The policies and procedures outlined in this manual have been established to enable the School to deal with its students in a consistent and equitable manner. The regulations and procedures in this manual should not be considered exhaustive. Students should seek clarification from the administration represented by the Executive Dean or his designee to resolve any issue that is not covered by this manual. With proper notification, the School reserves the right to alter such academic or financial conditions as the following: admission requirements; courses; graduation or degree requirements; eligibility and conditions for receiving financial aid; and tuition rates and fees. Other provisions affecting students may also be changed as necessary. These rules will be effective after notice of the change has been posted on the official bulletin board of the School. In most cases tuition rates and fees will be changed at the beginning of the academic year. If admission requirements and/or graduation or degree requirements are changed, students already enrolled under previous terms and conditions are not obligated by the new conditions, except in special circumstances where the new provision can reasonably be accommodated by these students. It is the responsibility of all students to acquaint themselves with changes posted by the School.

Classroom interaction constitutes a crucial part of the learning experience at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences. Students are advised to make every effort to participate in classes and are required to attend classes. The instructor will report absences to the office of the Registrar when the number of absences is impairing the work of a student in a course and may recommend suspending the student's enrollment with a grade of "W."

Instructors may assign a student any of the following grade letters and corresponding quality points for course work taken at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences:

For students enrolled in a degree program, a cumulative grade point average of no less than a grade letter of "B" will be required to maintain good academic standing. If a student receives a grade of "F" in a course, he or she may choose to repeat that course, in which case the "F" grade will still count in the student's grade point average (GPA).

When a passing grade of "D" or above has been obtained, a student will not be permitted to retake the course. Grades become permanent thirty days after a course. Once a final grade for a course has been recorded in a student's transcript, additional work will not be permitted to change the posted grade.

Students are expected to complete all course work by the end of the course time. In case of an emergency, students will share the circumstances with the professor of the course and request to withdraw from the course when it becomes apparent that they will not be able to complete course requirements within the prescribed time for the course. Students will be allowed to withdraw from a course with a letter grade of "W" for unforeseen emergencies only with the approval of the course instructor and the Executive Dean or his designee.

Grades appeals should be made within the thirty days following the end of course and before the grade becomes permanent. When a student appeals a grade received for a course, the following steps are to be taken:

1. The student should first seek an acceptable resolution with the instructor of the course.
2. If a satisfactory resolution is not reached, documentation pertinent to the matter in question will be sent to the Executive Dean or his designee with a letter from the student explaining the reasons for the appeal.
3. If a satisfactory resolution is still not reached, the student can then appeal directly to the President of the institution. The final decision of the President will be final and binding.

Student may request in writing transfer of credits for equivalent courses taken at another institution. Courses and credit applicability will be determined by the School upon recommendation and consultation with the academic director of the specific area of studies that the student is applying the credit towards. Except in the case of joint programs with other institutions that have been determined in advance, no more than a quarter of the total number of credits required for a graduate degree at the School, can be transferred into the program.

Only graduate-level courses for which the student received a grade of "B" or better can be transferred to satisfy degree requirements at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences. Courses taken five or more years prior to the request to transfer are not acceptable for transfer without revalidation of content. Acceptable transfer credits should be equivalent to courses offered in the degree program it is applied to.

The grades posted for successfully transferred courses will be those of the institution giving the course and will not be counted towards the student's Grade Point Average (GPA) at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences. The School reserves the right to determine the number of credits that will be granted for a course that has been accepted for transfer.

Students admitted to the Intensive Master of Arts in Social Studies: Islamic Studies degree program are allowed three years from initial enrollment in the program to complete all requirements for the degree. When it is no longer possible for a student to complete the degree requirements within that time, the student will be required to petition the School for an extension of the time limit for up to one year.

Students are expected to complete degree requirements within the time limits allowed by the School. Students will be allowed to return to the School to complete degree requirements in a manner that will not disrupt the ongoing cohort in session at the time. In the subsequent years following students withdrawal from the program, they can take courses at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences that are equivalent to the courses they left out of their original plan of study. Students can also transfer in courses taken at other institutions that are equivalent to the courses required in order to complete the degree requirements as outlined in students original program of study.

The School establishes minimum standards for academic performance. The initial responsibility for recognizing an academic difficulty and for taking steps to resolve it rests with the student. Students encountering academic difficulty are expected to consult with the appropriate faculty member immediately and, if necessary, to seek additional assistance from the Executive Dean or his designee.

