18 O’Neill Academic Policies & Regulations
In order to learn about pertinent academic information and to access necessary forms to support academic planning, students should become familiar with the Current Student Portal at students.oneill.indiana.edu > Masters. The Current Student Portal is a secure platform for current O’Neill students where login is required. Detailed instructions and forms related to O’Neill academic policies can be found online via the Current Student Portal in the Forms section.
Academic Exceptions
The following sections apply to MES, MIA, MPA, MPA-MSES, MPA-MIA, MSES, & MSHM students. MAAA and MAAA-MPA students should review the section designated for their program policies.
O’Neill Substitutions
An exception form is required for any course not appearing in the degree outlines and/or concentration templates that outline faculty-approved electives. General elective hours taken to fulfill the required minimum number of credit hours for a degree do not require substitution approvals as long as they are O’Neill courses. Non-O’Neill courses have a separate approval process; see Academic Exceptions – Outside-Program Courses for more information.
A student who wishes to substitute a course into their concentration should first work with the appropriate concentration advisor to determine if the proposed substitution is appropriate. The student may then access the Academic Exceptions Form in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal and select either “Request a Concentration Requirement Substitution” or “Request to Use an Alternate Elective Course in My Concentration.” The Exception Form will be routed to the concentration advisor for approval, then to the appropriate Faculty Program Director(s) for final approval before being entered into the student’s online Academic Advising Report (AAR).
Submitting requests for academic exceptions after a course has been taken is highly discouraged.
Waivers
A course waiver normally means that a student has already demonstrated proficiency in the subject matter covered by a required course. Thus, a student will be offered the opportunity to pursue another course that will expand the student’s proficiency in a related or new subject area. A course waiver does not reduce the number of total credit hours required by the student’s degree program.
A student who wishes to request a waiver of a core course may access the Academic Exceptions Form in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal and select “Request a Core Course Waiver.” A syllabus for the prior coursework should be attached. The Exception Form will be routed to the respective Gatekeeper for that course who will evaluate the student’s case and determine if another course may be taken in its place.
Waivers are only available for core courses. V600 Capstone is not eligible to be waived. If a student has demonstrated proficiency in a concentration requirement, another course should be substituted for that course rather than having the requirement waived. The number of credits required by a concentration cannot be reduced.
Outside Program & Transfer Courses
There are limits on how many courses can be taken outside of IU Bloomington’s O’Neill School and counted towards an O’Neill degree. These courses must be approved for use in an O’Neill degree. This includes:
Courses taken at another department at IUB
Courses from a regional campus of IU (including the O’Neill School at a regional campus)
Courses from another institution
Courses taken prior to the start of an IUB O’Neill program are considered transfer courses. Students are limited to transferring in 9 credits of approved coursework. O’Neill students cannot use coursework that has already been counted towards another conferred degree.
Courses taken after the start of an IUB O’Neill program are considered Outside Program courses. Students are limited to taking 6 credits (or 8 credits in the case of approved 4-credit language courses) of approved Outside Program courses. Students are encouraged to consider O’Neill course options prior to making outside course selections.
No more than 9 credits of transfer courses and Outside Program courses will be approved in total.
Transfer courses and Outside Program courses must receive a grade of B or better to count towards an O’Neill IUB degree. Courses with grades of B- or lower will be counted in the student’s GPA but will not count towards any degree requirements.
Students seeking to use transfer courses or outside program courses towards their O’Neill degree should access the Outside-Program Course Request Form in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal.
The form will be routed to the Faculty Program Director for review. Once reviewed, the O’Neill Records Office will notify the student.
A course approved via the Outside Program & Transfer Course Request Form will count towards total credit hours as a general elective. Students who wish to have an outside-program or transfer course count towards concentration requirements should first complete the Outside-Program Course Request Form, then, if approved, complete an Academic Exception to substitute the course for a concentration requirement. Outside-Program Course Request approval does not guarantee that the course will be counted in the concentration.
Exceptions and Waivers for MAAA and MAAA-MPA Students
MAAA degrees are conferred by the University Graduate School, which has slightly different procedures for exceptions and waivers. All MAAA student requests for waivers, course substitutions, and exceptions must be approved in advance by both the O’Neill Faculty Program Director of MAAA and by the Dean’s Office of the University Graduate School. This approval is granted via the Request for Substitution or Waiver of Program Requirements form, which is available at One.IU.edu. Students should explain their reasoning in detail despite having preliminary approval from an advisor or Faculty Program Director since the University Graduate School will be reviewing the request as well. Requests for internship or practicum waivers must be based on professional experience gained prior to beginning the MAAA program.
