Master's Enrollment

Students' Responsibility
Graduate students must assume full responsibility for knowledge of the rules and regulations of the college and the university and of departmental, school, or institute requirements concerning their individual programs. Enrollment in a graduate program of this college constitutes students' acknowledgement that they are obligated to comply with all academic and administrative regulations and degree requirements. Students are encouraged to read carefully the "Academic Regulations" chapter of this catalog that applies to all of the university's programs and the regulations specific to their program in this chapter. Students are also urged to read all of the requirements of their degree, program, or status that are presented in this chapter.

Commitment to Master's Programs
The Robinson College of Business provides a flexible schedule of courses for its master's programs. The schedule attempts to accommodate the needs of a diverse student body, particularly with respect to students' employment. However, the faculty of the college expects that students enrolled in a master's program will bring to that program a commitment to complete their degree requirements in a timely manner. The faculty believes that maximum benefit will be derived from a program if students devote a period of concentrated study to the disciplines that constitute the master's programs.

Before deciding to enroll in a master's program of this college, students must examine seriously and realistically their abilities to adjust their personal and professional schedules to accommodate the challenge of graduate study. Students or applicants with questions about the commitment needed to complete the master's programs should schedule an appointment with an academic counselor in the college's Office of Academic Assistance and Master's Admissions.

The course load of master's students may vary with the circumstances of the individual student each semester. Students normally enroll in three to 15 semester hours a term. In determining each semester's course load, students must balance other time constraints (work, family, civic, and other responsibilities) with the need to make reasonable and timely progress toward completion of the program within the five-year time limit.

Conduct
Students are expected to observe generally accepted standards of conduct and to assume personal responsibilities appropriate to potential business and professional leaders. The university reserves the right to exclude any student whose conduct is prejudicial or injurious to the university, the faculty, or other students. The formal policy of the university concerning student rights and obligations is under the heading "University Code of Conduct" in the General Information chapter of this catalog.

Changing Semester of Entry
Admission to a master's-level program is for the specific semester stated in the acceptance letter. Anyone who does not enroll for the semester for which acceptance was granted must notify the Office of Academic Assistance and Master's Admissions so his or her records may be updated to a future semester and reevaluated according to admission criteria in effect for the future semester. Deadlines for notification to change to each semester are shown below:

If the deadline falls on a weekend or a university holiday, requests to change semester of entry will be accepted until the next workday following the deadline.

Catalog Editions
Normally, students will be permitted to graduate under the provisions of the graduate catalog in effect at the time of first enrollment. Student may choose to graduate under the provisions of a subsequent graduate catalog; that is, they may choose to change their "catalog edition." Students who choose to do this must meet all provisions of the subsequent graduate catalog.

Robinson College students are required to change to the current catalog edition when they change programs/statuses or MS majors or after certain absences from the program, as explained in the next two headings below.

Changing Majors, Programs or Status (master's level)
An M.B.A. student who wishes to change majors or concentrations within the M.B.A. program may begin the process by notifying the Office of Academic Assistance in writing and consulting the graduate catalog to determine requirements for the new major or concentration. Written notification of the decision will be provided.

An RCB master's student who wishes to change majors within the M.S. program or to change programs or status (for example, M.B.A. to M.S., C.R.E. to M.S.R.E., M.P.A. to M.B.A., M.S.-Mgt. to M.S.-H.R.M., nondegree to M.B.A.) may begin the process by notifying the Office of Academic Assistance in writing. For programs that require faculty review as part of the admissions process, the file of the student will be sent to the appropriate faculty representative for a recommended admission decision. A student who has applied for admission to a new program will be notified in writing of the decision and, if approved, of any foundation courses required by the new program. Changes in M.S. major and changes in program require that students making such changes follow the program requirements of the graduate catalog in effect at the time of the change.

Noncontinuous Enrollment and Requests to Reenter
Absences shorter than one calendar year: Students continue to be eligible to register until they have not registered for one calendar year. Registration is defined as remaining registered until at least the end of the official late registration period. See the heading titled "Reentry Students" in the Registration and Reentry chapter earlier in this catalog.

Absence from the program is defined as not registering for graduate or relevant undergraduate courses or registering for such courses but not earning degree credit (minimum grade of C), that is, earning D, F, W, or WF.

Absences of one calendar year or longer: All students who wish to reenter one of the master's-level programs or nondegree status after an absence of one calendar year or longer must meet the degree requirements and academic regulations of the graduate catalog current upon return, along with other reentry provisions as may be in effect.

Reentering students who have earned a minimum of 18 semester hours of appropriate credit at Georgia State University with a minimum GPA of 3.00 will be eligible for reentry without being required to meet current admissions criteria.

"Appropriate credit" means assigned foundation courses and/or courses that are applicable to the students' current program.

Students who have not earned at least 18 semester hours of appropriate credit at Georgia State University with a minimum GPA of 3.00 must reapply and meet current admissions criteria. The provision to meet current admissions criteria includes submission of current scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test if the latest score on file will be more than five years old at the time of reentry.

Reentry Procedures
Reentry applications must be submitted by the deadlines as shown for each term in the "Registration and Reentry" chapter earlier in this catalog. This deadline is approximately four weeks before to the beginning of the registration phase in which the student wishes to register. The schedule bulletin and reentry applications are available in the Office of the Registrar, 227 Sparks Hall, 404/413-2600. Written requests may be sent to the Office of the Registrar, P.O. Box 4017, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4017.

Reentry applicants should request that the registrar of each school attended since their last enrollment at Georgia State University send an official transcript to the RCB Office of Academic Assistance.

Transient students should refer to the heading titled "Transient Students" earlier in this chapter.

Graduate students normally reenter the same college and program/status in which they were last enrolled. Students who have attended Georgia State University in both undergraduate and graduate categories may apply to reenter any undergraduate or graduate program/status in which they were enrolled.

RCB master's students who wish to reenter this college may, if desired, indicate a new RCB degree or major at the time of reentry. The OAA/MA will evaluate the request to change degrees or majors as part of the reentry process in accordance with the relevant regulations of the college.

Reentry approval is valid for one semester. If students approved for reentry do not register, a new reentry application is needed for future semesters.