Pursuant to  Article 113 of the Law on Higher Education (‘Official Gazette’ of the Republic of Macedonia no 64/2000 and 48/2003) and Article 60  of the University Statute, the Univeristy Senate  makes the following

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON SECOND CYCLE STUDIES

General provision

1. The University offers these degrees of the second cycle:

1.1. Master of Arts (MA)
       Master of Science (MSc)
       Other degrees specific to the faculties 

2. Admission, registration and administration

2.1. Students will be admitted to the study programs pursuant to the approved competition by the University Senate. Other specific admission requirements can be specified.

2.2. Enrollment is realized after realization of the tuition fee adopted by the University Board and ensuring original document pursuant to Registration Office requirements.

2.3. The Post-Graduate Studies Office is responsible for the coordination and progress of the study programs.

2.4. The Post-Graduate Studies Office is led by the Director of Post-Graduate Studies (appointed by Rectorate).

2.5. Each University faculty is responsible for organization and management its own post-graduate studies programs.

2.6. Respective Faculty Councils and The Post-Graduate Studies Office will, on a continuous basis, observe the realization of second cycle study programs.

3. Admission requirements

3.1. Applicants who wish to enroll in three-semester study programs (90 ECTS - European Credit Transfer System - credits), should have bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in the Republic of Macedonia, equivalent to four-year studies (240 ECTS credits).

3.2. Applicants who wish to enroll in four-semester study programs (120 ECTS credits), should have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in the Republic of Macedonia, equivalent to three year studies (180 ECTS credits).

3.3. Applicants who have a bachelor degree’s form an accredited university in the Republic of Macedonia equivalent to three-year studies (180 ECTS credits), have the right to enroll in three-semester post-graduate study programs (90 ECTS credits), on the condition that they earn an additional 30 ECTS credits in the respective study programs.

3.4 Programs can be realized in integrative way (first and second cycle).

3.5. Programs for earning such additional credits are determined by the respective faculties, one semester in length with payment based on the value of ECTS credits for post-graduate studies.

3.6. Other specific conditions and criteria are foreseen in the competition, which is announced by SEE University Senate.

4. Coordination and advising 

4.1. On University level is functioning the coordinator for post-graduation studies. Coordinator in co-operation with pro-deans for post-graduate from respective faculties coordinates the activities related with organization, management and development of study programs and advises the students about studies.

4.2. The academic staff of each faculty advises students about respective courses.
 
4.3. Pro-deans for post-graduate studies are responsible for supervising academic and professional progress and career development of the students.

5. Tuition fee

5.1. Students pay a pre-determined tuition fee for their respective study programs. 

5.2. The amount of the tuition fee is determined by the University bodies and announced in the competition for admission.
 
5.3. Students are obliged to pay the tuition fee in two installments, on a semester basis.

5.4. Latest the installment should be paid by the first day of the semester.

5.5. In cases where the student is withdrawing from the studies and if to him/her are offered less than 50% of the services, then to him/her are returned 50% of the value paid tuition fee. In cases where the student has used over 50% of the services during studies, then there is no money is returned.

5.6. The tuition fee covers all services including the teaching process and two exam sessions

5.7. If a student does not manage to pass two exam sessions (one regular and one make-up session) for a particular course, s/he is obliged to reregister for that course.

6. Re-registration

6.1. If, during a twelve (12) month period, a student has not registered for least one course, s/he will automatically be considered as having an inactive status and s/he will be obliged to apply for re-registration in post-graduate studies (and to pay the amount for registration), in order to continue his/her studies.

6.2. While a student’s status is considered inactive, s/he is not allowed to use the University facilities and she/he should not receive services from the faculty or active observation from his/her mentor or Commission.

6.3. Re-registration is not automatic process, does not returns the student on the previous status before s/he was transferred into inactive status.
 
6.4 When a student reregisters, s/he should be prepared to accept any and all new requirements of the study program. Re-registration is however automatic for all students whose request for leave or formal absence had been formally approved.

7. Transfer

7.1. Enrolled students who wish to change study programs should submit a written request to Post-Graduate Studies Office. The request will be forwarded to the respective Faculty Dean’s Office.

7.2. Internal transfer form one program into an other in the University can be done before the start of the second semester of studies. Possibility to transfer depends on the similarity of the study programs, but regardless can only be done with the permission of the respective Faculty Dean, whose duty it is to verify if the student fulfills the admission requirements for the new study program.

7.3. The Dean’s office of the faculty to which the student is transferring reports the decision to approve the transfer to the Post-Graduate Studies Office.

8. Determination of Grading System 

The following policy includes all grades and their corresponding definition that are used in SEEU.

