500 Academic Difficulty

Students who encounter academic difficulties are encouraged to discuss learning challenges first with the instructor of the relevant course and next with their Academic Adviser if the difficulties extend across a number of courses. The Accessibility Resource Center is available to assist students who require specific accommodations due to disability.

500.1 Problem-Solving and Community Accountability Framework

Smith SSW is committed to fostering a learning environment that supports direct communication, meaningful engagement, and equitable resolution of concerns. To promote a culture of learning, care, and accountability, students, faculty, and administrators are encouraged to engage in a three-phase problem-solving process (Prevention, Intervention, and Restorative Action) when challenges arise that affect learning, well-being, or community dynamics.

Phase 1: Prevention

Prevention strategies are intended to reduce conflict, build community capacity, and create conditions where concerns can be addressed early and informally.

• Community Agreements: At the start of each term, students and faculty revisit shared agreements that reflect principles of respect and collective accountability.
• Relational Infrastructure: Students have access to regular, informal check-ins with faculty, advisers, and peer leaders to support early identification of challenges in learning or community engagement.
• Skill-Building: All community members are expected to participate in workshops that build capacity in restorative practices, direct communication, recognizing bias and navigating differences.

Phase 2: Restorative Intervention

When issues cannot be resolved through informal means or when harm or disruption occurs, this phase supports timely, relational, and structured problem-solving.

• Direct Engagement: Students are expected to communicate directly with those involved in the concern (instructor, practicum supervisor, peer).
• If more support is needed to resolve the issue, a meeting may be convened by the Director of Community Engagement and Student Support (or their designee) with the student and involved parties to facilitate resolution. 
• If resolution cannot be achieved through either step, either due to the nature or intensity of the conflict we will hold an Academic Conference [please see section 500.2]

When harm has occurred related to community agreements or interpersonal conflict, restorative processes are initiated if possible.

• Restorative Dialogue or Circle: A structured conversation, facilitated by the Director of Community Engagement & Student Support or their designee, brings together those who were impacted to share perspectives, take accountability, and identify steps toward repair.
• Restorative Action Plan:
  • Developed collaboratively with input from impacted parties.
  • May include community repair, education, reflective practice, or service commitments.

  • Supported and monitored by the Director of Community Engagement & Student Support or their designee

• Reintegration Support: After completing the Restorative Action Plan, the student is supported in reintegrating into the learning community, with opportunities to reflect on their learning and reaffirm shared values.

Ongoing Learning and Evaluation

Smith SSW will regularly evaluate the effectiveness and equity of this process through community feedback and iterative revision. Particular attention will be paid to the experiences of students from historically marginalized backgrounds to ensure the framework aligns with institutional commitments to racial and social justice.

Accessing the Process

Students may access this process through:

• Direct conversation with an instructor, supervisor, or adviser
• Anonymous or supported consultation with a Marta Sotomayor Fellow

• Referral or request to the Office of Community Engagement & Student Support

Relevant Support Roles and Pathways

Appeals and Grievance

Issue	Where to Go
Academic (Course-based)	1. Instructor
	2. Adviser/PFA
	3. Course Coordinator/PhD Director
	4. Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Registration/Credit/Grades	Registrar’s Office
Disability/Accommodations	Director, Accessibility Resource Center
Leaves or Withdrawals	Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Residential Community Issues	1. Head Resident
	2. Director of Community Engagement

500.2 Academic Conference 

An Academic Conference is called when a student is placed on Academic Probation (see section 500.4) or when a student is encountering difficulties that impact academic performance. The Academic Conference constitutes SSW’s procedures to address a student’s emerging academic and learning issues. The procedures aim to ensure that:

• concerns about a student’s academic progress are brought to a student’s attention;
• expectations, supports, and relevant timelines for amelioration of the concerns are established;
• and a range of possible outcomes for the student are reviewed and discussed.

