Full-time residency, in addition to requiring full-time study, affords the student the opportunity for daily professional interaction with faculty and other Ph.D. students. This interaction is a major component in the student's preparation for research. Despite the benefits that full-time residency affords, it is recognized that students may have off-campus responsibilities as well.

The Ph.D. degree, therefore, can be completed by a combination of full-time and part-time study. Three terms of full-time study are required, two of which must be consecutive and must be taken after successful completion of the preliminary examination. Full-time study is defined as nine or more graduate credits per term. All three terms must be completed before the Comprehensive Examination. All students, whether on campus or away, must maintain active status by registering according to the requirement s stated below.

Students must register each term for the number of credits of course work, independent study, or research equivalent to the anticipated use of faculty time and University facilities. A student who has not registered for at least one credit during a 12- month period will be transferred automatically to inactive status and must file an application for readmission to graduate study (and pay the application fee) before being permitted to register again. (Regulations, p. 37) Upon readmission, the student is required to adjust the program of studies to meet current Ph.D. degree program, Department, School, and University requirements.

In keeping with University policy, all graduate students must be enrolled for a minimum of 1 credit in the term in which they graduate.

Doctoral students who have completed all credit requirements for the Ph.D. degree, including minimum dissertation credit requirements, and are working full time on their dissertations, are encouraged to register for "Full-time Dissertation Study," with a fixed-fee registration per term, currently $500 plus fees, for both Pennsylvania residents and nonresidents. Enrollment in this course provides a student full-time status and fulfills the University requirements for registration in the term of graduation (Regulations, p. 22).

6.1. Probation and Termination

All students pursuing the doctoral degree are required to maintain a cumulative QPA of at least 3.3 after admission to graduate study and for all course work applicable to the degree. Students are automatically p laced on academic probation when their cumulative QPA falls below 3.3. The graduate faculty may choose to terminate students on probation for two consecutive terms. A cumulative QPA of 3.3 or better is required for admission to doctoral study and for the award of the doctoral degree.

6.2. Transfer of Credits

Upon petition to the DIST graduate faculty and with the consent of the program advisor, a student may be granted up to 6 credits of advanced standing. This credit for graduate course work completed at another institution may be granted if the credit has not been applied to a previous degree, has been earned within the 6-year statute of limitations, and is relevant to the student's doctoral studies in the Department of Information Science and Telecommunications. Advanced standing is granted at the time of admission or during the first term of course work, if approved. Petitions for transfer of credits must be received at the time of application or during the first term of attendance. Transcripts verifying the graduate courses must accompany the petition along with sufficient documentation to permit the faculty to evaluate their relevance to the doctoral program.

Transfer credits must be earned at an accredited institution granting degrees at the doctoral level. No credit will be granted toward doctoral degrees for work completed in extension courses or in off-campus centers of another institution unless those credits are approved for graduate degrees at that institution. Transfer credits will not be accepted for courses in which a grade lower than a "B," or its equivalent, has been received.

Transfer credits are entered on the student's transcripts as block credits; grades (and quality points) are not recorded for credits by transfer.