SSLS Registration Guide



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Deadlines
Registration deadlines are posted on JMU's Academic Calendar the Registrar’s Office’s dates and deadlines page.   

PSYC and MBA Courses

The Strategic Leadership curriculum includes courses from our department (LEAD courses), from Graduate Psychology (PSYC), and from the College of Business (MBA). To register for LEAD courses, all you need to do is register online.  Please commit to attending the classes for which you are registered--as a multidisciplinary program, we need to maintain good relationships with our cooperating departments, and dropping courses makes it difficult for them to plan their course offerings.

For PSYC courses that require permission from the instructor (or to be put on the waiting list for a section that's full), send an email to the instructor, and CC: Emily Benner and Carl Guerin of Grad Psych, requesting that the instructor notify Carl Guerin to process an override for you. We ask that you register for all PSYC courses by Aug. 1st to allow the Grad Psych department enough lead time to determine how many sections of each course they will need to offer.

For MBA courses, you will need to email Ms. Benner to be added to a list we will submit to each department.  Seats in these courses are limited, and the departments have their own deadlines which we adhere to.  The College of Business requires that students communicate with its staff and instructors about MBA courses through Emily Benner or Dr. Murphy rather than contacting them directly, to streamline the process and avoid conflicting messages.

Note: There are two JMU MBA programs.  Innovation MBA or “iMBA” is the main MBA program, where our students get their MBA electives satisfied, and which has limited enrollment.  The Information Security MBA or “InfoSec” MBA program’s courses are mostly for computer information security students, but they do offer online sections of MBA 620 and 630 in the summer with more space for our students, so we recommend SSLS students to take those courses in the summer if at all possible.  All courses are listed in our course schedule.

MBA 690: Strategic Management
This should be the final MBA course in your program of study. 

PSYC 605: Intermediate Inferential Statistics
To enroll in this course, you should have already taken a undergraduate or graduate statistics course. In addition, you should complete the 605 Self-Assessment by Aug. 1st to ensure your statistics background is sufficient to succeed in the class.  If you are unsuccessful in the self-assessment, you have an option of reviewing the material and taking it again, or enrolling in a remedial statistics course before enrolling.  See the Student Handbook for details.

Continuous Enrollment
While it is expected that students continue to enroll in at least one course each semester (with the option of summers also), it is possible to pause your program of study without losing your place in the program.  See Continuous Enrollment for details.

Dissertation Deadlines
You must present your dissertation proposal within one year of passing comprehensive exams, and within the first five years of graduate coursework (see Student Handbook for details).  You must go on to complete the defense of your dissertation within three years of taking the comprehensive exams.  Otherwise, you may be required to repeat the comprehensive exams.  These deadlines are in place to help students to maintain momentum toward the completion of their degree.

For Newly Admitted and Prospective Students:

Progression through the Program
The School of Strategic Leadership Studies does not follow a strict cohort model, but you will likely progress through the program with many of the same students.  You will communicate with your academic advisor to plan and approve your course of study each semester before registration.

Advising
Your advisor will be the coordinator of your chosen concentration.  Director Dr. Susan Murphy will also be available to discuss any special circumstances which require approval.  Advising Coordinator Emily Benner will be available to answer questions regarding registration deadlines, using MyMadison to register for classes, and course offerings in upcoming semesters. 

Check Your JMU E-Mail
After admission to our program, begin checking your dukes.jmu.edu email account immediately for time-sensitive messages regarding registration.  We recommend having your dukes.jmu.edu messages forwarded to your preferred email account to ensure that you do not miss any deadlines.

Transfer Credit
You may transfer up to 9 credits from previous MBA coursework at another institution and up to 18 credits from JMU MBA coursework.  This requires consulting with your advisor and filling out the transfer credit form.

NOTE: This is not a comprehensive document.  Please be sure you have read the Student Handbook in its entirety before the start of your program at SSLS.  Toward the end of your program of study, you will also be responsible for submitting appropriate forms for graduation.