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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.
1) 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.
2) 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.
3) 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.
4) 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.
5) 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.
6) 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:
1) The student must not have been enrolled in any institution of higher education for a minimum of three consecutive years.
2) 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.
3) Students who have completed a degree/certificate program are not eligible.
Conditions
1) 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.
2) Academic clemency can be granted only once.
3) 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.
4) 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.
5) The comprehensive transcript will contain a notation indicating the date that academic clemency was granted.
6) Federal and state financial aid regulations and requirements for veterans’ benefits will prevail over institutional academic clemency policy if there is a conflict.
7) Policies related to academic clemency pertain only to UA-PTC and may not be honored by other institutions.
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). Only the most recent grades from a class that has been repeated will be calculated in the GPA. (See repetition of courses policy 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.
Credit Hours Attempted Minimum Cumulative Grade-Point Average include:
• Less than 30 hours - 1.75
• 30 hours or more - 2.00
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.
The Office of the Registrar will maintain the educational data and alert students who are placed on academic probation or suspension immediately following the semester in which the status was earned.
ACADEMIC SUSPENSION APPEAL PROCESS
Students who are placed on One-Semester Academic Suspension will receive communication from the Registrar notifying them of their status that will include an Academic Suspension Appeal Form. Students will receive this communication at least 7 days prior to the beginning of the upcoming term. Students placed on One-Year or Three-Year Academic Suspension are not eligible to appeal the suspension. Students wishing to appeal their Academic Suspension must review and submit the Academic Suspension Appeal Form and any accompanying materials to the Office of Records at least 7 days prior to the beginning of the semester in which they wish to enroll. The Academic Suspension Appeal Form is available online: Academic Suspension Appeal Process (uaptc.edu).
Below are guidelines students may consider in preparing for an academic suspension appeal:
• Read the appeal form in its entirety and follow its explicit instructions.
• Write a brief narrative of the circumstances that led to the suspension and comprehensively explain how the circumstances have changed or been addressed to ensure academic success. Students must include name, email address, and student ID number on the narrative.
• Students may provide any documentation that would assist the committee to make an informed decision for the appeal.
APPEAL COMMITTEE REVIEW
The Chair will convene the committee after students have been emailed and prior to the beginning of the upcoming semester. The Appeal Committee shall be chaired by one member of the Records office, and shall include at least one member appointed from Student Affairs, one member appointed from Admissions & Financial Aid, and one appointed faculty member.
All suspension appeal materials will be collected by the Office of Records and provided to the Suspension Appeal Committee for their review. The committee will review each appeal and may either approve or deny the appeal. Once the committee’s decision has been made, the student will be notified via their UAPTC email at least 2 days prior to the start of the semester in which the student was suspended.
The Appeal Committee, upon receiving the appropriate appeal documentation, shall review appeals and base their decision on the following factors:
• The student adequately describes the circumstance(s) that prevented their academic success;
• The student’s appeal documentation supports the student’s description of the circumstance(s) preventing their academic success;
• The student’s appeal letter adequately explains how the circumstances have been addressed;
• The student’s explanation reasonably addresses the circumstances.
Any appeal granted by the committee shall be provided to the Student Affairs Student Assistance Coordinator. The Student Assistance Coordinator will inform students that the appeal was granted. The student will be required to meet with the Student Assistance Coordinator in order to register for classes.
ACADEMIC SUSPENSION APPROVAL OR DENIAL
Committee appeal outcomes must be made unanimously by all members of the Appeal Committee, including its chair.
• If the Appeal Committee approves the student’s appeal, the suspension will be lifted to allow the student to register for classes. Students with approved appeals will be placed on the Student Assistance Coordinator’s case management list for one semester, and will have a Hold placed on their account. Students will be required to meet with the Student Assistance Coordinator to register for classes.
• If the appeal is denied, the academic suspension is affirmed and the student will need to abide by the suspension requirements.
Students who received an approved appeal outcome are expected to meet minimum semester GPA requirements at the conclusion of the semester in which the student was granted an approved appeal. Students who do not meet the minimum requirement at the conclusion of the semester shall be placed on One-Year Academic Suspension without the option to appeal.
The decision of the Suspension Appeal Committee is final
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 circumstances, the student must take responsibility for contacting instructors 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 or to drop the student from the class through an administrative drop.
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.
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