Academic Standing

Academic Standards:  Students falling below the following standards will be designated as not meeting satisfactory academic progress.  Failure to meet satisfactory progress will result in either Academic Probation or Academic Suspension.  Calculation of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) will be based on all courses taken at the institution, including developmental or remedial courses.

Academic Probation Definition: Academic probation is a warning that indicates the student may not be on track to graduate due to poor academic performance.  The student may remain in the program, and the student’s academic progress will be monitored.  Students not meeting the criteria below will be placed on Academic Probation:

Note: Financial Aid may be in jeopardy if a student fails to achieve satisfactory academic progress as defined above.

Academic Suspension Definition: Students who remain on Academic Probation for three consecutive semesters will be placed on Academic Suspension. 

or

Students not meeting the criteria below will be put on Academic Suspension:

A student who is placed on Academic Suspension may no longer remain in the program and may not apply for readmission for a minimum of one semester, unless approved through the College Suspension Recovery Program.

Suspension Recovery Program

Any student who receives a letter of Academic Suspension has three options.

1. The student may stop-out (stop attending) the College for one or more semesters and reapply after a minimum of one semester.
2. The student may take Liberal Arts classes as a non-matriculated student (not admitted to a degree or certificate program) and reapply to a program after a minimum of one semester.
3. Students may enroll in the College’s Suspension Recovery Program through a Continued Participation Agreement (CPA).  The CPA option allows the student to continue matriculation in a degree program on a contractual basis.  Enrollment in CPA has no bearing on a student’s eligibility for Financial Aid.  The process for enrolling in CPA will be outlined in the Academic Suspension letter to the student.

Program Suspension

Some programs have program and grade requirements that supersede academic standing classifications.  These programs include Nursing, Massage Therapy, Surgical Technology, and Veterinary Technology.  Failure to achieve program and grade requirements may result in Program Suspension.  Each program provides an individual appeal process and has specific policies and procedures for readmission.  For more information, please see individual programs.  Students suspended from these programs are ineligible for the Suspension Recovery Program. 

Grade Appeal Policy

Any appeal of a grade must be initiated by the student with the instructor before an ensuing semester has elapsed.  In most instances, a grade may be changed only by the instructor of a course.  The Vice President for Academic Affairs may alter a student’s grade in a case of obvious computational error or blatant abuse of the grading prerogative. *

Any student who believes he or she has reasonable grounds for a grade appeal must use the following process to submit the appeal:

1. Meet with the instructor.  The student shall contact the faculty member and schedule a meeting to discuss the grade appeal and attempt to resolve the conflict.  The faculty member and student will meet within the next five (5) workdays. ** 
2. Meet with the program director or department chair.  If the issue was not resolved in Step 1, the student has three (3) work days from the date of the faculty member’s decision to file a written appeal with the faculty member’s program or department chair, or with the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) if the faculty member is also the department chair or program director.  Within three (3) workdays the department chair (or VPAA) will mediate the dispute through discussion with the instructor, or with the student in the company of the instructor.  If no resolution is reached, proceed to step 3. 
3. File a written appeal with the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA).  If the issue is not resolved in Step 2, the student has three (3) workdays to file a written appeal with the VPAA.  The letter of appeal must include the student’s name and contact information, the course name and number, the semester in which the course was taken, the student’s grade, the name of the instructor issuing the grade, and specific evidence of obvious computational error or blatant abuse of the grading prerogative.*  The VPAA will have ten (10) work days from receipt of the written appeal to render a decision.  The decision of the VPAA is final.

*Note that “blatant abuse of the grading prerogative” refers to situations in which an instructor has willfully ignored published grading and assessment criteria and/or has exhibited bad faith by acting in violation of published performance/behavior standards for faculty. 

**There are times, especially during the summer, that the schedules of the faculty member, the department chair, and Vice President are incompatible with the timeframes specified above.  A student who has been unsuccessful in attempting to reach the faculty member may contact the Academic Affairs office directly.  A representative of the Academic Affairs office will make every attempt to arrange the required meeting with the instructor and department chair within the five (5) days indicated in Step 1.  Students are advised, however, that arrangement may not be possible in all cases.

Academic Warning

The instructor may give a student a warning at any time if the student is failing or in danger of failing a course.