Dec 03, 2024  
2018-2019 College Catalog and Student Handbook 
    
2018-2019 College Catalog and Student Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Academic Policies and Procedures



Academic Honesty

See also Code of Student Conduct .

It is the position of the College that the responsibility for academic honesty is that of the student. It is expected that the student’s work will be the product of his/her own efforts, unless the student clearly indicates otherwise. Academic honesty is an important element of mature, responsible learning. It is recognized by the College that the prime responsibility for academic honesty belongs to the individual student; however, the instructor will try to create a learning environment that discourages cheating and encourages honest scholarship.

More information about academic honesty and academic misconduct can be found in the Code of Student Conduct. Hard copies can be obtained in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Services, Room 158 Fallerius or by calling 419‐755‐4733.

Academic Probation

In keeping with the College’s commitment to guiding students toward educational success, students who have completed a minimum of 6 graded credit hours must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) in order to remain in good academic standing. Any student who is unable to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA and who has completed at least 6 credit hours of coursework at the College will be placed on academic probation.

Students on academic probation must work with a Success Coach/Advisor in the Student Success and Transition Center when registering for classes and when making changes to their class schedule. Students on academic probation may not:

  • Enroll in an on‐line course. Students are also strongly discouraged from enrolling in classes that meet only once per week, unless approved by Success Coach/Advisor.
  • Enroll in more than 12 credit hours, or 4 courses, per semester, unless approved by Success Coach/Advisor.

If any student has already signed up for classes in a given semester before the status of academic probation has been assigned to that student, that student will have until Wednesday of the first week of classes to adjust their schedule according to this policy. The College reserves the right to remove students who are on academic probation from any and all classes for a given semester in the event that the student has registered for more than 12 credit hours before the status of academic probation has been assigned.

Probationary Status and VA Benefits

Veteran students and eligible dependents that have been certified for VA benefits are subject to a satisfactory progress standard specified by the Veterans Administration. These students will forfeit their certification for benefits when, after one academic term of probationary status, they fail to improve their semester grade point average during their next term of credit course enrollment. While VA benefits must be terminated, these students are subject to the academic suspension and dismissal policy described below.

Academic Suspension and Dismissal

Students who remain on academic probation for more than two consecutive semesters are eligible for academic suspension or dismissal. The Chief Academic Officer makes decisions regarding academic suspension and dismissal. Students who are academically suspended from the College must follow the readmission procedure for academically suspended students. Students who are readmitted after academic suspension may be subject to restrictions or requirements designed to improve opportunities for academic success. Students who are academically dismissed are ineligible for readmission.

Please note that academic suspension and dismissal are not the same as financial aid suspension and termination. Questions about ongoing financial aid eligibility must be directed to the Financial Aid Office at 419‐755‐4899.

Readmission Procedure for Academic Suspended Students

Students who have been suspended from North Central State College for academic reasons and who wish to be readmitted must petition for readmission. The petition must be submitted at least four weeks before the first day of classes for the semester the student wishes to enter.

A student suspended for the first time must remain out of school for a minimum of one semester, including summer. For example, if academic suspension was at the end of fall semester, the student may not attend spring semester and may petition for readmission to summer semester. A student suspended for a second time must remain out of school for one full academic year (three semesters). A third occurrence will result in academic dismissal. A student who has been academically dismissed will not be readmitted to North Central State College unless there are documented, extenuating circumstances.

A student petitioning for readmission must submit a Request for Academic Readmission form. The Student Petition for Readmission form is available online or can be obtained on campus at the Welcome Desk in Kee Hall or by calling 419‐755‐4761. The petition must be submitted to the office of the Chief Academic Officer at least four weeks before the first day of classes for the semester the student wishes to reenter.

The request will be reviewed by the director or an advisor in Student Success and Transition Services, and by the student’s academic department dean or assistant dean. For undeclared or unassigned students, the second reviewer may also be the faculty advisor. If both college reviewers do not agree upon approval of the request for readmission, then the Chief Academic Officer will determine final disposition.