The School reviews student transcripts on an ongoing basis to ensure that the minimum standards set by the School are being met. When it is found that a student has not met the minimum standards for good academic standing, and depending upon the severity of the situation, the student may receive any of the following:

• A written warning from the Program Director or the Registrar,
• A written warning from the Executive Dean or his designee,
• Termination of degree candidacy.

The written warning from the Program Director or Registrar will be taken when the student receives one "F" or when the student's grade point average falls below the minimum level required for good academic standing. If the difficulty or the student's situation persists, a written warning from the Executive Dean will follow. Candidacy for a degree will be terminated, upon approval of the Executive Dean and the President when it is no longer possible for the student's grade point average to reach the minimum level required for graduation which is a grade of "B" or better. A student cannot register for any additional credits beyond those required for graduation for the purpose of raising an inadequate average.

When degree candidacy has been terminated either for academic performance or violation of the students' conduct code, the student has the right of appeal to the President of the School for exceptional reasons.

The student must present grounds for appeal to the President in writing, within 30 days of the date of the termination of degree candidacy. If the materials so warrant, a formal hearing may also be held with a third party selected by the president, such as a faculty member of the School or the Executive Dean, to be present during the hearing. The decision of the President is final and binding.

The ten-month intensive MA in Social Studies: Islamic Studies programs is a cohort program. Students are encouraged to make every effort possible to graduate with their cohort. Leave of absence should be used only under extraordinary circumstances. Leave of absence will not alter deadlines relating to completion of specific course requirements, such as completing work in a course for which an "incomplete" grade was received. Unless notified otherwise by the Executive Dean or his designee in writing prior to the beginning of a leave of absence, all student financial aid will cease immediately during an extended period of leave defined as ten or more days of classes.

Degrees will be awarded upon the completion of the degree program requirements. Students are responsible for knowing the degree requirements of their program, and for submitting an Application for Graduation form to the Registrar. Students who have been approved to graduate can request an official transcript from the office of the Registrar prior to graduation. Transcripts and diplomas will not be released to any student who has not satisfied all financial obligations to the School and obtained a clearance of record from the Library.

Graduate students who completed their degree requirements at anytime during the academic year will be able to participate in the commencement ceremony at the end of the program. Commencement ceremonies are held at the end of a cohort program.

Students, faculty, and staff at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences, as members of a collective academic community, have a purpose and a responsibility to fulfill: the humane and critical examination of major issues of Islamic and social studies in the political, historical, and ethical dimensions which have confronted society. This joint responsibility involves understanding the spectrum of viewpoints on an issue, and attempting to solve the problems these issues delineate. To do this, the School strives to provide an atmosphere of free inquiry and expression. In that context, each participant in this academic community has the right to organize and maintain his/her own personal life and behavior, so long as it does not violate the law or standards of decency and does not interfere with the rights of others and the educational process. As members of the academic community, students have concurrent obligations not to speak or act in a formal or informal capacity on behalf of The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences or Cordoba University.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, gives a student the right to prior consent to disclosure of his or her academic records, excepting numerous situations allowed by law as part of the normal legitimate functions of an educational institution. No one outside the School shall have access to students' educational records, nor will the School disclose any information from these records without a written consent of the student, except to

• Personnel within the School, on a need-to-know basis;
• Persons or organizations providing student financial aid;
• Accrediting and assessment agencies carrying out their accreditation function;
• Persons in compliance with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena (provided that the School will first make a reasonable attempt to notify the student);
• Organizations conducting studies to develop, validate, and administer predictive tests;
• Authorized representatives of federal and/or state government agencies for the purpose of audit and evaluation of government programs; and
• Persons in an emergency in order to protect the health and safety of students or other persons.

All of these exceptions are permitted under FERPA. Information will be released only on the condition that the party to whom the information is released will not disclose it to a third party without the written consent of the student. Furthermore, the School will maintain records of any access provided without the expressed consent of the student, and these records will be made available to the student affected on request.

Within the School community only those members individually or collectively acting in the student's educational interest are allowed access to student educational records. These members include, but are not limited to, the offices of the President, the Dean, the Directors, and the faculty, when appropriate.

The School will provide directory information at its discretion. This information includes the students' name, address and telephone numbers or emails, date and place of birth, parent's names, major fields of study, dates of attendance, expected date of graduation, degrees and awards received, the most recent and previous educational institutions attended, and participation in officially recognized activities. Students may instruct the Director of Administrative Services and Registrar to withhold the release of directory information by providing a written notice at an appropriate time. This notice must be filed annually with the Director of Administrative Services and Registrar to stay in effect.

