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Psychology Department Policies

Psychology Department Class Attendance Policy

For all Psychology courses, regular class attendance is an essential element. In addition to disseminating information, classes routinely involve discussion in large and small groups, demonstrations, clarifications, and group work that cannot be obtained to the same degree or the same quality via other formats (e.g., copying another student’s notes, downloading posted Canvas lectures). Each class also develops a type of learning community that is disrupted whenever a student’s attendance is subpar; in turn, this affects the learning of other students. Experience also repeatedly demonstrated that students who miss class perform more poorly, retain less information, are less engaged, and earn lower grades. Although there will be legitimate reasons for missing class on limited occasions (e.g., illness, bereavement leave), the high priority the Department places on attendance translates into the expectation that students will, at the most, miss no more than 10% of regularly scheduled class sessions in a given semester.

The Puget Sound Attendance Policy likewise recognizes the importance of being physically present in class when it states that “regular class attendance is expected of all students.” Further, the policy notes that “when non-attendance is in the instructor’s judgment excessive, the instructor may levy a grade penalty or may direct the registrar to drop the student from the course.”

To provide clarity and uniformity about this statement, the Psychology Department faculty have agreed that missing more than 20% of all university-scheduled, regular class meetings, regardless of the reason, constitutes “excessive” nonattendance. Any student missing this amount of class will automatically either be dropped from the course or earn an F, depending upon the timing of the attendance policy violation. Across a 15-week semester, this 20% amounts to approximately 3 weeks of class; the exact number of class sessions is provided by faculty for a given course. Attendance in lab and lecture classes is counted separately; students who miss more than 20% of labs or 20% of lectures will be considered to have violated the policy. Although individual faculty may employ more rigorous standards for attendance as fitting to the specific features of their courses, this 20% standard constitutes the “lowest bar" to still have the opportunity to achieve the minimum learning goals for a particular course. As such, this 20% standard also applies to students who receive "flexible attendance" accommodations. Although faculty will keep attendance, the department strongly recommends that students likewise monitor their own class attendance.

If a student is notified by their professor that they have violated the department’s attendance policy and they choose to petition the department’s implementation of this attendance policy, the student must alert the chair that they plan to petition within three business days of the notification by the professor of the violation. The chair will then work with the student, faculty member, and registrar staff to determine a timeline for the petitioning process and a plan for the student’s attendance during the process.

For guidance, to be considered complete, attendance policy petitions:

  • Articulate why the collection of absences represent an extenuating, acute circumstance
  • Provide a compelling reason why withdrawing from the course is not in the student’s best interest
  • Explain the student’s proactive plan to get caught up on missed material
  • Communicate a clear plan to effectively address the reason(s) for the policy violation to avoid future absences
  • Demonstrate the student’s understanding that if the petition is approved, additional absences will likely result in withdrawal or an F in the course

The student should submit the letter and any accompanying materials to the Psychology Department chair within the identified timeline in order for the petition to be considered. 

Research Participation Requirement

Empirical research is the cornerstone of psychology. As such, you will be required to earn research participation credits during each semester that you are enrolled in PSYC 101 or a 200-level PSYC class. (Note: Psych 101 courses and 200-level elective courses require different numbers of credits. Your course instructor will inform you of this number as the semester progresses.) Below are the credit requirements for the Spring 2023 semester:

  • Students enrolled in PSYC 101 (or PSYC 101 + a 200-level elective) - 6 credits
  • Students enrolled in a 200-level PSYC elective - 3 credits

To earn credit, you must participate in research studies that occur outside of your regular class time. Around the middle of the semester, research groups in PSYC 201 and PSYC 301 will post sign-up sheets for their studies on the bulletin board outside of WEY 318. Any additional opportunities to earn research credits will be announced via email and will be posted for students to see. Typically, experimental participation begins mid-semester.

You will receive your research participation credit after completing a study; typically 30 minutes of time is required for one participation credit. You must complete and submit evidence of having completed your research participation requirement one week before the last day of classes.

  • Submission date for Spring 2023: Wednesday, April 26, 2023

If you do not wish to participate in research or do not earn enough research credits from the experimental participation, you can complete alternative writing assignments. The number of research participation credits each writing assignment is worth will be communicated to you by your professor. Writing assignment prompts/instructions will be posted on your course's Canvas page, and will be made available on the same day that research studies begin. Writing assignments are also due one week before the last day of classes (same day as participation credits are due) and will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Only passing writing assignments will earn research participation credit. Failure to meet the research participation requirement will result in your final course grade being reduced by one level on the grading scale (e.g., B to B-).

If you have any questions regarding this process, please reach out to your professor or the Psychology Administrative Office (WEY 307A).

Guidelines and Grade Requirements for the PSYC 201 & 301 Experimental and Applied Statistics Sequence

Because PSYC 201 is a cornerstone of the psychology major, the faculty have identified guidelines to ensure that students have mastered the key concepts and principles introduced in PSYC 201 that will ensure majors are properly prepared for the level of material presented in PSYC 301. Beginning in the 2005-2006 academic year, a prerequisite for enrolling in PSYC 301 was completing PSYC 201 with a grade of C- or higher or permission of the instructor. Starting in the fall of 2016, the minimum PSYC 201 grade requirement was increased to a grade of C.

