Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication policies

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication has a student-centered culture focused on supporting timely degree completion. Students are encouraged to visit the school website or contact its student services center at 602-496-5055 with questions about any of the school’s policies.

Academic integrity

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication insists on academic integrity in every course and educational activity offered or sanctioned by the school. Instructors will notify students of concerns about academic dishonesty and request additional information as needed. Based on the outcome of the communication (or if the student fails to engage), the instructor will follow the academic integrity policy regarding a sanction and referral for additional investigation as appropriate. Students should refer to ASU's policy on academic dishonesty for procedures and potential penalties.

Deadlines: Assignments submitted even one second past the deadline are subject to a 25% deduction; thus, a "C" becomes the highest possible grade for a late submission within the first 24 hours after the deadline. This includes assignments submitted at 12:00 a.m. when the deadline is 11:59 p.m. Assignments submitted more than 24 hours after the initial deadline receive zero points. Instructors do not grant exceptions for preventable circumstances, including technical difficulties and poor time management.

If a student begins an assignment but runs out of time to complete it, the student should remember that submitting a partially completed assignment is better than not submitting anything at all (as long as the work meets all expectations for academic integrity and does not compromise the work of other students).

Extreme personal circumstances: Students should notify their instructor as soon as possible if an extreme individual circumstance interferes with their ability to complete coursework. Examples include hospitalization of a student, death of an immediate family member or a natural disaster.

Active duty military: Students who are on active duty with the military and, because of deployment or service responsibilities, experience Internet connectivity issues that prevent them from participating in course activities or meeting assignment deadlines must notify the instructor as soon as possible to discuss appropriate accommodations.

Religious accommodations: Students who must be absent from class because of religious observance should notify their instructors at the beginning of the semester.

ACEJMC values and competencies: As a member of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Cronkite School is committed to classroom learning that supports ACEJMC professional values and competencies (http://www.acejmc.org/policies-process/principles).

Course Content: Course content, including lectures, is considered copyrighted material. Students may not share course content outside of class activities (which includes live streaming, video conferencing, audio-visual materials and generative AI programs), or upload, sell, distribute or trade course content, evaluations, access codes, or notes. (See ACD 304-06 Commercial Note Taking Services for more information.) Students must refrain from uploading to any course shell, discussion board, website, social media platform, or other course forum any material that is not the student's original work unless the student first complies with all applicable copyright laws; instructors reserve the right to delete materials on the grounds of suspected copyright infringement.

Recording or sharing course lectures and class activities without a university-approved accommodation requires permission from the course instructor. Students may not disclose or modify course content in any manner that disrupts the learning environment or otherwise violates university policy. (See ABOR 5-308 Student Code of Conduct, ABOR 6-908 Intellectual Property Policy.) For additional information on restrictions on recording for commercial purposes, students should see the ASU commercial filming and photography on campus guidelines.

Original work and collaborations: All work submitted for classes must be original work, created solely for the current session of the class. This includes photos, text, video and images. Students may not submit assignments or evaluations done for any other class, for any other organization or for a previous session of the class. ASU offers resources for learning more about plagiarism and self-plagiarism. Students who violate this clause are referred to an academic integrity officer.

All assignments must be the student's own work — from concept to execution — unless the instructor specifies collaboration. Even when students are part of a team, not all elements of the assignment may be team-based. For example, the assignment may call for a team discussion of a topic, but a writing assignment based on that discussion must be the student's individual work. Violating this policy may qualify as academic dishonesty. Students are responsible for understanding what elements of an assignment or task (if any) require peer collaboration or individual completion.

Grade appeals and grievances: Students in Cronkite School courses must follow the Cronkite School procedures for grade appeals and grievances.

Notice of Nondiscrimination

ASU prohibits all forms of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Students should review ASU’s policy ACD 401: Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation.

Title IX protects individuals from discrimination based on sex in any educational program or activity operated by recipients of federal financial assistance. As required by Title IX, ASU does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education programs or activities that we operate, including in admission and employment. Inquiries concerning the application of Title IX may be referred to the ASU Title IX coordinator or to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights or to both. For more information, students should email [email protected], call 480-965-0696, or visit the office located at 1120 S. Cady Mall, INTDSB 284. For information on making a report, students should reference the Report It website.