8.1. Grades at SEE University are issued on a grade-point basis.

8.2. Grade Point Average (GPA), will be calculated and displayed on the do transcript in accordance with the grade system detailed below.

Grade Scale	Grade Description	Grade Points	Letters
95% - 100%	Magnificent	10.0	A
86% - 94%	Excellent	9.0	A-
77% - 85%	Very Good	8.0	B
68% - 76%	Good	7.0	C
60% - 67%	Satisfactory	6.0	D
59% - below	Failing	5.0	F
	Incomplete (IN)	0.0
	No Record (NR)	0.0

Incomplete (IN)
An incomplete grade may be assigned if a student has not finished all course requirements by the end of the semester, but has completed a substantial amount of the work. It is the student’s responsibility to bring pertinent information to the teacher and to reach an agreement on the means by which the remaining course requirements will be satisfied. If requirements are not completed within one year, a failing grade is automatically assigned.

Withdraw (W)
If a student decides to withdraw from a course, it is essential that he or she completes and files a ‘drop form.’ Drop forms can be obtained from the administrative assistant in the student’s Faculty office. Leaving a course without authorization will result in the student receiving a failing mark or grade (5) for that class. A student may withdraw (drop) from all classes during the first four weeks without academic penalty if a drop form is filed at the Registrars Office by the end of the fourth week of teaching as defined in the Academic calendar. Withdrawal during the fifth to tenth week of semester is permitted only for a serious reason and requires the approval of the teacher. Drops and withdrawals posted during the fifth to tenth week of teaching will result in a “W” posted to the student’s grade report. This mark does not indicate performance, nor is it used in calculating grade point average. Beginning with the eleventh week of teaching a student  may only withdraw in case of accident or serious illness clearly beyond his/her control and only when an ‘incomplete’ is not practicable. Usually, withdraws of this type mean withdrawal from all courses, although incompletes may be assigned where sufficient work has been completed. The teacher and the Pro-Dean of the Faculty should sign requests for withdrawal in these circumstances. If the request is approved, the “W” symbol will be assigned for all courses in which the student was not eligible for an incomplete.

No Record of Grade Being Issued (NR)
This designation will be added to a student’s transcript in cases when a student has registered for a class and no grade is assigned by the teacher. This has no effect on the student’s overall grade point average and may be changed to a letter grade when the teacher submits a formal grade.

Recording of Grades
Student grades are recorded permanently by the Office of the University Registrar and are available upon request to the student and to other authorized University personnel and agencies.

9. Administration of final exams 

9.1. A regular exam session is organized at the University level on week following the end of classes.

9.2. The time period of the exam session should be no longer than three weeks.

9.3. Only one additional (make up) exam session can be organized on University level during September.

9.4. On the additional (make up) exam session are offered all exams for that academic year.

10. Credits and GPA 
 
10.1. The University’s curriculum is organized according to the European Transfer Credit System (ECTS).

10.2. Sixty (60) ECTS credits represent the workload of one academic year of study; and one credit refers to thirty (30) hours work, including lectures and other forms of instruction (such as exercises and seminars) as well as independent work at home and/or in the library.

10.3. Individual course credits are determined according to the number of practical and/or theoretical hours required for in-class activity plus private study.

11. Repeating Courses 

11.1. Students have the right to repeat a course in which they have received a passing grade.

11.2. Authorization for the repeat of the course may be issued by the Pro-Dean for Post-Graduate Studies following the submission of the appropriate request.

11.3. The grade taken form the repeat of the course replaces the original grade.

11.4 Following cases of W (withdraw), NR (no record) or IN (incomplete), the course that is re-registered is not considered a repeated course.

11.5. In order to ensure that only the last grade for the respective will be calculated in the G.P.A. (Grade Point Average), the student should submit the request form for grade change to the Registry Office.

12. Grade Change Policy  

12.1. The student has right to request a grade change in accordance with the foreseen provisions.
12.2. This policy refers to requests for a change of grade due to grade discrepancies or grade disputes following the conclusion of the course but before the grade has been officially entered in the student’s transcript and not requests for withdrawals after the conclusion of the course.

