Academic Regulations
60.00.00 Independently Supervised Courses and Community Service Learning Projects
.06 Faculty and Student Responsibilities
.09 Community Service Learning Projects
The university provides an opportunity for qualified undergraduates and graduate students to enroll in courses which involve independent reading or research projects, or in-service and practicum experience related to their programs of study under the guidance of a faculty member.
A. Expand the possibilities for independent study, reading, and research.
B. Open these projects at the teaching unit's discretion to nondegree as well as to degree candidates.
A. An independent reading course is defined as a course in which a student, by arrangement with an instructor, reads a body of material with a minimum of formal instruction.
B. An independent study project is defined as a course in which a student does research on a topic agreed upon by the student and the instructor, or engages in any mode of education deemed worthy of a student's efforts by the instructor responsible for the course.
C. Independent study courses may not be used as credit toward General Education Requirements.
Senate action and Provost approval, February 1989. Effective fall 1989.
A. Registration in these courses will be during the regular registration period for a semester or any summer session. A student may add one of these courses until the end of the fourth week of classes in the fall and spring semesters or until the end of the second week of a summer session.
B. Before processing registration for one of these courses, the student and the supervising faculty member must agree upon and document the title, objective, scope, and credit value (1–6) of the project to be pursued. The head of the teaching unit must approve the project and faculty member's involvement. In particular, he or she must attest that the project does not duplicate a course already in the semester's curriculum which would be available to the student.
A. Undergraduate Level (1–6 credit hours):
xxx-390 Independent Reading Course; xxx-490 Independent Study Project
B. Graduate Level (1–6 credit hours):
xxx-590 Independent Reading Course; xxx-690 Independent Study Project
.06 Faculty and Student Responsibilities
In independent reading courses or study projects it is expected that the student will communicate on a regular basis with the instructor to review progress.
Students are normally expected to complete independent reading and study projects within the semester of registration; however, the time limit may be extended at the discretion of the supervising faculty member in accordance with the following schedule:
| Semester of Registration: | Maximum Completion Time: | |
| Fall | End of following summer sessions | |
| Spring | End of following fall semester | |
| Summer | End of following spring semester |
Students registered in independent reading courses or study projects may be assigned conventional grades or grades of pass or fail, according to agreement made at the time of registration. A temporary grade of IP (course in progress) will be assigned by the faculty member at the conclusion of the semester of registration if an extension has been approved. IP must be resolved to a final grade in accordance with the completion schedule in 60.00.07 above. An extension beyond that designated as the maximum completion deadline for reasons beyond the student's control must be authorized by the normal procedures regulating I (Incomplete) grades.
Senate action and Provost approval, December 1982. Effective fall 1983.
.09 Community Service Learning Projects
Individual teaching units may choose to offer undergraduate students the opportunity to earn graduation credit for community service learning projects in conjunction with courses offered by the unit. A community service learning project consists of at least 40 hours of approved field work intended to benefit inhabitants of the Washington metropolitan area who have a need for human support and/or social services. To qualify for academic credit, in addition to the field work the project must have an academic component related to the course with which the project is associated.
A. Students earn one semester hour of credit for each project they complete satisfactorily. A maximum of 3 credit hours of community service learning credit may be applied toward graduation.
B. A student must obtain the approval of a faculty member teaching an undergraduate?level course in which the student is enrolled before adding a community service learning project to his or her registration for the semester. The deadline for adding a project is the same as stated in section .04A, above. Students register for the project using the course number designated by the teaching unit at the same level (-194, -294,-394, or -494) as the course with which the project is associated. Only the pass/fail grading option is available for community service learning projects.
Senate action and Provost approval, February 1994. Effective fall 1994.