The student will be notified of approval or denial of the request. Students approved for readmission will be placed on Probation Level 3 and will work with a Success Coach/Advisor to create and implement an academic contract for success.

Academic Records

North Central State College has a policy for administering and maintaining student education records which is in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The general principles of NC State’s policy, subject to some exceptions, are as follows:

  1. Educational Records are defined as those records, files, documents, and other materials which contain information directly related to the student and are maintained by the College or by a person acting for the College.
  2. Students have certain rights of access to this information.
  3. Students who wish to review their files must contact the Office of Student Records to arrange an appointment. After reviewing their individual file, students may challenge a perceived inaccuracy, misleading statement, or other perceived violation of privacy or other rights.
  4. The College has certain responsibilities to protect this information with the exception of directory information which includes the student’s name, local and permanent address, e-mail, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, class schedule, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, dates of enrollment, degrees and awards received, high school graduated from, and most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.
  5. Students may restrict the publication and release of directory information by filing a written request in the Office of Student Records.
  6. Documents submitted by or for the student in support of the application for admission or for transfer credit may not be returned to the student nor sent elsewhere at his/her request. The student should request these documents from the original institution. Original documents will be kept in the student master file; a copy will be given to the student upon request.
  7. There are special conditions including unmet financial obligations under which NC State may choose to withhold grade reports, transcripts, certifications, or other information about a student.
  8. Additional information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is available in the Office of Student Records.

Attendance Policy

All students are required to attend all scheduled classes and examinations. Each faculty member has the right to establish regulations regarding attendance that he/she considers necessary for successful study. Students who do not attend classes may be administratively withdrawn from those classes. However, failure to attend classes does not constitute withdrawal, and students are expected to process a formal withdrawal through the Student Records Office if unable to complete a class.

Auditing a Course

Course auditing involves attending classes without submitting assignments or taking examinations. An auditor, therefore, receives neither a grade nor course credit. The auditing fee is the same as for credit enrollment. Permission for course auditing is available from the Office of Student Records. Changes from audit to credit or credit to audit will be allowed only within the registration period for the specified class.

Credit for Prior Learning

Credit by Advanced Placement Exams

The State of Ohio, working through the University System of Ohio, has initiated policies to facilitate the ease of transition from high school to college, as well as between and among Ohio’s public colleges and universities. Refer to the NC State website for specific course information.

  1. Students obtaining an Advanced Placement (AP) exam score of 3 or above will be awarded the aligned course(s) and credits for the AP exam area(s) successfully completed.
  2. General Education courses and credits received will be applied towards graduation and will satisfy a general education requirement if the course(s) to which the AP area is equivalent fulfill a requirement.
  3. If an equivalent course is not available for the AP exam area completed, elective or area credit will be awarded in the appropriate academic discipline and will be applied towards graduation where such elective credit options exist within the academic major.
  4. Additional courses or credits may be available when a score of 4 or 5 is obtained. Award of credit for higher score values varies depending on the institution and academic discipline.

Credit by Examination

A student may earn proficiency credit by taking a specific comprehensive examination. This can be either a written exam or a lab exam. A fee is charged for each examination. When both a written examination and a lab are required, the written examination will be administered first. If the written examination is successful, the student can then take the lab portion of the exam. A CBE cannot be taken for a course in which a letter grade, a “W” (withdrawal), or P/NP has already been received. The CBE Credit Request form can be obtained online or from the academic division offices and the Student Success and Transition Center.