The purpose of the Conference is to discuss educational goals and mediation of issues to achieve learning goals when advisement and the informal problem-solving process have proven insufficient in resolving learning challenges. It is expected that a holistic analysis of the student’s learning situation will be continued through the Conference process. There will be an examination of the student’s learning issues and the learning environment, including structural factors that may be impacting it. The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (ADAA) makes the decision whether the situation should move into the Academic Progress Review process or remain as an advising issue.

Serious issues of personal or professional misconduct move directly to Academic Review (see section X).

The following procedures will guide the Conference process:

1. The ADAA, Director of the Doctoral Program (if Ph.D. student), one of the Directors of Practicum Learning or designate will facilitate the meeting.
2. The meeting will result in one of three outcomes:

   1. Action steps articulated for the organization or school. No substantive action steps identified for the students. In this case, the Conference is considered closed for the student.

   2. Action steps identified for the student, supervisor and/or adviser. In this case, the School will work with the adviser and/or supervisor or agency to resolve issues.  The Action Plan should have a clear end date, no later than May 31st, by which a final determination of progress is made.

   3. Action steps articulated for the student only, with no substantive action steps identified for the organization or School. The Action Plan should have a clear end date, no later than May 31st, by which a final determination of progress is made.
3. The Action Plan will include a check-in point to make sure that issues are being resolved, what criteria will be used to make this determination, and who is responsible for initiating the check-in.
4. The Action Plan will be drafted for the review of all parties. All parties should provide feedback within a reasonable time frame, typically one week. The meeting facilitator will hold final responsibility for the content of the Action Plan. If any party continues to be in disagreement with an aspect of the Action Plan, they should submit their concern in writing. This will be appended to the Action Plan and taken into consideration through the check-in phase to the conclusion of the conference.
5. At the end of the period specified in the Action Plan, the meeting facilitator will submit a written report to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs summarizing the progress made on the Action Plan on or before May 31st. In developing the Action Plan Update Summary, the meeting facilitator should consider the following sources of information:
   1. Input from instructor and student regarding the issues outlined in the Action Plan with attention to individual level and structural issues;
   2. Where relevant, monthly practicum narratives and practicum evaluation forms to date in the current internship;
   3. Relevant correspondence; and
   4. Independent information that the student may submit.

Upon review of the Action Plan summary report, the meeting facilitators will determine whether action steps were successfully met in consultation with the ADAA, as needed.  

Outcome options include:

1. The Action Plan is considered successfully accomplished and all issues resolved. In the case where there are student requirements, the Action Plan is considered concluded.
2. The Action Plan should be renewed and continued; a time frame must be specified for any continuation.
3. The issues cannot be resolved through the consultation process and an Academic Review will be convened.

500.3 Academic Review

Students may be referred to an Academic Review in cases of ongoing academic difficulty that have not been resolved successfully through the Academic Conference (as outlined in section 500.2) or in serious situations of personal or professional misconduct.

500.3.1 Personal and Professional Misconduct Violations

Personal and/or professional conduct of a student that calls for a Review process without an intervening Conference includes, but is not limited to, such matters as the following:

1. Egregious violations of the National Association of Social Work (NASW) Code of Ethics.
2. Harassing, coercing, verbally abusing, or intimidating any persons the student encounters in an arena of the Program, including classroom, internship, and the larger school community.
3. Unauthorized or improper use of college, school and/or internship agency services, equipment, and facilities, including and not limited to computers, email or web addresses, social media platforms, and telephones.
4. All forms of dishonesty including cheating, knowingly furnishing false information to the college, school, or internship agency, any alteration or misuse of college, school, or internship agency documents, records, or instruments of identification.
5. Improper disclosure through electronic or other means of protected information and/or information designated as confidential that the student encounters in their role as a student and/ or as a member of the school/college community.
6. Theft of or intentional damage to property of the school, college, internship agency or of members and visitors of the above.
7. Physical abuse or harm or threat of physical harm or abuse to any persons that the student encounters in any arena of the program, including classroom, internship, and the larger school community.
8. Plagiarism, defined as presenting all or parts of another’s work product as one’s own.
9. A violation of the Smith College Policy on Substance Use and Abuse.
10. A violation of the Smith College Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures or Smith College Sexual Assault Policy. 

