Statement of Policy

Attendance and participation in course activities are essential to student success at Excelsior College. A student is expected to be in contact with the instructor at the beginning of the course and to remain an active participant until its completion. Attendance will be monitored on a weekly basis.

The minimum expectation of a student is to demonstrate some activity in his or her course at least once a week. Activity is defined as posting on a discussion board (this includes replying on a discussion board, creating a journal entry and generating a blog post), taking an assessment, and/or submission of an assignment. This requirement is shared with faculty and students and is included in both the Faculty and Student Policy Handbooks. Additional course requirements (often more stringent) are outlined in course syllabi, and students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with these.

If a student fails to actively participate in a course for three consecutive weeks, at any point in a term, the student is considered excessively absent. The student will be administratively withdrawn after three consecutive weeks of nonparticipation. The earliest a student can be administratively withdrawn is the sixteenth business day of the term.

The student will not be eligible for a refund of the course tuition and will owe any balance due for the course. The student will be assigned a grade of AW (administratively withdrawn). A grade of AW does not calculate into the Excelsior College or Overall GPA, however, it will be factored into credits attempted/credits earned ratio for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). (See the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.)

A student who cannot participate in a course for a week or longer must contact the instructor to have his or her absence approved. Approval for absences must be made in advance on a week-by-week basis. Approved absences are at the discretion of the instructor.

A student receiving financial aid is subject to Return to Title IV regulations. Note: if a student is registered in INL 102 and receives AWs in all the other Excelsior College courses he/she is taking during the period of enrollment, the return to Title IV calculations will be completed on that student regardless if they complete INL 102 or not. A student’s last date of attendance will be the same as the course withdrawal date. If a student is not withdrawn two weeks prior to the course end date, and does not complete the course, she or he will be assigned the earned grade.

Procedure

The College will take the following steps to take attendance and to retain students enrolled in its courses:

• The student and instructor will have access to the attendance record within the course. The student will be marked as present, absent, or exception each week. Instructors will have the ability to override the minimum participation requirement by entering an exception in the gradebook when the student has contacted the instructor and the instructor has approved the student's absence. These arrangements will be made and noted on a week-by-week basis in the gradebook.
• Any student not actively participating for one week will be sent an email/message to the student's SIS email address and message center in MyExcelsior notifying the student of his or her nonparticipation and encouraging the student to contact the instructor and/or begin participating in the course immediately. The instructor, program director, and other designated staff will be sent a report via email notifying them of the student's nonparticipation. The student's attendance record will be documented in the SIS.
• Any student not actively participating for two consecutive weeks of the term will be sent an email/message to the student's SIS email address and message center in MyExcelsior notifying the student a second time. The student will again be encouraged to contact her or his instructor and/or begin participating. The student will be warned that he or she will be administratively withdrawn after three consecutive weeks of nonparticipation. The earliest a student can be administratively withdrawn is the sixteenth business day of the term if his or her lack of participation continues.
• Any student not participating by the end of the third consecutive week will be assigned an AW grade for the course on Monday 12:01 am ET by the Office of Registration and Records and the student's access to the course is terminated. Instructors, program directors, and other designated staff are sent a report listing students who have been awarded AW grades. When the AW grade is assigned, the Office of Registration and Records will send an email/message to the student's SIS email address and message center in MyExcelsior. The grade is posted to SIS and students can see their grade on MyExcelsior.
• When a student is administratively withdrawn, the student will not be eligible for refund of course tuition. (See Withdrawal from a Course Policy).
• The Return to Title IV Funds Policy will only apply if the student receives an AW on all the Excelsior College courses he/she is taking during that period of enrollment.
• If a student is not withdrawn two weeks prior to the course end date, and does not complete the course, she or he will be assigned the earned grade.

AW Appeal Process

If the student wants to appeal the AW grade he/she has until Tuesday at 11:59 pm ET. The appeal should be sent to AWappeal@excelsior.edu in the Office of Registration and Records. The appeals are forwarded to the appropriate school course for decision. The school will investigate, make a decision, and send the decision to AWappeal@excelsior.edu no later than noon Friday. If the decision is in the student's favor, the Office of Registration and Records will notify the student and will remove the AW grade. The student's access to the course will be restored and the instructor will be notified by the school. In the event that the student's appeal is denied, the school will notify the student of this decision.

Statement of Policy

Attendance and participation in course activities are essential to student success at Excelsior College. A student is expected to be in contact with the instructor at the beginning of the course and to remain an active participant until its completion. Attendance will be monitored on a weekly basis in eight-week CD-ROM courses and no less than biweekly in 15-week CD-ROM courses, as stipulated in the CD-ROM syllabi.

