Course Policies

be permitted to complete courses via Directed Research while overseas, provided that on-site or online alternatives are not available to them.

Registration becomes official once the Directed Research application form, with all necessary approvals, is approved by the Registrar. The form is available online, and must be submitted no later than the last day of the Add Period. Tuition charges plus Directed Research fees of $100 per credit will be added to the student’s account at the time of registration. All course work must be completed within the time frame of the semester in which it is initiated. Directed Research fees are non-refundable.

REGISTRATION- ADD/DROP PERIODS Students are expected to register during the scheduled registration periods designated on the academic calendar. Current students must meet with their academic coach prior to registration in order to review course plans. Registration will be restricted until the academic coach lifts the registration hold.

Students may add or drop classes directly on Self Service for online courses until the first day of the term. All registration changes after that time must be processed through the Registar’s Office by submitting the online Change of Schedule Request Form.

Online classes may be added only during the first 3 days of each session however, students must contact the Registrar’s Office for assistance in adding or dropping a Session B online class.

The last date for a student to voluntarily withdraw from a course is the last Friday of the term.

SCHEDULE CHANGES AFTER CENSUS

A student who attends a class and then officially drops it may have their financial aid package adjusted. If a student drops a class after Census, a grade of “W” or “WF” will be issued. A grade of “W” will not impact a student’s GPA, and will be awarded for any class dropped after Census: Day 5 for an 8 week online course and Day 10 for a 16 week course. A grade of “WF” will be issued after the end of the 4th week for an online course and after the end of the 9th week for a residential course, and will have the equivalent impact of an “F” in the GPA calculations.

Only students who have properly dropped a class within the tuition refund period are entitled to a refund, if eligible. See the Tuition Refund Schedule online under the Student Financial Services webpages. Proper withdrawal from a course also ensures the appropriate grade notation on the student’s record. An individual course dropped prior to Census will not appear on the student’s final transcript.

ADDING A CLASS LATE Students who register for a course after the first 3 days of the session will be held to the same syllabi expectations as students who start the course on the official start date. These expectations include, but are not limited to assignments and attendance policy. It is the responsibility of the student to make up missed assignments, class notes, etc. The professor is not responsible.

4+1 PROGRAM

The 4+1 Program is a five-year option to students who are interested in earning their undergraduate and graduate studies degrees quickly. Undergraduate seniors with more than 90 credits earned and a minimum GPA of 3.0 may apply to become eligible for the 4+1 Program. The program application form can be found online under the Academic forms.

Undergraduate students approved for the 4+1 Program are eligible to take up to five 500-level graduate courses for a total of 15 credits. Those courses designated as part of the 4+1 program will meet both undergraduate and graduate degree requirements, allowing completion of a Master’s Degree in just one additional academic year. It should be noted that not all programs will provide the option to take the full 15 credits. Students who do not need additional General Elective credit may choose to add the Leadership Certificate to their program. Please refer to the Certificate section of the catalog for more information.

4+1 Course Registration Registration in 500-level courses is restricted, so students must submit the 4+1 Course Registration form online. Registration approval is contingent upon those courses meeting an undergraduate degree requirement in order to be eligible for financial aid. For many programs, the audit sheet lists the undergraduate and graduate course options so they are clearly identified. Variances may be required if the 500-level course is not listed as an elective option in the undergraduate program.

The standard Add/Drop period applies to all undergraduate students enrolled in a 500-level course. Students will not be permitted to change either to the graduate course or the undergraduate course after the end of the Add/Drop period for that course.

Students must take 4+1 courses at the graduate level in order to meet degree requirements in a graduate program. Undergraduate versions of 4+1 courses will not be accepted for graduate credit unless the student has completed the additional coursework required as part of the Clawback Policy (see below).

