Classroom Policies

Directed Study Courses

Students may be permitted to complete coursework through Directed Study, monitored by a faculty member. No more than 6 students can be registered for a Directed Study course at a physical campus as it will then constitute a regular class. No more than 4 students can be registered for a Directed Study course through the Virtual Campus. For physical campus courses: such permission will be granted only when there is no possibility for completing the regular coursework within a reasonable period of time under the regular class schedule. Special course completion arrangements require pre-approval by the academic program administrator and must be documented in writing. For the Virtual Campus courses: these will be converted to a Directed Study for courses that have 4 students or fewer registered. All pre-requisites for the regular course must be met. Tuition for a course completed in this manner is charged at the current rate for regular courses. Grades are earned in the same manner as traditional courses. The standard course codes are used; timing, assignments, and all course materials and syllabi are consistent. There is no notation of the special arrangement on the student’s transcript. Directed study cannot be used in lieu of a Leave of Absence.

Attendance Policy

The University recognizes that regular attendance has a positive impact on a student’s success in his or her degree program of study. Students are expected to be in class for all regularly scheduled class periods and to report to class on time. The University posts attendance for each course every week to support academic success and properly administer financial aid. Absences of five days or more are correlated with increased risk of not finishing a course.

Academic participation includes attending scheduled classes and labs, engaging in the online environment, reading materials, working problems, using the library and other resources, viewing videos, and other academically related activities supporting learning as well as personal and professional developmental activities. The nature of the learning environment and the special needs of adult students require a revised definition of “present” if one of the following conditions applies:

• The student is physically in the classroom or lab.
• The student has participated in the learning environment including submitting an assignment, taken a knowledge check, or participated in a graded online discussion board.

Attendance for the doctoral symposia is defined as 100% attendance on each day throughout the facilitation. The only exception is for extreme cases or medical emergency.

Exceptions:

In an extreme case a student must submit in writing a request to the Vice Provost or designee to be excused from a portion of their symposium. The Vice Provost or designee must approve and forward to the appropriate department for recording. The excused absence CANNOT exceed 25% of the entire symposium. If the absence is over 25% of the entire symposium, the symposium will not count as one of the five required symposia.

Medical Cases:

In the case of a medical emergency that prevents the student from participating in the entire symposium, the student can be excused up to 50% of the symposia by the Vice Provost or designee. If the absence is over 50% of the entire symposium, the symposium will not count as one of the five required symposia.

Students should note that Healthcare programs may have more rigorous attendance requirements. Specific requirements can be found in the appropriate Health Sciences programmatic handbook.

Add/ Drop Policy

The add/drop scheduling period is held during the first week of a student's session. Students desiring to drop or add a course within this period need to contact their Academic Advisor/Prior Learning Assessment Team for guidance in making this schedule change. Any schedule changes may extend the length of a program of study.

Academic Honesty and Integrity

All students are expected to conform to the accepted standards of academic honesty. Any clear violations of these standards, such as cheating, violating copyright laws, or plagiarism are to be processed promptly, firmly, privately, and fairly by the instructor and may result in sanctions up to and including dismissal from the University. The instructor will promptly notify the University (Dean, Chair, or the appropriate academic official) of the discovery of the incident. All instances are cumulative, permanently recorded, and tracked across a student’s tenure at all CTU campuses. The final determination of academic dishonesty will be decided by the appropriate academic official for the particular program or campus.

First-time violations may result in an “F” being assigned for the assignment in which the violation occurred and the placement of a letter in the student’s file. The student will be notified by the appropriate University official and required to review the academic honesty policy and Honor Code and affirm the CTU Honor Statement.

A second violation may result in an “F” being assigned for the course in which the violation occurred. A third violation of academic honesty may lead to dismissal from the University.

The student may appeal any decision to the appropriate Appeals Board. The Appeals Board will render a final decision after appropriate investigation, which may include factors such as prior academic honesty violations, previous correspondence and warnings, and academic history. Decisions from the Appeals Board may have stipulations attached to outcomes.

