Student Handbook - Requests Related Course or Enrollment Status at ACE

Overview

It is our hope your time at ACE is met without obstacles and/or distractions. However, we also realize “life happens” and a time may come when you will need to make a change in your enrollment or course status. The policies listed in the ACE Catalog are established to assist you if you do need to make an adjustment to your enrollment or course registration. Please do review these policies and then follow the procedures listed below to make the appropriate request. The procedures in this section have been created to assist you in adjusting course load, taking a break from classes or returning to ACE after a period of time away.

Please know that all student request forms are located in the MyACE Portal

Please know, unless one of these actions are taken, you will remain continuously enrolled at ACE. Our registration team will register you for the appropriate course load each term unless notified by you.

Administrative Withdrawal

ACE can also initiate your withdrawal from the College. An Administrative Withdrawal is an ACE-initiated separation from the institution due to non-payment, inactivity in the course, failure to provide required documents, exceeding maximum number of registration, or failure to return from leave of absence.

Cancel/Withdrawal from the College

We hope you do not find yourself in a position of wanting or needing to leave ACE. However, if you do, you may initiate separation from the College through submitting a Cancel/Withdrawal Form . A few important things to know:

• The time frames listed in the “Dropping a Course” Section apply to Withdrawing.
• If you should decide you want to return to the College, you will need to apply to return. Please refer to the Re-Entry/Readmission Policy.

Change of Start Date

New students are allowed to change their start dates up to two times after being enrolled at ACE, pending their application is still valid. A new student is able to request this change through submitting a Change of Start Date Request Form. The admissions team will review and approve/deny in accordance to the Change of Start Date Policy. 

Changing your Program, Major, or Focus of Study 

During your tenure at ACE, you may experience a change of heart, career path, or life situation that would perpetuate the desire to change your Program, Major or Focus of Study. If this does occur, the following practices are followed:

Program Change:

• Student submits Program Change Form.
• Request is reviewed and a decision to grant the request is based on the following:
  • All Admissions requirements for the new program have been met.
  • Original program level is the same level or at a lower level as the requested program. Levels are defined as:
  1. Doctoral Level Programs 
  2. Masters Level Programs  (includes gradate certificate programs)
  3. Bachelors Level Programs 
  4. Student At Large
  • If a student wishes to change to a program in a higher program level (Student at Large to Masters or Masters to Doctoral, etc.), a new application will be required and the admissions process will ensue.
• Students will be notified of decision via email. Program changes will go into effect at the start of the next term.
• Students will follow the program and tuition requirements in effect within the current catalog at the time the change is granted.
• The maximum time to complete the new degree begins with the first term of the new degree program.

Change of Major or Focus of Study:

Students who are enrolled in a program that requires a Major or Focus of Study, who wish to change or add an additional Major or Focus of Study, can do so by submitting a Change of Major/Focus of Study Form. Things to note:

• Only classes part of the new Major or Focus of Study will count towards credit requirements.
• A change of Major or Focus of Study may cause a gap in scheduling as these courses are not offered every term.

Course Addition Requests

If you find yourself wishing to add an additional course to you program of study, you can do so through submitting a Course Addition Request form (located in the MyACE Portal). The request will be reviewed in accordance to the policy. Students who meet the requirements in the policy, will be approved to add the additional course(s) to their schedules. The registration office will add the additional course(s) to the students’ schedules and update their progression accordingly.

Dropping a Course

Students sometimes find themselves in a situation where they want to remain a student at ACE but current course completion is not possible. If you find yourself in such a situation, you can request to drop your current course(s). To do so, you will complete a Course Drop Request form. The timing in the term in which this takes place is critical.

Week 1: This option is available if you are taking more than one course. If so, you will be unregistered from this course. The course will not appear on the transcript nor will you be charged for the course. If you are only taking one course, this is not an option. Instead, you would need to submit a Cancel/Withdrawal form.