Credit by External Examinations

A student may receive proficiency credit through the College‐Level Examination Program (CLEP) and the American College Testing Proficiency Examination Program (ACT PEP). The College‐Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a national system of credit‐by-examination for assessing college level competencies in five General Examinations (English, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social sciences‐history) and a large number of Subject Examinations. The American College Testing Proficiency Examination Program (ACT PEP) is a national testing program consisting of exams developed by the faculty of the University of the State of New York. North Central State College has reviewed the CLEP and ACT PEP examinations and found the following tests to be similar in content to its courses:

Minimum Score for Awarding Credit

CLEP Subject Exams Minimum Score College Course Credit Hours
American Government 63 and above POLT 1010 - American National Government   3
  56‐62 OTM Social Sciences Credit 3
American Literature 53 and above OTM Arts and Humanities Credit 3
Biology 50 and above OTM Natural Sciences Credit without Labs 3
Chemistry 50 and above OTM Natural Sciences Credit without Labs 3
College Algebra 50 and above MATH 1110 - College Algebra   5
English Literature 62 and above OTM Arts and Humanities Credit 3
Financial Accounting 65 and above ACCT 1010 - Financial Accounting   4
French Language 65 and above General elective credit 12
  55‐64 General elective credit 6
German 67 and above General Elective Credit 9
  59‐66 General Elective Credit 6
History of the US I 56 and above HIST 1010 - American History I   3
History of the US II 57 and above HIST 1030 - American History II   3
Human Growth and Development 58 and above PSYC 2010 - Human Growth and Development   3
Information Systems 50 and above General Elective Credit 3
Introduction to Educational Psychology 62 and above OTM Social Sciences Credit 3
Introductory Business Law 60 and above BUSM 1110 - Business Law & Ethics   3
Introductory Psychology 59 and above PSYC 1010 - Introduction to Psychology   3
Introductory Sociology 56 and above SOCY 1010 - Introduction to Sociology   3
Principles of Macroeconomics 57 and above ECON 2510 - Macroeconomics   3
Principles of Management 50 and above General Elective Credit 3
Principles of Marketing 65 and above BUSM 1150 - Marketing   3
Principles of Microeconomics 57 and above ECON 1510 - Microeconomics   3
Spanish Language 68 and above SPAN 1010 - Beginning Spanish , SPAN 1020 - Intermediate Spanish , and general elective credit 3+3+6
  63‐67 SPAN 1010 - Beginning Spanish , SPAN 1020 - Intermediate Spanish , and general elective credit 3+3+3
  56‐62 SPAN 1010 - Beginning Spanish , SPAN 1020 - Intermediate Spanish   3+3
Western Civilization I 55 and above HIST 1050 - Western Civilization I   3
Western Civilization II 54 and above HIST 1070 - Western Civilization II   3

 

ACT PEP Exams Minimum Score College Course Credit Hours
Statistics 45 STAT 1010 - Probability and Statistics   3
Introductory Accounting 45 ACCT 1010 - Financial Accounting   3
Corporate Finance 45 ACCT 2070 - Auditing   3
Principles of Management 45 BUSM 1050 - Management   3
Principles of Marketing 45 BUSM 1150 - Marketing   3
Abnormal Psychology 45 PSYC 2050 - Abnormal Psychology   3
Microbiology 45 BIOL 1550 - Microbiology for Health Professionals   3

A student may obtain proficiency credit for any of these NC State courses provided that he or she successfully passes the appropriate CLEP or ACT PEP examination including the essay section where applicable. Students seeking transfer credit for CLEP or ACT PEP examinations must furnish the Student Records Office with appropriate documentation. Any course which receives proficiency credit will be noted on the student’s academic record with the symbol “X”. Letter grades and quality points are not used.

Credit by Life/Work Experience

In some curricular areas it is the policy of the College to recognize competencies acquired through life/work experience that have no external test as proof of outcome attainment.

In order to qualify, interested persons must apply for Life Experience Credit. Students will contact the appropriate Assistant Dean to determine availability of life experience credit within their degree program. A student must translate life and/or work experience into competencies, match competencies with what is specified in the course outcomes, and display these materials in a “portfolio.”

Students applying for Life/Work Experience Credit must have five full years of relevant experience. Portfolios are evaluated by faculty and/or external reviewers with expertise in the field.

Credit by Military Service

College credit will be granted to students with military training, experience, or coursework that is recognized by the American Council on Education (ACE). North Central State College will use the ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services in evaluating and awarding academic credit for military training, experience, and coursework.

