Academic Progress Policy

Grading and Evaluation Procedures

Successful course completion in a Contemporary Technology University course depends on routinely following the instructions and guidelines provided in the course syllabus.  The student’s responsibility is to check and become familiar with the course syllabus and requirements at the beginning of each course.

The University awards letter grades in recognition of academic performance in each course. Grades are based upon formative and summative assessments as described in the study process below. The course instructor’s academic judgment as to whether the student has demonstrated a specified level of performance is based on objective and subjective evaluations. Students are graded according to their individual performance in the course.

All of the grading criteria listed are subject to the specific course syllabus. Criteria for awarding grades as described in the course syllabi may include but are not limited to

▪   Quality of assignments

▪   Sufficient participation in the discussion forums (according to the requirements laid out in the course syllabus) and the quality of the postings

▪   Performance on course projects

Each course is based on a total of 100 maximum points.

The final grade will be based on 3 credits as follows:

Description	Points
Participation & live sessions (workshops and lectures) attendance	30
Weekly Assignments and projects	30
Final course project and course project report	40
Total Points Possible	100

Late Work Policy

Please be sure to always meet the deadlines. There will be no makeup assignments or quizzes, or late work accepted unless there is a serious or compelling reason and the instructors’ approval. 

Timely Feedback

Instructors will always let students know when they will receive feedback about their assignments. Instructors will do this by posting a note on the Contemporary Technology University learning portal.

The “standard” time for providing feedback for course activities is 5 business days. But instructors should be sure to be explicit and reaffirm this with students. Posting a note about the expected feedback schedule is also a good opportunity to change this timeframe if the schedule requires such an adjustment.

Attendance and Participation

In general, attendance is measured and recorded by timely attending live sessions, participating, and posting responses to weekly discussion forums. Regular and punctual class attendance is an important form of student participation, facilitating clear delivery of course material, discussion of key ideas, and development of cooperative relationships between students and faculty that results in immediate academic results and longer-term success in personal and career development.

A primary goal is to provide students with a learning experience that will assist them in achieving their aspirations for both higher education and a subsequent career. To realize this goal, students must take a professional approach to their studies by being present, active, and involved. Research has shown that student engagement is directly related to course success. Students who actively participate in both the required and voluntary learning activities and assignments are more likely to succeed.

At Contemporary Technology University, specific class attendance requirements are established within the individual academic courses. To earn academic credit in a particular course, a student must be officially enrolled in that course within the first 14 days of the semester and must attend at least 75 percent of the course. Students who do not fulfill these requirements will receive a grade of “F” in the course. Course participation and attendance represent 30% of the final grade. A detailed rubric will follow this scale:

1. Exemplary (15 points) – Participates regularly and actively, uses specific examples to support responses and invite further discussion, and demonstrates a thorough understanding and reflection regarding the question or concept being presented.
2. Accomplished (12 points) – Participates regularly and actively, uses specific examples to support responses, and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the question or concept being presented.
3. Competent (9 points) – Participates regularly but not as active in contributing, uses specific examples to support response, and communicates ideas, opinions, and conclusions with clarity.
4. Developing (6 points) – Does not participate regularly or actively, communicates ideas but does not provide examples to support response, and at times may not demonstrate an understanding of the question or concept being presented.
5. Limited (3 point) – Does not participate regularly or actively, has difficulty communicating ideas clearly, and does not demonstrate an understanding of the question or concept being presented.
6. No Participation (0 points)

Any University-related activity necessitating an absence from class counts as an absence when determining if the student has attended the required number of class activities. However, if prior arrangements are made, the student may be allowed to complete his/her assignments or the faculty member may provide appropriate substitutes. Likewise, students are usually allowed to make up class work and/or tests missed due to serious illness, accident, or death in the family. In these cases, the instructor should be informed in a timely manner.

Faculty members are responsible for:

●  Informing the students about the attendance requirements in the course syllabus, and

●  Notifying the students either through posted attendance records (such as on Canvas LMS) or direct correspondence before the limit for grade action is reached.

Faculty members have the authority to establish alternative class-specific attendance expectations and requirements for punctual arrival in class as long as the policy is stated in the course syllabus.

Letter Grade Assignment

The University awards letter grades in recognition of academic achievements in each course. Grades are based upon formative and summative assessments as described in the study process below and the course instructor’s academic judgment if the student has demonstrated a specified level of performance based on objective and subjective evaluations.

Based on students’ individual performances in each course, the final letter grades are given according to the table given below.

