Academic Catalog
Attendance & Enrollment
All University programs and procedures have been reviewed by an Examining Committee appointed by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) for the purpose of assuring compliance with DEAC academic and business standards. DEAC Standard II (Educational Program Objectives, Curricula, and Materials) requires that graduates of the University ’s programs exhibit skill and knowledge attainment through the demonstrated achievement of educational objectives and outcomes comparable to those of accredited resident degree programs that are similar in nature and level.
As a rule, academic matters such as counseling, readmission, examinations, grades, and informal graduation requirement checks should be directed to Student Support.
Attendance Policies
Students may cease enrollment at any time in their academic program, subject to the terms of the Enrollment Agreement. The official date of withdrawal for a voluntary withdrawal is the date Student Support receives notification from the student. Refunds are based upon the official date of withdrawal.
Directed Study students must meet attendance requirements to demonstrate academic progress, as required by the Department of Education. Attendance is assessed through participation in a discussion forum, submission of an assignment or by participating in a quiz or exam. Simply logging on to the learning management system does not represent attendance. A Directed Study student who does not post attendance in the first seven days of an 8-week term (Add/Drop Period) is withdrawn from the session and the registration is cancelled. All tuition paid and/or financial aid dollars awarded will be refunded within 30 days.
Directed Study students who are not active for 14 consecutive days, after the first week of the session (Add/Drop Period) will be administratively withdrawn from the course. A withdrawal in the first four weeks of the 8-week course will receive a W on the transcript and no credit will be rewarded. The course will not be included in the cumulative GPA calculation.
A Directed Study student who withdraws after the first four weeks of a course (29th day) will be administratively withdrawn and a grade of WF will be posted on the academic transcript. The date of the withdrawal will be the last date of activity in the course or the notification date from the student, whichever is the earliest date. All withdrawals will be included in the credit hours attempted calculation in adherence to the Student Academic Progress policy.
Once a Doctorate student reaches the Dissertation or Applied Doctoral Project, the student must register for a minimum of three credit hours per semester and the 14-day active student policy no longer applies.
Continuous Enrollment
All students must demonstrate continuous enrollment by beginning the next semester within 30 days after the completion of the current semester. After 30-days of inactive enrollment, the student’s enrollment status will default to Inactive (meaning between academic periods) and the student will be reported to NSLDS in accordance with Federal Regulations. A student who is inactive and approved to return, must adhere to the program requirements at the time of admissions.
Incomplete Status
Students in the Directed Study programs may apply for a 30-day extension to complete a course. The student must request approval for an Incomplete from the Dean prior to the end of the term. The student must have completed a minimum of 70% of the required coursework. Not all requests will be approved.
If an Incomplete is granted and the student does not complete the courses requirement in 30 days, the course grade converts to F. The final course grade and registration of the course are included in the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) calculations. Student may progress in the program while meeting the incomplete requirement. However, additional Title IV financial aid funds will be not awarded to the student until the 30-day extension period has expired and grades have been posted to ensure SAP policy is met.
An Independent Study student who does not complete the required course work in the 8-week session is automatically granted a 30-day extension to meet the course requirements. No appeal is required. If additional time is required beyond the automatic 30-day extension, the student may file an appeal for an additional 30 days to be reviewed and approved by the appropriate School Dean. If the student does not meet the course requirement at the conclusion of the approved appeal the course grade defaults to an F.
Repeated Courses
If a failing grade has been received for a course, that course must be repeated. A student who repeats a course (with the prior approval of the University) receives the grade earned on the repeat effort only. Grade points, credit hours attempted, and credit hours earned for the prior attempt will not be included in grade point average (GPA) calculations. The repeated course will be included in the number of courses attempted calculation.
There is no automatic right to repeat a course. Appeals requesting permission to repeat a course must generally be received by the University within 5 days of the date the final grade is posted.