Policy on Consideration of Requests for Change of Grade after Conclusion of the Course but before posting of grades on a transcript of record

-This policy refers to requests for change of grade, grade discrepancies or grade disputes following the conclusion of the course but before the recording process (which takes 10 days from the examination date) and not requests for withdrawals after the conclusion of the course.
-The Instructor of the Course has the full responsibility for the grade assigned. The Instructor should announce grades unofficially prior to being recorded in order to give the students the possibility for explanations about the grade assigned.
-Regarding the possible situation in which a student believes there has been an error in the calculation or assigning of a course grade it is the responsibility of the student to contact the course instructor to discuss the grade and make his or her case to have the grade changed before the grades have been recorded. If the course instructor declines to support the student's request for a change of grade or in situations where the instructor cannot be contacted, the student may appeal the course grade following the Policy on Consideration of Requests for Change of Grade after Conclusion of the Course and after posting of grades on a transcript of record.

Policy on Consideration of Requests for Change of Grade after Conclusion of the Course and after posting of grades on a transcript of record

-If a student believes that there was an error in calculation or assigning of a course grade he/she should complain within 3 days after the posting of the grades in the transcript of records. The student may attempt to resolve the grievance by written appeal to the faculty council by filling out the petition form .The instructor of the course involved should provide all proofs from the evaluation of the knowledge (tests, seminar works, and other).  

-If the student thinks that he/she has not been not graded fairly then he or she may appeal by filling out an appeal form to the faculty council, requesting a commission to resolve the case. The faculty council decides on the appointment of a commission consisting of three members.

13. Master’s thesis 

13.1. Every second cycle program requires a written thesis to be finished and defended in a public defense in the third semester or fourth semester, depending on the length of the program.

13.2. Students are required to successfully complete their exams in order to announce the thesis.

13.3. The topic of the thesis will be chosen by the student in consultation with professors from the respective field.

13.4. In the beginning of third semester (in 90 credit MA programs) or fourth semester (in 120 credit MA programs), the student, should submit to Faculty Academic Scientific Council the proposal for MA thesis.

13.5. The Thesis Proposal is submitted by completing the appropriate form which can be downloaded from the University web page or obtained from the Post-Graduate Studies Office.

13.6. Within 30 days of the submission of the thesis proposal, the Faculty Dean convokes the Faculty Academic Scientific Council in order to deliberate the suitability of candidate’s thesis.

13.7. Faculty Academic Scientific Council, in the same meeting, appoints a mentor from a field, who will be the students’ main source of academic and administrative guidance during the writing of the thesis.

13.8. In special cases due to different reasons, the candidate can request to change the mentor. In these cases, Faculty Academic Scientific Council, on 30 days time period brings decision.

13.9. The adopted topic of master thesis will be announced on the University web page and it will be recorded on the special faculty register.

13.10. Master thesis should consist at least of 80 pages and not more than 120 pages.

13.11. Structure of master thesis should consist of:

• Front page
• Dedication  (if there is any)
• Abstract
• Foreword 
• Contend by chapters
• Conclusions
• Bibliography

 

13.12. Master thesis front page should consist of:

1. University name (on the upper left corner)
2. Faculty name (on the upper right corner)
3. University logo (between the university and faculty names )
4. Thesis topic (in the center of the page)
5. Candidate’s name and last name  (on the bottom left corner)
6. Mentor’s name and last name (on the bottom right corner)
7. Month and year of defending of the master’s thesis (in the last line in the center of the page)

 

13.13. For the design of the front of the master’s thesis, more details will be given in the forthcoming guidelines for the design of the master’s thesis, to be adopted by the Post-Graduate Studies Office.

13.14. Upon completion of the master’s thesis the mentor reports to the Faculty Academic Scientific Council.

13.15. After receiving the report from the mentor, the Faculty Academic Scientific Council will meet within 15 days in order to appoint a Commission for evaluation of the completed thesis.

13.16. In 45 days, the Commission responsible for evaluation of the thesis should report to Faculty Academic Scientific Council about thesis evaluation.

13.17. The Commission may return the research to the candidate with eventual remarks maximum two times and to appoint three months time period in order to improve or to act upon the marks made. .

13.18. Following a positive evaluation by the respective Commission, the Faculty Academic Scientific Council, within 15 days will appoint a Commission for defense of the thesis.

13.19. The Commission for defense may consist of the same members as the Commission for evaluation of thesis.

13.20. In cases where the composition of the Defense Commission is different from the Commission for evaluation of theses, then the Commission is obliged in 45 days time period to evaluate the research and to inform the candidate for eventual remarks.

13.21. Until the completion of the thesis, the candidate should appear at least once in front of Faculty Academic Scientific Council. 

13.22. Following the final evaluation of the thesis, the Defense Commission prepares a report, which it submits to Faculty Academic Scientific Council.

13.23. After the approval of the report, the Faculty Academic Scientific Council determines the date of the defense, to take place within 15 days time period form the date of the approval of the report. If the Faculty Academic Scientific does not approve the report, then the preparation process of thesis should start from the beginning. In this case, the Faculty Academic Scientific Council gives written explanations of their decision.