If the course to which the military training, experience, or coursework is equivalent fulfills a general education or major course or degree program requirement the credit will count towards graduation and meet a requirement accordingly. Otherwise, appropriate course credit including elective course credit will be granted.

North Central State College will provide information on awarding of college credit for military training, experience, and coursework; this will include the number of credits awarded and the course equivalents. Credits earned via military training, experience, and coursework are transferable within public institutions of higher education in Ohio according to the state’s Transfer Module, Transfer Assurance Guides, Career‐Technical Credit Transfer, and transfer policy.

Academic Deans and the Academic Service Coordinator will use the ACE website located at www.acenet.edu/news‐room/Pages/Military‐Guide‐Online.aspx to evaluate military training credit.

In academic disciplines containing highly dependent sequences (mathematics, sciences, etc.) students are strongly advised to confer with the Dean, Assistant Dean, or Program Director of the discipline to ensure they have the appropriate foundation to be successful in advanced coursework within the sequence.

Credit Hours Maximum

The maximum number of credit hours that a student may register for in any given semester without special permission is 23. If a student wishes to register for 24 or more credit hours in a single semester, he/she must have an accumulative grade‐point average (GPA) of 2.5 or higher and must obtain the permission of the dean or assistant dean of the division in which his/her program resides (the dean or assistant dean must sign the course request form which is available in the Student Records Office and specify the number of credit hours that he/she is approving the student to take). The student should be prepared to explain to the dean or assistant dean why he/she wishes or needs to take an unusually high number of credit hours and how he/she plans on handling the heavy workload that this will entail. The College reserves the right to remove students from any and all classes for a given semester in the event that the student has registered for more than 23 credit hours without receiving the appropriate approval.

Curriculum Changes

Students will be assigned to the curriculum in place at the time of enrollment or specific selection into the academic program. That curriculum should be followed, even if subsequent catalogs contain curriculum changes. Students must request formal approval from the appropriate academic dean in order to change the curriculum year that is being followed. Some students are not able to pursue continuous enrollment. Students away from the College for one year or more will follow the curriculum in place when they return.

Over a period of time, curricula will change. As a result, some courses are dropped from a program and others are added. When this occurs, the academic dean may choose to substitute one course for another. In order to fulfill graduation requirements, course substitutions must be authorized by the appropriate academic dean.

Academic credits (either NC State or external) that are older than eight years will be evaluated with special care. Their acceptance toward an NC State certificate or degree may be denied based upon changes in the field of study. In addition, some restricted admission programs at the College apply their own special requirements related to the age of academic credits. For further information, contact the program director, assistant dean or the division dean of the appropriate program.

Dean’s List

A student who earns a 3.50 semester grade point average or better without any grade less than “C‐”, with no incomplete grades or not-reported (NR) grades, and who is taking 12 or more credit hours, will be recognized by placement on the Dean’s List, which is published on the College’s web site after each semester. Students who graduate with a 3.50 grade point average or better in all courses taken will graduate with honors. For the actual commencement program, the cumulative grade point average for the semester immediately preceding the semester in which the student is graduating will determine honors recognition in the program.

Part‐time students who have earned a total of 12 or more semester hours of credit with no grade below “C‐” and non‐resolved incomplete grades in any academic year (Summer, Fall, and Spring), and who have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or above for that academic year, will be recognized on the Dean’s List at the end of Spring semester each year. Eligibility for this distinction will be limited to students who have not attended full‐time for any semester during the academic year. Students must attend at least two semesters during an academic year in order to be eligible for consideration for that year.

No letter is mailed and your name will not appear on any published “Dean’s List” if you filled out a “Withhold Directory Information” form.

Declaring a Major

For a variety of reasons, a new student may decide not to declare a major and will be initially classified in an undeclared status. It is strongly recommended that students in undeclared status work closely with the college Career Services Office in order to explore career choices. A student may remain in undeclared status through the academic session in which the 24th credit hour is completed. The student must then declare a major. Students who remain in undeclared status after this point will have a “hold” placed on their future registrations. The Change of Major form is available online and in the Student Records Office, Room 142 Kee Hall. Once completed, it should be returned to the Student Records Office.

