OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO A MPA STUDENT WHO FAILS TO PASS ORAL EXAMINATION

 

 

  1. At the time a MPA POSI 5397 student elects to submit the Applied Research Paper (ARP) completed in the course to the MPA oral examination committee, the student elects to complete and receive a grade in the POSI 5397 class notwithstanding the result arrived at by the oral examination committee.

 

 

  1. If the student fails the oral examination, the student may appeal the decision of the oral examination committee by following the procedure specified below:

 

 

A.        To initiate the appeal process, the student must submit a completed appeal form (see form below) to the MPA program director within ninety (90) days of the date of the original oral examination. In Part A of the appeal form the student must provide the following information:  (1) name of student and mailing address, (2) date of the oral committee examination, (3) names of faculty members who served on the oral examination committee, (4) the name of a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member who the student has contacted and who has agreed to serve on the oral examination appeal committee, and (5) a detailed narrative that sets forth the specific reasons why the student believes that they (a) should have passed the oral and/or (b) should be allowed to retake the oral examination with a new oral examination committee due to extenuating circumstances.  In addition the student must submit a copy of the ARP.

B.        Upon receipt of the completed appeal form and a copy of the ARP from the student requesting the appeal, the MPA program director will constitute a three-person oral examination appeal committee. The MPA program director will select two members and the third member will be faculty member selected by the student and named on the student completed appeal form. The members of the oral examination appeal committee will not include faculty members that served on the original oral committee.

C.        The oral examination appeal committee will meet to review the student’s appeal form and the ARP.  After review, discussion, and deliberation, the oral examination appeal committee will decide whether the original oral examination decision will stand and no retake will be allowed or whether the student will be permitted to re-take the oral examination.

D.        The oral examination appeal committee will put its decision in writing in Part B of the appeal form and will give the original of said appeal form to the MPA program director and will send a copy of said form to the student at the mailing address specified on the form.

E.        If the appeal committee decides to allow the student to re-take the oral examination, the committee must also make the following determinations and include those determinations on the appeal form that is given to the MPA program director and sent to the student:(1) determine the membership of the new oral examination committee, (2) specify all conditions that the student must meet prior to the oral examination re-take.  These conditions could include but are not limited to the following: time frame in which the re-take must occur, ARP revisions required prior to re-take, additional research that must be done etc. 

 

 

  1. If the student fails the original oral examination and (a) the original oral examination committee decision is upheld by the appeals committee or (b) the student does not file an appeal under paragraph 2 above or (c) the student fails the re-take oral examination, the original POSI 5397 professor of record will give the student a grade for POSI 5397 of either a “D” or “F”.  Although the student receives a grade in the POSI 5397 course, the student is not eligible to graduate and receive the MPA degree. In that situation, if such a student chooses to continue to pursue a MPA degree, the student must follow the procedure specified below:

 

 

A.        Student must enroll in a second POSI 5397, must obtain a grade of “C” or better in that course, must have a minimum 3.0 overall GPA, and must successfully pass the oral examination on the Applied Research Project (ARP) completed as a part of the second POSI 5397 course within the time frame specified in sub-part C below.

 

B.        The student has the following options:

 

1.    A student may choose to retake POSI 5397 with a different instructor. In this instance, the student will be responsible for finding a qualified instructor that agrees to be the teacher of record in the second POSI 5397 course and agrees to supervise the ARP completed as a part of that course. Said instructor must have a Ph.D. or equivalent, be a full time faculty in the Political Science Department, and be a member of the Graduate Faculty.

 

2.    If the student is not successful in finding a qualified instructor willing to undertake the teacher of record and ARP supervision responsibilities associated with the second POSI 5397, the student has the option of taking POSI 5397 again with the original instructor of record.

 

3.    The teacher of record and ARP supervisor in the second POSI 5397 course will have the authority to determine the topic of the ARP which may or may not be the same topic the student used in the original ARP.

 

 

C.        The student has one year from the date of enrollment in the second POSI 5397 course, to complete the course with the required grade, complete the ARP, and pass the oral examination. If student fails to successfully meet the requirements set forth in sub-part A above within this time frame, the student may not continue to be a candidate for a MPA degree and will no longer be a student in the MPA program.

 

MPA ORAL EXAMINATION APPEAL FORM

 

 

  1. THIS PORTION TO BE COMPLETED BY THE STUDENT AND SUBMITTED TO THE MPA PROGRAM DIRECTOR WITHIN NINETY (90) DAYS OF THE FAILED ORAL EXAMINATION ALONG WITH A COPY OF THE ARP:

 

1.              STUDENT NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS:

 

 

2.              DATE OF THE ORAL EXAMINATION COMMITTEE:

 

 

3.              NAMES OF FACULTY MEMBERS SERVING ON THE ORAL EXAMINATION COMMITTEE:

 

 

 

 

4.              NAME OF THE FULL-TIME TENURED OR TENURE-TRACK FACULTY MEMBER WHO THE STUDENT HAS CONTACTED AND WHO HAS AGREED TO SERVE ON THE ORAL EXAMINATION APPEAL COMMITTEE:

 

 

 

 

5.              A DETAILED NARRATIVE THAT SETS FORTH THE SPECIFIC REASONS WHY THE STUDENT BELIEVES THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE PASSED THE ORAL EXAMINATION AND/OR (b)SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RETAKE THE ORAL EXAMINATION WITH A NEW ORAL EXAMINATION COMMITTEE DUE TO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES (Student may attach additional pages if needed to provide a full and complete response.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. THIS PORTION TO BE COMPLETED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE ORAL EXAMINATION APPEAL COMMITTEE, SUBMITTED TO THE MPA PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND A COPY MAILED BY THE COMMITTEE TO THE STUDENT WHO FILED THE APPEAL AT THE ADDRESS SPECIFIED BY THE STUDENT IN PART A OF THIS FORM.

 

CIRCLE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS:

 

1.              The oral examination appeal committee votes to support the decision of the original oral examination committee and will not allow the student to retake the oral examination.

 

 

2.              The oral examination appeal committee votes to allow the student to retake the oral examination under the following conditions:

 

 

A.  SPECIFY THE NAMES OF THE FACULTY MEMBERS TO SERVE ON THE 3 MEMBER ORAL EXAMINATION RETAKE COMMITTEE:

 

 

 

 

 

 

B.    SPECIFY BELOW ALL CONDITIONS THAT THE STUDENT MUST MEET PRIOR TO THE ORAL EXAMINATION RE-TAKE (These conditions could include but are not limited to the following: time frame in which the re-take must occur, ARP revisions required prior to re-take, additional research that must be done etc.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas State University-San Marcos is a member of the Texas State University System.