Family Education Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of a student’s educational records. Student educational records are considered confidential and may not be released to anyone other than the student without the written consent of the student; this includes the student’s parents and spouse. Some information, termed “directory information,” may be released without the student’s written permission. UA-PTC reserves the right to deny requests for student directory information, and students have a right to request that directory information be withheld as confidential. The student should contact the Registrar to make such a request. Requests will remain in effect until the student submits a written request to remove the hold.
Academic Appeals
UA-PTC recognizes that both students and faculty have academic rights and sets forth the following academic appeals procedure. A grade appeal must be made by the student directly affected and be made during or immediately following the conclusion of the course involved. Immediately, here, means before the beginning of another semester or term.
The following steps, as outlined on the Academic Due Process Procedure form, are to be followed for appeals related to academic matters, such as differences of opinions on grades, assignments, attendance, or classroom procedures. The form should be completed and should include all documentation typed and attached. The student should receive copies of the decisions and related documentation at every step of the process.
- The student should prepare a typed statement about the problem to be addressed and the requested remedies and attach it the Academic Due Process Procedure form. The form is available the UA-PTC website.
- After preparing the written statement, the student meets with the faculty member in an attempt to resolve the issue. The student is required to schedule and complete a face-to-face or outside of the classroom conference with the instructor before speaking with the department chair, program director, or dean. At the meeting, the instructor should sign the form. The only exception to skipping this step is an instance of harassment and/or endangerment. If the student feels that the problem is an exception, it should be detailed in the written statement and the student should proceed to the next step.
- If agreement cannot be reached between the student and instructor, the student contacts the department chair or dean for mediation. The department chair or dean should talk with the student and instructor and may choose to call a meeting of all parties involved in order to reach an agreement.
- If the student wishes to appeal the decision of the department chair, the student may appeal to the dean. If the student wishes to appeal the decision of the dean, the student may formalize the appeal by putting it in writing, including conditions giving rise to the appeal, the names of the parties involved, and the remedy requested. The written appeal is then submitted to the Provost
- The Provost will then convene a meeting of an ad hoc hearing committee. The hearing committee will be composed of three faculty members appointed by the Provost, one of whom will be a faculty member of the student’s choice. The faculty member named in the academic appeal cannot serve on the hearing committee. The committee will select its own chair, gather appropriate information, and may choose to conduct interviews with all involved parties. The committee will then make a recommendation regarding the appeal to the Provost.
- After reviewing the committee recommendation, the Provost will make a decision and inform all parties in writing in a timely manner. The decision of the Provost on academic appeals is final.
Note: All disciplinary proceedings may be subject to audio tape recording. Any such recordings are the property of UA-PTC and may not be duplicated. The student involved in the proceeding will be allowed to review recordings upon request and under the supervision of a college official.
Academic Clemency
Act 1000 of the 1991 General Assembly of the State of Arkansas requires that state colleges and universities establish policies for academic clemency for undergraduate students. UA-PTC has a policy whereby students may petition the college to have previously earned grades and credits removed from the calculations of their cumulative grade-point averages.
To be considered for academic clemency, the student must meet the following criteria:
- The student must not have been enrolled in any institution of higher education for a minimum of three consecutive years.
- Students who have a cumulative grade-point average greater than 1.99 in the semester(s) for which academic clemency is requested are not eligible.
- Students who have completed a degree/certificate program are not eligible.
Conditions
- The student must submit a written request for academic clemency to the Registrar. Upon verification that the student has met all requirements, the student will be granted academic clemency.
- Academic clemency can be granted only once.
- Academic clemency will be granted when a student completes a minimum of 12 semester hours at UA-PTC and earns a minimum 2.00 grade-point average after re-enrollment.
- Academic clemency will cover all credits earned during the semester(s) for which it is granted. The student may not choose partial semesters or courses. All courses will be affected. Although these credits will not count toward graduation requirements, they will remain on the student’s comprehensive transcript. Courses on which academic clemency is granted will not be used in the computation of the cumulative grade-point average. They will be indicated on the transcript as zero credit hours.
- The comprehensive transcript will contain a notation indicating the date that academic clemency was granted.
