This page contains content from the 2007–08 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.
Academic Standing
Any ALM course in which a candidate receives a grade lower than B– is not accepted for credit toward the ALM degree but does count in the candidate’s overall average. Students whose GPAs fall below B are placed in poor standing until their GPAs are raised to 3.0 or higher. No student in poor standing can be admitted to degree candidacy, submit a thesis proposal, or graduate from the ALM Program. If a student remains in poor standing for two terms, his or her record is reviewed by the Administrative Board for University Extension. Depending on the outcome of this review, the student may be required to withdraw from degree candidacy.
The calculation of the GPA includes all letter grades in completed ALM courses that could count toward a student’s specific program. The first two grades of withdrawal (WD) are not included in the GPA. The third and subsequent noncompletion grades, including grades of incomplete (INC) earned before fall 1999, are counted as zeroes in the GPA. Grades of extension of time (EXT) or work in progress (INP) on the thesis are not counted in the calculation. See Grades for the values used in GPA calculation.
Students receiving federal financial aid must make satisfactory academic progress toward the ALM degree, completing successfully at least two-thirds of the classes for which they enroll, in addition to maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher, if they are to maintain their eligibility.
In conclusion, progress on the ALM degree requires successful completion of four stages: the proseminar and two other preliminary courses, the remaining six courses, an approved thesis proposal, and the thesis. Candidates' work must be acceptable at each of these stages to continue in the program. Students may not graduate until all outstanding accounts at the university, including library fines, have been cleared.
