Program Specific Academic Policies

B.S. in Healthcare Administration

Credit Hour Requirement

The Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Administration program requires students to complete of 120 semester credits. The 120-hour requirement for the B.S. in Healthcare Administration program includes the following: 

• 36 semester credits earned at ACE. 
• 84 credits earned either at an accredited institution outside of ACE, earned as electives at ACE, earned as CLEP credit, or earned through prior learning assessment.
  • 30 of these credits are required to be fulfilled in accordance with the general education policy. 

Certificate in Transition to Teaching/Masters of Arts in Teaching

Benchmark Policy

MAT/T2T students at the American College of Education must pass three benchmarks during their coursework to advance to student teaching. Students who are not able to pass the benchmarks will be scheduled for non-licensure tracks which will allow them to earn a degree but not receive a teaching license. 

Content Area Test Policy 

ACE requires for all Masters of Arts in Secondary Teaching and Certificate in Transition to Teaching in Secondary Education students to successfully take and pass their required content area test(s) prior to the start of their fifth term at ACE. If ACE does not receive proof of official passing scores prior to a student starting his/her fifth term, she/he will be administratively withdrawn from the program. Information about approved tests can be found on the Indiana Department of Education’s website (http://www.doe.in.gov/licensing/educator-testing).

Mentor Teacher Approval for Student Teaching Policy 

ACE requires for all MAT/T2T students to have an approved mentor teacher before beginning the student teaching experience. If a mentor teacher is not approved by the beginning of student teaching, he/she will not be permitted to progress in the program until such a time as this requirement is met. To be approved, student teaching mentor teachers must meet the following criteria:

• Must hold a current U. S. teaching license and be a practicing classroom teacher with at least three years’ experience in the grade level or content area of the student teacher’s certification. 

• Received an evaluation rated as effective or highly effective (or the equivalent) on the teacher evaluation system in the school district for the last three years. 

• Located within the same school as the student teacher.   

• Cannot be related to the student teacher.  

Field Hours Requirement

Students are required to complete field hours as part of the degree completion, prior to student teaching. Field hours are embedded in the assignments within the course along with the diversity experience form. All field hours must be completed prior to enrollment in student teaching. To successfully complete the field hours, students must gain access to classrooms upon enrollment into the MAT/T2T program which aligns with their selected degree area. Students must also submit an acknowledgment of the requirements and verification of classroom access in the admission application.

Mentor Teacher Requirements

• Must hold a current U. S. teaching license and be a practicing classroom teacher with at least three years’ experience in the grade level or content area of the student teacher’s certification.
• Received an evaluation rated as effective or highly effective (or the equivalent) on the teacher evaluation system in the school district for the last three years.
• Located within the same school as the student teacher.
• Cannot be related to the student teacher.

Remediation Policy

MAT/T2T students at the American College of Education must pass three benchmarks with a score of 80% or better during their coursework to advance to student teaching. Once in student teaching, students must pass each assignment in the student teaching course with an 80% to complete the program. Students who are not successful in meeting these requirements are provided remediation to support growth in the areas of deficiency. 

Students who do not pass the first or second benchmark during the first attempt are enrolled in a remediation course during the following term which provides support and guidance for the areas related to the benchmark. By the end of the term, students complete the benchmark a second time. Students who do not pass the benchmark after the second attempt will be moved to the non-licensure track.

The final benchmark is submitted during the first week of the student teaching term. Students must submit all completed diversity field experiences to document the required hours. The diversity field experiences are completed as part of the coursework during the program. Students who do not submit all the required diversity field experiences will be dropped from student teaching and will be re-enrolled for the following term.  

Students who are not successful in meeting the required score in student teaching on assignments are provided a personal remediation plan which identifies specific criteria and goals which must be met to pass student teaching. The remediation plan is signed by the student, mentor teacher, and field supervisor. This document acts as a formal contract and outlines the expectations which must be met to pass the student teaching course. Students who do not meet all identified criteria will not be able to pass student teaching and will be re-enrolled in the following term.  

