Supporting Academic Progress Through Extended Time to Degree

Overview of Changes

Advance Notice to Programs and Students

• Starting in 2026, Rackham will make every effort to provide advance notice to programs when students are going to become subject to Rackham’s extended time-to-degree policy. Notice will normally be provided at least one term in advance; for most students, this will be at the beginning of their 13th term, which is typically the start of the 7th year. Parental accommodation and leaves of absence do not count toward total time to degree with regard to this policy, nor is spring/summer enrollment counted toward this determination. Programs are strongly encouraged to keep track of students’ time in program, and to notify Rackham if they have not received advance notice for a student they believe will exceed time to degree at the end of the current semester.
• Advance notice is intended to allow students and programs to identify sooner the path that makes the most sense for their research. Students completing before the end of their 14th term will not need to file a petition, but advance notice enables those that need it the time to formulate a completion plan and file for an extension in a timely manner. Early conversations about student academic progress may help clarify funding opportunities. Note: Continuing in the program is not contingent on funding or employment, nor is an extension plan a guarantee of funding.

Updated Guidance

Updated guidance about what a petition should contain and how Rackham will review these plans.

• As has been the case, petitions will continue to require a deadline for completion, a timeline, and support from the student’s dissertation chair (or both co-chairs) and the graduate program chair. However, petitions will now require more detail on the student’s plan to complete, including a detailed timeline of the student’s plan of work during the extension period, as well as a candid assessment from the program and dissertation chair (or co-chairs) of the proposed completion plan.
• Submitted plans will be reviewed by Rackham divisional associate deans for the completeness and reasonableness of the submitted plan. Conditions unrelated to academic progress, such as future employment expectations or research unrelated to their degree will not normally be considered suitable justifications for extension.
• The student’s dissertation committee should be filed with Rackham before the extension request is submitted.
• Extensions longer than one academic year will be granted at the discretion of the appropriate Rackham associate dean, in line with differences in research and creative expression practices across the divisions.
• Extensions of more than one academic year will require a check in after one academic year to assess the student’s progress and ensure they are on track to complete. The advisor and the student are responsible for completing the annual check in.
• Rackham expects completion plans to reflect a true and reasonable timeline: that is, faculty advisors and program leadership should only sign a completion plan that they determine to be feasible and they should emphasize to the student that they are subject to discontinuation if they do not complete the degree within the extension.
• While additional extensions may be granted with compelling justification, conditions that existed when the completion plan was approved will not normally create a compelling justification. If a student does not meet the terms of their completion plan on extended time to degree, the program may discontinue the student at the end of the extension. Program support for additional extensions does not guarantee Rackham’s approval of additional extensions.
• Supporting a time-to-degree extension does not obligate programs to fund students beyond the terms in their offer letter, nor does it prohibit programs from offering funding that supports continued progress. Programs should, as always, clearly communicate with students regarding financial support.

Clarification Regarding Probation Policies

• It is inconsistent with Rackham’s student-centered mission for Ph.D. students to be discontinued without the due process specified in Rackham’s academic policy. This can be fulfilled either by a probation period or a completion plan approved with Rackham time-to-degree extension. 
• Students who have never been subject to Rackham’s extended time-to-degree policy may not be dismissed without following Rackham’s policy on probation, as well as applicable department or program policies.
• Students who file a completion plan to comply with the Rackham’s extended time-to-degree policy are expected to finish in the period specified. The program or Rackham may discontinue a student upon the expiration of their time-to-degree extension, without a further probationary period.
• Programs may place students on probation during a completion plan, including for (but not limited to) failing to meet agreed upon deadlines, but must follow probation policies. A request for dismissal prior to the expiration of an extension must be preceded by a period of probation.
• Note: Probation requires a detailed plan to return to good academic standing and does not always end in dismissal. Discussing with students their academic progress, committee expectations, and the work left to do supports completion, whether on-time or in extended time to degree. Probation appears on a student’s unofficial transcript, and is cleared when probation is lifted. It does not appear on a student’s official transcript.