500.3.2    Convening the Academic Review Committee

The Academic Review Committee (the “Committee”) serves as the body before which all issues pertaining to a student’s academic progress and personal and professional conduct comes for hearing and disposition. Any given Review will be attended by a subsection of the resident faculty, and by others who will be invited by the Chair of the Committee to present information.

Voting Committee Members at the Review: 

• The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Chair
• Director of Practicum Learning or Director of Ph.D.
• Two faculty from among the Resident Faculty 

Non-Voting Committee Member at Review:

The Director of Community Engagement and Student Support or designee will attend the meeting and participate in all discussions as a non-voting member. They are charged with observing and attending to issues of fairness and structural matters relevant to the Review process. The Director of Community Engagement and Student Support or designee is not present as an advocate for the student undergoing the Review. 

500.3.3 Invited Participants at Review

The relevant instructor and/or adviser may be present in person, through conference call or visual medium. In a Review generated from the Practicum sequence, the relevant internship supervisor and/or training director may also be asked to participate by phone to address questions.

500.3.4 Supporting Participant at Review

The student under Review may request in writing that a person of choice, who is a member of the School community in good standing, be present at the Review as a non-voting participant.

The written request from the student under Review serves as that student’s informed consent to the presence and participation of this supporting individual at the Review.

This individual will be present during the presentation/discovery portions of the Review but will not be present during the deliberation/adjudication of the committee.

If the student under Review chooses, the supporting individual may be present with the student under Review for the Committee’s presentation of the Review outcome.

The role of the supporting participant will be to help the student prepare for and present the student’s point of view, ensure that the committee has considered the points the student has presented, and that the committee has followed its own stated guidelines. They may also make a statement on behalf of the student.

The supporting participant will sign a notice of confidentiality prior to the Review, indicating the participant’s agreement that no portion of the proceedings can be disclosed to any person or persons.

500.3.5 Review Procedures

A Review is initiated in writing by the relevant adviser or administrator (e.g., Associate Director of Practicum Learning) in consultation with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Written request for a Review is sent to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

There are two pathways to a Review: personal and/or professional misconduct of a student that calls for a Review process without an intervening consultation. (See the non-exhaustive list of examples under Personal and Professional Misconduct Violations). 

Upon receipt of a preliminary request for a Review, the ADAA will review relevant information to determine whether a move to Review is warranted.

Materials must reflect a structural as well as individual level examination of learning progress. Materials to be reviewed may include but are not limited to the following:

• Student’s written statement: The student may submit a written statement in response to the identified concerns within a timeframe specified by the Chair, typically 7-10 days
• Documentation that was presented for the relevant Consultation request
• The Action Plan Update Summary letter.

If Practicum related:

• Any additional monthly practicum narratives
• Any additional relevant email correspondence
• Standard information about the learning environment, which may include:
  • Agency description
  • Number of years of relationship with the agency
  • Log information about the agency focused on organization
  • Student and PFA ratings of the organization
  • Where possible, number of consultations/reviews conducted involving that agency/organization
  • Demographic summary of students placed there in the past

Once initiated, the Associate Dean or designee is responsible for managing the review process from notification to the implementation of any action items for the student or other parties.

500.3.5.A Notice of Review

The Office of the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (Chair of the Review committee) or designee will notify the student of the Review in writing and outline the areas of concern.

The Office of the Associate Dean will notify the committee and the student of the date and location of the Review meeting which will be scheduled as swiftly as possible.

The Associate Dean or designee will hold a pre-meeting with the student to overview the Academic Progress Review process and a post-meeting with the student to review next steps. The student may seek support from the Sotomayor Fellow or a faculty member through the process.

500.3.5.B Pre-Review Information Dissemination

The information identified above will be distributed to participating Review committee members. The student may authorize the sharing of this information with other key members of the SSW community (e.g., Accessibility Resource Center, support participant).

