Catalog 73 - National University

Policies and ProceduresGeneral Policies and ProceduresAttendance ProceduresAll students must be officially enrolled in order to attend class and toreceive a grade. This means that the course must be added to thestudent’s schedule prior to the ninth (9th) day of the session.University instructors will not permacait non-enrolled students toattend a class or be issued a grade. The Office of the Registrar willnot post grades for students who are not enrolled.Typically, the start-date of a session is the first Monday of the newcourse month or term. If the first Monday is a holiday, the start-datewill be the first Tuesday. For example, if the first course offered in theOctober session meets on Mondays and Wednesdays, then that firstMonday is the start-date for the session. The session start date(whether that is a Monday or Tuesday) stays the same regardless ofthe day students actually meet for their first class. Students areconsidered officially enrolled in a class at midnight (PST) of the ninth(9th) day of the session.Students are expected to attend all class periods of a course. Aninstructor may withdraw a student from the course up to thetwenty-first (21st) day of the session if the student has more than two(2) absences. An absence is assessed each time a student does notattend a regularly scheduled class, whether or not it is an excusedabsence. Students who have more than three (3) absences and whoare still enrolled as of midnight (PST) of the twenty-first (21st) day ofthe session will be issued a letter grade of “F” or “U” as appropriatefor the grading criteria of the class. Tardiness and early departuresfrom classes accrue and have the potential to cumulatively affectabsences.Lack of participation for students taking online classes does notqualify the student for a refund. Students, whether onsite or online,are responsible for following the published policy on deadlines fordrop and withdrawal.With instructor approval, students may be allowed to make upexaminations or class assignments missed due to absence ortardiness. Students must arrange to complete any make-up workwith the instructor in advance. Work must be completed prior to thefinal class session. A grade of incomplete may be issued if thestudent has attended two-thirds of the course and coursework is notcompleted by the final class session. Instructors may use theirdiscretion when issuing approval of, and assigning, an incompletegrade.Any dispute about attendance must be addressed by the student inwriting and submitted to the Registrar’s Office within ninety (90)days of when grades were posted. If extenuating circumstancesprevent the submission of the dispute within that time frame, theRegistrar’s Office will make a determination about whether thecircumstances warrant further consideration. The Registrar’s Officewill not consider a dispute that is more than one year old.Once grades have been issued and credit awarded, neither thecoursework nor the grade can be expunged from the student’srecord. Tuition will not be refunded without extenuatingcircumstances and approval of the Finance Committee.Refund PolicyStudents are accepted and enrolled in classes with the understandingthey will attend the entire course. Faculty contracts, commitment ofspace, and other University resources are made on that assumption,creating financial obligations that students who withdraw mustshare. The University’s refund policy reflects this position. Students42may drop a course prior to midnight (PST) of the ninth (9th) day ofthe session, by contacting 1-866-NU-ACCESS (1-866-682-2237) orscs@nu.edu. The student is responsible for ensuring that the drop orwithdraw is reflected in their record appropriately by viewing theirschedule on the student web portal.To accurately count session days, note that the first day of a session— and not the actual day a student attends class — counts as dayone. The University counts calendar days rather than business daysfor determining refunds. As such, if the first day of the session is aMonday, the student would need to drop prior to midnight (PST) ofthe following Tuesday, the ninth day of that session.If a student does not complete a course, tuition refunds are madeaccording to the schedule below. The refund policy is the same foronsite and online classes. Students who drop or withdraw from acourse:• prior to midnight (PST) of the ninth (9th) day of the sessionreceive a 100 percent refund;• prior to midnight (PST) of the tenth (10th) day of the sessionreceive a 50 percent refund; and• after midnight (PST) of the tenth (10th) day receive no refund.To receive a refund, students must submit a written request to thenearest Student Accounts Office as the University does not disburserefunds automatically. Students must have a credit balance on theiraccount to receive a refund. Most refunds are processed and mailedwithin ten (10) working days from the receipt of the requestdepending on the verification of funds. All refunds are mailed to thestudent’s home address so students must make sure that the addresson file is correct. Refund request forms are available at all StudentAccounts Offices.International Student Prepayment and RefundInternational students admitted to National University with F-1 visasare required to pay their first three classes in advance upon arrival atthe University. Tuition for the first class is non-refundable. Tuitionrefunds for the second and third months will be in accordance withNational University refund policies.Financial Aid Refund PolicyAs part of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Congresspassed new provisions regarding refund policies and procedures forstudents who have received Federal Student Assistance and areconsidered withdrawn from school. Based on National Universitypolicies, which are made in accordance with federal regulations, astudent is considered “withdrawn” if not in attendance for 75consecutive days. Given National University’s model of one courseper month, this would generally equate to a three-month break inattendance.The Federal Return of Title IV Funds (RTIV) policy was effectiveOctober 7, 2000, and governs all federal grant and loan programs,including Federal Pell Grant, SEOG, ACG, SMART, Perkins Loan,Stafford/Direct Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized,) and PLUSloans.This federal regulation assumes that awards of Federal Student Aidfunds are earned in proportion to the number of days attended forthe period funded. If a student is considered withdrawn from theUniversity, a calculation is then performed to identify the totalscheduled financial assistance the student earned and is thereforeentitled to receive. If the student receives (or the University receiveson the student’s behalf) more financial aid than is earned , theunearned funds must be returned to the Department of Educationand/or the appropriate lender. If the student receives (or the