Cheating

Cheating shall be defined as:

• copying to any extent the work of another;
• intentionally assisting another student during an examination;
• having unauthorized access to material related to an examination during the examination;
• possessing or having access to unauthorized copies of an examination;
• departing from any stated examination conditions.

Plagiarism

The New International Dictionary of the English Language, (Funk & Wagnalls, c2000, p. 965) defines Plagiarize as “to appropriate and pass off as one’s own (the writings, ideas, etc., of another)”.

Plagiarism involves:

• submitting another person’s work as one’s own;
• submitting work from any source that is not properly acknowledged by footnote, bibliography, or reference within a paper;
• submitting work pieced together from phrases and/or sentences from various sources without acknowledgment;
• submitting work with another person’s phrase(s) rearranged without acknowledgement;
• submitting work that uses any phrase, sentence, or stylistic mannerism without acknowledgment;
• omitting quotation marks from any directly quoted material;
• failure to use ellipsis (…) to indicate omission of one or more words;
• any other actions deemed to be plagiarism by the faculty.

Originality Policy

We at Colorado Technical University (CTU) value integrity, honesty, and originality. In order to uphold these values in the classroom, CTU utilizes the TurnitIn® Originality Verification Tool. This tool assists faculty, students, & staff by ensuring that all student work adheres to the University’s Academic Integrity policy.

Students are encouraged to utilize this tool prior to their official submission to ensure that the work they are producing is in fact their own. While the TurnitIn® Originality Verification Tool does not detect plagiarism, it does assist in the investigation and verification of overall integrity of the material provided by the student.

The University places emphasis on the following originality guidelines:

1. Students are expected to produce work that displays proper use of the most up-to-date version of APA. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of in-text citations, quotation marks, and references to ensure proper acknowledgment is given to any external source(s) used in the creation of academic material.
2. Since academic integrity concerns come in many forms (i.e. plagiarism, cheating, purchasing of work, lack of original content, etc.), a specific similarity percentage (%) rendered by the TurnitIn® tool does not necessarily result in the same outcomes for all content. Each student assignment should be thoroughly reviewed no matter the score provided by TurnitIn® in order for the faculty to determine the most appropriate action (see Academic Integrity Policy).

Note: Exclusive use of the similarity score % as criteria for identifying possible violations of academic integrity is prohibited. All students are to be assessed based on the content and contextual use of sources.

Repurposing and Re-use of Student Work Policy

At Colorado Technical University, students are given the opportunity to re-use and/or repurpose work that was previously submitted to past courses. It is important for every student to understand the difference between the two and recognize their responsibility as a student.

Re-use: Students who are retaking the same course may use previously submitted work in its entirety without penalty. As with every task, students must uphold academic integrity, therefore they can only re-use work that is original to them (see Academic Integrity and Originality Policies).

Repurposing: Students have the opportunity to use previously submitted ideas as a foundation for future courses. No more than 50% of a paper, excluding references, may be repurposed from another Colorado Technical University class. As with every task, students must uphold academic integrity, therefore students must still follow the guidelines for remaining academically honest (see Academic Integrity and Originality Policies). Exceptions to the 50% may be made when a student is building a body of work at the discretion of the faculty member.

Student Responsibility

1. It is a student’s responsibility to prove that the work that is being repurposed or re-used is his/her own by labeling any repurposed or re-used work with the following verbiage:
2. Re-use: “This task was originally submitted during the [previous session] in [previous course & section] with [previous instructor name].”
3. Repurposed: “This task contains portions of material that were originally submitted during the [previous session] in [previous course & section] with [previous instructor name].”
4. If an instructor is not made aware of work being repurposed or re-used, an instructor will treat the assignment as a plagiarized task and reserves the right to post an F grade and submit a task for review to administration until proof of originality is provided.
5. An instructor is under no obligation to consider the grade that was originally received in a previous course on repurposed or re-used work. Therefore, there is no guarantee the same grade will be awarded since each instructor has different grading styles.
6. If a student is awarded a lower grade for repurposed or re-used work, this is not considered grounds for a grade appeal.
7. Students are expected to participate fully in every course, therefore if there are multiple assignments being re-used, students should avoid submitting tasks all at once and should keep pace with assignment due dates.
8. In order to update attendance, students must complete a Knowledge Check or submit an assignment to the Discussion Board, Submitted Assignments, or Small Groups areas.
9. With each new session it is possible for the curriculum of a course to change. Therefore, students who choose to utilize the re-use policy are responsible for updating their assignments as a result of those changes.
10. Instructors are under no obligation to allow students to resubmit re-used work in order to make corrections if the work does not meet the requirements of the new session.