Ed.D. in Leadership

Benchmark Exam Policy 

Ed.D. students at the American College of Education must pass the Research Competency Exam, the first benchmark of the program. To pass the research competency exam, students must receive a score of 80% or better. Students who are not able to pass the exam shall not be scheduled for other Ed.D. courses until a passing score is achieved. Students will have up to three attempts in three terms to pass this exam. If a student is not able to pass the first doctoral benchmark after exposure in three (3) courses, they must enter a program change to the Ed.S. program.

Candidacy to Doctorate

Candidacy is a stage in the degree program at which a student is approved to undertake the final research project under the supervision of faculty. Students in the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program will have ten (10) years from start date to complete the degree. At the successful completion of at least 30 Credit Hours, final approval of the concept paper, and approval with the Application for Candidacy: the Ed.D. student will be eligible for advancement to candidacy.

Dissertation Committee Change Request

American College of Education assigns to each doctoral candidate a doctoral dissertation committee, which consists of one (1) dissertation chair and two (2) committee members, to guide and assist them in working towards completion of a doctoral degree.

Before requesting a dissertation committee change, the doctoral candidate must discuss any problems or issues, as well as clarification for roles and responsibilities with the dissertation committee. The first step should always be reaching out directly to the faculty and discussing concerns in a professional and respectable manner.

If the differences are not easily resolved, doctoral candidates may request a change in a chair or committee member, by filling out the Dissertation Committee Change form. Any change will only be made and become effective at the beginning of the next available term start. A decision will be made within 10 business days from form submission date, and the doctoral candidate will be emailed the final decision.

Once the form is submitted, there is no way to go back and add information to it. It is imperative the doctoral candidate takes care to ensure proper submission the first time. The doctoral candidate is responsible for demonstrating the faculty member is not a good fit for the dissertation committee based on grading that is contrary to procedures specified in the program handbook or based on bias, caprice, or arbitrary decisions. For example, a disagreement regarding the dissertation chair’s guidance or expectations are not grounds for requesting a committee change.

The doctoral candidate must fill out the Dissertation Committee Change form in its entirety, providing as much documentation as possible to support their case. The burden of proof lies solely on the doctoral candidate. A doctoral candidate may request for one or more members of the committee to change up to two times. Any requests thereafter will be escalated to the Appeals Committee.

Doctoral Dissertation Committee Selection 

American College of Education recognizes that matching qualified dissertation chairs and committee members with candidates, based on content area and methodology, of the dissertation, is required to optimize the student learning experience. Doctoral Candidates will be assigned a dissertation committee comprised of a dissertation chair and two committee members. Upon approving a doctorate candidate, the College will select a dissertation chair and committee members based on the following criteria:

1. Expertise in content area and methodology selected by the doctorate candidate.
2. Number of dissertation committees in which potential members are serving.
3. Completion of appropriate training to serve as dissertation chair or committee member. 

ACE will assign all members of the committee unless the doctoral candidate requests for an external-to ACE-member to serve on the committee. An external individual must be nominated to serve in a committee member-only capacity and be approved to be appointed to the committee. Approvals are based on nominated individuals meeting the criteria below:

1. Attainment of terminal/doctoral degree. 
2. Documented scholarly activities, such as referred publications or presentations.
3. Experience serving on dissertation committees at other regionally accredited institutions.

External members are also required to complete dissertation committee training at American College of Education prior to serving on the committee. 

Doctoral Programs Expected Graduation Date Policy

The initial anticipated graduation date can change based on students’ choice of progression, including full-time, ¾-time or part-time, as well as dissertation progression. Furthermore, students can be approved for a leave of absence or may unsuccessfully complete their courses which results in a delayed graduation date. Full-time students who remain enrolled and successfully complete their courses, can expect to finish the program in three years. Students must adhere to the ACE designated progression in order to complete their program in the three-year timeframe. The expected graduation dates will be updated as follows:

1. Upon enrollment, students are issued a graduation date based on an extended five-year time frame. 

2. Upon being scheduled for course RES6033 - Qualitative Research Design, a student’s expected graduation date will be updated by the Registration office to reflect the standard completion of the dissertation timeframe. 