Student should be aware that in order to receive federal student aid (Pell Grants, student loans, and work‐study employment), they need to be considered a regular student in an eligible program. As such, they need to have a declared major and be seeking to earn a degree or approved certificate at the College to be aid‐eligible.

Enrollment Certifications

Request for enrollment certifications for insurance and other purposes are handled through the Student Records Office. Processing time for an enrollment certification is 24 to 48 hours.

Flexibly Scheduled Courses

The College offers some classes which do not follow the traditional academic calendar. Dates for adding, dropping, and receiving refunds for these classes may be different from the dates established for traditional classes. Refund and withdrawal dates are listed on the class schedule on the web site under each individual course. 100% and 50% refund amounts are determined by the percentage of course completed based on the beginning and ending dates for each course.

Grade Forgiveness Policy

North Central State College recognizes that some potentially good students enroll in curricula for which they may not be prepared or suited, resulting in a semester or a number of semesters of poor grades. These students, upon changing curricula or becoming better prepared for their coursework, may become academically successful but are not able to overcome their previously poor academic record. This may result in subsequent semesters of academic probation in spite of good grades.

Because of this, the College permits such a student to petition the Chief Academic Officer for “grade forgiveness”. The Grade Forgiveness Request Form is available at the Student Records Office, the office of the Chief Academic Officer, or online. Inquiries regarding this policy should be directed to the office of the Chief Academic Officer.

A student could qualify for this petition process if the student:

  1. Has been absent from the College for at least six consecutive semesters OR has changed his/her program major: changing from “pre” status to its associated major does not constitute a change of program major; changing from UNDECLARED to a program does not constitute a change of major AND
  2. Has completed at least 24 credit hours after re‐enrolling at the College or changing majors (at least 12 of which must be either basic or technical courses in the student’s declared curriculum),
    AND
  3. Has received a grade of “C‐” or higher in each course included in the above‐named 24 credit hours, AND
  4. Has a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 since reenrolling or changing the major.

Other factors may also determine qualifications.

If a student qualifies for grade forgiveness, all the grades earned prior to the absence from the College or the change in technology or program major that are either “NP” or less than “C‐” will be forgiven. This results in those grades being replaced on the student’s transcript with a code that denotes forgiveness. The courses with forgiven grades will continue to appear on the student’s transcript but will not be calculated in the grade point average. Once an associate degree has been earned at North Central State College, the Grade Forgiveness Policy cannot be used towards any course in that degree.

Students may use this policy only once. Courses for which the grade has been forgiven will not count toward graduation. This policy does not alter any departmental policies on academic dismissal. Appeals in relation to this policy may be directed to the Chief Academic Officer, who will make a determination and contact the student.

Grades

Students receive a report of grades at the end of each semester. The report is available through “My NC” on the College web site. The report will show two grade point averages. These are semester grade point averages, reflecting the results of the semester just completed, and an accumulative grade point average, which reflects all academic work completed at NC State and is used to determine academic status. No student grade information will be distributed verbally over the phone.

Grade Appeal Policy

Any student wishing to have a course grade reviewed by the College must register an appeal within six weeks of the end of the semester in which the grade was given or, if the grade originally given was an incomplete, within six weeks of the issuing of the final grade. The appeal should be registered first with the faculty member who gave the grade. If satisfaction is not obtained from the faculty member, the student may appeal to the appropriate division dean. If the appeal (perceived mistreatment and requested remedy) has not yet been put in writing, it must be at this point. The dean’s response must also be in writing. The final level of appeal is to the Chief Academic Officer, who will respond in writing. During a grade appeal, the student is responsible for producing any course work that was returned to him/her that is relevant to the case.

Grade Replacement Policy

A student may retake a course as many times as he/she wishes. Only the most recently earned grade (A, B, C, D, F, P, NP) will count for credit or in the student’s accumulative average. However, an indication that the student attempted the course more than once will remain on the transcript. This policy does not alter any departmental policies on academic dismissal.