4+1 CLAWBACK POLICY

Students who have taken the 400-level undergraduate course that has an approved 500-level course option are able to go to the professor of that course to do additional work and earn graduate credit. This option is limited to students approved for the 4+1 program or those already enrolled as a graduate student and is limited to two courses for 6 credits. There is a non-refundable $150 course fee charged to the student’s account at the time the form is approved.

To be eligible, the student must have earned a B- or higher in the undergraduate course. The Clawback request must be initiated within 3 terms of having completed the undergraduate course. The Clawback Approval Form can be found online and will be submitted by the supervising instructor or Director/Dean.

Once approved, the student will have a 6 week period in which to complete the additional graduate-level work required. In order to earn transfer credit for the graduate program, submitted work must earn a B- or higher. The transfer process will allow the undergraduate course to meet a graduate degree requirement with a TR grade awarded. This grade will not impact the undergraduate or graduate GPA.

PREREQUISITE COURSES Course prerequisites must be completed. Prerequisites are listed with each course description in the catalog. See course descriptions for additional details. Prerequisite waivers require Dean approval.

COURSE VARIANCES

Variance implies "a substitution of coursework taken at North Central University" whereby permission is granted by the Dean for one course to equivocally take the place of another in one’s prescribed program. To be eligible, the course taken must meet the following requirements:

• The course taken must meet the minimum course level of the required courses. Only upper level courses (300-400) can be varianced for upper level degree requirements, such as BIBL 335 for BIBL 472. Lower level courses (100-200) can be varianced by any level course (100-400). • Course variances within the General Education Core or Christian Studies Core require approval from the Dean of the required course. This is to ensure that North Central complies with all accreditation and Department of Education regulations.

"Course Variance Forms" are available online from the Registrar’s Office. Verbal agreements or promises to individuals are NOT sufficient to constitute a Variance. An approved Course Variance Form must be on file in the student’s record in order for it to be considered valid.

Approved Variance Forms will be held on file in the Registrar’s Office as part of the student’s permanent record. Only courses with passing grades will be processed as variances. They will be indicated as such on the student’s Degree Audit sheet by the Registrar’s Office.

A Course Variance Form is valid for no more than one term. If for any reason, a student is unable to register for the approved class within that term, the form will be discarded and a new form will have to be submitted to the Registrar’s Office.

DOUBLE COUNTING CREDITS

A student must earn a minimum of 125 credits towards graduation before any credits can be counted to meet a second degree requirement. A Course Variance Form must be submitted and approved by the Dean in order for any course to be double- counted towards graduation. No courses may be double counted with General Education degree requirements or the Christian Studies minor. Courses cannot be double-counted within the same requirement section (e.g. within the General Education Core or within the Major Core), nor can a single course be used to meet a third degree requirement.

REPEATED COURSES AND REPLACEMENT CREDITS

Students who wish to retake any NCU course may do so under the following provisions: 1. Courses that were previously failed may be repeated until a passing grade is earned and will count toward the determination of the student’s financial aid enrollment status and will be eligible for financial aid; 2. Any course with a passing grade (D- or higher) may be repeated only once and be aid eligible. Subsequent retakes will not be eligible for financial aid, even if the course does not meet the minimum requirement for a major; 3. Refunds for previously attempted courses will not be awarded or credited on retake attempts; 4. The most recent grade for a course voluntarily retaken will be the transcript grade used to factor the GPA; any earlier attempts will “show” but will not “count” toward factoring the cumulative GPA. This will be an automated process. Once a course is retaken, the credits for the prior attempt of the same course (regardless of the grade earned previously) will be adjusted on the transcript as follows: • Hours Registered (HR) (same as HA)...will “ accumulate” • Hours Earned (HE)...credits will “zero out” • Hours Toward Graduation (HG)...credits will “zero out”. 5. Graduation credits (HG) for any course will count only once toward the required 124 credits. 6. This provision does not apply to those courses which are designed to be repeated; for example, Music Lessons, Choirs and Ensembles. Such coursework is designated as being “repeatable” and failing grades cannot be replaced.