Undergraduate policies

Academic standing

Probation and Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication continuing academic probation

All ASU students, first-year students through seniors, must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.00 for all courses completed at ASU. If this standard is not maintained, the student is placed on probation. Students on probation must see an advisor before further registration and must do one of the following:

• Achieve an ASU GPA of 2.00 or higher to return to academic good standing.
• Obtain a semester GPA of 2.50 with no grade lower than “C” to be granted one additional semester on continuing probation. At the end of the continuing probation, the student must return to academic good standing (a minimum cumulative ASU GPA of 2.00) to avoid disqualification.

Disqualification

Students who do not meet probation requirements are academically disqualified. Disqualified students should meet with their academic advisors. These students may attend ASU only during the summer session immediately following disqualification.

Students must follow university policies on retention and academic standards for GPA requirements, probation and disqualification.

Advising

Undergraduate students are assigned an advisor according to the student’s last name. Students should see the Cronkite School advising page for specifics.

To ensure that students make progress toward their degrees, the school encourages students to check in with their advisors each semester. Advising is mandatory for:

• first-time, first-year students, in both semesters during their first year at ASU
• students on academic probation
• students who are off track in their major
• students who have completed 75 credit hours
• transfer students before they enroll in their first semester at ASU

For additional information, students should contact the school’s advising office at [email protected].

Students should follow the requirements outlined in degree graduation audits and contact their advisor with any questions. Critical requirements for first-year students are available at the school website.

Credit and registration

Changes of major

Students are eligible to change their major if they have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00.

Transfer credit

An unlimited number of credit hours are accepted from four-year institutions, while a maximum of 64 credit hours are accepted as lower-division credit when transferred from a regionally accredited community, junior or two-year college, with the exception of some special programs. Upon admission to the university, students work with an ASU academic advisor to determine how their transferable credits apply toward their selected major.

Students interested in having credits earned at other institutions reviewed for transfer credit should collect detailed course syllabi, review the ASU transfer credit criteria and consult a Cronkite academic advisor or admission specialist for assistance.

Degree requirements

All students must meet the critical requirements for their majors. Students who are required to follow eAdvisor tracking requirements and do not comply with the critical requirements are off track, and a hold is placed on their records. These students must meet with an advisor to have the hold removed.

• specific requirements for the journalism and mass communication degree
• specific requirements for the sports journalism degree
• specific requirements for the mass communication and media studies degree
• specific requirements for the digital audiences degree
• specific requirements for the digital media literacy degree

Concurrent degrees

The primary degree is the one that appears at the top of a student's transcript. A concurrent degree is an additional degree that a student pursues.

Following are general rules for students pursuing concurrent degrees in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication:

• Students currently enrolled in a Cronkite School degree program who would like to add a concurrent degree must have a cumulative ASU GPA of 2.00 or higher and must have completed 30 credit hours of coursework.
• ASU students not enrolled in the Cronkite School who would like to add a concurrent Cronkite degree must be in good academic standing, must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 in a degree program and must have completed 30 credit hours of coursework.
• Students currently enrolled in a Cronkite School undergraduate degree program may not pursue a concurrent degree in another Cronkite School undergraduate program, given the similarity in disciplines and the overlap in required coursework.

Procedures for adding a concurrent degree:

1. Once a student has decided to declare a concurrent degree, they should inform the academic advisor for each degree to receive information about degree requirements and courses.
2. When a student meets the requirements for a concurrent degree, they should contact the assigned academic advisor for each major to review and complete the university's approval process.
3. If a student no longer wishes to pursue a concurrent degree, they should email that intention to both academic advisors. The message should include the student's full name and ASU ID number, and specify the degree that the student wants to have removed from the academic record.

Students can direct any questions to [email protected].

Reinstatement/readmission

Students seeking readmission after being discontinued from the university should contact admission services.