13.24. The candidate is notified on written form about the date of master thesis defense.

13.25. A master’s thesis can be written and publicly defended in the following languages: Albanian, Macedonian, or English.

13.26. A master’s thesis written in one of these languages is recommended to contain an abstract in both of the other two languages.

14. Master’s thesis defense

14.1. The candidate publicly defends the master’s thesis in front of the Defense Commission.

14.2. The date and place of the public defense, along with candidate’s name and master thesis topic will be published in the University web page at least 7 days prior to the public defense of the thesis.

14.3. The venue of the public defense of the thesis will be inside the SEEU campus.

14.4. The Defense Commission consists of 3-5 members, of whom at least half should be from the respective field.

14.5. Prior to the defense date, the president of the Defense Commission is appointed by the members of the Defense Commission.

14.6. The candidate’s mentor can not be the President of the Defense Commission.

14.7. For the ongoing process of the public defense it is kept an official draft minutes, which is signed by the Commission members.

14.8. The public defense of a master’s thesis has the following agenda:

• The President of the Commission gives the opening speech and declares the public defense of the master’s thesis open.
• The Secretary of the Faculty reads the bibliographic data of the candidate and his/hers scientific activity.
• The President of the Commission reads the review and evaluation of the Commission.
• The President of the Commission gives the floor to the candidate to present and justify the thesis.
• The President of the Commission gives the floor to the mentor and Commission members to give their opinion of the master’s thesis.
• Commission members address questions to candidate.
• The Commission withdraws in order to make a decision about defense of the thesis.
• The grading of the thesis is done with the following two descriptions of grades:

- The candidate did not defend the master’s thesis successfully 
- The candidate defended the master’s thesis successfully

15. Statute of Limitation

15.1. The purpose of the statute of limitation is to ensure that a graduate degree from SEEU represents mastery of current knowledge in the student’s field of study. 
 
15.2. A master’s degrees must be completed within a period of three consecutive calendar years from the student’s initial registration for graduate study, and should last no longer than 1.5 years from the thesis proposal.

15.3. The thesis may be defended at the end of the third semester if the student, with the agreement of the mentor, sees it appropriate and is prepared.

15.4. Under exceptional circumstances a candidate may apply for an extension of the statute of limitations.

15.5. The request must be received by the Director of Post-Graduate studies and submitted to the dean of the faculty for final action.
 
15.6. Each student who requests an extension of the statute of limitations must be prepared to demonstrate proper preparation for the completion of all current degree requirements.

16. Leave of Absence 

16.1. Under special conditions, graduate students may be granted one leave of absence.
 
16.2. A maximum leave of one year may be granted to master’s students.
 
16.3. The length and rationale for the leave of absence must be stated in advance, and approved by the dean or his/her designee.

16.4. Only students in good academic standing will be approved for a leave of absence.

16.5. If it is approved, the time of the leave shall not count against the total time allowed for the degree being sought by the student.

16.6. Readmission following an approved leave of absence is a formality.

16.7. Students who take an unapproved leave of absence may, at the discretion of the Dean and Director of Post-Graduate Studies, be readmitted to the Faculty, but must finish their degree requirements within the statute of limitations set by their original matriculation.  

17. Withdrawal from Studies 

In order for a student to withdraw from studies at SEEU, he/she must:

• Clear their payment account with the Bursar;
• Check with the librarian service in order to be sure there are no outstanding loans;
• Fill out a declaration form at the Registry that they are withdrawing;
• Pick up their documents and hand in their student identity card;

 

18. Graduation 

18.1 All SEEU Graduate degrees require the satisfactory compilation of a minimum 90 ECTS credits, or 120 ECTS credits, for graduation.

18.2 After successful completion of the graduate studies, the academic title master is gained of the respective filed.
 

19. Copyright Policy 

19.1. The candidate before the approval of thesis signs a declaration, with which he/she gives the copyright ownership to the University.

19.2. Staff and students are entitled to claim copyright ownership, including world-wide rights, in the following works are authored by them: books, articles, educational coursework, similar works that are intended to disseminate the results of academic research or scholarly study, popular fiction or nonfiction works, poems, musical compositions, and other works of artistic imagination.

19.3. The University keeps the copyright ownership of the above mentioned works for academic and scientific aims.

20. Plagiarism

20.1. The master’s thesis should be authentic work of the author. Any form of copying from published works of different authors, not properly cited, as foreseen in the respective laws is forbidden.

21. This Policy enters into force on the day of its approval by the SEEU Senate.