These requests may take several weeks for processing. Before submitting your substitution/waiver form for a MAAA or MAAA-MPA course requirement, first connect with the Assistant Director of MAAA or the Faculty Program Director of MAAA to review your eligibility.
Detailed instructions for submitting the Request for Substitution or Waiver of Program Requirements form can be found online via the Current Student Portal in the Forms section.
Electives
In addition to core and concentration requirements, students are encouraged to take O’Neill graduate elective hours to satisfy the total credit hour requirements of their degrees. For an elective course to count toward a graduate degree, it must be 500-level or higher or listed in the University Graduate School Bulletin as eligible for graduate credit.
NOTE: Some 400-level language courses have titles suggesting they are for graduate students, but do not actually count for graduate credit. Some 400-level courses are approved for graduate credit in the MSES program. Contact the O’Neill Graduate Records Office (oneillrc@indiana.edu) for clarifications.
For MPA, MSES, MPA-MSES, & MES Students: If the course is outside the O’Neill curriculum, it should be approved by the appropriate Faculty Program Director—see Academic Exceptions – Outside-Program Courses.
For Joint Degree Students (MIA, MPA-MIA, & MSHM): If the course is outside the O’Neill or partnering school’s curriculum, it should be approved by the appropriate Faculty Program Director—see Academic Exceptions – Outside-Program Courses.
For MAAA and MAAA-MPA Students: Approval is not needed to take courses outside of O’Neill (SPEA or AADM), so long as they are 500-level or higher (or approved for grad credit) and offered on the IU Bloomington campus. Courses taken at another IU campus or another institution are considered transfer credit; 9 credit hours of appropriate graduate course work with grades of B (3.0) or higher may be transferred. Students should access the Outside-Program Course Request Form in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal to request approval for an elective taken at another IU campus or institution.
Residential Student Online Enrollment Policy
O’Neill’s residential graduate students (students who are taking courses on campus and are not part of O’Neill Online) will be eligible to enroll in most O’Neill Online courses without first seeking permission to do so. Online course registration will be delayed for residential students to allow O’Neill Online students time to enroll in the courses they need; the exact date will be communicated via email from the MPO. SPCN-V 551 and SPCN-V 600 are not available to residential students.
Residential students interested in enrolling in online courses must read the Online Enrollment FAQ document in the Registration and Enrollment section of the Current Student Portal before registering for an online class. Failure to read and understand the online enrollment policy could result in possible irreversible consequences that could affect degree completion.
Prior Experience (PE) Waivers and Credit Reductions
A student’s experiential requirement may be satisfied through Prior Experience (PE). Depending upon the type and amount of experience, a student may qualify for a credit reduction as well. There are three categories of PE (Professional, Military, and Volunteer) available to MPA, MSES, MPA-MSES, MES, and MIA students. MAAA and MAAA-MPA students have different guidelines for PE since they are governed by the University Graduate School; see the appropriate page for information on exceptions and waivers for MAAA students.
Applications for the different types of PE can be found online via the Current Student Portal in the Forms section. Completed forms should be emailed to the O’Neill Graduate Records Office (oneillrc@indiana.edu) so they may be advanced to the appropriate Faculty Program Director.
Please note:
PE waivers and credit reductions are granted for experience gained prior to taking courses in the MPA, MES, MSES, and MIA programs.
Students are strongly encouraged to submit applications for PE within the first 24 credit hours.
Students may be approved for more than one type of PE, but the combined credit reduction cannot exceed 9 credit hours for MPA, MSES, and MPA-MSES students or 6 credit hours for MES and MIA students.
Credit reductions cannot result in the elimination of degree or concentration requirements. Students receiving prior experience credit reductions should carefully plan the balance of their program with an advisor.
A student may not apply for PE with any of O’Neill’s outside, dual degree programs (e.g., MPA-MA, MSES-JD). All of O’Neill’s outside dual degree programs reflect a discounted credit hour program in an effort to streamline the academic demands for the student. Further credit reductions are not negotiable. This does not apply to O’Neill’s dual MPA-MSES and MAAA-MPA degree.