Student Conduct

Colorado Technical University fosters an academic community that is committed to the educational and personal growth of each and every student and therefore, enrollment in CTU obligates students to conduct themselves as responsible members of the University community. Behavior that discredits the individual or the University, as generally determined by University rules and regulations, may result in disciplinary action. CTU reserves the right to dismiss any student whose conduct is regarded as being in conflict with the best interests of the University or in violation of its rules and regulations.

Additionally, all students are expected to respect the rights of others and are held responsible for conforming to the laws of the national, state and local governments, and for conducting themselves in a manner consistent with the best interests of the University and of the student body. CTU reserves the right to dismiss a student for any of the following reasons: failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, failure to pay school fees and/or tuition by applicable deadlines, posing a danger to the health or welfare of students or other members of the CTU community, or failure to comply with the policies and procedures of CTU.

Any unpaid balance for tuition, fees and supplies becomes due and payable immediately upon a student’s dismissal from the school. The institution will also determine if any Title IV funds need to be returned (see Financial Information Section of this catalog).

Examples of behavior patterns that are not in harmony with the educational goals of the University include the following:

1. Academic or administrative dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarizing, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University;
2. Forgery, alteration, misuse, or mutilation of University documents, records, identifications, educational material, and/or University property;
3. Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or any other authorized activities on University premises;
4. Physical or verbal abuse of any University official as well as conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any such person;
5. Theft of or damage to property of the University or using, or attempting to use, University property in a manner inconsistent with its designed purpose;
6. Unauthorized entry to, use of, or occupation of University facilities and resources;
7. Intentional and unauthorized interference with right of access to University facilities, freedom of movement or speech of any person on campus;
8. Disorderly, lewd, unwelcome sexual advances, unwanted requests for favors of a sexual nature, physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature, and indecent or obscene conduct or expression;
9. Unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol on campus or during any student activities;
10. Violation of a federal, state, or local ordinance including, but not limited to, those covering alcoholic beverages, narcotics, dangerous drugs, gambling, weapons, sex offenses, or arson;
11. Rioting or aiding, abetting, encouraging, or participating in a riot or inciting a riot;
12. Failure to comply with the verbal or written directions of any University officials acting in the performance of their duties and in the scope of their employment;
13. Aiding, abetting, or inciting others in committing any act of misconduct set forth in any of these behavior patterns;
14. Conviction of a crime which is of a serious nature. Upon filing of charges in criminal court involving an offense that is of a serious nature and when it is administratively determined that the continued presence of the student would constitute a threat or danger to the University community, such student may be temporarily suspended pending disposition of the charges in criminal court;
15. Proven plagiarism or falsification of authenticity is a serious matter of significant ethical and legal concern; (Students are informed that if it is ever proven that there was significant misrepresentation or misattribution of material presented, any degrees or credit awarded by the University based on the material will be revoked.)
16. Lack of academic achievement and/or suspension;
17. Unauthorized solicitation of students, faculty or staff on campus or online for any product or service;
18. Other behavior or actions that might constitute a threat to the University Community (i.e., weapons possession, alcohol or drug abuse, etc.) as determined by appropriate university authorities.
19. Breach of information security policies (including but not limited to using another’s password or sharing his/her password) at an internship/externship will cause the student to fail the internship/externship and may be dismissed from their program.
20. All information (including but not limited to patient or other proprietary information) gained from clinical sites or other internship sites is deemed to be confidential. Sharing of this information in any form (repeating to another individual, posting on social media sites, etc.) is a breach of confidentiality and unprofessional conduct and will result in immediate dismissal from the University.