Grading System

North Central State College uses the standard 4‐point‐scale letter grade system (with pluses and minuses). A student must earn at least a 2.00 grade point average to graduate. Student achievement is measured according to the following system.

Letter Grade Point Value Quality of Work
A 4.0 Superior
A- 3.67 Superior
B+ 3.33 Above Average
B 3.00 Above Average
B- 2.67 Above Average
C+ 2.33 Average
C 2.00 Average
C- 1.67 Average
D+ 1.33 Below Average
D 1.00 Below Average
D- 0.67 Below Average
F 0.0 Failure

Recommended grading scale on North Central State College Master Syllabi:

Percentage Letter Grade
93-100 A
90-92 A-
87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B-
77-79 C+
73-76 C
70-72 C-
67-69 D+
63-66 D
60-62 D-
0-59 F

FAILING ‐ Credit for a course in which a failing grade has been received can be obtained only by repeating the course and earning a “D‐” or higher grade.

INCOMPLETE ‐ An incomplete grade indicates that a student has not completed a small part of the course requirements due to uncontrollable circumstances. Incomplete grades are given at the discretion of the faculty member. An incomplete grade may be removed from the student’s record if the student arranges with his/her instructor to have the course completed at the earliest possible time – not later than six weeks following the semester in which the “I” grade was received. If the “I” grade is not completed within the six week period of time, the “I” grade automatically will be changed to a failing grade and the course must be repeated. Students must complete with the course faculty member the Incomplete Grade Agreement.

P/NP ‐ PASS/NO PASS ‐ Courses graded in this manner count as credit hours only and are not considered in determining the grade point average. A passing grade (P) represents “C‐” or higher.

W ‐ WITHDRAWAL ‐ Students may withdraw from any course at the College up until the deadline as stated in the College calendar and receive a grade of “W”. Withdrawals from a course are not normally permitted after eight weeks. A student may withdraw through Monday of the second week of the semester without any grade placed on his/her permanent record. Flexibly scheduled classes may have different withdrawal dates. See the Student Records Office for specific details.

K ‐ TRANSFER CREDIT ‐ This mark is used for work credited from other colleges, institutions, and service schools. “K” credit is counted as hours only and is not considered in determining a student’s grade point average.

X ‐ PROFICIENCY CREDIT ‐ This mark indicates credit awarded on the basis of a written examination, division evaluation, portfolio evaluation, or high school articulation agreement. The level of achievement required of the student is determined by the College division involved but is never less than a “C‐”. Proficiency credit is not awarded to a student for a course in which a letter grade or P/NP grade has been received at the College. “X” credit is counted as hours only and is not considered in determining a student’s grade point average.

R ‐ AUDIT ‐ This mark is used when a student is taking a course for interest only and not for credit. Changes from audit to credit or credit to audit are allowed only within the official Add period of each semester.

NR ‐ NOT REPORTED ‐ Grade not reported by faculty member by grade submission deadline date. All NR grades are eventually changed once the grades are reported.

Graduation

Graduation ceremonies are held at the end of Spring semester. A student may take part in these ceremonies upon a satisfactory review of the student’s academic file to determine eligibility for graduation. This procedure is initiated by the completion of a Petition to Graduate form with the Student Records Office. This Petition is approved if the student has successfully completed (or is presently enrolled in) all courses required for his/her program, is in good standing academically (not on probation), and has fulfilled all financial obligations to the College.

A student must earn at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average to graduate and must receive credit for MATH0074 Beginning Algebra or any math course above MATH0074, or a COMPASS algebra score of above 30, or an ACT math score above 20. Students who have graduated in the current year’s Summer and Fall semesters are invited to participate in the Spring graduation ceremonies.