Letter Grade	Percentage	Performance	Numerical Grade
A	93-100%	Excellent Work	4.00
A-	90-92%	Nearly Excellent Work	3.67
B+	87-89%	Very Good Work	3.33
B	83-86%	Good Work	3.00
B-	80-82%	Mostly Good Work	2.67
C+	77-79%	Above Average Work	2.33
C	73-76%	Average Work	2.00
C-	70-72%	Failed	0.0
D+	67-69%	Failed	0.0
D	60-66%	Failed	0.0
F	0-59%	Failed	0.0
W		Withdrawal: Withdrawal from a course without academic penalty. Issued based on a student-initiated withdrawal.
I		Incomplete:  Work incomplete, due to circumstances beyond the student’s control, but of passing quality. If the work is not completed within a year, the grade of incomplete converts to failure (F) one year after issuance.

●  The University considers a B (3.0) overall grade point average (GPA) as the minimum for the student to graduate.

●  A grade of C- or lower is not considered a passing grade for any course.

●  If a student receives a grade of C- or lower for any course, this failed course must be repeated in order for the student to graduate.

●  Only the grade of the repeated course will be used to calculate the student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA) for graduation but both the original and repeated course grades will appear on the student’s official transcript.

●  A student may not repeat a failed course more than two times. If a student fails a course three times, he/she will be dismissed from the program.

●  A student who doesn’t maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) above 3.0 after the completion of a course will be placed on academic probation for the following course. If a student does not raise his/her cumulative grade point average (GPA) to 3.0 or higher after the completion of the next course, he/she will be subject to academic dismissal.

●  Any student not achieving this minimum grade will have to repeat the course in order to complete the program. Pass (P) indicates completion of the course duties with academic work equal to a C (2.0) grade.

Course Repeat 

●  Fail (F) indicates completion of the course duties with academic work with a grade below C grade.

●  An Incomplete may be awarded upon the recommendation of the instructor when the student has completed 80% of the coursework but cannot finish the remainder due to illness or some other serious reason.  The student must complete the work and the instructor has to submit a change of grade to the Director of Education within four weeks of the following semester.  Failure in doing this will result in a grade of 0.0 for the course.

●  A grade of IP may be awarded for thesis, practicum, or internship at the end of a semester or other instructional period when the student has made progress but has not yet completed all work.  Practicum and internships need to be completed within the first two semesters.  Once the student has completed all work, the instructor must make a change of grade to the Director of Education.  If the work is not completed within the permitted time, the IP will be changed to IN or a 0.0.

●  Withdrawal (W): Withdrawal from a course after the add/drop period will appear on the student’s official transcript and is included in attempted credits when monitoring satisfactory academic progress, but not included in the calculation of the grade point average (GPA). 

Grade Point Average (GPA)

●  All course credits in which a letter grade is received will be used to calculate the student’s Grade Point Average, with the exception of a W grade, and Pass/Fail grades. 

●  The grade-point average (GPA) is determined by dividing the number of grade points achieved by the number of units attempted. The total grade points achieved for a course equals the number of grade points assigned times the number of course units. 

Standards of Academic Achievement

A student must earn the minimum standards of academic achievement and successful course completion while being enrolled at Contemporary Technology University. The student’s progress will be evaluated at different time intervals to determine satisfactory academic progress (SAP). Contemporary Technology University forbids students to remain enrolled who are not meeting the standards of satisfactory progress. 

Maximum Degree Program Duration

The maximum time to complete any degree program is one and a half times the program length unless exceptional circumstances such as illness exist. The normal length of each academic program is indicated in the curriculum description for the academic programs in this catalog.

Grade Reports

At the end of each term of study, the student receives a communication that provides detail on grades achieved.  Please see Academic Calendar for the date of final exams and posting of grades.

Grade Appeal Procedure

1. The University permits students to appeal their final letter grade of any course if they feel it is unfair or unjustified. As the initial step in the Grade Appeal Procedure, the student must seek a discussion with his or her course instructor. This must be done within a week of the grade posting. This discussion is intended to provide the instructor an opportunity to explain the reason for the grade and to provide the student with an opportunity to indicate possible errors or misjudgments in the assignment of the grade. Frequently, a discussion with the instructor resolves the appeal.

2. If the Instructor accepts the appeal, he or she must inform the Director of Education and then send the corrected grade to the Student Services for rectification of the student’s academic results. If the discussion between the student and the instructor does not resolve the issue within 3 weeks of the grade posting and if the student still believes that an unfair grade was awarded, the student must request a Grade Appeal Form from his or her instructor.
The completed Grade Appeal Form with the instructor’s comments on the request must be submitted by the student to Student Services no later than a month after the grade posting or it will not be accepted and the grade will stay as originally recorded.

