Valdosta State University

Dewar College of Education

Master of Science in Psychology

Concentration in clinical Counseling

Program Retention, Dismissal and Readmission Policies and Retention Policy

The university faculty has the duty and responsibility to provide the public with ethical and competent practitioners. To achieve these goals, the university adopts selective admissions, retention, and graduation policies. The delivery of psychological and counseling services, especially of a clinical nature, in schools, mental health settings, and organizations requires the practitioner to meet both academic and professional standards of competence. Accordingly, the faculty of the Department of Psychology and Counseling has adopted requirements that candidates must meet in order to graduate from one of the department’s graduate programs. These requirements include that candidates must demonstrate professionally appropriate behavior and may be terminated for academic and non-academic reasons. The complete policy is available at the following website <http://www.valdosta.edu/coe/psychology/retention.shtml>. Academic progress is determined by grades earned in the program of study for which the candidate is currently enrolled, as well as performance on comprehensive examinations as required by the specific program.

  1. Candidates will be dismissed from the program if they accumulate three or more academic deficiency points. A grade of “C,” while credited toward the degree, will result in one deficiency point. A grade of “D” is two deficiency points; a grade of “F” or “WF” or “U” is three deficiency points;
  2. If a candidate wishes to withdraw from a class with a grade of “WP,” it is the candidate’s responsibility to initiate and complete the withdrawal process prior to the midterm deadline. “WP” grades do not affect academic deficiency points or grade point average.
  3. No more than 6 semester hours of academic work may be transferred from another institution into a College of Education graduate program. Transfer credit will be evaluated after admission, by the academic department. To be eligible, credit must be no more than seven years old prior to completion of the degree.
  4. The maximum time allowed for completion of the master’s degree is seven calendar years.  No work completed more than seven years prior to degree completion will be accepted toward the degree, except with special permission from the student’s major professor and the Dean of the Dewar College of Education and approval from the Dean of the Graduate School.
  5. If dismissed from the program, the student must wait a minimum of two semesters and obtain approval from the academic department, before applying for readmission. The academic program reserves the right to place specific conditions and contingencies on any offer of readmission. Readmission is not guaranteed and prior academic performance and conduct in the program will be considered.