Each semester there may be students who, though they have petitioned, do not graduate. Reasons may include: course failure, inability to submit a transcript from another college in a timely manner, inability to complete credit for life experience, failure to fulfill financial obligations to the College, or an “I” incomplete grade. Students, except those with failing grades, will be given six weeks from the end of the semester in which they have petitioned to rectify the situation in order to receive a degree for that semester. Problems not rectified will necessitate re‐petitioning with the result of the degree being conferred in a later semester. There is no charge to repetition.

Following completion of all coursework in a given discipline, a student will have one year to petition. After the one year period, a student wishing to petition must receive the approval of the Petition Review Committee (PRC). The PRC will be called by the Registrar who will serve as chair. The Committee shall consist of the Dean of Liberal Arts and one faculty member representing the academic major program as designated by the Dean of the appropriate major technology. The PRC shall have the obligation to determine if all academic requirements have been fulfilled within a program and shall have the right to specify any additional coursework which might be necessary to fulfill program requirements to ensure that conferred degrees will reflect the current course program within each technology.

Independent/Directed Study

Independent Study, also known as Directed Study, is a learning method whereby mature, self‐directed students can acquire competencies as specified in a course outline and syllabus. Under the direction of a faculty member who serves as a resource person, a student pursues a plan of study to acquire the prescribed competencies. In addition to regular tuition and fees, a nonrefundable per credit hour surcharge fee is charged for courses taken by independent study. A student who wishes to take a course via the independent study method should contact the appropriate division dean. A number of restrictions apply.

Non-Credit Courses

In order to better meet the educational needs of the community, NC State offers noncredit courses in specific areas. Noncredit courses are open for general student enrollment and follow no particular academic calendar. These courses are often short in duration and may be held either on or off campus. Fees are charged on an individual class basis consistent with course length and content.

Prerequisites, Course

Students are required to have successfully completed course prerequisites as listed in each course description. If a student registers for a course without having successfully completed the prerequisite, the instructor/college has the right to withdraw the student from the course.

Student Engagement

Student engagement is based on the “active pursuit” of learning which can be measured by class attendance, class participation (in class or online), taking required quizzes/examinations, and submission of work assignments or papers. Student engagement consists of a student attending at least 60% of the class sessions (there should be attendance throughout the term) and/or completing 75% of the assignments listed on the syllabus at the midpoint in the term. Exceptions can be made when there is on‐going communication between the student and faculty member. The communication must be documented and the faculty member and student must be in agreement regarding the exception. Student not meeting the exception will be administratively withdrawn from the class. If a student believe he/she was administratively withdrawn in error, he/she may file an appeal. Being administratively withdrawn may have program and financial aid implication.

Transcripts, Grades

Official transcripts of grades may be requested through online through MyNC or through the Office of Student Records. Hard copy requests must bear the student’s name, student number, dates of attendance, and signature. Incomplete requests will not be honored. Official transcripts cost $5.00 each for normal processing or $15.00 for same day pick‐up service. Normal processing time for an official transcript is 24 to 72 hours.

Students may pick up their transcript at the Office of Student Records, or they may request that the transcript be mailed to them. Students may request transcripts by fax machine. Such requests must contain the student’s name, student number, dates of attendance, and signature. All transcripts transmitted by fax will be “unofficial transcripts” and will be marked as such. There is no charge for an unofficial transcript.

Withdrawing from a Course

All students are expected to attend class. Any student who is unable or chooses not to attend class or is unable to keep up with the requirements of a course needs to officially drop the class at the Student Records Office. The official last day to drop a class will vary according to the length of the class. The last day to officially drop a class is listed on the schedule on the web site under each individual course.

Failure to attend classes does not constitute withdrawal. Any student who leaves the College without completing the withdrawal procedure will receive a grade of “F” in all courses for that term and will forfeit any right to a refund of fees.

Withdrawals must be processed in person, by registered mail, or by fax (419‐755‐4729). Withdrawals by telephone will only be accepted when a student totally withdraws from the College (drops ALL scheduled classes). Students receiving financial aid who wish to withdraw from the College will require approval from the Financial Aid Office before the withdrawal will be processed.