Academic Policies

Academic Calendar

The OTD Program offers courses in a three-term format. For the fall admission cycle, courses are taught during fall (late August through early December), spring (January through late April), and summer (late May through August). For the spring admission cycle, courses are taught during spring (January through late April), summer (late May through August), and fall (late August through early December). For both the fall cohort and the spring cohort in Indiana, OTD 706 and 740 are offered in early May of the first and second year of the program.

Cancelling Classes

HUGO reserves the right to cancel classes with an enrollment of less than five students and to close classes at a maximum announced enrollment.

Classification of Students

Full-time graduate students are those enrolled for at least six hours in a given semester, and half-time graduate students are those enrolled for at least three hours.

Suspension

Students are expected to meet the academic standard and professional behavior expectations of the OTD program. Temporary suspension due to academic performance and/or professional behavior issues is not an option in the OTD program. Students may be dismissed from the program (see Probation and Dismissal Policy) or withdraw from class for financial, personal, and medical reasons but will be required to be readmitted based on interview and meeting documented timeline for readmission. 

Probation and Dismissal

Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA to progress and graduate from the OTD program. Students who earn nine semester hours or more of C+, C, or C- will be dismissed from the program.

Failure in coursework, fieldwork or capstone:

Students who earn a course grade below C- will be automatically dismissed from the OTD Program. Students may appeal a grade by following the Graduate and Online Programs Catalog’s policy for grade appeals. Students will have to reapply for admission following remediation of a grade with a signed learning contract. Failure of a fieldwork or experiential component (capstone) will be addressed in the same manner as stated above. Upon acceptance of the University appeal process, remediation of a grade failure in a course(s), lab, fieldwork, and/ or capstone will be specified in the learning agreement based on the amount of missed or incomplete work and time required to meet the course(s) standard.

A student may be placed on probationary contract due to unprofessional conduct, ethical violations, and other concerns. In such cases, the program director, with the input of program faculty, will develop the contract to address the relevant concerns. Failure to comply with the stipulations of the contract within the specified time period may result in dismissal from the program.

University Readmission Policy

Students who interrupt their enrollment for one or more semesters must apply for readmission. Students in continuous enrollment covering a number of years may graduate under the Catalog requirements which were in place at the time of the initial registration, provided the enrollment period does not extend beyond seven years. Students who interrupt their enrollment will graduate according to the Catalog under which the student returns.

University Repeating a Course Policy

Students may repeat courses in which they have received an unsatisfactory grade of D, F or U. With the permission of the academic dean, they may also repeat courses in which they have received a grade of C or above.

The student registers for the course as a Repeat course and is charged tuition as with any other course. Should the student be unable to schedule a required course to be repeated before graduation, it may be necessary to arrange to take the course by tutorial instruction which will incur an additional charge.

Although both grade entries become part of the permanent record, only the Repeat course counts as credit toward graduation and is used in computing the cumulative grade point average.

University Appeal Policy

Grievance Procedure for Academic Matters

In any university, disagreements will sometimes arise about grading and other academic matters. Huntington University wishes to resolve these matters in a respectful manner consistent with biblical principles.

In nearly all circumstances, the student should first seek to resolve the disagreement directly with the faculty member. If all possible means to resolve it directly with the faculty member have been exhausted, the student may resolve the disagreement using the following process. All complaints will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law. No adverse action will be taken against the student filing the complaint.

1. Grievance procedure for grades

a. Students who wish to appeal the final grade for a course on the grounds that it was assigned arbitrarily or capriciously must first seek conciliation directly with the professor. If a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached through informal discussion, the student may seek to resolve the dispute through the following process.

b. A written appeal to the director of the program must be made within two weeks of the formal posting of semester grades by the registrar. The director may grant exceptions to accept appeals after this length of time in the case of compelling extenuating circumstances.

c. The student must provide the following information in support of the appeal. Appeals will not be processed until all materials have been provided to the director of the program. The burden is on the student to show that the grade is arbitrary and capricious in light of the evidence.

  1. A written explanation of the basis for challenging the grade
  2. Copies of all relevant graded assignments and examinations
  3. A copy of the course syllabus as distributed to the class

d. The director may ask the professor to provide similar documentation when necessary.

e. The director will examine the evidence provided to determine whether the grade was arbitrarily or capriciously assigned.

  1. If the determination is that the grade was not arbitrarily or capricious, the director will sustain the professional judgment of the faculty member and the grade will stand. The director will communicate this decision to the faculty member, division chair, and the student.
  2. In the event that the grade assignment is determined to have been arbitrary or capricious, the director will recommend that the faculty member change the grade. The new grade will be determined by the faculty member and the director.

f. Any appeal of the decision will be referred to a panel consisting of three members of the Graduate and Online Programs Committee. The panel's decision is final and not subject to further appeal.

2. Grievances about Other Academic Concerns

a. Students who have concerns about other academic matters involving a faculty member should, in most cases, first seek conciliation with the faculty member.

b. If student and faculty member cannot reach agreement or if the nature of the appeal is such that the student does not feel free to take the matter directly to the faculty member, the student should approach either the director of the program or the directors of graduate and online programs. In order for the University to evaluate and respond to the concern, the student must submit a brief written statement that describes the concern. Supporting materials and documentation, if any, should be included with the written statement. 

c. The program director and the directors of graduate and online programs will coordinate efforts to address and to decide the resolution of the student’s concern.

d. Either the student or faculty member may appeal this decision by presenting his or her case to the Graduate and Online Programs Committee. The decision of the Committee is final and not subject to further appeal.

When the faculty member involved is the program director, all appeals should be taken to the directors of graduate and online programs who will present the appeal to the Graduate and Online Programs Committee for resolution. The decision of the Committee is final and not subject to further appeal.

*For students residing in and taking classes in Arizona: If the complaint cannot be resolved after exhausting the institution’s grievance procedure, the student may file a complaint with the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. The student must contact the State Board for further details. The State Board address is 1740 West Adams Street #3008, Phoenix, AZ 85007, phone # 602-542-5709, website address: www.azppse.gov.