BHAM Program Policies and Procedures

Attendance during the first week of class is required. Regular attendance to class is expected. Due to the experiential nature of counseling courses, attendance is absolutely critical to optimal learning. Much of the material presented is difficult to grasp only from textbooks, and necessitates learning while experiencing and practicing. Students are advised that faculty establish attendance requirements in their courses, and are permitted to link student absences to their evaluation of students’ performance in the course. Attendance during the first week of class is required. The first week of each semester is the time when course expectations are clearly defined, a culture of learning and communication is established, and relevant course content is covered. If you miss class for any reason, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor as quickly as possible. Students are responsible for obtaining missed course material. Due to the interactive nature of the classroom, attendance throughout the semester is critical to the learning process and to student success. For non-clinical courses in a regular (16 week) semester, students who miss more than 2 classes will automatically fail. For non-clinical courses held over weekends or through an intensive format, students cannot miss more than 6 clock hours. Clinical courses in a regular (16 week) semester, including BHAM 5006, Group Counseling Skills, 5009 and 5010, Addiction Counseling, Intervention, and Prac I and II, and field seminars only allow for 1 absence (regardless of the reason) due to accreditation and state requirements. For clinical courses held over weekends or through an intensive format, students may not miss more than 3 hours of class.

Students should be aware that any kind of withdrawal can have a negative impact on some types of financial aid and scholarships.  For further information, read the FAQs page from the Office of the Registrar as well as FAQs from the Office of Financial Aid, dedicated to grad students.

The Withdrawal (W) notation is assigned when a student officially withdraws from a course via the Student Hub after the drop deadline (census date) and before the withdrawal deadline posted in the Academic Calendar.

The last day to withdraw from a full-semester class for Spring 2025 is Friday, April 24, 2025.  Deadlines differ proportionally for courses offered during part of a semester, including late-start and weekend courses. Students should refer to the Student Detail Schedule via the Student Hub to review drop and withdrawal deadlines for individual courses. When a student withdraws from a course, no academic credit is awarded. The course remains on the student’s academic record with a “W” notation and counts toward the student’s attempted hours. The course is not calculated in the student’s GPA or quality points. Students who withdraw from a course are responsible for the full tuition and fees for that course. After the withdrawal deadline, students may not withdraw from a course and will be assigned the grade earned based on the course syllabus. A student-initiated withdrawal will appear as an “F” on the student’s academic record in any case of academic misconduct resulting in a permanent “F”.

For more information see the Academic Records page.

For your drop/refund or Withdrawal dates log on to your STUDENT HUB account and look at your Student Detail Schedule.

Electronic communication (i.e., email and personal portal announcements) is a rapid, efficient and cost-effective form of communication. Consequently, reliance on electronic communication is expanding among students, faculty, staff and administration at MSU Denver. Because of this increasing reliance and acceptance of electronic communication, forms of electronic communication have become in fact the means of official communication to students, faculty and staff within MSU Denver. This policy acknowledges this fact and formally makes electronic communication an official means of communication for the University. All important program announcements will be emailed to the students’ university email address. Students are expected to check their university email accounts on a regular basis.

For more information, see the General University Policies page policy page.

Students at MSU Denver who, because of their sincerely held religious beliefs, are unable to attend classes, take examinations, participate in graded activities or submit graded assignments on particular days shall without penalty be excused from such classes and be given a meaningful opportunity to make up such examinations and graded activities or assignments provided that advance written notice that the student will be absent for religious reasons is given to the faculty members during the first two weeks of the semester.

For further information, see the Class Attendance policies page.

The Incomplete (I) notation may be assigned when a student who is achieving satisfactory progress in a course and who has completed most class assignments is unable to take the final examination and/or does not complete all class assignments due to unusual circumstances, such as hospitalization or disability. Incomplete work denoted by the Incomplete “I” notation must be completed within one calendar year or earlier, at the discretion of the faculty member. If the incomplete work is not completed within one year, the “I” notation will convert to an “F.” Students must have completed at least 75% of the course work to qualify for consideration for an incomplete. The student must be passing the course in order to be granted an incomplete. The course counts toward the student’s attempted hours, does not count toward earned hours, and is not calculated in the GPA or quality points.

Determination of eligibility does not guarantee that an incomplete will be granted. Students who meet the qualifications may request an incomplete from the faculty member who is teaching the course. The decision to grant an incomplete is up to the faculty member or at the department chair’s discretion. The decision to grant an incomplete as an accommodation based on a student’s disability shall be made by the faculty member or the department chair, if the faculty member is not available, in consultation with the Director of the Access Center.
If an incomplete is granted, the student and instructor should fill out and sign an Incomplete Agreement form to clarify what the student needs to do to complete the course.

