Credit Policy and Academic Standing
All graduate students are expected to perform at a high academic level.

Students may register for no more than 12 graduate credits per quarter. Exceptions to this limit must be approved by the MPA Director.  

Core Credit Policy
Students are expected to complete the entire first year of Core before beginning the second year of Core coursework. Under exceptional circumstances, a student may fail to complete one quarter of first year Core: by being on a leave of absence, withdrawing before completion, receiving an incomplete or not receiving credit (NCR). To complete the “missed” quarter, typically the student is expected to complete the missed quarter of first year Core during the next year, concurrently with the applicable quarter of second year Core. 
The second year of Core coursework requires successive completion: each quarter of second year Core must be successfully completed before beginning the next quarter of second year Core coursework.

Only under exceptional circumstances, and with the approval of the MPA Director, can a Core course be completed as an Individual Learning Contract.

No partial credit will be given for Core courses.  

Partial Credit
Faculty may offer partial credit for elective courses at their discretion. No partial credit will be given for Core courses.  

Incompletes – hold until after Jan fac/staff meeting
Incompletes are given when students have done most of the required work for a course and need more time to complete it. Incompletes are given at the discretion of the faculty or faculty team as applicable. The term of an incomplete is defined by the faculty: the maximum term is one year. Incompletes not removed by the end of the defined term will be reported to the Registration Office as “No Credit” (NCR). 

No incompletes will be given for 2 credit MPA elective courses. 

No incompletes will be given for General cohort Core courses. For Tribal cohort Core courses, due to the intensive weekend course delivery system, incompletes may be given under exceptional circumstances. To address the incomplete, an advising session is required with course faculty and the Assistant Director-Tribal, and a contract must be prepared and signed by the student and faculty (in consultation with the MPA Director) describing how the student will complete the remaining coursework. 

No Credit (NCR)
No credit (NCR) may be given when a student has not met the expectations of the course. An NCR means that the student will receive no (zero) credit for the course. An NCR is given at the discretion of the faculty or faculty team as applicable.

Leaves of Absence 
Unexpected circumstances sometimes arise such that a student needs to take a leave of absence from the MPA program. Students in good standing may request a leave of absence for up to one year. Leaves of absence must be requested in writing from the MPA Director and are subject to his/her approval. Under exceptional circumstances a leave may be extended beyond one year, by approval of the MPA Director. 

Reactivation of Active Student Status following a Leave of Absence
Before the student on leave may return to the program s/he must petition the MPA Director in writing for reactivation of active student status, including a proposed schedule for completing the requirements for the degree. The student will be able to register again only after the Director has approved a schedule for degree completion and notified the Office of Registration and Records that the student should be allowed to register. 

After the leave of absence ends, a student who fails to register for credit will be dismissed from the program. Under extraordinary circumstances following dismissal, students may be reinstated, subject to the approval of the MPA Director. If reinstatement is approved, the student must follow the procedure described above, under “Reactivation of Active Student Status following a Leave of Absence”.

Academic Probation
Students will be placed on academic probation for:

•	receiving a "No Credit" (NCR) in any Core course;
•	receiving a "No Credit" (NCR) for all academic work in any quarter. The student must earn credit for all academic work in the next quarter in which they are enrolled in order to return to good standing. In the event that a student does not meet this requirement, s/he may be required to take a leave of absence or be dismissed from the program, at the discretion of the MPA Director.

Academic probation requires an advising session and a contract with the MPA Director that describes how the student will successfully complete remaining coursework for the MPA degree. The contract terms must be fulfilled prior to graduation. Note that a leave of absence may be required for students on probation.

Withdrawing from Program
Students who wish to withdraw from the MPA program should inform the MPA Director in writing. Under extraordinary circumstances following withdrawal, students may be reinstated, subject to the approval of the MPA Director. If reinstatement is approved, the student must follow the procedure described under the “Leave of Absence” section for “Reactivation of Active Student Status following a Leave of Absence”.

Dismissal from the MPA Program
Students will be dismissed from the program for receiving a "No Credit" (NCR) for any two quarters of Core course work. The courses for which the NCRs were received may be sequential or non-sequential. This includes the repetition of any Core course. 

Students will also be dismissed from the program for failing to register for credit following the end of a leave of absence.

Students may be dismissed from the program under other serious circumstances, such as plagiarism, other violations of the Student Contract or the Student Conduct Code, etc.

Under extraordinary circumstances following dismissal, students may be reinstated, at the discretion of the MPA Director. If reinstatement is approved, the student must follow the procedure described under the “Leave of Absence” section for “Reactivation of Active Student Status following a Leave of Absence”.

Time to Complete the Program
Students must complete the MPA program within 6 years, which includes quarters in which the student is on a leave of absence. Students who expect to need more than 6 years to complete the program must request an extension in writing from the MPA Director. Note that review of requests to extend the length of time allowed for completion of the degree will take the length of officially approved leaves of absence into consideration.

Maximum Credit Hours to Complete the Degree

60 needed
76 attempted