2012–2013 UNIVERSITY CATALOG - Florida Institute of Technology

continuing education
A continuing education (CE) student is defined as one who is not
seeking a degree from Florida Tech. CE students will customarily
enroll for courses on the basis of receiving continuing education
units (CEUs), rather than graduate or undergraduate credit. The
CEU is a nationally recognized unit that indicates successful
participation in a qualified program of continuing education. It
is defined as 10 contact hours of participation in an organized
educational experience under responsible sponsorship, capable
direction and qualified instruction.
Students enrolled for CEUs in courses that are being offered for
academic credit are required to do all homework, outside reading
assignments, term papers or special assignments and to attend at
least 90 percent of the class sessions, but they are not required to
take midterm or final examinations.
In some situations, the CE student may want or need to receive
credit rather than CEUs, and this alternative is allowable. Students
enrolled for credit, whether degree-seeking or not, must take all
examinations in addition to completing all course assignments.
Students may switch from CEU to credit or vice versa, any time
before the end of the first week of classes.
A CE student may not enroll in any course, either for credit or for
CEUs, without the approval of the Academic Support Center and
head of the academic unit offering the course. This approval will be
based on a review of the student’s previous preparation and qualifications,
an assessment that the student is capable of completing
all course assignments (homework, reading, term papers, etc.) and
may also take into consideration the effect of enrollment of CE
students on the course and/or academic program. Such approval
will be sought and given on a course-by-course basis, and may be
withheld at the academic unit head’s discretion.
A CE student may seek admission to a degree program through the
normal admission process. If a CE student subsequently decides to
pursue either an undergraduate or graduate degree at Florida Tech
and is accepted into that degree program, a maximum of 12 semester
credit hours earned as a CE student may be applied toward the
degree, provided the coursework is academically appropriate.
directed study
Melbourne Campus or Extended Studies
Directed study is a means of allowing a student to register for a
course during a semester when it is not included in the online or
printed Schedule of Classes. To enroll in a directed-study course, a
Request for Directed Study Course form should be initiated and
approved according to form instructions. Approval is at the discretion
of the academic unit head or program chair responsible for the
course, and normally requires evidence of a compelling need by
the student. The student should submit the approved form to the
Registration Center during normal registration hours. The tuition
rate for a directed-study course is the standard undergraduate or
graduate rate, plus an additional directed-study fee.
28 Florida Tech
auditing classes
Melbourne Campus
A student may audit a course with the permission of his or her
academic adviser and payment of an audit fee. The audit fee is
waived for full-time undergraduate students. An auditor does not
receive a grade; an AU is recorded on the transcript in place of
the grade if the auditor has, in general, maintained a satisfactory
course attendance (usually 75 percent class attendance) and
completed the appropriate assignments. If the student does not
meet requirements, a final grade of F may be awarded. No changes
in registration from credit to audit or from audit to credit will be
permitted after the second week of classes. Students must register
for audit at the Registration Center.
Auditing classes is not available to Florida Tech University Online
students due to the fully-interactive nature of the online degree
programs.
senior citizen Program
The senior citizen program allows individuals age 65 and over to
enroll in courses for credit or audit without charge. Participation
in this program is restricted to individuals who are seriously
committed to learning and to courses taught on the Melbourne
campus in Florida.
A prospective student wishing to enroll in the senior citizen
program must apply for admission as a nondegree-seeking
student and be admitted. All records of any prior postsecondary
coursework must accompany the application. Copies of transcripts
are acceptable in lieu of official transcripts. If no previous
postsecondary coursework was completed, proof of high school
graduation is required.
A brief statement of “Qualifications through Life Experience” may
be submitted with the application. A statement of educational
goals and a determination by the appropriate admission office
(undergraduate or graduate) that the applicant’s educational
and life experience history supports a reasonable expectation of
successful accomplishment of those goals are necessary.
Enrollment is permitted based on space availability, following the
last day of class in the preceding semester or summer term.
Release of student Information
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
as Amended established a set of regulations governing access to
and the release of personal and academic information contained in
student education records. FERPA applies to the education records
of persons who are or have been in attendance in postsecondary
institutions, including students in cooperative or correspondence
study programs. FERPA does not apply to records of applicants for
admission who have been denied acceptance or, if accepted, do not
attend an institution.
Education records are all records that contain information directly
related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency
or institution, or a party acting for the institution. Exceptions to
education records include sole possession records, law enforcement
unit records, employment records, health records and alumni
records. Rights under FERPA are not given to students enrolled in
one component of an institution who seek to be admitted in another
component of the institution.