According to the Graduate School catalog, it is the policy of The University of Toledo that credit applied towards the master’s degree must have been earned within the period of six years immediately preceding the time the degree is awarded, and that the credit applied for the doctoral degree must have been earned within seven years immediately preceding the time the degree is awarded.
Request for Extension of Time
An extension of the time limit for the degree may be requested by a student by written petition to the Graduate School. While exceptions may be warranted, students who exceed the norm shall be required to justify in writing their request for an extension. These extensions must be approved by the departmental faculty through internal departmental processes. A written memorandum stating the reasons for the request for an extension must be approved by the student’s advisor and the Dean of the College. The memorandum is then forwarded to the Dean of the Graduate School for final review.
Request for Suspension of Time Limit
A suspension of the time limit for the degree may be requested by a student by written petition to the Graduate School. Suspensions will be granted only in emergency situations (medical procedures, military active duty, etc.) and students shall be required to justify their request with appropriate documentation. These suspensions must be approved by the departmental faculty through its own internal processes, usually including a written memorandum stating the reasons for the request for a suspension of time, approved by the student’s advisor and the Dean of the College, and then given to the Dean of the Graduate School for final review.
Procedure
Immediately after the application for graduation deadline, the Graduate School will identify those doctoral and master’s students who have been reached their respective time limit (6 years for master’s, 7 years for doctoral degrees) and have not filed for the degree. The Graduate School will forward the names of these students to the advisors in the respective programs, who should inform the affected students. The student must then either request an extension or file an application for graduation. Such applications must be accompanied by statements from the graduate program director or graduate student’s advisor as well as the student justifying the request for an extension, including an estimate of the number of additional semesters required for the student to complete the degree. An extension of up to one year may be granted.
Out-of-Date Coursework
Any student who applies for graduation and is found during the degree audit to have coursework that pre-dates the initial time limit for the degree must have that coursework re-evaluated by an instructor in that field. A copy of the previous and current course description will be reviewed to determine that such coursework is substantially equivalent to current material and that the student is still current in his/her knowledge of the subject. The advisor or the instructor will make a recommendation regarding such coursework to the Dean of the College, who will forward it to the Dean of the Graduate School for final approval.
Graduate Readmission
If a student exceeds the time allotted for the degree or fails to register for courses during more than one complete calendar year, the matriculation for that student will be closed. If the student wishes to be readmitted to his/her program, the student must complete the graduate readmission form. In addition, the student must file a new plan of study showing all courses from the original admission and the readmission that will be used towards the degree. Any courses that will be out-of-date at the time of expected graduation must be re-validated as described above.