Grading

Grade Point Average (GPA)

The grade point average is computed for each academic level using course grade points. The grade points earned for each course are computed by multiplying the course's credit hours by the grade point of the final grade received. The quarterly GPA is computed by dividing the sum of the grade points earned in all courses taken during the quarter by the total number of credit hours attempted during the quarter. The Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is calculated by dividing the total earned quality points by the total credits attempted.

Grading System

Grade reports are available to students via the Virtual Campus, Mycampus portal, or the Registrar’s Office at the completion of each term/session. Grades are based on the quality of work as indicated on the course syllabus. Earned quality points are calculated for each course by multiplying the grade point value for the grade received for the course multiplied by the credit hour value of the course. For example, a 4.0 credit course with a grade of B would earn 12.0 quality points (credit value of course (4) times grade point value of B (3)). The Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is calculated by dividing the total earned quality points by the total attempted credits. The following pages provide an illustration of letter grades, description, percentage points, meaning and quality points.

Undergraduate Grade Scale

INC* - administrative use only

Graduate Grade Scale

INC* - administrative use only

Doctorate Grade Scale

INC* - administrative use only

Application of Grades and Credits

The charts above describe the impact of each grade on a student’s academic progress. For calculating rate of academic progress, grades of F (unsatisfactory), W (withdraw), and I (incomplete) are counted as hours attempted but are not counted as hours successfully completed.

The student must repeat any required course in which the student receives a grade of F or W. A grade of W is not replaced when a student repeats the course, but remains part of the student's permanent record. If the course is no longer offered a substitute course may be used subject to approval from a Program Chair. In the case of a repeated course, the better of the two grades is calculated into the CGPA. The lower grade will be replaced by a double asterisk (**) indicating that a higher grade has been earned for a separate attempt at the course. If the same grade is obtained when a course is repeated, only the first attempt and corresponding grade will be calculated into the CGPA. Both original and repeated credits will be counted as attempted credits in rate of progress calculations.

Students who repeat courses are encouraged to consult their Academic Advisor/Student Advising Team on how repeated courses may adversely affect their Satisfactory Academic Progress. Students should also contact the Financial Aid Department regarding repeated courses that have extended the length of a degree program and may have resulted in additional charges. Students are financially responsible for attempted courses.

Undergraduate students will be allowed to repeat courses in which they received a grade of D or below and master’s students will be allowed to repeat courses in which they received a grade of C or below.

Re-taking a Failed Course

A student who receives a failing grade (F/NP) in a required course must repeat the course and receive a passing grade or receive transfer credit for the course in order to graduate. Students are allowed to re-take any course a maximum numbers of times before being withdrawn from their program. At CTU the maximum number is 3 repeats for a total of 4 attempts at the undergraduate level, and 2 repeats for a total of 3 attempts at the graduate level. A course for which an “F” is awarded is included in the term GPA and CGPA. When the student repeats the course with a passing grade or receives transfer credit, the CGPA will be adjusted accordingly using the highest grade. The failure will remain on the transcript. Students should note that Healthcare programs may have more rigorous academic requirements. Students should contact their Academic Advisor or Program Chair for specific program requirements regarding retakes and failed courses.

Re-taking a Passed Course

A student receiving a passing grade* who wishes to repeat a course to receive a higher grade is allowed to re-take the course one time. Students will be ineligible for Title IV funding for additional attempts beyond the first re-take.

*Students in the Health Science programs must obtain a C+ (76%) or higher in science, algebra, and core Health Science courses in order to pass the course. Health Science students may retake the course one time. Failure to receive a passing grade (C+ or better) on the second attempt will result in program dismissal. Students should see the Program Handbook or Program Director for more information regarding program progression.

Incomplete Policy

An incomplete (I) grade is a temporary extension, granted for extenuating circumstances that are beyond a student’s control and are not reasonably foreseeable.

These circumstances include, but are not limited to the following:

• Medical
• Family Emergency
• Jury Duty
• Military Obligations
• Other unforeseeable circumstances that will be evaluated by the instructor during the initial request for an incomplete.