3. Grade appeals will be investigated by an Academic Affairs Committee, which may come to the decision that the given grade should stand, or that the grade received is unfair or unjust, in this case, the Committee will determine the appropriate mechanism for awarding the final grade.  Students submitting a Grade Appeal Form will be informed in writing of the Committee’s decision on their appeal in a timely fashion. Decisions reached by the Committee are final and binding. Documentation of the final decision and all related materials will become part of the student’s official academic record.  Students appealing a grade should note the following:

●  For a change in grade to be recommended, a student must prove that the grade originally given was unjust or unfair.

●  The Director of Education looking into the appeal will not place his or her judgment over the Instructor except in clear and solid cases.

●  The burden of proof in challenging a grade is the responsibility of the student.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

1. Students’ academic progress will be evaluated at the end of every term, starting in the third term of their studies. For each evaluation point, a minimum standard of satisfactory academic progress (“the Academic Standards”) is defined in each of the following three parameters:

●  Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

●  Credits earned

●  Completion rate (i.e. credits earned divided by credits attempted)

2. Students must meet or exceed the Academic Standards in all of the three parameters listed above in order to stay enrolled as regular students.  A student will be put on Academic Warning at the first evaluation point in which he or she doesn’t meet or exceed the Academic Standards.

3. A student that is under Academic Warning and in the consecutive evaluation point he or she meets or exceeds the Academic Standards will be returned to a status of a regular student.
If the student under Academic Warning doesn’t meet or exceed the Standards in the consecutive evaluation point he or she will be put on Academic Probation.

4. A student that is under Academic Probation and in the consecutive evaluation point he or she meets or exceeds the Academic Standards will be returned to a status of a regular student. If the student under Academic Probation doesn’t meet or exceed the Academic Standards in the consecutive evaluation point he or she will be dismissed from the University.

5. If at any evaluation point it can be determined by the University that it is mathematically not possible for a student to meet the Academic Standards, he or she will be dismissed from the University.

6. The University reserves the right to place a student on Academic Warning or on Academic Probation and the right to remove a student from Academic Warning or on Academic Probation based on his or her academic development, notwithstanding the Academic Standards. Student Services will send emails to students notifying them that they failed to meet the Academic Standards within 30 days of every evaluation point.

7. Students on academic or disciplinary probation will not be allowed to graduate.

Academic Freedom

The primary objective of the University is to provide quality education to our students. The University is committed to the free pursuit and dissemination of knowledge. Faculty members are encouraged to explore, discuss, and create thoughtful teaching and learning experiences that examine differing perspectives. As professionals, they should be honest, responsible, and respectful of others and their opinions. Faculty are expected to support the University’s objectives and to differentiate between their own viewpoints and those of others, including professionally accepted views in a discipline. Faculty should present data and information fairly and objectively.

Academic Integrity

True learning can take place only when students do their own work honestly without copying from other students or other sources. Contemporary Technology University enforces the highest standards of academic integrity, both to preserve the value of the education offered and to prepare students to become productive members of the workforce and society.

It is the instructor’s responsibility to report any reasonable suspicion of academic dishonesty to the appropriate academic official.

1. Academic dishonesty includes such things as cheating, inventing false information or citations, plagiarism, and helping someone else commit an act of academic dishonesty. It usually involves an attempt by a student to show possession of a level of knowledge or skill that he/she does not possess.

2. Course instructors have the initial responsibility for detecting and dealing with academic dishonesty. Instructors who believe that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred are obligated to discuss the matter with the student(s) involved. Instructors should possess reasonable evidence of academic dishonesty. However, if circumstances prevent consultation with student(s), instructors may take whatever action (subject to student appeal) they deem appropriate.

3. Instructors who are convinced by the evidence that a student is guilty of academic dishonesty shall assign an appropriate academic penalty. If the instructors believe that the academic dishonesty reflects on the student’s academic performance or the academic integrity in a course, the student’s grade should be adversely affected.

4. Suggested guidelines for appropriate actions are: an oral reprimand in cases where there is reasonable doubt that the student knew his/her action constituted academic dishonesty; a failing grade on a particular paper, project, or examination where the act of dishonesty was unpremeditated, or where there were significant mitigating circumstances; a failing grade in the course where the dishonesty was premeditated or planned. The instructors will file incident reports with the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and for Student Affairs or their designees. These reports shall include a description of the alleged incident of academic dishonesty, any relevant documentation, and any recommendations for action that he/she deems appropriate.

5. The Vice President for Student Affairs shall maintain an Academic Dishonesty File of all cases of academic dishonesty with the appropriate documentation.

6. Students may appeal any actions taken on charges of academic dishonesty to the Academic Appeals Board.

7. The Academic Appeals Board shall consist of faculty and at least one student.

8. Individuals may not participate as members of the Academic Appeals Board if they are participants in an appeal.

9. The decision of the Academic Appeals Board will be forwarded to the President of Contemporary Technology University; whose decision is final.