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Exemption from Courses
A student may be exempt from a required occupational therapy course on satisfactory completion of an equivalent course in terms of content knowledge and experiential learning. The student must demonstrate proficiency in the area to the course instructor. Satisfactory completion of proficiency will be determined by the individual instructor. A petition for variance from department requirements must be completed.

Leave of Absence
To be granted a leave of absence, a student must petition in writing the departmental chair and the dean of the graduate school. The petition is then submitted to the GSAS executive committee. Each request is treated on its individual merit. The departmental policy states that no more than a one-year leave of absence may be granted from the academic portion of the program; it also states that each professional entry-level student is required to complete the six months of fieldwork experience not later than twenty-four months following completion of academic preparation.

Acceptable Grades
Graduate students are expected to achieve a grade of B- or better in all courses. Courses completed with less than a B- may be retaken only once. The original grade earned remains on the student's academic record. If a student obtains two grades of less than B-, the student's record will be reviewed by the department. This will usually result in a recommendation to the dean that the student be administratively withdrawn from the program. Only the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences may administratively withdraw an enrolled student.

Grades of Incomplete
Students may not enter an occupational therapy course with an incomplete or an unsatisfactory grade in a prerequisite to that course. Grades of incomplete are not automatically given. The student who desires an extended time period in which to complete the semester's work in a particular course must negotiate an incomplete with the instructor. This negotiation must be completed by the final class meeting of the course. Normally course work must be completed six weeks into the following semester. It is the responsibility of the student to assure that course work is completed and that the process to update the transcript is followed through to completion.

Students who, due to extenuating circumstances, are not able to comply with any of the above grade policies may petition the Department of Occupational Therapy Academic Standards Committee for a variance.

Withdrawals
A student is allowed no more than one withdrawal from any required or elective class after the add-drop period for that particular class has ended. Graduate students are not allowed to repeat the same course more than once. Withdrawal in any semester from two or more required courses after the add-drop period will normally result in a recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate School by the Academic Review Committee that the student be administratively withdrawn.

Required Occupational Therapy Courses
Students will take professional courses in accordance with the Standards of an Accredited Educational Program.

Fieldwork
The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education and the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy require the equivalent of six months of supervised fieldwork in a hospital, school, or health care agency as a prerequisite to taking the certification examination. Level II fieldwork must be completed within 24 months following completion of academic preparation. Placements for these internships are arranged for students by the department's academic fieldwork coordinator. These internships are also part of the degree requirements. In addition to these internships, students participate in approximately 100 hours of course-related fieldwork concurrent with specific courses. These are arranged by the fieldwork coordinator. Placements for fieldwork Level I and II are subject to availability at locations that have contracts with the Department of Occupational Therapy. The availability at any particular location and the locations that have contracts with the Department of Occupational Therapy vary from semester to semester.