In order to qualify for an incomplete, a student must adhere to all of the following requirements:

1. An incomplete will only be granted if there has been established communication with the instructor prior to requesting the incomplete (e.g. communication about the extenuating circumstances that will impact a student’s ability to submit assignments on time).
2. For students attending online courses, if approved, a student can complete no more than three (3) assignments during the time of an incomplete for each week of the extension. This aligns with the guidelines that CTU has placed as the maximum number of assignments given to a student within a one week period. All other tasks that have not been completed in accordance with an instructor’s late policy during the timeframe of the regular session will receive zero grades.
   
   • Online 5 ½ week course: 3 assignments
   • Online 11 week course: 6 assignments

     For students attending a physical campus, a student must have achieved a passing grade in the course that they are requesting the incomplete for. It does not matter how many assignments have been submitted; however, a student must be passing at the time of the request.

3. Students must request the incomplete via email from his/her assigned instructor no later than 12pm (noon) CST on the last day of the session. Students will be notified via email by the instructor regarding the decision of the incomplete. Not all requests for an incomplete will be granted. The instructor has the discretion to approve or deny the request if a student fails to meet any of the requirements and/or is in conflict with the instructor’s discretion of the late policy.
4. If the incomplete is approved, the student’s course will be opened for a time period specific to the type of course they are enrolled in.
   • 5 ½ week course: 7 day extension
   • 11 week course: 14 day extension
5. No work will be accepted beyond the timeframe of the incomplete period and a zero grade will be assigned to any coursework that is not completed by the incomplete deadline.
6. If the incomplete is approved, once an assignment has been submitted, the instructor is under no obligation to grade a task unless a follow up communication has been sent via email to make the instructor aware of the submission.

*If the incomplete is approved, the instructor will complete the required documentation and submit it to Administration no later than 11:59pm CST on the last day of the session.

**The Vice Provost, Director of Education, or Vice President of Academic Affairs can make an exception to the policy under extraordinary circumstances.

An INC grade is an administrative use only indicator to notate an incomplete that is outside of the institution’s incomplete policy. It is for the purpose of natural disasters and other situations approved by the institution.

Grade Appeal Procedure

Colorado Technical University strives to ensure that academic evaluation is objective, fair and professionally performed. Assessment of a student’s performance is one of the primary responsibilities of a faculty member and is solely his/her responsibility. It is essential that academic standards and the integrity of programs and degrees of the institution be the professional judgment of faculty. It is the responsibility of the instructor to explain and interpret the grading system to students. Grades should be determined within accepted University standards. Guidelines for grading should be distributed at the beginning of each course.

If a student’s course grade, or grades for select assignments within a course, have been assigned in error or capriciously (i.e., graded on something other than performance in the course, graded to more exacting standards than other students in the course, or graded outside of stated criteria distributed in the course) a student may take the following steps to seek resolution:

• Confer with the instructor. It is important to fully understand how the grade was determined. The student has an obligation to state the reason(s) why the grade is unjust.
• If a student cannot contact the instructor, the student should contact the appropriate academic official in an attempt to come to a resolution. This process should be done immediately after the grade has been posted.
• If the above does not resolve the appeal to the satisfaction of the student, the student can then elect to submit a petition in writing to the Grade Appeals Committee /Academic Services at their respective campus or division. This appeal needs to be submitted within the subsequent term.

The petition must include evidence demonstrating how the grade was given incorrectly or was given capriciously. The Grade Appeals Committee/Academic Services will then review the petition, confer with the instructor and review any additional evidence that warrants consideration. After reviewing the petition the Grade Appeals Committee/Academic Services will make one of the following recommendations:

• There is not a valid reason for the appeal, and the grade stands as assigned.
• If it is determined there is evidence the grade was assigned incorrectly or capriciously, the assignment(s) in question will be re-examined by another qualified faculty member.

A grade appeal may result in one of three decisions:

• The grade remains the same;
• the grade is raised; or
• the grade is lowered.

Please note that grades assigned after an appeal will not be changed back to the original grade, as it compromises the academic integrity of the University. Any late penalties assessed (or other grading policies not met) in awarding the original grade will continue to be applied during the review. Grades assigned as a result of the grade appeal process are final and may not be appealed again. Appeals will not be considered until final course grades are posted.