Students earning a grade of F in PSYC 201 need to repeat the course. If a student receives a grade of C-, D+, D, or D- in PSYC 201, two options are available before enrolling in PSYC 301: 1) repeat the PSYC 201 course; or 2) initiate the process described below:

The Process

A) The decision to allow a student to enroll in PSYC 301 will be based on a discussion with the student, the student’s PSYC 201 instructor, and the student’s academic advisor. To aid this discussion, students receiving a PSYC 201 grade lower than “C” should discuss the decision to seek enrollment in PSYC 301 with their PSYC 201 instructor and their academic advisor. These discussions should focus on the reasons for difficulty in PSYC 201, the adequacy of the student’s preparation for PSYC 301, and strategies for increasing preparation for and success in PSYC 301.

B) The student should then arrange to meet with the PSYC 301 instructor. At the student’s request, the student’s PSYC 201 instructor and/or academic advisor can also attend this meeting. Before the meeting, the student should provide the PSYC 301 instructor with a written summary of issues discussed with the PSYC 201 instructor and/or academic advisor.

C) A decision to allow a student to enroll in PSYC 301 may be contingent on one or more strategies to promote adequate preparation for and success in PSYC 301. The strategies recommended or required will be put into writing and will depend on the individual student and the input of the student’s PSYC 201 instructor and academic advisor. Examples of such strategies include, but are not limited to one or more of the following:

  • taking another math or statistics course before enrolling in PSYC 301;
  • passing a test of basic concepts covered in PSYC 201 (e.g., something like a PSYC 201 final);
  • revising substandard work written for PSYC 201 (e.g., the final report);
  • securing a tutor for PSYC 301 from the Center for Writing and Learning as a condition of enrollment;
  • agreeing to a contract regarding attendance and/or completion of assignments in PSYC 301;
  • increasing preparation by studying suggested materials (e.g., auditing PSYC 201 classes, reading books on research methods, or critical thinking in Psychology).

Expectations for Honor’s Thesis and its Relationships to Psychology 401, Senior Capstone

Department of Psychology

1. In their junior year, students in the Honors Program who are majoring in Psychology should identify a faculty member to serve as an Honors Thesis director. Students should then discuss the guidelines below with the Thesis director to determine how the proposed Honors Thesis relates to their summer research plans, scholarly interests, and future course work in Psychology. It is the responsibility of the Thesis director (not the PSYC 401 instructor) to approve the proposal for the Honors Thesis.

2. The Psychology Department agrees that the PSYC 401 capstone paper must be original work created in the semester the student is enrolled in the course. Thus, work completed as a summer research project or prior to the course cannot duplicate or overlap substantially with the PSYC 401 capstone paper. However, the PSYC 401 paper might build on a topic the student has previously studied. Students whose prior or concurrent work is related to their PSYC 401 paper should talk with the 401 instructors at the beginning of the term to establish guidelines for how the 401 capstone paper is different from the student’s other work. Honors students, for example, should provide the 401 instructors with a copy of the Honors Thesis Proposal and/or written work based on a summer research project. This process does not constitute approval of the Honors Thesis but does ensure that the student meets the requirements for the PSYC 401 course.

3. Students who wish to use the PSYC 401 course to develop a literature review for their Honors Thesis must be enrolled in PSYC 401 in the fall of their senior year and must meet all course requirements capstone papers. Although it is the purview of the Honors Thesis Director and Honors Program Director to approve the Honors Thesis (for Coolidge Otis Chapman Honors Scholar designation), the Psychology Faculty agrees that an Honors Thesis should somehow represent work that is “more” than that PSYC 401 capstone paper.

  • A) For example, the student might write a literature review and research proposal as a PSYC 401 capstone paper in the Fall and then research in the spring semester. (Note that students majoring in Psychology are encouraged to collect original data for their Honors Thesis.)
  • B) Alternatively, students could enroll for Independent Study credit in Psychology [PSYC 495] and/or seek summer research funding between their junior and senior years to support the project.
  • C) The student might also propose and complete a different type of extension of the PSYC 401 paper, such as an experiential learning component or interdisciplinary extension that then becomes part of the Honors Thesis.

PSYC 401 instructors will typically not serve as the Thesis Director for students in their PSYC 401 course. As a courtesy, students who plan to use the PSYC 401 paper as the basis of an Honors Thesis should provide the PSYC 401 instructor with a copy of the Honors Thesis proposal. (Note that students planning to pursue this option might contact the Psychology Department Chair prior to registration to request priority to take PSYC 401 in the Fall term of the senior year.)

4. Students majoring in psychology are free to develop an Honors Thesis that is interdisciplinary in nature and/or outside of the discipline of psychology. Depending on the nature of the project, it might or might not qualify for credit in the psychology curriculum (e.g., PSYC 495 or 401).

9/12/16.

University Policies

See all University Policies

The Office of Student Accessibility and Accommodation (SAA) in Howarth 103A assists students in determining what accommodations they may require to help them succeed academically. If you have a physical, medical, learning, or other disability that you feel may impact your course work, please reach out to the SAA. They will work with you to determine what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation are confidential. Below you will find contact information for SAA, as well as information on the process for requesting accommodations.

SAA Contact Information:

Howarth 103A || Campus Mailbox #1096
253.879.3399
saa@pugetsound.edu 

 

WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR REQUESTING ACCOMMODATIONS?

The University of Puget Sound has designated the Office of Student Accessibility and Accommodation as the department that determines if a student qualifies for an accommodation.

  1. Obtain documentation from a qualified, licensed professional that includes a diagnosis, how the diagnosis was established, the functional impairments, and a rationale for requested accommodations.
  2. You will be asked to upload your documentation of disability when you complete the online Request Disability Accommodations form. When we receive both your online request and documentation, we will contact you to schedule an intake meeting.
  3. If you would like to discuss or ask questions about documentation, please email saa@pugetsound.edu to schedule a meeting. 

For more information about SAA and the process around requesting accommodations, please visit SAA's website.

 

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