The law provides students with the right to inspect and review information contained in their educational records, to challenge the content of their education records, and to have a hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory, and to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their file if they find the decision of the hearing panel to be unsatisfactory. The word "student" in this context is defined to include all current and former students, but not applicants for admission.

Students who wish to review their educational records must make a written request to the Director of Administrative Services and Registrar. The information will be made available within 45 days of the request. Students may have copies of their record with certain exceptions such as; a copy of an academic record in which a hold has been placed because of an unsatisfied financial obligation to the School. These copies will be made at the students' expense when requested by the student at the prevalent rate of copying at the School's library.

Academic records are maintained on campus by the office of the Director of Administrative Services and Registrar. In addition, an electronic copy is maintained outside the School's premises to maintain the integrity of the records in case of fire or emergency. The academic record files in reference here contain admission credentials and records of current and previous academic work. Letters of recommendations will not be available for students who waived their rights to inspect them during the application and admissions process.

Papers and master's thesis submitted to the School are not educational records. They are scholarly documents intended for disclosure by inclusion in the School's library and by other reasonable means such as making them available for inspection by other students or scholars for educational purposes. The student's act of submitting these documents to the School is deemed to be consent to its disclosure.

Students may not inspect or review the following records, which are specifically excluded by federal law:

• Financial information submitted by their parents,
• Confidential letter and recommendations associated with admission, employment, or job placement, or honor of which they have waived their rights to inspect and review, and
• Educational records containing information about more than one student, in which case access will be permitted only to that part of the record which pertains to the inquiring student, if possible.

In addition, students will not be allowed access to disciplinary records.

Quality educational experience depends upon the professional and ethical conduct of all those who participate in it. Faculty and graduate students have mutual responsibilities in the maintenance of academic standards and the creation of high quality graduate programs. Excellence in graduate education is achieved when both faculty and students are highly motivated, possess the academic and professional background necessary to perform at the highest level of scholarship, and are sincere in their desire to create a successful educational experience. Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of personal integrity and morality. Students are expected to make every effort to stay informed and to abide by these and other rules at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences.

Academic dishonesty in any form is a serious offense against the School and its academic community. The student(s) involved will be subject to academic penalties, which may include suspension or dismissal from the School and may involve revocation of degrees already conferred. Any act of plagiarism, defined as "passing off as one's own the ideas or writings of another" is a serious breach of academic standards. Academic integrity may also be compromised by cheating, fabrication, or facilitating academic dishonesty. Cheating is the intentional or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise. Fabrication is the intentional falsification or invention of data, research results, citations, or other information used in an academic exercise. Facilitating academic dishonesty is the intentional assistance or attempted assistance of another to commit an act of academic dishonesty. Misuse of otherwise valid academic work, such as reusing a paper submitted to satisfy requirements of one course to fill the requirements of another without explicit permission from both professors, is also an academic integrity violation.

Academic integrity violation charges must be submitted in writing with supporting material to the Executive Dean with a copy provided to the accused student. An investigation will be conducted by the Executive Dean or his designee, or by a committee of inquiry.

Other violations of the student conduct code include, but are not limited to: forgery, unauthorized entry and theft, unauthorized use of alcohol or use/possession of illegal drugs or firearms on premises or at School-sponsored activities, disorderly conduct, obscene behavior, verbal threats, sexual assault, and conduct that violates local, state or federal law or common decency such as explicit sexual acts, behaviors, or expressions. In addition, international students are responsible for maintaining visa status with the Department of Homeland Security and all students are responsible for filing and paying their own taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

The procedure for student(s) complaint is as follows:

1. The student(s) submit the complaint in writing to the Director of Enrollment. The Director of Enrollment will seek to resolve the complaint in consultation with the Executive Dean and will keep confidential records of the complaint.
2. If the student(s) does not agree with the Director of Enrollment's resolution of this complaint, he or she has the right to appeal directly to the Executive Dean. The Executive Dean will determine the appropriateness of consulting directly with the President concerning the complaint. The resolution of the Executive Dean in consultation with the President will be final. To the extent possible, the complaint procedure will be kept confidential, with contact limited to those directly involved. The Executive Dean will seek to insure that the process is fair, confidential and impartial and that no retribution will be directed toward the student(s).