500.3.5.C Preparation Meeting of the Participating Review Committee Members

Prior to the commencement of the Review, the voting members, and non-voting Sotomayor Fellow and student member (if participating) of the Review Committee shall meet to define the function, focus, and terms of the Review.

500.3.5.D Review Meeting Process

Exploration Phase

The Review will commence with the student presenting their view of the situation (in a specified amount of time), followed by comments, questions, and discussion from other participants.

Deliberation Phase

Deliberations will be conducted only by the voting members, Sotomayor Fellow, and non-voting student member (if participating) of the Review Committee.

500.3.6 Notification of the Review Outcomes

At the conclusion of the Review, the Chair of the Committee will meet with the student under Review to inform the student of the committee’s findings and decisions. A written letter from the Chair of the Review Committee will serve as a summary document. The Summary document which will be sent to the reviewed student, members of the Review Committee who participated in the Review, and in practicum-related reviews, to the Chair and Associate Director of Practicum Learning and to the Dean of the School will include:

• Information on the notice of the Review;
• the reason for the Review;
• the names of the Review Committee members and presenters who participated in the Review;
• the Committee’s decisions and the recommended sanctions;
• the salient facts the Committee relied upon in making its decisions, including information regarding outcomes from the summary of the Action Plan (CAP) as applicable.

500.3.7 Non-Exhaustive List of Authorized Sanctions

• No action, which means that the Committee determines that the student under Review may continue in good standing.
• Warning, or a reprimand, which becomes part of the student’s official record but is not considered a formal disciplinary action.
• Additional work such as writing extra papers or accumulating extra credits in order to graduate.
• Probation, for a period to be specified by the Committee, with or without conditions, which is intended to serve as a serious warning to students whose performance and/or conduct give cause for concern. The student will be relieved from probation if, at the end of the set period of time, satisfactory conduct, as outlined by the Committee, has been maintained. Failure to meet the conditions of probation is a serious matter and will ordinarily result in mandatory leave or dismissal.
• Mandatory leave of absence which requires that the student not register for a specified period of time and is recorded on the student’s permanent transcript.
• Dismissal, an action taken in the most serious cases, which ends a student’s connection with the School and is recorded on the student’s permanent transcript.

A combination of sanctions is also authorized.

500.3.8 Confidentiality

All deliberations of the Review Committee are held in private and are to be treated as confidential by all those participating in the Review. Information regarding the activities of the Committee and/or its decision making process should be kept as confidential and only shared with School and College employees who have a legitimate educational need to know; moreover, such information should not be shared with external entities except where deemed necessary (e.g., where supervisor support is required to meet the educational goals in an Action Plan, among other possibilities) as described above in the Notification of Review Outcomes, or if legally required (e.g., in response to a valid subpoena).

500.3.9 Student’s Request to Withdraw or Take a Leave of Absence Prior to a Review

For policy regarding requests to withdraw in light of an upcoming Review, see section on Withdrawal from the Program. For policy regarding requests to take a leave of absence in light of an upcoming Review, see section on Leave of Absence.

500.3.10 Appeals Procedures

Any decision by the Academic Progress Review Committee can be appealed to the Dean, whose decision shall be final. The following procedures regarding appeals shall govern.

500.3.11 Appeal of the Academic Progress Review Decision

The student Reviewed, any member of the Academic Progress Review Committee, and any other participant of the Review who believes the Committee did not follow its procedures as delineated in this Handbook may appeal to the Dean in writing within seven (7) days after the date of the written notice of the Committee’s decision to the student is issued by the Chair of the Committee. The Dean’s decision shall be final.

500.4 Academic Probation

500.4.1 Master's Program

Students are expected to receive a Pass or Marginal Pass for all courses, and maintain Good Academic Standing throughout their time in the program. 

Students lose Good Academic Standing by:

• A third MP in a required course in any year will result in Academic Probation
• An F in a course in any year will result in Academic Probation
• Violating any personal or professional standards as outlined in Section 500.3.1 

Failure to maintain Good Academic Standing puts awarded Merit Scholarships (if any) in jeopardy; discretion to continue/discontinue a merit scholarship will be determined by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

Any course which a student fails must be retaken; no course may be retaken more than one time. Once a course has been successfully retaken and passed, that F will no longer count against the student’s being in good standing.

