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 Policy
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the Attendance Verification form by 5:00p.m. PST on the Friday of the first week of the term are administratively withdrawn from the course.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 Policy
Whereas students can always request to drop a course, the outcome of the drop will be different depending on the time in the term 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 Pacific Time 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 between during week 2 and 3 of the term. If 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.
American College of Education complies with state and federal laws regarding disability discrimination and understands its duty to accommodate the needs of students under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. ACE provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals 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
Since American College of Education is a completely online institution, most reasonable accommodations granted will be related to additional time on completing 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:
- Complete and submit the Request for Disability Support form.
- Provide documentation from the student’s attending medical professional, which provides the following information concerning the student’s disability:
- Diagnosis of the student’s disability.
- The effect of the disability on the student’s academic potential.
- Recommendations for the type of accommodations appropriate to equalize the student’s academic opportunities. If recommendations are not provided by the medical professional or the recommendations provided are not reasonable, the Office of Academic Excellence (OAE) will work with the student, as deemed appropriate, to determine the nature of accommodations the college is reasonably able to provide.
- An end date if the disability is short-term.
- All documentation must have been issued within the last three (3) years for chronic disabilities and within the last six (6) months for short-term disabilities.
- All documentation must be on official letterhead identifying the medical professional’s name, professional mailing address and telephone number and must be signed by the issuing medical professional.
- Documentation must be sent to:
American College of Education
Disability Support
101 West Ohio Street, Suite 1200
Indianapolis, IN 46204
- Requests for 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.
- Once the requests for accommodations and the supporting documentation is 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.
Interview Accommodations for Prospective Ed.S./Ed.D. Hearing and Visually Impaired Students
- The Ed.S./Ed.D. application process requires all students to be interviewed through a video software. The College understands this platform may be difficult for prospective students who are hearing or visually impaired. In the event a hearing or visually impaired prospective student wishes to apply for the Ed.S./Ed.D. program, he or she should contact the Office of Admissions at [[email protected]] with a request for an interview accommodation and documentation from a medical professional addressing the student’s visual or hearing impairment.
- Once the request and documentation is received, the Office of Admissions will respond to the prospective student with a typewritten list of interview questions and a deadline for response.
- The student should provide a typewritten response to the interview questions and return his responses to the Office of Admissions by the enrollment deadline for the term in which the prospective student wishes to begin. The enrollment deadlines can be found on the ACE website, under Admissions.
Leave of Absence; Medical Leave of Absence
Students may encounter personal, professional or medical circumstances requiring a temporary interruption of their academic program. The appropriate form is available via ACE’s website and Student or Doctoral Commons. To accommodate these situations, students have two options. The Leave of Absence policy is available for personal and professional pre-planned reasons. The Medical Leave of Absence policy is available for unexpected medical or familial matters.
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.
Planned Leave of Absence (LOA)
A student must be in good academic standing (minimum GPA of 3.0) to qualify for a Leave of Absence. 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 MLOA can be requested at any time during a term or break period, but must be accompanied with 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:
- To care for a serious mental or physical condition.
- To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition.
- 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 an LOA/MLOA:
- Access to ACE Technology Platforms - Students will be able to access to the following: MyACE Portal and Student/Doctoral Commons.
- Return from Leave of Absence - in order to return from a leave of absence, a student must submit a Return from Leave of Absence form.
- Once received, the student will be registered in courses - if available. If no courses are available, the student will place in an “Active Waiting for Class status” - meaning they do not need to apply for an additional LOA.
- If a form is not received before 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. Student must provide additional information to appeal, using the appropriate steps outlined in the appeal process.
Verification of Graduation for Professional License, Endorsement, or Certification
American College of Education has a dedicated staff member in the Registration Office who is responsible for processing requests from graduates to verify completion of a state-approved program. This verification is required by a number of state licensing boards.
Once students have received an email from the Registration Office that the degree has been conferred, they may request verification of program completion through the MyACE Portal (Request forms). It may take up to five (5) business days for ACE to complete and mail the state certification forms.
Verification of graduation will not be completed if a balance due is on the student’s account.
Withdrawal from the College
Withdrawal is a student-initiated separation from ACE. Students may withdraw from the College during the Unregister Period and the Drop Period.
- 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 Tuition 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.
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