- Federal and state financial aid regulations and requirements for veterans’ benefits will prevail over institutional academic clemency policy if there is a conflict.
- Policies related to academic clemency pertain only to UA-PTC and may not be honored by other institutions.
Petition for Grade Forgiveness
The Grade Exclusion Policy at University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College allows students to request the college exclude up to 9 credit hours in courses taken at UA-PTC. Only courses in which a grade of “D” or “F” was received qualify. The excluded courses will no longer be used to compute the UA-PTC Grade Point Average (GPA). Students must file a petition with the Office of the Registrar to use grade exclusion indicating which course(s) they choose to grade exclude. The following stipulations apply:
1. Grade exemption petitions must be completed and approved prior to graduation.
2. Students who return to UA-PTC for additional degrees/certificates may use grade exclusion only for courses taken after their most recent UA-PTC degree or certificate was awarded.
3. Undergraduate students may select up to 9 hours of any combination of UA-PTC courses with posted grades of “D” or “F” to be excluded from their cumulative grade point average calculation.
4. Excluded courses cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. Credit hours earned for a “D” grade in an excluded course will no longer count towards the student’s degree.
5. Grade exclusions must be posted before the undergraduate degree has been conferred.
6. The course and grade that is being excluded will remain on the student’s transcript with a notation indicating that the UA-PTC Grade Exclusion Policy has been applied.
7. Grade exclusion cannot be removed or applied to another course once it has been posted.
8. Grade exclusion for courses in which academic misconduct has been committed is allowable only in accordance with the university’s academic integrity policy.
9. Grade exclusion may result in a recalculation of a student’s academic standing, but it does not retroactively result in a refund of tuition or fees, nor does it change a student’s semester academic honors for previous semesters.
10. Excluded courses and hours will continue to be counted in calculations of satisfactory progress for financial aid eligibility.
11. Students considering grade exclusion should be aware that many graduate schools, professional schools, employers, or other institutions, in considering admission or employment, recalculate the GPA and include all courses attempted. This means that if the cumulative GPA has been raised
because of grade exclusion, then the recalculated GPA will be lower.
12. The Grade Exclusion Policy begins with the Spring 2021 semester but may apply to courses taken before this term as long as the student has not earned an undergraduate degree from
UA-PTC or as long as the courses subject to exclusion were taken after the last UA-PTC undergraduate degree was awarded.
Academic Probation and Suspension
All students attending UA - Pulaski Technical College are expected to make satisfactory progress in all courses registered. Grades are calculated and evaluated at the end of the fall and spring semesters for probation and suspension status. Grades are not evaluated for probation or suspension status following a summer term.
Students with low grades are encouraged to repeat the course as quickly as possible to raise the grade-point average (GPA). Grades from a class that has been repeated will not be calculated in the GPA. (See Repetition of Courses for details.)
To be in good standing, all students must carry the required minimum cumulative grade-point average as listed below. Students who fail to meet these standards will be placed on academic probation or suspension.
Students on academic probation who do not achieve the minimum cumulative grade-point average as stated shall be suspended for one semester. Students placed on academic suspension for the second time shall be suspended for one year. Students placed on academic suspension the third time will be suspended for a three-year period.
Students on academic probation achieving at least a 2.0 grade-point average for each semester enrolled will be eligible to enroll in classes but will be continued on academic probation until the minimum cumulative grade-point average is achieved.
All students should be aware that most institutions will not accept students in transfer if they are suspended at UA-PTC.
Students completing suspension are required to visit with an advisor prior to re-enrolling in classes. All records of students on suspension will be placed on a registration hold, and the student may not enroll in classes until the suspension has been completed.
Academic Recognition
The college encourages students to strive for high scholastic standards. The college names to the Chancellor’s List any student who has earned 12 or more credit hours in a given semester with a 4.0 grade-point average and to the Dean’s List any student who has earned 12 or more credit hours in a given semester with at least a 3.5 grade-point average and no grade below a “C.” No developmental courses may be included in the 12 or more credit hours.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all class sessions. After an unavoidable absence due to illness, emergency, or other extenuating circumstance, the student must take the responsibility for contacting instructors in order to initiate arrangements for completing all activities missed. Excessive absences and work not made up may adversely affect final grades. Failure to attend class for any period of time does not constitute a withdrawal. Students should attend the first day of classes.
