Academic Policies for the Doctor of Education Program
Grading
Grading policies for each course will be identified in each course syllabus. Grades will be posted on the University’s Ramlink page in accordance with University policy. All students admitted into a course/program will receive an orientation to Ramlink following admission.
No final grade assigned for a graduate/doctoral level course may be raised unless an error has been made. The substitution of a different course for one completed with a lower grade is not permitted.
A student wishing to raise a grade in a completed course must retake the completed course and pay full tuition for that course. The student must first gain approval from the course instructor and then petition the Doctoral Advisory Committee to the Doctor of Education Program through the Director of the Doctor of Education Program. The decision of the committee is final.
“Incomplete” grades must be removed by the date designated in the University Calendar. On or before the designated date, the instructor will assign a grade and report it to the Office of Student Records. If a new grade is not reported by the designated date, the “I” will automatically convert to an “F.”
Time Limitation
Graduate courses expire within ten years from the date of course completion shown on the transcript; thus, at the time the student graduates with the Ed.D. degree, no course may be more than ten years old. Courses taken more than ten years prior to graduation must be retaken to meet graduation requirements. In the event that the required course is no longer offered, a substitute course of similar content must be taken in its place. Approval to take this course must be obtained from the Director of the Doctor of Education Program.
Qualifying Examination
Research and Statistics Competency. Students must complete course requirements in research and statistics as required by the program and must pass a Research and Statistics Qualifying Examination before the student is eligible to take the Written Qualifying Exam. A student may take this examination a maximum of three times. Upon failure of three times, a student may appeal to the Doctoral Advisory Committee.
Written Qualifying Examinations
The Written Qualifying Examinations are given once each fall, spring, and summer session and are taken after the student has passed the research and statistics examination as well as all core and concentration courses. The qualifying examinations are held in order to qualify students for dissertation candidacy. Doctoral Advisory Committee approval is required before the examinations may be scheduled. These examinations cover the core and concentration and are designed to assess content knowledge, problem solving ability and writing skills. The examinations are given over a two-day period and include a minimum of six 90-minute sub-examinations. A student must achieve a grade of B- or better on each sub-examination in order to pass. Written Qualifying Examinations are required for each area of concentration completed in the degree program. An additional testing date will be scheduled for students who have two concentrations.
Students will retake any sections they do not pass. The retake session will be scheduled at the next semester scheduled dates of the Written Qualifying Examinations. Students are allowed to retake failed sub-examinations a maximum of three times. Upon failure of three times, a student may appeal to the Doctoral Advisory Committee.
A student may be asked to elaborate orally on any of her/his written examination answers in order to further clarify answers. The oral clarification will take place in the presence of at least three Doctoral Program faculty members. Such oral clarification sessions will be scheduled three-four weeks after the written examinations have been graded.
Official Communications
A student’s Ram Mail address is the official e-mail address for Texas Wesleyan University. All official University e-mail communication will be sent to this e-mail address. Students may elect to forward Ram Mail to an alternate e-mail address. However, the University will not be responsible for the handling of e-mail to an alternate e-mail address. Students will be responsible for any information sent to their official e-mail address.
Access to Director
The Director of the Doctor of Education Program can be reached via email and telephone. Students wishing to meet with the Director will need to make an appointment. The Director can be contacted at (817) 531- 4962.
Prior to registration, the Director of the Doctor of Education program will be available for advising and guidance for prospective students.
Dissertation Process
Admission to Candidacy Criteria
To be admitted to candidacy the student must meet the following criteria
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Complete all core, research, and concentration coursework with an 3.2 overall GPA. To be admitted to candidacy, the student may only have two “C” grades in the above listed required coursework;
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Passing score on the Research and Statistics Qualifying Examination;
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Passing score on the Written Qualifying Examination.
The dissertation course is scheduled only with consent of Ed.D. department.
A student must enroll in EDU 8331 for a minimum of three credit hours during each long semester (fall, spring) until the completed dissertation has been accepted by the Dean of the School of Education. A minimum of 9 credit hours of dissertation coursework is necessary to complete the requirement. Registration in summer extended is required if the student is using University facilities and/or faculty time during that summer session. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment in the dissertation course will either invalidate any previous dissertation credit or will result in the student being dropped from the degree program unless granted an official leave of absence by the Dean for medical or other exceptional reasons.
The dissertation course (EDU 8331) will be repeated for a minimum of 9 total credit hours.
Candidates who do not complete the dissertation within 9 hours are required to continue enrollment in a minimum of one dissertation course (EDU 8331) per long (fall, spring) semester, until the dissertation has been successfully defended. Refer to summer extended rule above.
Graduation Requirements for the Doctor of Education
To qualify for graduation, a student must have completed successfully all program courses, required related courses, and either the curriculum and instruction or educational leadership concentration courses, and required dissertation research and defense. The student must have earned a 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) overall grade point average and have no more than two “C” grades. An application for graduation must be filed in the Office of Student Records no later than the deadline specified in the Catalog.
All course work applicable to the Ed.D. degree must be no older than ten years.