Determination of PE credit is made separately from decisions about transfer of credit. Under no circumstances will the prior experience credit and transfer credit total more than:
18 credit hours for MPA, MSES, and MPA-MSES students
15 credit hours for MES students
6 credit hours for MIA students
The three types of PE are described on the next page.
- Professional Experience: Experiential waivers and credit reductions can be granted for prior professional or technical work experience. The appropriate Faculty Program Director, using guidelines set forth in the Professional Experience application forms, determines if the experience qualifies for a waiver and/or reduction. In general, credit reductions require work experience above entry level that involves some independent managerial, analytic, or scientific responsibility and work that articulates with the student’s current field of study. Only experience gained after graduating with a bachelor’s degree and before starting an O’Neill master’s program will be considered. The Professional Experience Application can be found in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal.
General guidelines to qualify for Professional Experience:
The work is generally assumed to have been paid, full-time work, but students may make the case for highly relevant volunteer and part-time work.
To qualify for a waiver of the experiential requirement, experience should roughly equal or surpass that of a summer internship.
Position may be with government, private firm, or nonprofit organization, but the work must be explicitly related to an MPA, MES, MSES, or MIA career path, regardless of the type of employer.
Employing entity may be domestic or international.
Documentation from supervisors may be required.
Students who have international military experience should submit the Professional Experience form rather than the Military Credit Reduction Form.
Volunteer Experience: Students who have participated as a volunteer in Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, or Teach For America are eligible for a 3- or 6-credit hour reduction based on years of service, as well as a waiver of their experiential component. Proof of service will be required. The Volunteer Credit Reduction Application can be found in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal.
Independent Study Courses
Students may work directly with a faculty member on an individual plan of study by submitting an Independent Study Contract for a Readings or Research course. The available courses are:
V580 Readings in
Public Affairs
V590 Research in
Public Affairs
E579 Readings in Environmental Science
E625 Research in Environmental Science
Y680 Readings in Arts Administration
Y690 Independent Study in Arts Administration
The independent study course will count as a general elective unless the student submits an Academic Exceptions Form to have the course substituted into a concentration. Students should work with the sponsoring professor to agree upon a plan of study, and then submit the Independent Study Contract in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal. The contract must offer detail that clearly reflects a plan of independent study including learning objectives, learning activities, and graded deliverables. The form will be routed to the sponsoring professor for confirmation, then to the Faculty Program Director for final approval. The O’Neill Records Office will contact the student with registration information once this process is complete.
Incompletes
The grade of Incomplete (or “I”) used on final grade reports indicates that coursework is satisfactory as of the end of the semester but has not been completed. Instructors may award the grade of Incomplete only after a student demonstrates that holding him or her to the normally fixed time limits for completing course work would constitute an unjust hardship, for example extreme medical or personal circumstances. An Incomplete should not be offered as an option if a student’s course load is merely too heavy and/or a course cannot be completed within the timeframe of any given semester/session.
Please note that multiple grades of Incomplete may jeopardize a student’s academic progress. See more information under “Multiple Incompletes.” The time allowed for the removal of an Incomplete is one calendar year from the date of its recording. The IU Registrar will automatically change an outstanding “I” to “F” at the end of this period.
A student should not re-enroll in a course if a grade of Incomplete has been recorded. Contact the O’Neill Records Office (oneillrc@indiana.edu) for clarification regarding policies.
Full Time Student Status and “Passing” Grades
By University policy, students considered “full time” are expected to take at least 8 credit hours per semester. Summer full-time enrollment is 4 credit hours. Only grades of “C” or better are counted toward O’Neill degree requirements. If a “C-” or lower is received in a required course, it must be retaken. Outside courses require a grade of B or better to count toward O’Neill degree requirements; see Academic Exceptions – Outside-Program Courses.
Understanding and Utilizing Resources for Academic Success
All students at Indiana University are required to be familiar and comply with the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct.
Leave of Absence Form
Students who will not register for classes for a semester or more should fill out the Leave of Absence form available in the Forms section of the Current Student Portal. This includes both students who are taking a semester or more off for any reason (such as health, finances, etc.) but plan to return at a later date and also students who do not intend to continue with the program.
