Attendance and Accommodation Policies

Administrative Withdrawal

Administrative Withdrawal is an ACE-initiated separation from the institution due to non-payment, inactivity in the course, exceeding maximum number of enrollments in a course, failure to submit official required document(s) for admission or registration (transcript, test scores, or service records), or failure to return from leave of absence.

Attendance

An attendance policy is required by the Higher Learning Commission to fulfill a federal compliance mandate. American College of Education recognizes regular attendance and interaction in a course is required to optimize the student learning experience.

Maximum student learning outcomes are achieved through course attendance and interaction. Students, in their own interest, are therefore responsible for regular attendance. Students may expect poor attendance or lack of participation and interaction to negatively impact their course grades.

At American College of Education, attendance is measured by student’s engagement in the course at least once in the first five days of the term. To maintain registration in the course, students must complete the Mandatory Attendance Verification form by 5:00p.m. PST on Friday of the first week.

Students who do not complete the Attendance Verification form by 5:00p.m. PST on the Friday of the first week of the term are administratively withdrawn from the course.

Course Drop

Whereas students can always request to drop a course, the outcome of the drop will be dependent on the particular week of the term during which the drop takes place. This is important to ensure the academic integrity of the grades received at ACE.

Week 1
Students who are taking more than one course, will be allowed to unregister for a course until 11:59 PM Pacific Time on the Friday of the first week of the term. The course will not appear on the student’s transcript and tuition charges will be reversed. If a student is enrolled in only one course this is not an option. The student will need to submit a cancel/withdrawal form.

Week 2-3
Students will be allowed to drop a course during weeks 2 and 3 of the term. If the drop request is received on or prior to Friday of week 3 of the term, the student will be dropped from the course and receive a “W” on his/her transcript.

After Week 3
Students requesting to drop a course after the drop period ends are not eligible to receive a “W” in the course. He/she will continue to be registered for the course and will receive the grade earned at the end of the term. The grade will be reflected on the transcript and be included in the GPA.

Disability Support Services (DSS)

To be considered for disability-related accommodations, individuals are responsible for identifying themselves and disclosing information about their disability to Disability Support Services at [[email protected]] or 1-877-670-4523.

In keeping with its mission to deliver high-quality, affordable and accessible online programs to its students, American College of Education makes all efforts to comply with the requirements of applicable state and federal laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, in the provision of and access to post-secondary education. As such, the college provides reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities unless doing so would cause undue hardship to the college.

American College of Education, following the ADA, defines a “qualified student” as one who meets the technological and academic qualifications for entry into the College and who, with or without reasonable accommodations, is capable of fulfilling the essential functions of the academic program. In accordance with applicable laws, all programs and services offered by the College must be equally accessible to any student, including those with a documented disability, defined by the ADA as “as physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities”. The College will use all reasonable efforts to provide reasonable accommodations to afford a qualified student with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in the College’s academic programs and services. As each student’s situation is unique, the type and nature of the accommodation is dependent upon and commensurate with the individual’s documented disability and the appropriate documentation as provided by a medical professional Students receiving such accommodations under this policy will not be charged additional fees for the associated costs and the College will consult outside resources and/or services providers to facilitate the provision of such accommodations where both necessary and feasible.

Standard Accommodations for Academic Programs and Services
Since American College of Education is a completely online institution, most reasonable accommodations granted will be related to additional time to complete coursework. The standard additional time limit is up to one extra day on assignments and double time on quizzes and tests without penalty, unless a doctor recommends further reasonable time accommodations. Since discussion boards require synchronous activity and have multiple due dates each week, accommodations are not an option for this course requirement without a significant expressed need documented by the student and his or her medical professional. American College of Education strives to keep all coursework and services accessible to all students as standard procedure. Should a student with a disability find an aspect of a course or a service offered to not be accessible, the College will make every reasonable effort to update the course or service to meet accessibility needs. Other types of accommodations will be considered on an individual basis and at the recommendation of a medical professional.

To request reasonable disability support accommodations, students must follow these steps:

1. Complete and submit the Request for Disability Support form found in the MyACE Portal. The form will ask the student to submit documentation from the student’s attending medical professional. The documentation should address and meet the following guidelines:
   1. Diagnosis of the student’s disability.
   2. The effect of the disability on the student’s academic potential.
   3. Recommendations for the type of accommodations appropriate to equalize the student’s academic opportunities. If recommendations are not provided by the medical professional, the Office of Academic Excellence (OAE) will provide the student with the standard accommodations described above. If any of the medical professional’s recommendations are not reasonable for ACE to provide, OAE will work with the student, as deemed appropriate, to determine the nature of accommodations the college is reasonably able to provide.
   4. An end date if the disability is short-term.
   5. All documentation must be current by meeting one of the following:
      1. Be issued within the last five (5) years for chronic disabilities or within the last six (6) months for short-term disabilities, or
      2. Specify a permanent physical condition which may impact academic performance, or
      3. (For documentation related to learning or cognitive disabilities) include results from an evaluation instrument normed and designed to be administered to adults AND conducted no earlier than at the high school level.
   6. All medical documentation must be on official letterhead identifying the medical professionals name, professional mailing address, telephone number, and must be signed by the issuing medical professional.
2. Requests for disability accommodations and all supporting documentation must be received no later than one (1) week before a term start to ensure the student receives reasonable accommodations for the entire term. While requests can be made in the middle of a term, accommodations are not retroactive for coursework due before the accommodations were granted.
3. Once the requests for accommodations and the supporting documentation are reviewed by the Office of Academic Excellence, and it is determined accommodations are appropriate, the student will be provided an official Letter of Accommodations detailing the accommodations he or she is granted. The Letter of Accommodations will be sent to the student’s email address on file with ACE.
4. A student has the right to appeal, per the appeal policy found in the Student Handbook, any decision rendered regarding accommodations.

