2022-2023 Academic Catalog (August 2022 - July 2023) 
    
    Oct 09, 2024  
2022-2023 Academic Catalog (August 2022 - July 2023) [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Graduate Academic Information


The mission of Concord University is to improve the lives of our students and communities, through innovative teaching and learning, intellectual and creative activities, and community service and civic engagement.

Concord University provides accessible, affordable, high-quality, and student-centered teaching and learning opportunities strengthened by integrated support services and co-curricular programs.  

Concord's rigorous, market-driven programming provides current professional knowledge and essential communication, numerical, and critical thinking and reasoning skills, necessary for life-long success in a dynamic and culturally diverse world. 

Concord's mission immerses people in intellectual inquiry to expand knowledge, encourages and supports creative activities and the arts, and contributes to community engagement and economic development to enhance the quality of life in the region and beyond. 

Concord's mission will achieve our vision to transform lives, enrich our communities, and prepare leaders for service regionally, nationally and internationally. 

University Goals and Learning Outcomes

  1. Knowledge/Mastery of Content:  Students will demonstrate a depth of knowledge and apply the methods of inquiry in a discipline of their choosing, and they will demonstrate a breadth of knowledge across varied disciplines.
  2. Critical Thinking:  Students will demonstrate the ability to access, analyze, and interpret information, respond and adapt to changing situations, make complex decisions, solve problems, and evaluate actions.
  3. Communication:  Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
  4. Personal, Civic, Cultural, and Global Competence:  Students will demonstrate awareness and understanding of the skills necessary to live and work in a diverse world.

Concord University's graduate programs build upon the foundational knowledge and skills developed at the undergraduate level, and foster advanced knowledge and skills applicable to each program of study.

Academic Standing

To be in good academic standing, a graduate student must maintain a 3.00 or better cumulative GPA. Any student falling below the graduate cumulative GPA requirement of 3.00 will be placed on Graduate Academic Probation (G1). If the student fails to earn a GPA of 3.00 or better in their next graduate semester of enrollment, they will be academically dismissed (G3-Graduate Academic Dismissal) from the University. Any graduate student academically dismissed has the option to sit out the designated semester of suspension or to appeal their academic suspension and/or financial aid ineligibility to the University's Appeals Committee. If the Appeals Committee agrees to academically reinstate the student for an additional semester, the student will be classified as graduate probation by approval (G4-Graduate Probation by Approval). If a student placed on academic probation meets the minimum semester GPA requirement (3.00) during their next semester of enrollment but fails to increase their overall cumulative GPA to 3.00, he/she will be academically eligible to return the next semester on continued academic probation (G2-Graduate Continued Probation). If a student increases his/her cumulative GPA to 3.00 or better, after being placed on graduate academic probation, he/she will be removed from graduate probation (G0-Graduate Probation Removed).

Graduate Forgiveness Policy - Permission to Repeat a Graduate Course

Graduate students may repeat up to two courses in which they earned a grade of C or lower.  The decision to repeat a course is made between the student and the advisor and must be approved by the Graduate Program Director for their respective program using the Graduate Grade Forgiveness Form.

To graduate, students must earn a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) set by the individual program. Except for those taken under the Graduate Forgiveness Policy, all courses will count toward the student's graduate-level GPA to determine academic progress and graduation requirements within the established minimum cumulative GPA requirement.  Each course may only be repeated once before receiving the degree, and the original (first attempt) grade will be disregarded in the GPA calculation.  Only the grade earned when repeated will be used to determine the GPA, even if the grade for the second attempt is lower than the first attempt.  However, the original grade will not be deleted from the student's academic record.  Graduate Grade Forgiveness cannot be approved if the student received a grade of W when the course was repeated.  Programs may prohibit students from repeating courses or petitioning for grade forgiveness.

Financial Aid Eligibility

Financial aid is available for most graduate level students who carry at least six (6) credit hours during a semester of enrollment at Concord University. Nine (9) credit hours are considered a full-time load at the graduate level. Students must be enrolled in courses that apply directly to their program of study in order to qualify for financial aid. Students enrolled in Certification Only programs of study are ineligible for financial aid. Students are evaluated at the end of every academic term. All students are evaluated on three standards: (1) grade point average (qualitative measure), (2) credit hour completion ratio (quantitative measure), and (3) maximum time frame. To maintain eligibility under SAP, students must meet all three standards. The Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP) is available on the University's website. Students who fail to make academic progress during a semester of enrollment may become subject to the Federal Unofficial Withdrawal Policy. This policy may be viewed in detail at the following link:  Withdrawal from the University  .

Tuition Reduction Program* (MED Program Only)

Concord University offers a discounted rate to eligible teachers employed in select counties. This tuition reduction is available to full-time teachers in Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, McDowell, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming Counties in West Virginia, and Bland, Giles, and Tazewell Counties in Virginia. Graduate students requesting this fee must provide proof of full-time employment to the Graduate Coordinator.

Financial Aid is available for students who carry a full course load of nine credit hours and are enrolled in the full 36-hour program. Inquiries may be directed to the Financial Aid Office.