Any student going onto Academic Probation will receive an Academic Probation Notice from the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (ADAA). That notice will be followed by an Academic Conference.

500.4.1.1 Regaining Good Academic Standing

A student placed on Academic Probation as a result of grades can regain Good Academic Standing in the following ways:

• Remain below the maximum number of MPs and/or F’s allowed cumulatively in the following academic year

• Successfully retake the required course in which the F was received. When a course is retaken and the F is replaced by a passing grade, the Academic Probation period will end. If a required course in which a student received an F is taken a second time and receives a grade of F a second time, they will be dismissed from the program.

A student can be placed on Probation for unprofessional conduct or behavior by a decision of the Academic Progress Review Committee, which will specify the terms of the Probation. In exigent circumstances the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs or the Dean may place a student on Probation. The terms for completing Probation will be decided upon by the ADAA or the Academic Progress Review Committee.

If a student withdraws from the School while on probationary status, the record will indicate “Withdrawn on Probationary Status.”

500.4.2 Doctoral Program

It is the policy of the School to advise students of problems in their academic standing when these become evident. When feasible, faculty will offer early notification about performance falling below acceptable standards and will attempt to help students meet course criteria. When substantial weight is carried by the final assignment, prior notification of problems in standing may not be possible. 

 A final grade of MP in any course will be regarded as an occasion for review of the student's learning needs.

Over the 27 months of Doctoral Program residency, a student may receive a final grade of MP in up to two courses; a third final grade of MP or F in any subsequent course will result in dismissal from the Program.

500.5 Dismissal

500.5.1 Master's Program

Grounds for dismissal from the program based on grade include:

• A fourth MP in a required course in the same year, a second F in a required course in the same year, or a combination of 3 MPS and an F in required courses the same year. 

Cumulatively, no student may acquire more than 4 MPs and/or 1 standing F in required courses. Therefore, 4 MPs and/or an additional F in a course that has not yet been retaken will be grounds for dismissal.

The School reserves the right to dismiss any student from the School for failure to maintain Good Academic Standing, section 800.5 and/or personal or professional conduct standards.

In cases of dismissal, fees will be refunded as stated in the section on Refund Policy. Student financial aid will be canceled. The student record will indicate “Dismissed.”

500.5.2 Doctoral Program

A student in the Ph.D. Program who receives any of the following shall be dismissed from the Program:

• A failing grade in any course (Within our structure the course cannot be repeated. See section 300.3 of this Handbook regarding Failing Grades), or
• A grade of Marginal Pass in three courses, or
• Failure to progress in work and/or to complete the dissertation requirement within the five-year post-residency time limit, except when written notice of an extension to this time limit has been granted by the School, either in recognition of a student's ongoing productive work on the dissertation or in consideration of special extenuating circumstances communicated by the student to the School, or when formal leave of absence has been granted by the School.

A decision to dismiss a student from the Program can also result from an action of the Academic Review Committee. Any situation warranting or placing a Student at risk of dismissal may be brought to the Academic Review Committee by a concerned party, including the student, except when the dismissal results from a prior action of the Committee itself. In that case, the recourse of the student is to a grievance or appeal procedure.

500.5.3 Appeal of a Dismissal

If a student who has been dismissed from the program believes the School’s stated policies have been violated, they may appeal their dismissal to the Dean of the School for Social Work. The Dean’s decision shall be final. The following procedures regarding an appeal of a dismissal shall govern.

1. The petition must be submitted to the Dean in writing not later than 7 days following the receipt of the dismissal notification.
2. If the Dean determines that the School’s stated policies have been followed, the student shall be so notified.
3. If the Dean determines that the School’s policies have not been followed, the Dean, in consultation with the ADAA, will grant to the student a remedy that may include an opportunity for re-examination, submission of additional work, or the possibility of re-taking a course(s).