2011 - 2012 Student Calendar - Helena College of Technology

Academic InformationCertificate of Applied ScienceThe Certificate of Applied Science is awarded to any studentsatisfactorily completing a program as established by theCollege. Passing grades in required courses (a “C-” orbetter) and a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA)are necessary before a certificate will be awarded. Coursesnumbered below 100 are not applied toward programcompletion requirements. Students seeking certification inmore than one program must inform and receive approvalfrom the Registrar’s Office. Students will be required touse the catalog in use at the time the program is declaredunless a Request to Graduate from Alternate Catalog formis completed and approved. Students entering after a onesemestertime lapse (excluding summer) or longer will reenrollunder the current catalog.AttendanceSince good attendance promotes good scholarship, studentsare expected to attend all class meetings and complete allassignments for courses in which they are enrolled. Theattendance policy of the College is as follows:1. Guidelines used to determine the extent thatattendance will affect grades are implemented atthe instructor’s discretion and will be stated at thebeginning of each course orally and in writing.2. Excessive absenteeism and/or tardiness may adverselyaffect a student’s grade.Instructors may establish attendance policies to conformto the educational goals and requirements of their courses.Such policies will ordinarily be set out in the course syllabuswhich will describe the procedures for giving timely noticeof absences, explain how work missed may be made up, andstipulate any penalty to be assessed for absences.AuditWith the consent of the instructor, a student may enroll ina course for no credit (audit). Auditing students pay thesame fee as students enrolled for credit. Auditors are notexpected to complete course work as students who areenrolled for credit, nor will they take tests. Audit enrollmentswill not count toward financial aid or degree completionrequirements. Students must inform the Registrar’s Officewithin the first 15 instructional days of the course.Course SubstitutionsStudents are required to complete all program courses inorder to be awarded their degree or certificate. UM-Helenadoes allow course substitutions when there is a compellingreason to do so. A course substitution must uphold theintegrity of the degree. For more information on theprocedure for substituting a course, students should see theRegistrar’s Office or their faculty advisor.Challenging a Course for CreditA student who has completed course work throughexperiential learning or non-accredited learning experienceshas the option of earning college credit by challengingdesignated courses. The challenge must be completed withinthe first 10 instructional days if the course can be challenged.It is important to note that not all courses can be challenged.The instructor will determine if the student’s previous coursework and/or experience supports the challenge request.The request must be approved by the Department Chair ora full-time faculty member and then validated through theRegistrar’s Office. The exam must be completed with a gradeof “B” or better in order to receive credits for the course. Agrade of “CH” will be placed on the student’s transcriptswith successful completion of the examination. The gradereceived for the challenge does not affect the student’s GPA.A student receiving a grade of “F,” “NP,” or “W” in a classat the College may not subsequently challenge the course. Astudent must register and pay tuition for any course beingchallenged. A student can not challenge more than 25% of thecredits required for his or her degree.Dean’s ListTo qualify for the Dean’s List, the student must earn asemester GPA of 3.5 or higher while earning 12 or moresemester credits. (P/NP class credits are not included asearned credits for purposes of determining Dean’s Liststanding.) Grades of “D,” “F,” or “NP” are not allowed. Thestudent and his or her hometown newspaper will receivewritten notification of the award, and it will appear on his orher transcript for that term.Drop/Add ClassesStudents registered for fall or spring semesters andattending classes may drop or add classes during the first 15instructional days of the semester. The student must initiatethe drop/add process which can be done online for the firstfive days for adding classes and for the first 15 days fordropping classes. After the online drop/add window haspassed, a drop/add form must be completed and returnedto the cashier along with a $10 processing fee. If a studentdrops a class AFTER the first 15 days and prior to threeweeks before the end of the course, a “W” (withdraw) willbe given. Students cannot drop a class during the last threeweeks of the semester and will receive a letter grade from theinstructor based on coursework completed. Drop/adds arenot used to withdraw completely from the College. Drop/adds for summer semester courses are computed on the sameratio stated above for hours attended to total course hours;the course schedule outlines summer deadlines.24 2011 - 2012 Academic Catalog UM-Helena College of Technology