3. The expected graduation date will be updated again when scheduled for RES6512 - Research Concept Paper and then every term after this course is completed. 

Non-Progression Policy 

American College of Education is dedicated to ensuring that our doctorate students successfully complete the program and earn their doctorate degree. ACE also recognizes that students may experience challenges in the dissertation courses. If a student is not progressing as scheduled in the program, the interventions, as listed below, are utilized to support the student at progressing through the program. 

• Courses Leading to Final Approval of the Concept Paper. If a student does not receive a passing grade after the initial 10-week term, the student will have up to two additional 10-week terms to take the Concept Paper course to receive final approval of the concept paper. Within the additional 10-week terms, the student must also take the Research Boot Camp concurrently to receive support and guidance on developing the concept paper. Thus, the student will have a total of three 10-week terms to attempt passing the Concept Paper course. If the student is not successful and receives a non-passing grade within the three 10- week terms, the student will be counseled to make a program change or be administratively withdrawn from the college. An appeal may be filed should the student want to remain in the program. NOTE: Students enrolled prior to January 1, 2018, will no longer be enrolled in RES6201 and RES6501 concurrently.
• Proposal Courses. If a student does not receive a passing grade after the initial 10-week term of any proposal course, the student will have up to two additional 10-week terms to take the proposal course to receive final approval over the dissertation chapter. Within the additional 10-week terms, the student must also take the Dissertation Boot Camp concurrently to receive support and guidance on developing the chapter. Thus, the student will have a total of three 10-week terms to attempt passing the proposal chapter. If the student is not successful and receives a non-passing grade within the three 10- week terms, the student will be counseled to make a program change or be administratively withdrawn from the college. An appeal may be filed should the student want to remain in the program. 
• Dissertation Course. If a student does not receive a passing grade after two 10-week terms of the dissertation course, the student must also take the Dissertation Boot Camp concurrently to receive support and guidance on the data analysis. If the student is still in the data collection process (e.g. ethnography), then the student can file an appeal to avoid taking the boot camp. Note: Students enrolled prior to January 1, 2018 may file an appeal to schedule 2 credits of RES6501 in a term if they are at the end completion stages of the dissertation but still need the 4-credit hour requirement of RES6501 to be fulfilled.

M.Ed. in Educational Leadership 

Additional Internship Hours Request Policy

The Educational Leadership program’s internship requirement is a minimum of 120 clock hours, regardless of the requirements for the state in which the student intends to seek licensure. The Texas approved ACE M.Ed. in Educational Leadership version requires an internship of 160 clock hours. If candidates need to complete additional hours to meet requirements for licensure reasons, they can request additional hours to be evaluated through submitting a request form. Students may request to have additional hours evaluated during the Internship course or during an Internship completion course. 

Bench ark & Remediation Policy

M. Ed. in Educational Leaderships students at the American College of Education must pass three benchmarks during their coursework to matriculate. Students must earn a minimum score of 80% on benchmarks within EL5703 (ELX5073), EL5723 (ELX5723), and during Internship. Students who are not successful in completing the benchmark during the courses will be provided two  (2) additional attempts in two terms within an ASMT course to earn the passing score. Students who cannot earn a passing score within each benchmark after exposure in three (3) courses must enter a program change leading to non-licensure.  

Mentor Approval for Internship/Practicum Policy

ACE requires for all Educational Leadership students and applicable Florida modified pathway students who are required to take an internship/practicum experience course as part of his/her degree or course sequence to have an approved mentor/site supervisor before starting his/her third term at ACE. If a mentor/site supervisor is not approved by the beginning of the student’s third term, he/she will not be permitted to progress in the program or course sequence until such a time as this requirement is met. To be approved, mentors/site supervisors must meet the following criteria:

• Work Experience: Mentors/Site Supervisors must be currently licensed and practicing principals or assistant principals with at least two years’ experience (three years is required for Texas site supervisors) in a leadership role.
  • A leadership role is defined as a position in which the individual is responsible for evaluating the work of subordinates as a part of a systematic review process for the sub-ordinate’s employment file.
  • Retired administrators, central office personnel, or colleague teachers with principal certification cannot be approved as mentors/site supervisors.
• Location: Mentors/Site Supervisors must be located within close proximity to the intern (called a candidate in Texas).
• Relationship: Mentors/Site Supervisors cannot be related to the intern/candidate.

