2013-2014 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

60PLAN OF STUDY PLAN OF STUDY 61*After 64 credit hours, students with a GPA below2.0 can be placed on probation by the Committeeon Academic Standing, or suspended or dismissedby the Committee.Academic ClemencyVirginia Wesleyan College recognizes that somestudents may, for a variety of reasons, developacademic records that do not reflect their trueabilities. Students who leave the college with poorrecords may wish to request academic clemency upontheir return. To encourage students to try again afteran unsuccessful experience, the college is prepared toextend academic clemency based on the followingpolicies:• A student who returns to the college after anabsence of at least ten consecutive fall andspring semesters may submit a request to theDean of the College for academic clemency.• A student must request academic clemency atthe time of first readmission following his orher return to the college. If clemency is granted,previous coursework with a grade below 2.0(C) is not used to satisfy any graduationrequirement, nor is it calculated in thecumulative GPA or hours earned.• Academic clemency is granted only once, andonce granted may not be rescinded. It isavailable only to degree-seeking students andapplies only to previous coursework with gradesbelow 2.0 (C). Students must identify thesemester(s) for which clemency will be applied.• Students readmitted under this provision mustsatisfy the requirements listed in the catalogthat is current at the time of readmission.• All coursework and forgiven grades remain onthe academic transcript, but a statement ofacademic clemency is entered after eachsemester for which grades are forgiven.• A student who has been granted academicclemency is not precluded from graduatingwith honors.Student Rights and Responsibilities:Family Educational Rights andPrivacy Act of 1974All educational records of students enrolled at thecollege are maintained in accordance with theprovisions of the Family Educational Rights andPrivacy Act of 1974 as Amended. The Act wasdesigned to protect the privacy of educational records,to establish the right of students to inspect and reviewtheir educational records, and to provide guidelinesfor the correction of inaccurate or misleading datathrough informal and formal hearings.Student consent is required for the release ofrecords covered by the Act to outside parties (i.e.,prospective employers), except for those agenciesentitled to access under the provisions of the Act (i.e.,college personnel with a legitimate educationalinterest, federal education and auditing officials, andrequests related to the application for or receipt offinancial assistance).Any other access must have written authorizationfrom the student, with the exception of certain“directory information,” which includes the name,address, and telephone number of the student, e-mailaddress, major field of study, dates of attendance,degrees, awards and honors received (includingdates), photographic view or electronic images, andthe most recent previous educational agency orinstitution attended.Adult StudiesProgramBecause Virginia Wesleyan is committed toencouraging learning as a lifelong process, the AdultStudies Program (ASP) offers evening and weekendcourses to help meet the educational needs of adultsage 23 or older whose work, family and communitycommitments require scheduling courses outside ofdaytime hours. ASP courses take into considerationthe special needs of adult learners while maintainingthe academic quality found in all Virginia Wesleyanprograms. Courses are offered for those who plan tocomplete a degree, as well as for those who wish totake individual courses for personal enrichment orcareer advancement.Adult Studies students may pursue their studieseither full-time (at least 12 semester hours persemester) or part-time (fewer than 12 semester hours)and either as classified students (i.e., pursuing adegree or other designated program) or unclassifiedstudents (taking individual courses for credit, but nottowards a degree or designated program).AdmissionTo start the application process, applicants mustbe at least 23 years of age and have graduated fromhigh school with a 2.0 GPA, or have a high schoolequivalency certification. Transfer students must haveat least a cumulative 2.0 GPA in previous collegework and be in good financial standing with previousacademic institutions.Transfer Students: To assist prospective students instructuring their program at Virginia Wesleyan, theAdult Studies staff provides unofficial transcriptevaluations through appointments with our academicadvisors. Once students have formally applied andbeen accepted to the program and official copies of allcollege transcripts have been received, they receive anofficial transcript evaluation from the Registrar’sOffice.Internal Transfer: Sometimes changes in a student’scircumstances or goals make it necessary to transferinternally between the day program and the AdultStudies Program. Although the college does notpermit repeated switching between the two programs,a process exists to accommodate a transfer whencircumstances warrant. However, students who firstenroll in one branch of the college and subsequentlychange to the other program remain bound by theforeign language requirement of the program inwhich they first enrolled unless three full semesters ormore elapse between their departure and the semesterfor which they seek readmission. Students interestedin an internal transfer should contact either theAdmissions Office or the Adult Studies Office.Internal transfers must be approved by the Dean ofAdmissions and the Director of the Adult StudiesProgram.Financial Aid: Basic financial aid information isavailable in the Adult Studies Office. The amount oftraditional financial aid available to part-timestudents is limited. To qualify, students mustdemonstrate financial need and carry at least 6semester hours per semester.Because traditional financial assistance is limited,Virginia Wesleyan has developed a unique AdultIncentive Grant through which the Adult Studiestuition rate is substantially reduced from the dayprogram rate.Another form of financial assistance is the college’sEmployer Tuition Deferral (ETD) program, whichenables qualifying participants to defer their paymentof tuition until their employer reimburses them at theend of the semester.Military tuition assistance and veterans’ benefitsmay be applied toward tuition for Adult Studiescourses. A fixed Active Duty Military Rate providesfor tuition compensation for those students who havenot yet retired from military service.The Adult Studies Corporate Rate Program offersa 10% reduction in tuition costs for employees ofcorporations and organizations that partner with theAdult Studies Program.Finally, a limited number of scholarships areawarded annually to selected Adult Studies students,based on financial need and academic achievement.Details about these various forms of financialassistance may be obtained at the Adult Studies Officeor on the program’s home page. Students shouldcontact the college’s financial aid office forinformation about federal financial aid eligibility.Major ProgramsSeveral majors are available through the AdultStudies Program. For detailed information on each ofthese programs, see listings in the “Major Programs”and “Programs and Courses” sections of this catalog.1. Business2. Social Sciences Divisional with a concentrationin criminal justice, history, politicalscience, psychology, or sociology3. History and Social Science with teachercertification in history and social science4. History and Social Science5. Comprehensive Liberal Studies, CurricularEmphasis (teacher preparation program). Thisis a major for students seeking teachercertification as an elementary school or specialeducation teacher. The identified courses meetthe teacher competencies required by theCommonwealth of Virginia. Students mustapply and be accepted into the VWCEducation Program. The PRAXIS I and VCLAexams must be passed to Virginia standardsbefore enrolling in the professional educationcoursework sequence. Students seeking thiscertification must also pass the Reading forVirginia Educators Assessment test before theycan student teach. PRAXIS II must be passedbefore student teaching6. Comprehensive Liberal StudiesDepending on a student’s current circumstancesand educational background, other majors may beavailable on an individual basis.General InformationDegree Requirements: Requirements for completinga degree in the Adult Studies program are thesame as those for day students, with one exception.Regardless of how many semester hours they transferin, ASP students are required to complete only twosemesters of one foreign language. Students mayfulfill this requirement by having completed two yearsof a foreign language in high school with a C (2.0) orhigher average.Audit: Adults from the local community may auditAdult Studies courses without record for a fee of $50per semester hour. Certain courses may be auditedonly on a space-available basis. Audit registrationsmay not be changed to credit status at a later date.Students who audit with record are required to paythe current Adult Studies tuition rate and are gradedon a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Senior citizensage 62 or over may audit Virginia Wesleyan courseson a space-available basis for $50 per course.