on an a FHSU graduate degree program until an official transcript for the course(s) is received in the Graduate School. The course must have been taken for graduate credit at an accredited educational institution and an acceptable letter grade assigned. Also, there are limits to the number of hours that may be transferred. (See

22 Reminders, below). Transfer work is added to the FHSU transcript only during the semester that degree completion occurs. b) The course must meet the time limitation policy. (It can not be older than six years at the time the degree is conferred.) No transfer course may be validated. c) When adding a transfer course on the program, type the course number and name exactly as it appears on the official transcript. After the title, denote it with some symbol, such as +. In the Comments Section, please type +Transfer Course from KU (or whatever institution is involved). d) If the course replaces a typical required program course, you may also wish to indicate the substitution in the Comments Section. (See Example). Reminders: An MLS graduate program must consist of not less than 31 credit hours of graduate credit. Do not send a program to the Graduate School until after a student has been admitted. Please check to make certain the student has been formally admitted to a degree program not non-degree. Programs should be typed or electronically submitted. The program of study should be submitted using a form similar to the one found above. If you want the program form set up in Excel, please contact the Graduate School. Instructions for electronic submission are listed below. There is a six-year time limit for any course on a program of study. A course that has been completed may remain on the program for only six years. Failure to complete the degree in the specified time frame can mean loss of credit. A validation process may allow a student to retain a non-transferred course for an additional two years with special approval from the Graduate Dean. Contact the Graduate School, or consult the University Catalog, for more information on this process. There shall be no more than nine hours of Seminar on a student s program of study. There shall be no more than six credit hours of Workshop on a student s program of study. No more than 15 credit hours may be transferred to FHSU for use in an MLS student s program of study. An MLS degree candidate must earn a minimum of 16 resident hours at FHSU. As the advisor, you determine which classes will be accepted for transfer credit. At least 50% of the courses must be content-based courses.

23 To file an electronic program using the Graduate School Workflow, follow the directions below: GRADUATE SCHOOL WORKFLOW PROGRAM OF STUDY Load the Graduate School Workflow database. Click on Enter Program of Study. If you are creating an amended program, click on Amended Form. Enter student s name, address, address, social security number and phone numbers in the brackets at the top of the page. Select major using the drop down box. Choose course number using the drop down box, or type in course number. Type the course section number in the second bracket, if applicable. Click in the bracket under Title of Course and the course title will appear. The second bracket is for the course subtitle, such as a description of a readings course. Put an asterisk or other demarcation after the Research Course using the second bracket. Put an asterisk or other demarcation before Research Course in the comments section. Type the description of transfer courses under Title of Course exactly as they appear on the transcript. Put a demarcation after the course title and in the comments section type the name of the university. Enter grade under GR, if the course has already been taken. Enter number of credit hours under CR. Enter semester using drop down box, or type it, such as S04. Select advisor and committee members using the drop down boxes. Total program hours will appear when you click the total area at the bottom of the program. Before submitting the program for approval, you must Edit the Approver List; you must edit the top two selections, Enter when submitted. Click on OK to edit the first Approver. If a secretary types the program, the first line should be changed to the advisor s name. Click on

24 the drop down box and choose the advisor s name in the FHSU address book. Select OK to exit address book. Select OK to complete. Repeat this process and change the second approver to the MLS Program Director. (Do not change the third and fourth lines of the approver list.) Submit program for approval. Lotus Notes will forward a message to the next approver. Once the Graduate Dean has approved, a copy will be electronically sent to the originator. Electronic copies will be forwarded to the student and advisor. If you want to create a template, copy the program before submitting it for approval. Close the program and save. The program should be highlighted in your database; Control C to copy, Control V to paste. Click on View to see programs that have been approved or those awaiting approval. ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY Admission to candidacy is an important step in the completion of a degree program. A graduate student may apply for admission to candidacy upon the successful completion of at least nine hours of graduate study and upon filing an approved program of study in consultation with the major advisor and departmental graduate committee or its delegate committee. Application for candidacy should be made before completing more than 15 hours in order to avoid the possibility of extending the program. The student must be recommended for candidacy by the student s advisor, the MLS faculty committee, and the MLS Program Director. The student is admitted to candidacy by the Graduate Dean. To be admitted to candidacy, the student must have: (1) satisfactorily passed the preliminary or other qualifying examination, if either is required; (2) removed all deficiencies for admission to graduate study; (3) earned a B average in all graduate courses that are a part of the degree program to that point; (4) filed a program of study in the Graduate School that has been approved by the Graduate Dean; and (5) completed a total of at least nine graduate program hours. The student must be admitted to candidacy before being eligible to sign for or take comprehensive examinations or to file an Intent to Graduate. (A sample document is attached.) If you want the candidacy form set up in Word, please contact the Graduate School. Candidacy forms may be submitted electronically using the Graduate School Workflow. To file an electronic candidacy, follow the directions starting on the next page. GRADUATE SCHOOL WORKFLOW

25 ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY Click on Enter Candidacy Application in the Graduate School Workflow. Type in student s name, address, social security number, address, major and advisor. Enter number of hours on the program that have been completed in C. Enter current enrollment, hours yet to enroll and incomplete hours in 2. a, b, c. Click on total hours to complete and total program hours. Totals will appear. Enter anticipated date of graduation in D. Enter advisor s name. Edit approver list (see instructions in Program of Study). Submit for approval. After the Graduate Dean approves the candidacy, an electronic message will be sent to the originator. Graduate School will send Admission to Candidacy letter to student with a copy to the advisor. Click on View to see candidacy forms that have been approved or those awaiting approval.

26 INTENT TO GRADUATE The student who plans to graduate at the end of a given semester or summer term must file an Intent to Graduate form at the time of enrollment or before the filing deadline given in the class schedule. The student must be admitted to candidacy before being eligible to file an Intent to Graduate form. In the event the student does not graduate after filing an Intent to Graduate form, a new Intent to Graduate form must be completed before the deadline for the semester or summer term in which the student plans to complete requirements. The student must be enrolled in a graduate course in the department of the major the semester or summer session of filing or refiling an Intent to Graduate form. (The Intent to Graduate form may be secured by the student upon consultation with a Graduate School representative, or it can be downloaded on the website at