Texas Approval to Test Policy 

To be approved by American College of Education to register for the TExES examination, graduates must have successfully completed the Texas Educational Leadership Program and achieved an 80% of better on the practice examination within six months of testing approval request. If the graduate does not meet the above criteria the following will occur:

1. Graduate will be enrolled in ACE’s test preparation course if he/she has not met the 80% threshold on the practice exam within the past six months, was not successful on his/her first attempt on the certification exam, or if he/she was not successful at passing the examination the first time and completed ACE’s testing preparation course more than four months prior to the new testing date. If the student is successful in reaching the passing threshold in the preparation course, he or she will be permitted to register for the exam within six months of completion. 
2. Graduate will be required to complete one-on-one sessions with EL Program Coordinator (or designee) to discuss concepts and preparation for the exam if the student does not meet the 80% threshold in ACE’s test preparation course or was not successful on his/her first attempt on the certification exam after successfully passing the practice test within four months. Upon conclusion of the one-on-one sessions, the EL Program Coordinator (or designee) will either recommend for the graduate to be permitted to register for the certification examination or for the graduate to seek additional support as outlined below. 
3. Graduate will be required to seek additional support from a third party, such as https://www.texes068.com/, or program offerings at Regional Education Service Centers if the EL Program Coordinator (or designee) feels it is warranted after concluding one-on-one sessions or if the graduate does not pass the certification exam after having completed two enrollments in ACE’s preparation course. Graduates will be asked to provide successful completion of the third-party program or service in order to be permitted to register to test again.

If a graduate is still not successful after all the above avenues are exhausted, American College of Education will not recommend permission for the graduate to register for the TExES certification examination.

RN to MSN

Credit Hour Requirement

The RN to MSN program requires students to complete a total of 155 semester credits. The 155 credit requirement for the RN to MSN program includes the following: 

• 55 semester credits earned at ACE (RN to MSN  Coures List)
• 90 credits earned at ACE or outside of ACE (according to the Prior Credit Evaluation/Transfer Credit  Policy)
  • 30 of these credits are required to be fulfilled in accordance with the general education policy
  • 15 of these credits are must be in the following areas: 3 credits in Technical Writing, 3 credits in Pharmacology, 3 credits in Statistics, and 6 additional credits in Scientific Ways of Knowing courses (Microbiology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology) 
  • 45 of these credits are in electives

Matriculation Policy

RN to MSN students are required to successfully complete all coursework in the BSN portion of the program, including all general education, elective, and required credits, prior to matriculating to the MSN portion of the program. The College defines successful completion as:

• Completion of all coursework listed in the BSN portion of the program.
• Achievement of a 3.0 cumulative GPA, at minimum.
• Earned grade of “B” or better in the Senior Capstone course.
• All general education competencies are passed.

Upon verification of the above criteria, the College will confer the BSN degree and the student will be permitted to progress with the MSN coursework as outlined in the program description.

Preceptor Approval Policy

RN to MSN students are required to have an approved preceptor three terms prior to starting his/her Capstone/Practicum experience at ACE. If a preceptor is not approved prior to the graduate level practicum course, he/she will not be permitted to take the practicum/capstone course in the program until such a time as this requirement is met.

To be approved, preceptors must meet the following criteria:

• Work Experience: Qualified Preceptors must be currently licensed as a RN and practicing nurses with a Master’s degree and at least two years’ experience in the specialty.
• Qualifications: Preceptors must be knowledgeable and experienced in the area the student is completing the approved clinical project/experience.
• Location: Preceptors must be employed at the site where the student is completing the practicum capstone project.
• Relationship: Preceptors cannot be related to the student.