Required Withdrawal from the Program

Should a school psychology student violate Miami’s Code of Student Conduct, they may be subject to being terminated from the program per the dean of students (or designee) or graduate school dean.

Another parameter for program termination is due to non-satisfactory program progress (e.g., class performance, comprehensive exam, practicum evaluation).

Specifically, there are five ways (A-E) in which a student may be dismissed from the program, and two ways (F-G) in which a student may be dismissed from the graduate school.

1. Failure to make timely progress toward their degree, as determined by their academic advisor and the program coordinator.
2. Earning a grade of C- or lower would trigger a remediation plan, which may include retaking the course.
3. Earning a grade of less than “C” in two school psychology courses will be grounds for dismissal from the graduate program.
4. Failure to pass the comprehensive exams. Students must pass all items; students are given their scores over the first-year summer and if they do not pass one or more items, they are given one additional attempt.
5. Failure to satisfactorily pass practicum in Year 2 prior to internship.
6. Failure to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or above may result in dismissal from the Graduate School. The student’s performance in formal coursework will be reviewed at the end of each semester by the Graduate School. Please read the Grades and Scholarship policy and review details of how this determination is made. Please also review details of academic probation and removal of academic probation. Graduate students must have a 3.0 grade point average and may not have grades of Incomplete to be eligible to take the final examination (Master’s Examination or Small Group Research Project defense) for any graduate degree.
7. Commission of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to plagiarism, on any component of a non-coursework-associated activity (i.e., Comprehensive Exam, Required Research Project) will automatically result in dismissal from the Graduate School. For complete rules on procedures and sanctions concerning academic dishonesty, please see the Graduate Academic Integrity policy.

If a faculty member believes that a student is not making satisfactory progress or meeting program standards, they should discuss the situation with the student. If the faculty member believes the student’s performance cannot improve to acceptable standards, the faculty member should refer the student to the School Psychology Program Committee for review.

The committee will notify the student of the reason(s) why they are not making satisfactory progress or meeting program standards and will give the student the opportunity to meet with the committee to respond, to present information, and to provide witnesses to the committee. The committee will also meet with the faculty member who referred the student to the committee.

After considering the matter, the committee will report to the department chairperson, recommending that the student either be allowed to remain in the program or be removed from the program. The committee may make other recommendations, such as placing restrictions or conditions on the student continuing in the program.

The department chair with concurrence from the program committee, will notify the student in writing of the decision within 5 working days of the chairperson’s receipt of the committee’s recommendation.

If the student is dissatisfied with the chairperson’s/committee’s decision, they may appeal to the dean of the Graduate School. In order for an appeal to be considered, however, the student must submit a written notice for an appeal to the department chairperson within 5 working days of receiving the chairperson’s decision.

The graduate dean will consider the matter based on results compiled by the department chairperson and notify the student of his or her decision within 10 working days of his or her receipt of the appeal.