Week 2-3: You will be dropped from the course and receive a “W” on your 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. You would remain enrolled and receive a grade in the course.

Refunds will be issued in accordance to the Refund Policy (Available in the College Catalog) 

Leave of Absence; Medical Leave of Absence

If you encounter personal, professional or medical circumstances requiring a temporary interruption of your academic program, you may request a Leave of Absence (LOA) by completing a Leave of Absence Form. Each request will be reviewed and approved/denied in accordance to the Leave of Absence or Medical Leave of Absence policy as outlined in ACE’s catalog. The steps below outline the LOA process.

• Request a LOA or MLOA by completing the required form. LOA forms must be received prior to the start of the term of request. MLOA requests can be made at any time.
• Request will be reviewed and approved/denied according to policy.
• Notification will be sent to student.
• If approved, LOA will begin at the start of the term of request. During this time, you will have access to Student Commons.
• During the term prior to your scheduled return, you must complete a Return from Leave of Absence Form. This form must be completed prior to the term of return, or you will be administratively withdrawn from the College.

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.

Multiple Course Requests

Students will be registered for terms in the following manner unless otherwise notified by you.

Bachelor/Certificate/Master Level Students: Students are enrolled in one academic course per term. This equates to a maximum of three credit hours in an academic course. This can be coupled with a non-academic course, capstone or independent study. 

Doctoral Level Students: Students are enrolled in a maximum of seven credit hours per term.

ACE recognizes circumstances may exist when you may benefit from taking several courses during a single term. If you find yourself in this situation, the following process will be utilized:

• Student completes the Multiple Course Request form (located in the MyACE Portal)
• Requests are reviewed; decisions are rendered based on GPA (3.0 or above) and course completion (at least one course successfully completed at ACE), and course availability.
• Students are notified of the decision via email.
• If approved, students will be scheduled for the additional courses in the requested term.

Where ACE will attempt to move up your graduation date in this instance, it’s important to know this cannot be guaranteed. Due to course availability, earlier graduation may not be possible.

Re-Entry or Readmission After Leaving the College

If you have withdrawn or must withdraw from the College, you are eligible to apply to return to the College. The process to re-enter depends on the time away from ACE. If your last date of attendance is less than 365 days from the anticipated return date, you may apply for Re-entry. If this time period is greater than 365 days, they must re-apply to the College.

Re-Entry:

• If the student has been out of attendance less than 365 days. If approved for re-entry, the student will return to the current catalog and program version.
• If the program of study has been revised the student will be re-enter into the current version.
• Students administratively withdrawn for not meeting required Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be subject to the procedures in the SAP policy. 
• To request to re-enter, students complete a Re-entry Request Form. The form is received by the admissions department and reviewed for approval. If approved, the student will be able to return if a course is available in the upcoming term.

Re-Apply:

• If the student has been out of attendance more than 365 days, the student will apply and be accountable for all charges and admissions requirements. 
• Students will return to the current program version of study, catalog and tuition at time of re-application.
• If a student left ACE on a SAP status, they will return on that same status and be subject to all related procedures in the SAP policy.
• Student-At-Large students are required to submit a new application after 365 days have passed since original application date to continue to take courses.

Repeating a Course

If you must or desire to repeat a course, both grades will appear on your transcript. However, only the highest grade will be reflected in your cumulative GPA. Please know that if you did not receive the required grade in a course for degree completion requirements, you will be automatically rescheduled for this course. If you wish to retake a course for any other reason, you will need to request the retake through contacting the Registration Office. 

State Specific Course Request

If you are enrolled in a program that lists courses associated with a specific state, you will be enrolled in the course associated with your state of enrollment as listed in your student record. If you have a need to be enrolled in course associated with a different state, you can request for this change to be made. To do so, students will be required to submit the State Specific Course Request Form and appropriate documentation. This request will be reviewed in accordance to the policy listed in ACE’s Catalog.