Center for Graduate and Continuing Studies

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Mission

• Provide quality student-centric undergraduate, graduate and professional development programs to nontraditional students. 
• Offer theory-based educational programs with practical applications that inspired students to respond and thrive in the global economy. 
• Provide student-centric services that are desgined to support students on their lifelong learning journey.

We Value:

• Lifelong learning
• Our stakeholders: students, faculty, alumni, staff, and community partners
• Academic freedom
• Freedom to learn
• Civic engagement
• Diversity
• Assessment of programs, student learning, and faculty and staff

Goals

• Outreach to adult learners by creating access lifelong learning to educational opportunities.
• Assessment of the knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired by adult learners both from the curriculum and from life/work experience to assure the learning experience is rigorous and relevant.
• Access: Graduate and Continuing Studies promotes choice, using an array of flexible payment options for adult learners.
• Teaching/Learning: Graduate and Continuing Studies is committed to offering a mixture of teaching and learning modalities to meet the needs of nontraditional learners.
• Student Support Services: assist adult learners to enhance students’ capacities to become self-directed lifelong learners.
• Strategic Partnerships: Graduate and Continuing Studies engages in strategic collaborations with employers and other organizations to develop and improve educational opportunities for adult learners.

General Information

The Center for Graduate and Continuing Studies offers asynchronous and synchronous courses in hybrid and online modalities. Hybrid classes are offered on the Main Campus in Chester, Pennsylvania.  See Graduate and Undergraduate catalogs for curriculum https://catalog.widener.edu.

Undergraduate Degree Programs

• Bachelor of Arts (majors in Liberal Studies, Psychology, and Organizational Development and Leadership) 

• Bachelor of Science in Allied Health (degree completion, entry program, and Diagnostic Medical Sonography)

• Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies [joint program with Delaware Law School] 

• Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies 

• Associate in Science (majors in Allied Health, including Radiologic Technology; Legal Studies; Pre-medical Imaging and Professional Studies) 

• Minors (Allied Health, Applied Supervision, Criminal Justice, Psychology, and Sociology) 

Undergraduate Certificates

• Alcohol and Drug Counseling

• Legal Studies, Nurse Consultant Certificate

• Legal Studies, Corporate Law Concentration Certificate

• Legal Studies, Criminal Law Concentration Certificate

• Legal Studies, Estate Administration Concentration Certificate

• Legal Studies, Litigation Concentration Certificate

• Legal Studies, Paralegal Certificate 

Scholarships for Nontraditional Students

Prospective Graduate and Continuing Studies students may be eligible for various scholarships; such as the Osher Reentry Scholarship, which provides tuition assistance for returning students who have been out of attendance for five years or more at the time of reentry. For more information, visit our website at https://www.widener.edu/admissions-aid/adult-professional-studies-admissions/financial-aid.

Course Load

Graduate and Continuing Studies offers part-time programs for adult learners and nontraditional learners. The course schedule is based on students taking six to nine credits per semester. Students who wish to take more than nine credits in a semester or term must receive written permission from the Executive Director.

Academic Information

Academic and General Policies

• Students who are not enrolled for one year or more must reapply for admission and meet the program requirements in effect at the time of readmission.
• Students are responsible for knowing and meeting the graduation requirements for their degree program. Keeping in contact with the advisor, at least once a year, will help students stay on track.
• After official acceptance at Widener, a student may take a maximum of 9 credits at another institution but first the student must obtain written permission from the Executive Director.
• Students may take no more than 24 credits, in any combination, from the areas of ACCT, BLAW, BUS, EC, FIN, MGT, MHR, MIS, MKT, OPM, QA, SBAH, or SMGT.

Admissions

Requirements—Undergraduate Graduate and Continuing Studies maintains an open admission policy for adult (22 years of age and over) students. There is no testing requirement for admission. Some programs may require additional criteria, please see “Exceptions” below.

Legal Education—The open admission policy does not apply to joint programs with the Legal Education Institute. Please contact the Legal Education Institute at 302-477-2205 for more information on legal and legal nurse consulting programs.

Widener-Crozer Partnership—The open admission policy does not apply to the joint program with Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Please contact the program advisor at 610-499-4507 for more information on this program.