Returning Student Process
Students who have gone a semester or more without registering for classes will need to submit the Returning Student Form in order to have their student record reactivated, which allows them to register for classes. This includes taking a break from school for personal or academic reasons, working on incomplete grades from previous terms without registering for new classes, etc. The Returning Student form can be accessed in the Forms section of the Current Study Portal or by emailing the O’Neill Records Office at oneillrc@indiana.edu. If possible, students should submit the Returning Student form in advance of the start of classes. This process generally only takes 1-2 business days but can take longer in some cases. Students who are appealing an Academic Dismissal should use this form and include rationale for the appeal.
Auditing O’Neill Classes
Students who wish to audit courses need to consult with the instructor and seek permission. Next, a student should obtain an auditing form from Student Central’s website (https://studentcentral.indiana.edu/register/audit.html). After completing the form and obtaining the instructor’s signature, students can upload the form to Student Central’s secure contact form (a link is available on Student Central’s website). Please know that audit hours are assessed at a rate per credit hour ($25.00) regardless of residency classification. Additionally, IU charges mandatory fees based on your total on-campus hours, whether you’re taking classes for credit or auditing them. Students who choose to audit a course(s) should be sure to fully understand the expectations (course obligations) as an auditor.
Audited courses do not fulfill degree requirements. Full- and part-time, degree-seeking students are offered priority in O’Neill courses if space constraints limit enrollment. O’Neill Capstone courses are not open to audit. O’Neill adheres to a guideline that a non-degree seeking student may not audit more than 12 credit hours of O’Neill coursework (this is consistent with the credit transfer policy maintained by the University for non-degree seeking students).
Students who enroll in a course for audit, then decide they want to drop the course must complete an audit drop form from Student Central’s website (https://studentcentral.indiana.edu/register/audit.html) and submit it via Student Central’s secure contact form, which is linked at the website above.
Grade Appeals
Any student who disputes a grade in an O’Neill course because of error, bias, or failure to follow the grading policy as outlined in the syllabus may initiate the grade appeal process. Here are the steps:
Within 14 days of the final grade being posted, the student notifies the Faculty Program Director through email that he or she wishes to appeal a grade. This email must include the:
course number;
section number;
name of the instructor; and
reason for appeal (error, bias, or failure to follow the grading policy as outlined in the syllabus).
The Director then sends an email to the instructor informing him or her that the grade appeal process has been initiated and that the instructor will soon be receiving a request for a meeting by the student.
The student must then contact the instructor and meet with him or her to discuss the issue. At this meeting, both student and instructor will make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of both.
If the grade dispute is not resolved at this meeting, the student then makes a written appeal to the Director through an email that briefly describes the situation and states what relief he or she seeks.
The Director then meets with the student and the instructor separately to learn more about the situation and understand both sides of the grade dispute.
After these meetings, the Director may suggest a solution to the parties to see if they find it acceptable.
The instructor makes a final decision on the grade, sending it by email to the student and the Director.
Within 14 days of the instructor’s decision email, the student may appeal the instructor’s decision by sending an email to the Executive Associate Dean that contains the:
the course number;
the section number;
the name of the instructor;
the reason for appeal (error, bias, or failure to follow the grading policy as outlined in the syllabus),
a brief description of the situation; and
what relief he or she seeks.
- The Executive Associate Dean will inform the Academic Fairness Committee (Committee) of the appeal. The Committee will then contact the student about the appeal and inform the student of next steps.
10.The Committee will “consider procedural errors in assigning grades.” BL-ACA-H35. The Committee may “direct the Dean of the School/College to change grades on the basis of the Committee’s findings.”
Further questions about this process may be directed to the Director of the Master’s Programs Office (SPEA A304, oneillmp@indiana.edu).
Drop and Add Policies
Students may change their schedules through the first week of classes without being assessed additional fees. After the first week of classes, please consult Student Central for IU policies, regulations, and fees.
“Even Exchange” Policy for Graduate Students Not in Flat-Fee Programs
If you’re a graduate student in a program other than a law, optometry, or M.B.A. program, you may exchange one class for another through the second week of full-term classes with no additional tuition. Note the following requirements:
You must use eDrop/eAdd Pair to request your even exchange. If you make the request during this time period, it will be covered under this policy even if the approval occurs after the second week of classes.
Both classes must be full-term classes subject to the 75 percent refund period during the second week of classes. The courses must be from the same session and cannot be for a different session for either the drop or the add component.
You’ll receive a grade of “W” for the class you drop.
The exchange is applicable only to one class dropped and one class added for the same number of hours.
If the hours of the class you add are greater than those of the class you drop, you’ll be charged tuition for the extra hours.