Course Substitutions for Failed Courses

Graduate School policy is that no grade below C (including unsatisfactory grades for courses taken under the S/U option) is acceptable for credit toward a graduate degree. Each graduate course in which a grade below C is received must be repeated at Auburn University whether or not it is listed on the student’s Plan of Study. Click here  to read the entire policy under "Grades." If a course in our department will not be re-offered in a reasonable amount of time, the department’s policy on a replacement course is as follows:

1. The Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and Graduate Program Officer (GPO) will determine if a replacement course will be allowed based on the particular student’s program, Plan of Study, estimated time left to obtain the degree, and the projected course offering schedule.
2. If a determination is made that a substitute course will be allowed, the professor that taught the course that was failed will be consulted by the GPC/GPO to help choose a closely related replacement course.

INSY Seminar Policy

All graduate students in our department are required to satisfactorily complete one semester of INSY 7950/7956 to graduate.  In addition, funded graduate students should attend the seminars every semester, but are not required to be enrolled more than one semester. Graduate students who are not funded by the department are also encouraged to attend graduate seminars every semester.

Course Audit Policy

Graduate students funded by the department are not allowed to audit graduate courses without permission from the department. The reason for this policy is because the graduate fellowships provided to all of our funded students are not designed to be used for audits or other courses not pertinent to a student's area of study.

Outside Courses Policy

A student may have no more than three non-industrial and systems engineering graduate courses on the required Plan of Study. Note that there is no restriction on the number of non-industrial and systems engineering courses that can be taken, only on the number that can appear on the required Plan of Study. For MBA/MISE students, this means that a minimum of 21 of the required 54 hours should be industrial and systems engineering graduate courses.

STAT 7000 Policy

STAT 7000 cannot be used on the required Plan of Study. Note there is no restriction on taking STAT 7000 (it is often used to where a student does not have the required probability and statistics background for our graduate program), only on it appearing on the required Plan of Study.

Remediation Policy

A suspended graduate student who wishes to go through the remediation process (as described in the AU Bulletin) must submit a written request for remediation along with a proposed remediation plan (using the Graduate School template) to the graduate program coordinator. The coordinator may or may not recommend to the graduate program officer (GPO) whether the plan should be accepted. If the GPO agrees, the plan will be submitted to the Graduate School. The plan must include the schedule of specific courses that are planned to be taken along with the letter grades that are expected; the plan is binding for the student once approved. 

Assistantship Policy

Research or teaching assistantships require that you be a full time student in good standing in this department’s graduate program.  In summer semester or in special circumstances with the permission of the graduate program coordinator or officer, students may have assistantships without being full-time (9 hours). However, students must be registered for at least 1 hour during any semester for which they have an assistantship. Continuation of the assistantship and fellowship beyond depends both upon the availability of funds and your performance as a graduate student, both academically and for your assistantship duties. If you are convicted of academic dishonesty by the University Honesty committee, your assistantship from the department will be immediately and permanently revoked.

Independent Study Hours on the Plan of Study Policy

A student may include at most 3 hours of independent study courses (INSY 7940) on the required Plan of Study.  Note that there is no limitation on the number of independent study courses that can be taken, only on the number that can appear on the required Plan of Study.

Curriculum Practical Training Policy

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is a provision for international students (undergraduate or graduate) on F1 visas. This allows students to work while attending school where the work experience is integral to their academic studies and where they receive academic credit for the work experience.

The ISE Department does not have mandatory internships or practicums so our involvement with CPT is not as clear as with some other degree programs. After reviewing the official materials on CPT (see links below), the faculty has devised the following policy for our ISE students:

a. A student who meets CPT requirements (F1 visa, prior full time enrollment for at least one academic year) may request a CPT term through his or her advisor. The proposed employment opportunity must relate to the student’s academic program and may not be taken for the primary reason of facilitating employment after graduation. The student must initiate the request for CPT well in advance of the proposed CPT term – a minimum of four weeks is needed to process the materials through the department and the university international office.  The advisor for most MISE students is Dr. Jorge Valenzuela.  Dr. Valenzuela does not grant permission for CPT in Fall or Spring semesters.

b. If approved by the advisor, the advisor shall recommend that CPT be granted to the Department Chair. The student must register for 3 hours of Special Projects (INSY 7980/7986) at the appropriate level (UG or graduate) during the CPT term. The hours may be graded or S/U, at the discretion of the advisor.

c. The student must complete a written report on his / her CPT employment experience relative to his / her academic studies.

d. In no case will more than one CPT experience (one term) per degree per student be granted.

Students, please note that a CPT experience may negatively affect your employment opportunities with that company or business upon graduation. Consult with the International Student Office for advice on this aspect of CPT.

University Link with the official information on CPT:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/international/isss/iss_faqs.php

Travel Policy

Funding graduate student travel and associated costs such as registration fees to events such as conferences, workshops and seminars is subject to this policy. The policy is designed to ensure equitable opportunities for graduate students while recognizing the budget limitations that always exist.

1. There is no restriction on attendance if all costs are funded by (a) a third party, (b) a research contract, (c) university monies under the jurisdiction of individual faculty members, (d) the student (e) other departments or entities within the university, or (f) a combination of the preceding. Note that items b and c are entirely up to the approval of the faculty member(s) responsible for the research contract or the individual funds. Note also that all travel outside of the US contiguous 48 states must be made with a pre‐approved RAT (Request for Authority to Travel) form and all expenses that are vouchered through the university are subject to all university rules and restrictions. Further note that some research contracts place additional restrictions on travel and receipts.
2. Should a student desire that all or part of the expenses come from a common departmental account (that is, part of the regular department budget), the following apply:
   1. All proposed travel must be approved and endorsed by the student’s advisor or faculty mentor.
   2. The student must concurrently apply for a travel grant through the Graduate School.
   3. Events where the student is an elected or selected representative of the department and are in the mainstream of such events in our field, such as the IIE Doctoral Colloquium, the INFORMS Doctoral Colloquium or the Winter Simulation Doctoral Colloquium will be sponsored by the department subject to items a and b.
   4. Other events where the student is presenting a paper or otherwise assuming a leadership role will be considered by the faculty in this order of priority:
      1. Doctoral students graduating within 12 months.
      2. Doctoral students graduating within two years.
      3. Other doctoral students.
      4. Masters students.
   5. A student will not be funded for more than one event per year except where the student fills multiple events under item c.

Please be advised that along with the list in item d, the faculty will consider the amount of additional funding that the student has for the event and how much the student is requesting. Note also that all travel outside of the U.S. contiguous 48 states must be made with a preapproved RAT (Request for Authority to Travel) form and all expenses that are vouchered through the university are subject to all university rules and restrictions. Finally, note that applying under item d especially will require a lead time to allow the faculty to convene and consider the request. In no cases will retroactive approval for funding be granted.