Student Responsibilities

1. It is the student’s sole responsibility to send via email the Letter of Accommodations to his or her faculty member(s) at the start of each term to receive accommodations. OAE will not provide this letter to any faculty member on the student’s behalf, as it is important for students to keep an open line of communication with his or her faculty member(s). If the student does not email the letter to his or her faculty member(s) at the start of the term, the faculty member is not obligated to provide accommodations for coursework with a due date before the letter was sent to the faculty member(s).
2. To gain the most value from a course, students should make every effort to keep up with coursework as it is due. When the student is granted time extensions on assignments, the student must notify his or her faculty member(s) each time an assignment will be submitted past a due date, again keeping the communication lines open. It is not reasonable to assume faculty members will be more flexible with due dates beyond the accommodations a student is provided.
3. Students should keep OAE abreast of any problems they experience with receiving granted accommodations. This will allow OAE to intervene as needed to ensure students with disabilities are fully supported.

Interview Accommodations for Hearing and Visually Impaired Applicants

1. The application process for some ACE programs, as articulated in ACE’s admissions requirements policy, require applicants to complete an interview through video software. The college understands this platform may be difficult for applicants who are hearing or visually impaired. In the event a hearing or visually impaired applicant wishes to apply for a program requiring an interview, he or she should contact the Office of Admissions at [email protected] with a request for an interview accommodation. The applicant must accompany this request with documentation from a medical professional addressing the visual or hearing impairment.
2. All medical documentation must be on official letterhead identifying the medical professionals name, professional mailing address and telephone number, and must be signed by the issuing medical professional.
3. Once the request and documentation is received, the Office of Admissions will respond to the applicant with a typewritten list of interview questions and a deadline for response.
4. The applicant should provide a typewritten response to the interview questions and return his or her responses to the Office of Admissions by the enrollment deadline for the term in which the applicant wishes to begin. The enrollment deadlines can be found on the ACE website, under Admissions.
5. A student has the right to appeal, per the appeal policy found in the Student Handbook, any decision rendered regarding accommodations.

Leave of Absence; Medical Leave of Absence

Students may encounter personal, professional or medical circumstances requiring a temporary interruption of their academic program. The Leave of Absence form is available via ACE’s website and Student/Doctoral Commons to allow students to request consideration for these situations.

The minimum cumulative GPA required for a planned leave of absence for bachelor’s level students is a 2.0 GPA and 3.0 GPA for Master’s, Doctoral.

Requirements for any Leave of Absence:

• Student is a degree-seeking student. (Non-degree Students at Large are not eligible.)
• Student has no financial obligations at time of request.
• Student has currently completed at least one course at ACE.
• Student has not exceeded maximum time away from school.
• Leave of Absence Limit: A maximum of 6 terms (defined by 5-weeks).
• Maximum Time to Completion with Time Out Limit: A maximum of 2.5 times the length of the program.

There are two leave of absence options for students, described below:

Planned Leave of Absence (LOA)
The Leave of Absence policy is available for personal and professional pre-planned reasons.  A student must be in good academic standing to qualify for a Leave of Absence. The minimum cumulative GPA required for a planned leave of absence for bachelor’s level students is 2.0 and 3.0 for Master’s and Doctoral.  The student initiates request for Leave of Absence for an upcoming term using the appropriate form. Requests cannot be honored mid-term. The request is reviewed and approved/denied in accordance to requirements listed above.

Medical Leave of Absence (MLOA)
The Medical Leave of Absence policy is available for unexpected medical or familial matters. A MLOA can be requested at any time during a term or break period but must be accompanied by appropriate documentation on official letterhead bearing the signature of the attending physician indicating the leave is warranted. If the student is incapacitated for either physical or mental health problems and unable to provide documentation, the MLOA may be granted retroactively. Medical Leave of Absences can be granted for any of the following reasons:

1. To care for a serious mental or physical condition.
2. To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition.
3. To accommodate the placement of a child with the student for adoption or foster care.

Military Leave of Absence
Students who are deployed on military service and provide deployment orders will be granted a Leave of Absence for the time of their deployment. No limit exists to the number of LOAs granted, nor is there a maximum time limit for LOAs granted for documented military deployment.

General Information about LOA/MLOA

• Students will retain access to the following ACE technology platforms.  MyACE Portal and Student/Doctoral Commons.
• In order to return from LOA a student must submit a Return from Leave of Absence form.
  • Once received, the student will be registered in the next available course. If no applicable courses are available for that term, the student will be placed in an “Active Waiting for Class status” in their interim. They do not need to apply for an additional LOA.
  • If a form is not received before the indicated term of return, the student will be administratively withdrawn from the College.
• If a student is denied a Leave of Absence, they may appeal the decision. The student must provide additional information in the appeal and use the appropriate steps outlined in the appeal process.

Withdrawal from the College/Cancellation of Enrollment

Withdrawal is a student-initiated separation from ACE. Students may withdraw from the College during the Unregister Period (through Friday of week 1 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time) and the Drop Period (through Friday of week 3 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

• A student who submits a Withdraw from ACE Request form during the Unregister Period:
  • Will be unregistered from the course.
  • Tuition charges will be reversed.
  • The course will not be reflected on the transcript or in the GPA.
• A student who submits a Withdraw from ACE Request form during the Drop Period:
  • Will be dropped from the course.
  • Will receive a grade of “W” on the transcript, but it will not be calculated in the GPA.
  • Will receive a tuition refund according to the Refund Policy.
• A student who submits a Withdraw from ACE Request form after the drop deadline will not be withdrawn until the end of the term.
  • The student will receive the grade earned at the end of the term.
  • The grade will be recorded on the transcript and count toward the student’s GPA.