Instructors establish attendance policies for their classes, and students have the responsibility to know those policies and to comply with them. When absences exceed the number allowed by the instructor of the class, the instructor has the authority to assign the student a grade of “F” at the end of the semester.
Attendance for students receiving Veterans Administration benefits will be reported to the VA representative in Veterans Services. Unavoidable absences such as jury duty, military duties, injuries, or illness must have written documentation supplied by the student. Makeup work for classes or tests missed will be arranged with the instructor’s consent. When a student drops a course or is administratively dropped by the instructor, the Department of Veterans Affairs will be notified of the last date of attendance and directed to end benefits for the course for the remainder of the term.
Catalog Privilege
Students have the option of graduating under the requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of initial enrollment, or any subsequent issue while enrolled, but they must complete the requirements within five years of the catalog selected. Changes in academic programs may make it necessary to move to a more recent catalog.
Transcripts
Only official transcripts are issued by the Office of Records. Students who need an unofficial transcript may access UA-PTC Campus Portal up to two years after the last date attended. Students needing an official transcript should visit uaptc.edu/transcript for instructions.
Transcripts that have been submitted to UA-PTC for admission or evaluation of credit become a part of the student’s permanent record and are not reissued. University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College scans all submitted documents and does not retain original copies.
The Academic Transcript is the student’s official academic record at UA-PTC. The Academic transcript includes records of all courses attempted and credentials earned. The official transcript can be obtained by submitting a written request to the Office of Records. Instructions can be found on the UA-PTC website at www.uaptc.edu/transcript.
The Financial Aid Transcript is only used in determining Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress and continuing academic scholarship eligibility. Unlike the Academic Transcript, the cumulative hours attempted includes hours earned, college readiness (0 level) hours earned, repeated hours, transfer hours, letter grades, as well as grades of W, WX, NC, CR, and INC. The Financial Aid Transcript is accessible through the Campus Portal.
Graduation Application and Requirements
All candidates for graduation must submit an application by the first Friday in November for fall graduation, the first Friday in February for spring graduation, and the first Friday in July for summer graduation to be sure they have satisfied the graduation requirements listed below. Candidates not submitting applications by these deadlines may delay their graduation until the next graduation period. Graduation applications may be completed online via the UA-PTC campus portal.
- Successful completion of all required courses within the program.
- A minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.0. Some programs require a higher GPA.
- Successful completion of the required number of credits.
- Students graduating from UA-PTC must complete 25% of the total credit hours required for their credential in residence at UA-PTC. If a degree or certificate requires less than 15 hours, all hours must be completed in residence. Students working toward a subsequent degree at UA- PTC must complete an additional 15 hours toward the credential in residence. Credits earned through Prior Learning Assessment are not considered in residence.
- Satisfaction of all financial obligations due to the college.
- Transfer courses must be posted to the student’s permanent record prior to the graduation date. Transfer transcripts not submitted to the Office of Admissions at least one week prior to the graduation date may delay graduation.
Second Degree
Occasionally, students may wish to pursue a second degree. In such cases, students must meet all course requirements for both degrees. Courses that are common to the two degrees can be applied to both, but the student pursuing a second degree or certificate must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours beyond those required for the first degree. These additional credit hours must be in residence and applicable to the second degree. Students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree may not earn an associate degree in the same discipline.
Academic Honors
To receive the honors classification, the cumulative GPA must be between 3.5 and 3.99; to receive the highest honors classification, the cumulative GPA must be 4.00.
Commencement
All certificate and associate degree candidates are encouraged to participate in commencement exercises, which are held at the end of the spring semester. Participation in commencement exercises does not indicate a fulfillment of all requirements for graduation. Students must apply for graduation according to the deadline to be eligible to participate in the ceremony.
For the purposes of the commencement exercises and the printed program, honors and highest honors are calculated based on the cumulative GPA for the last semester completed. This means that for a student graduating in May, semester grades from the previous spring semester are not included in the cumulative GPA.
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