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.
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.
Attendance Policy
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.
Doctoral students are required to attend first term symposium. If a doctoral student does not attend the student will be administratively withdrawn at the end of the first quarter. Attendance for the required 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 doctoral student must submit in writing a request to the Dean or designee to be excused from a portion of their symposium. The Dean 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 four required symposia.
Medical Cases:
In the case of a medical emergency that prevents the doctoral student from participating in the entire symposium, the doctoral student can be excused up to 50% of the symposia by the Dean or designee. If the absence is over 50% of the entire symposium, the symposium will not count as one of the four required symposia.
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:
- 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.
- 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
- 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:
- Re-use: “This task was originally submitted during the [previous session] in [previous course & section] with [previous instructor name].”
- Repurposed: “This task contains portions of material that were originally submitted during the [previous session] in [previous course & section] with [previous instructor name].”
- 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.
- 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.
- If a student is awarded a lower grade for repurposed or re-used work, this is not considered grounds for a grade appeal.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- Academic or administrative dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarizing, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University;
- Forgery, alteration, misuse, or mutilation of University documents, records, identifications, educational material, and/or University property;
- Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or any other authorized activities on University premises;
- Physical or verbal abuse of any University official as well as conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any such person;
- 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;
- Unauthorized entry to, use of, or occupation of University facilities and resources;
- Intentional and unauthorized interference with right of access to University facilities, freedom of movement or speech of any person on campus;
- 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;
- Unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol on campus or during any student activities;
- 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;
- Rioting or aiding, abetting, encouraging, or participating in a riot or inciting a riot;
- 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;
- Aiding, abetting, or inciting others in committing any act of misconduct set forth in any of these behavior patterns;
- 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;
- 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.)
- Lack of academic achievement and/or suspension;
- Unauthorized solicitation of students, faculty or staff on campus or online for any product or service;
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
|
Letter
Grade
|
Description
|
Percentage
|
Included in
Credits Earned
|
Included in
Credits Attempted
|
Included
in CGPA
|
Grade
Points
|
|
A
|
Excellent
|
94 – 100
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
4.0
|
|
A-
|
90-93
|
3.7
|
|
B+
|
Good
|
86 – 89
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
3.3
|
|
B
|
83 – 85
|
3.0
|
|
B-
|
80 - 82
|
2.7
|
|
C+
|
Fair
|
76 – 79
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
2.3
|
|
C
|
73-75
|
2.0
|
|
C-
|
70-72
|
1.7
|
|
D+
|
Poor
|
65 – 69
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
1.3
|
|
D
|
60 – 64
|
1.0
|
|
F
|
Unsatisfactory
|
0 – 59
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
0.0
|
|
P
|
Passing
|
A/R
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
WP
|
LOA
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
PD
|
Pass Developmental
|
60-100
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
NA
|
|
FD
|
Fail Developmental
|
0-59
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
NA
|
|
I
|
Incomplete
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
INC*
|
Incomplete
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
N/A
|
|
W
|
Withdraw
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
PR
|
Proficiency
|
-
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
TC
|
Transfer
|
-
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
AU
|
Audit
|
-
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
NA
|
|
IP
|
In Progress
|
-
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
NA
|
|
**
|
Repeat
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
INC* - administrative use only
Graduate Grade Scale
|
Letter
Grade
|
Description
|
Percentage
|
Included in
Credits Earned
|
Included in
Credits Attempted
|
Included
in CGPA
|
Grade
Points
|
|
A
|
Excellent
|
94 - 100
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
4.0
|
|
A-
|
90 - 93
|
3.7
|
|
B+
|
Good
|
86 - 89
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
3.3
|
|
B
|
83 - 85
|
3.0
|
|
B-
|
80 - 82
|
2.7
|
|
C+
|
Fair
|
76 - 79
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
2.3
|
|
C
|
73 - 75
|
2.0
|
|
F
|
Unsatisfactory
|
0 - 72
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
0.0
|
|
WP
|
LOA
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
I
|
Incomplete
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
INC*
|
Incomplete
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
W
|
Withdraw
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
TC
|
Transfer
|
-
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
AU
|
Audit
|
-
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
NA
|
|
IP
|
In Progress
|
-
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
NA
|
|
**
|
Repeat
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
INC* - administrative use only
Doctorate Grade Scale
|
Letter
Grade
|
Description
|
Percentage
|
Included in
Credits Earned
|
Included in
Credits Attempted
|
Included
in CGPA
|
Grade
Points
|
|
A
|
Excellent
|
94 - 100
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
4.0
|
|
A-
|
90 - 93
|
3.7
|
|
B+
|
Good
|
86 - 89
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
3.3
|
|
B
|
83 - 85
|
3.0
|
|
B-
|
80 - 82
|
2.7
|
|
F
|
Failing
|
0 - 79
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
0.0
|
|
WP
|
LOA
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
I
|
Incomplete
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
INC*
|
Incomplete
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
P
|
Passing
|
-
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
NP
|
Non-Passing
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
W
|
Withdraw
|
-
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
AU
|
Audit
|
-
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
NA
|
|
TC
|
Transfer
|
-
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
|
IP
|
In Progress
|
-
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
NA
|
INC* - administrative use only
Re-taking a Failed Course
A student who receives a failing grade (W/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 for courses receiving a W/F/NP grade is 4 repeats for a total of 5 attempts at the undergraduate level, and 3 repeats for a total of 4 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. The total number of attempts for a student receiving a grade of W/F/NP is five at the undergraduate level and four at the graduate level.
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.
Application of Withdrawal Grade
A "W" grade indicates that a student has been withdrawn from a course. Students who withdraw from a course during the add/drop period will be unregistered from the course. Students who withdraw from a course after the add/drop period but before the last calendar week of the class, and have a date of attendance (LDA) for the class during the last calendar week of the scheduled course, will receive the grade earned calculated as a final grade. A Course Withdrawal Form or Withdrawal Routing Spreadsheet is completed by campus officials when awarding "W"grades.
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.
Incomplete Policy
To receive an Incomplete (I) grade, the student must petition the course Instructor to receive an extension to complete the required coursework. The Instructor must approve the request within three business days of receiving the student’s request, but no later than the last day of class. The student must be satisfactorily passing the course at the time of petition. Should a student fail to complete the unfulfilled coursework requirements within 14 calendar days from the end of the course for 11 week courses, or within 7 calendar days for 5.5 week courses, the Incomplete grade will be converted to the grade the student earned in the class, inclusive of “0” points for the incomplete work.
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
A student who disagrees with a grade he or she has received should contact the course Instructor immediately to discuss the concern. If the dispute is unresolved, the student must submit a written appeal within the subsequent term after posting of final grades to the campus Chief Academic Officer or designee. The student’s appeal must include the reason for appealing the grade and must also provide documentation supporting the appeal (if applicable) with the written request. A decision regarding the appeal will be made within 30 calendar days of appeal submission. Students will be notified in writing of the decision. For the Grade Appeal Procedure, please refer to the Student Handbook.