Transfer Credit

Graduate and Continuing Studies welcomes students who wish to transfer credit from other institutions. After completing the application and forwarding official transcripts of all prior credit, coursework will be evaluated for eligibility for transer credit. Students who do not disclose prior offical transcripts at the time of application are subject to withdrawal, dismissal, or expulsion at any future time when prior attendance is discovered. The following are considered in awarding transfer credits:

• Course work must come from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning recognized by the appropriate professional body. An original transcript with an institutional seal and registrar’s signature is required.
• Course work is accepted and placed against the requirements of a chosen curriculum either as equivalent to a required course or as an elective. Other eligible courses are accepted on the transfer credit statement with an appropriate notation. Transferred electives are designated in a particular discipline area such as humanities, science, or social science, if appropriate.
• Credit will not be awarded for developmental, basic, community service, or physical education courses or programs.
• Transfer credits will be awarded for not more than one half of the courses required in the major subject area of an academic program.
• No course with a grade of C– or lower may be transferred. 
• In sequential courses in which mastery of the first course is required for success in the second course (e.g. Calculus I and Calculus II), credit will be given if the second course’s grade is equal to or greater than C.
• No more than 24 credits of business courses may be transferred.
• Credit will be awarded to graduates of hospital-based programs in approved allied health professions only toward the allied health degree. The amount of credit awarded will be determined by the Executive Director based upon specific technical certification (see BLOC credit).
• There is no time limit on transfer credit, except that the content of accepted courses must be such as to contribute to the readiness of students to progress through the program in the major area of study.
• Transfer credit decisions are guided by flexibility and common sense and have as a central concern the educational well-being of the student, the student’s educational goals, and the goals of the Center for Graduate and Continuing Studies.
• The final determination of transfer credit awarded is made by the Executive Director.
• Graduate and Continuing Studies maintains articulation agreements with many colleges and programs on the national level.

Academic Credit for Prior Learning

Graduate and Continuing Studies recognizes that college-level learning may occur in settings other than the traditional classroom. Students may be awarded credit for learning acquired as the result of work experience or other self-directed learning activities. No more than one half of the total credits required in the major subject area of an academic program can be earned through nontraditional methods. Also, it should be remembered that students still must satisfy the in-residence requirements—the final 30 credits for a bachelor degree and 15 credits for an associate degree.

Credit may be earned in the following ways (since no grades are given for credit earned from these sources, such credit has no effect on a student’s academic average):

• Advanced placement.
• Advanced standing (BLOC credit)—for approved programs.
• Educational experiences in the Armed Services—verified by The American Council on Education.
• Training programs—”The National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs” and “The Directory of the National Program on Non-Collegiate Sponsored Instruction” (PONSI) verified by The American Council on Education.

Portfolio Assessment—Credit may be earned through the development of a portfolio that provides evidence and documentation that the student has achieved in a nontraditional setting the learning outcomes of specific courses. A portfolio is a file or folder of information compiled by the student about specific past experiences and accomplishments. The portfolio is evaluated by a faculty member who is an expert in the field of the student’s area of learning. An advising/counseling session is required prior to the development of a portfolio. Contact the Executive Director for more information.

Transfer Credit After Acceptance for Degree Completion

Once accepted into a program, the student is expected to continue their course work at Widener University. A student may request to take courses at another institution. The Executive Director will review petitions for transfer credit under the following conditions:

• The student is in good standing with a GPA of 2.0 or better.
• No more than nine credits may be transferred back.
• No more than six credits in the major remain to be completed elsewhere.
• The student submits a catalog from the transfer institution and receives written approval to take specific courses prior to registration.

Courses taken at other institutions have no effect on the student’s cumulative average at Widener since quality grade-point credits will not be transferred. A minimum grade of C must be earned in a course to have the credits transferred to Widener.

Academic Grade Appeal and Academic Integrity Violation Policy

If a student has a concern regarding a grade they received or an academic integrity violation, the student will first try to resolve the matter with the course instructor. If it is impossible to settle the matter at the initial level, the student may put the grievance in writing and provide it to the Associate Director in Continuing Studies for review up to 10 calendar days from the final class day of the semester. Next, if the student’s grievance is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction and the Associate Director and/or Executive Director has made a disposition regarding the appeal, the student may petition to the next higher level. To do so the student shall submit a formal written appeal, within 10 calendar days following the disposition of the Executive Director for Continuing Studies.  Finally, if the student’s grievance is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction upon appeal to the Executive Director, the student may appeal to the Academic Appeal Committee of Academic Council in Continuing Studies.  The Academic Appeal Committee of the Academic Council consists of the vice provost for academic affairs and strategy as its chairperson, the Executive Director, as well as two full-time faculty members serving on Continuing Studies Academic Council.    

Note: If anyone named in this policy is the student’s instructor, they will recuse themself/themselves and an alternate will replace them on the committee.  Specifically, if a full-time faculty member is the professor, they recuse themself from the committee for that specific case. When the Executive Director or vice provost for academic affairs and strategy, are the student’s professor, the Associate Provost for Student Success or the Vice-Provost will serve accordingly in that instance.

Academic Residency Policy

A Graduate and Continuing Studies student seeking a bachelor degree must be enrolled for the last 30 semester hours (15 semester hours for the associate degree or a minor/certificate program) in courses offered by Widener through the Center for Graduate and Continuing Studies or one of its other schools or colleges.

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