Policies

Students who are planning to write a paper for a 6998 Seminar in Linguistics or a thesis for a 6999 Master's Thesis must first contact a faculty member to serve as their advisor and discuss with that faculty member the topic they intend to investigate. Once students have received preliminary approval from the faculty member to proceed, a second faculty member to serve as a second reader will be appointed by the Department. The primary faculty member will meet with the student on a regular basis and monitor the student's progress. The second reader is expected to approve the proposal, a preliminary draft, and the final document. The next step is to submit a formal proposal to the two faculty members. The formal 6998/6999 proposal should include the following:

1. A clear and succinct statement of objectives including the hypotheses that will be investigated.
2. A tentative table of contents.
3. A brief discussion of the topics to be covered, including methodology.
4. A summary of the literature to be reviewed and an annotated bibliography.
5. A description of any experimental design and the statistical analysis to be used, when relevant.
6. A statement of the kinds of results that are anticipated.

After receiving written approval from both faculty members, students may proceed with their projects.

The 6998 paper should be a minimum of 30 pages in length. The 6999 thesis should be a minimum of 60 pages. Both the 6998 paper and the 6999 thesis must contain an original contribution from the student. This contribution may involve a new analysis of data focusing on a particular grammatical issue, a reassessment of some linguistics controversy, a series of experiments with subjects (children or adults), and so on. The topic may involve English or some other language, synchronically or diachronically. Both the 6998 paper and the 6999 thesis must follow the Linguistics Department Style Sheet.

A temporary grade of "P" (Progress) may be given for either LIN 6998 or LIN 6999.

The faculty of the Linguistics Department regards classroom civility as crucial to a beneficial learning environment. The conduct of both students and professors should contribute to a respectful, engaged, and productive classroom culture. All class members are responsible for maintaining and protecting an ethic of civility. Accordingly, the following guidelines for appropriate conduct have been established for all Department classes.

Once class has begun, turn off cell phone and pagers, and refrain from side conversations and interpersonal remarks. Address personal and/or other non-course related problems to your professor before or after class or during office hours. Avoid noisy rustling of snack food containers. Casual comings and goings are not acceptable; if you need to miss a class, come late or leave early, inform your professor in advance. In any case, if you arrive late or must leave early, do so as unobtrusively as possible, e.g., sit near a door to the room. Familiarize yourself with the course syllabus and requirements, due dates for assignments, and test dates. It is your responsibility to complete requirements on time.

Your cooperation in maintaining and protecting an ethic of civility is appreciated.

Eligibility for the Practicum (ALS 4960/5960) requires completion of ALS 4418/5518 with a grade of 2.0 or higher. Non-native speakers of English must, in addition, complete satisfactorily an oral and written examination of English.

Policy for Responding to Student Grievances

The Department of Linguistics has considered the question of student grievances and has established the following guidelines for resolving such grievances:

1. Students having a grievance with an instructor will be advised to address that grievance directly to the instructor for the purpose of trying to resolve the issue through mutual consultation.
2. If students wish to pursue their complaint past step (1), they will be advised to consult with the Department Chair on the issue. The Chair will then attempt to settle the issue directly with students. If that proves unsuccessful, the Chair may seek clarification on the instructor's understanding of the grievance and then schedule a second consultation with students.
3. Should the students wish to pursue the grievance further, the Chair will meet together with the students and the instructor in an attempt to resolve the issue.
4. In the event that the grievance remains unresolved, the Chair and two members of the Department, not including the instructor against whom the complaint has been lodged, will constitute themselves into an appeals committee to review the merits of the complaint.  Both the students and the instructor will be given the opportunity of presenting their own views of the issue. The Department Chair will chair the committee. Should the committee pass negatively on the grievance and the students wish to pursue the issue, the appeals committee will forward its review findings in writing to the office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and will advise the students to address their grievance with the Dean.
5. In the event that the Chair of the Department is the instructor against whom the grievance is directed, three other members of the Department will constitute the appeals committee and will select their own chair.

International applicants, other visa holders, permanent residents, and exchange students whose native language* is not English must provide proof of English proficiency. Learn more about the TOEFL, MELAB and the IELTS.

Admission

One of the following constitutes proof:

1. TOEFL
   • 550 minimum on paper-based TOEFL
   • 213 minimum on computer-based TOEFL
   • 79 minimum on internet-based TOEFL
2. MELA
   • 77 minimum
3. IELTS
   • 6.5 minimum
4. 24 transferable credits, excluding ESL coursework, from a U.S. community college or baccalaureate institution.
5. a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university
6. 1 year of study at and a diploma from a U.S. high school

Some programs at Oakland University may require a higher level of proficiency than listed above. Applicants should examine the program description for their field of study for information about additional English proficiency requirements and furnish proof as part of the admission process (admissions: http://www.oakland.edu; click on 'Prospective Students').

Admission with ESL Coursework

(excluding those seeking an F-1 visa)

Oakland University offers admission to non-native English speakers in a number of  undergraduate programs for those students who are academically qualified, but who have not met the English language proficiency requirement. These students may be conditionally admitted and are required to enroll in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes until proficiency is met.

One of the following constitutes proof:

1. TOEFL
   • 520-549 minimum on paper-based TOEFL
   • 190-212 minimum on computer-based TOEFL
   • 69-78 minimum on internet-based TOEFL
2. MELA
   • 3-76 minimum
3. IELTS
   • 6

Students must register for ESL courses as part of their coursework starting in their first semester of registration. ESL placement is done by the ESL Center using the Institutional TOEFL and other assessment tools. Upon completion of the individualized ESL instruction sequence, students' English proficiency will be evaluated using the Institutional TOEFL to determine whether additional ESL coursework is necessary to achieve English proficiency. The individualized ESL instruction sequence designed by the Center is not negotiable.

Satisfactory completion of the individualized ESL instruction sequence is expected within one year, but ESL coursework is required until minimum proficiency is demonstrated.

Admission to Intensive English Program

Prospective students who do not have adequate English proficiency for admission or admission with ESL coursework to the university can be admitted to the Intensive English Program. ESL placement is done by the ESL Center using the Institutional TOEFL and other assessment tools. Upon completion of the individualized ESL instruction sequence, students' English proficiency will be evaluated using the Institutional TOEFL to determine whether additional ESL coursework is necessary to achieve English proficiency. The individualized ESL instruction sequence designed by the Center is not negotiable.

Upon completion of the Intensive English Program, students may (re)apply for admission to Oakland University; applicants are evaluated using the admission criteria described above.

*A native language is a language that is acquired naturally during childhood and is usually spoken at home, as opposed to a language that is learned later in life, for example, as part of a person's formal education. Students whose native language is not English are encouraged to visit the ESL Center to discuss any language difficulties they may have while attending Oakland University.