Scenarios

Scenario #1

A student is entering their 7th year after starting their doctoral program, but has taken a leave of absence and a parental accommodation.

• This student is not yet subject to Rackham’s time-to-degree policy, since approved leave of absence and parental accommodations are not counted in time to degree.
• During their 13th enrolled term, the student’s program will receive notification from Rackham OARD that the student will be subject to Rackham’s time-to-degree policy and should file a petition by the upcoming deadline if they will need more time to complete.

Scenario #2

A student requests an extension of 1.5 academic years.

• The student prepares a completion plan with the support of their advisor and with the support of the program. 
• A petition to extend the time to degree is submitted to Rackham and reviewed by the division’s associate dean. 
• If the associate dean is satisfied that the completion plan is reasonable and justified, the plan will be approved. 
• Since the approved plan is longer than one academic year, Rackham expects the student and the advisor to check in with each other after one academic year (if not sooner and more regularly), to ensure the student is still making satisfactory progress. The student will send a confirmation to Rackham OARD.

Scenario #3

A student who will be subject to Rackham’s time-to-degree policy wants to extend time to degree, but the advisor does not agree that the student’s academic progress justifies an extension.

• The student will not be able to submit a completion plan and petition to extend without the support of their advisor(s) and program. 
• The program should follow Rackham’s academic policy and place a student on probation if lack of academic progress warrants it. 
• If a student is placed on probation and exceeds Rackham’s time-to-degree policy, the student will remain enrolled until the end of probation, when they can either file a program-supported completion plan to extend their time to degree, complete their degree, or be discontinued from the program. Normal appeal options will apply.

Scenario #4

A student filed a two year extension petition, which was approved. As the student approaches the end of the two years, the student does not believe they will finish before the petition expires, but the student’s advisor does not support a second extension, based on unsatisfactory academic progress.

• The student will receive notice at least one term in advance that their extended time-to-degree extension will expire. 
• Because the student has filed a previously approved completion plan, and therefore has advance notice that they must complete by the end of the extension period, the student does not need to be placed on probation before they can be discontinued. 
• This is in line with Rackham’s student-centered probation policy, because the previously submitted extension plan fulfills the due process required by Rackham’s academic policy. 

Scenario #5

A student requests an extension plan as they approach the end of their 7th year. As the advisor reviews the plan, they have concerns about its feasibility given the pace of previous academic progress, but don’t want to recommend placing the student on probation because they are worried it would harm the student’s well-being and disrupt the student-advisor relationship.

• The student will not be able to submit a completion plan and petition to extend without the support of their advisor(s) and program. Faculty should only approve a completion plan that they believe is feasible. When discussing the feasibility of completing timelines, students should be reminded that a reasonable plan is important because they can be dismissed at the end of the period if they do not complete within the timeframe proposed in the petition. 
• The program should then either place the student on probation or work with the student to develop a feasible completion plan. It is inconsistent with Rackham’s student-centered mission for Ph.D. students to be discontinued without the due process specified in Rackham’s academic policy. This can be fulfilled either by a probation period or a completion plan approved with Rackham time-to-degree extension. 
• If lack of academic progress warrants probation, the program should place a student on probation, which requires a detailed plan to re-establish good academic standing and may require completion. Per Rackham’s academic policy, the decision to place a student on probation can only be made by a committee of no fewer than three faculty. 
• If a program determines that the student is in good academic standing, the advisor may instead work with the student to submit a feasible and true completion plan. The petition to extend specifies that failure to complete within the timeframe of the extension is grounds for discontinuation without an additional probation period. 
• The student-advisor relationship is an integral part of a graduate student’s experience and key to a student’s scholarly development. Supporting student well-being is important to degree completion; at the same time, time-to-degree extensions must be grounded in concrete plans for academic progress. Rackham encourages programs considering probation to be in touch with the Graduate Student and Program Consultation Services (GSPCS) so that a student’s well-being can be best supported.