For further information see the Incomplete notation page.

Given the nature of the field of Human Services, there is a possibility that you may have a faculty member for one of your Human Services classes who you have worked with in a helping relationship.  As a mental health-based discipline, we encourage our students and faculty to avoid the confusion that may be caused by a dual relationship of this nature.  The relationship between a therapist and a client is quite different than the relationship between a faculty member and a student.  Our concern is that prior therapeutic relationship issues may be triggered, such as transference or counter-transference, which may impact the class experience.  In order to support appropriate boundaries for both students and faculty members, we encourage students to consider taking another section of a particular class and/or another class in order to avoid a dual relationship.  If you need assistance in switching classes based on a dual relationship, please contact the chairperson for assistance. If you decide to stay in the class, we encourage you to have an open and frank conversation with your instructor about the distinctions between a teacher/student relationship and a helper/client relationship. In some cases, the instructor may not be comfortable with having a student in her/his class who s/he has worked with or is currently working with in a helping context.

This type of situation will be facilitated on a case-by-case basis and may involve moving the student to another course. Instructors should keep the chair informed (without violating confidentiality) when there is a potential dual relationship in a classroom setting.

Becoming a professional entails learning appropriate professional behavior. It will, thus, be expected that you behave as a professional in the class. Please do not use audible pagers, cell phones, or alarm watches in class. If you are late to class, please do not be disruptive to the class when entering. The Department of Human Services has a Professional Review Policy designed to support professional development for our students.

As students, faculty, staff and administrators of Metropolitan State University of Denver, it is our responsibility to uphold and maintain an academic environment that furthers scholarly inquiry, creative activity and the application of knowledge. We will not tolerate academic dishonesty.  We will demonstrate honesty and integrity in all activities related to our learning and scholarship. We will not plagiarize, fabricate information or data, cheat on tests or exams, steal academic material, or submit work to more than one class without full disclosure.

For further information see the Academic Integrity page.

Metropolitan State University of Denver prohibits sexual misconduct in any form, including sexual assault or sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and other forms of nonconsensual sexual conduct, including stalking and electronic harassment. Forms of intimate partner violence, including dating violence and domestic violence, are also prohibited under this policy.  Students, faculty, staff and visitors, should be able to live, study, and work in an environment free from sexual misconduct.  It is the policy of MSU Denver that sexual misconduct in any form will not be excused or tolerated.  Retaliation in any form for reporting such sexual misconduct or for cooperating in a sexual misconduct investigation is strictly prohibited and will be addressed as a separate violation of the Student Code of Conduct. This policy is promulgated under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq., and its implementing regulations, 34 C.F.R. Part 106; Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000c).

For further information, see the Board of Trustees’ Title IX Policy page or refer to the Student Code of Conduct or the Dean of Students’ Guide for Complaints and Appeals Page.

For further information, see the Board of Trustees’ Title IX Policy page or refer to the Student Code of Conduct, or the Dean of Students’ Guide for Complaints and Appeals Page.

The Metropolitan State University of Denver is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive learning environment for all students, including those with disabilities.  Students with a diagnosed condition/disability which may impact their access, performance, attendance, or grades in this class should contact the Access Center, located in the Plaza Building, Suite 122, 303-615-0200.

The Access Center is the designated department responsible for coordinating accommodations and services for students with disabilities.  Students will need to provide an Accessibility Notification Letter obtained from the Access Center to their faculty to activate their accommodations.  Information pertaining to a student’s disability is treated in a confidential manner.  Further information is available by visiting the Access Center website.

The Administrative Withdrawal (AW) notation is assigned when a student requests to be withdrawn from a course due to unforeseen or extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control. Students may withdrawal themselves online through the withdrawal deadline. Students should meet with an academic advisor prior to withdrawing from a course. After the withdrawal deadline, students may submit a request for AW due to unforeseen or extenuating circumstances.

For more information see Administrative Withdrawal page.

If students have reason to question the validity of a grade received in a course, they must make their request for a change before the end of the fourth week of the semester following the completion of the course (the following fall semester if the course was completed in the spring semester). It is the responsibility of the student to initiate a grade appeal within the time limit, and to follow the procedures for grade appeals specified below. All decisions of the Grade Review Committee are final. For a copy of the policy, please refer to the academic catalog.