The minimum expectation of a student is to demonstrate some activity in his or her course weekly or biweekly, as stipulated in the CD-ROM syllabi, depending upon the length of the course. Activity is defined as sending an email message to the instructor, taking an assessment, and/or submission of an assignment. This requirement is shared with faculty and students and is included in both the Faculty and Student Policy Handbooks. Additional course requirements (often more stringent) are outlined in course syllabi, and students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with these.

If a student fails to actively participate in a CD-ROM course for three consecutive modules (3–6 weeks total) at any point prior to two weeks before the end of the term (week 14 for 15-week courses and week 7 for 8-week courses), the student is considered excessively absent. The student will be administratively withdrawn after the stipulated period of nonparticipation as established in the CD-ROM syllabus of the course. The earliest a student can be administratively withdrawn is the 20th calendar day of the term.

The student will not be eligible for a refund of the course tuition and will owe any balance due for the course. The student will be assigned a grade of AW (administratively withdrawn). A grade of AW does not calculate into the EC or overall GPA; however, it will be factored into credits attempted/credits earned ratio for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). (See the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.)

A student who cannot participate in a course as stipulated in the syllabus at least weekly or biweekly, must promptly contact the instructor to have his or her anticipated absence approved well in advance of the absence. Approved absences are at the discretion of the instructor.

A student receiving financial aid is subject to Return to Title IV regulations. Note: if a student is registered in INL 102 and receives AWs in all the other Excelsior College courses he/she is taking during the period of enrollment, the return to Title IV calculations will be completed on that student regardless if they complete INL 102 or not. A student’s last date of attendance will be the same as the course withdrawal date. If a student is not withdrawn two weeks prior to the course end date, and does not complete the course, she or he will be assigned the earned grade.

Procedure

1. Each school offering CD-ROM courses will arrange gradebooks and define a procedure for assuring compliance with this policy bearing in mind the course length and any other conditions specific to that school’s CD-ROM courses.
    
2. All students must be given at least two consecutive warnings before the administrative withdrawal process takes place and both warnings will be documented by activity log codes in SIS.
   
   
   1. The first warning will come after the first gradebook record of absenteeism for at least one week. If the absence is in the first week, the warning will come as early as week 2 for all CD-ROM courses. Otherwise:
      
      
      1. For 15-week, 8-module courses, the first warning will come after two weeks (one module) of absence.
          
      2. For 15-week, 15-module or 8-week, 8-module courses, the first warning will come after one week of absence.
          
   2. The second warning will come after the second consecutive gradebook record of absenteeism.
      
      
      1. For 15-week, 8-module courses, the second warning will come after the second consecutive two weeks (one module) of absence.
          
      2. For 15-week, 15-module or 8-week, 8-module courses, the second warning will come after the second consecutive week of absence.
          
   3. The administrative withdrawal will come after the third consecutive gradebook record of absenteeism.
      
      
      1. For 15-week, 8-module courses, the administrative withdrawal will come after a third consecutive two weeks (one module) of absence.
          
      2. For 15-week, 15-module or 8-week, 8-module courses, the administrative withdrawal will come after the third consecutive week of absence.
          
   4. A request for administrative withdrawal will be directed to register@excelsior.edu by the school dean or designee following a third consecutive record of absence in the gradebook.
       
3. The timing of these actions each week will coincide with the timing of warnings and administrative withdrawals generated for students in online courses. When a student is administratively withdrawn, the student will not be eligible for refund of course tuition. (See Withdrawal from a Course policy).

A student receiving financial aid is subject to Return to Title IV regulations. Note: if a student is registered in INL 102 and receives AWs in all the other Excelsior College courses he/she is taking during the period of enrollment, the return to Title IV calculations will be completed on that student regardless if they complete INL 102 or not. A student's last date of attendance will be the same as the course withdrawal date.

If a student is not withdrawn two weeks prior to the course end date and does not complete the course, she or he will be assigned the earned grade.

AW Appeal Process

If the student wants to appeal the AW grade, he/she has until Tuesday 11:59 pm ET. The appeal should be sent to AWappeal@excelsior.edu in the Office of Registration and Records. The appeals are forwarded to the appropriate school from which the student is taking the course. The school will investigate, make a decision, and send the decision to AWappeal@excelsior.edu no later than noon Friday. A student's resumption of participation after the AW grade has been issued will not ordinarily be considered justification to overturn the AW grade. If the decision is in the student's favor, the Office of Registration and Records will notify the student and will remove the AW grade. The student will again be allowed to participate in the course and the instructor will be notified by the school. In the event that the student's appeal is denied, the school will notify the student of this decision.