Academic Catalog - Mt. Sierra College

Mt. Sierra College Academic Policies & Procedures
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Statement on Academic Freedom
Mt. Sierra College is committed to fostering an educational atmosphere that is conducive to the pursuit of knowledge and
the preservation of intellectual freedom. The College strongly believes that academic freedom is a fundamental condition
necessary for pursuit of truth, knowledge and meaning. Mt. Sierra College is a community of learners—faculty, students and
staff who strive to promote, foster and sustain academic freedom through educational activities that are pursued using good
judgment and that are rooted firmly in the College’s social responsibility to enhance student learning.
Academic Integrity
Mt. Sierra College is committed to the ideal of academic integrity and honesty. All members of the College community,
students, faculty, administration, and staff, have a personal responsibility to uphold the standards of academic integrity. All
forms of academic dishonesty are serious, and will not be tolerated. Any instance of academic dishonesty calls into question
the offender’s past work, especially the value of previous grades, and ultimately the value of the degree earned, thereby
defrauding the entire College community.
It is the students’ responsibility to be aware of what constitutes academic dishonesty, and to uphold the standards of honest
academic endeavor. It is the faculty’s responsibility to communicate classroom standards clearly at the start of each quarter.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the college faculty and the student populace together to safeguard the integrity of the
classroom. The College Administration is responsible for the application of sanctions that go beyond the classroom.
Academic dishonesty includes, but may not be limited to, plagiarism, cheating, falsifying records, lying, obtaining and/or
distributing examination materials prior to exams without the consent of the instructor, submitting another’s work as one’s
own, submitting work completed for another course without the agreement of both instructors, and helping any other student
in any act of dishonesty. Plagiarism is explained fully in both English Composition and Advanced Composition, as well as in
numerous other courses.
At a minimum students who violate this policy will receive an ‘F’ on the assignment or examination. In addition, the faculty
concerned must provide a written report of the lapse of integrity to the Academic Dean who, with consultation with the faculty
and department heads, will consider whether further sanctions will be imposed. The severity of the sanction will be matched
to the severity of the infraction and the offender’s past record. Sanctions may include a failing grade for the course, dismissal
for one term, up to the maximum penalty of expulsion from the College for students who have committed multiple acts of
academic dishonesty.
Satisfactory Academic Progress & Academic Status
All students are required to maintain satisfactory academic progress. A student maintaining satisfactory progress is considered
to be in good standing, and is eligible to continue his or her enrollment and to graduate. In addition, satisfactory academic
progress is required to maintain financial aid eligibility. See the Financial Aid section of this catalog to learn more about the
impact of progress upon Financial Aid eligibility.
Student progress is monitored at the close of each quarter for the following three standards:
1. Qualitative Progress (GPA)
2. Quantitative Progress (Pace)
3. Maximum Time in Program
The following guidelines are observed in the calculation of satisfactory academic progress:
A. All periods of attendance are reviewed;
B. Attempted credit hours include all withdrawn courses, remedial courses, repeated courses, and courses with
incomplete or failing grades;
C. Transfer credit will be included in the calculation of earned and attempted credit hours;
D. If a student changes his or her program of study, coursework not applicable to the new program will not be included
in the calculation of progress.
Mt. Sierra College Academic Policies & Procedures
55