Awarding Honorary Degrees
American College of Education may grant honorary degrees under special circumstances. Nominations for honorary degrees may be submitted by members of the ACE Board of Trustees, the ACE President, or members of the ACE Executive Team.
- Upon receipt of the nomination form, the college registrar will alert the appropriate academic officials of the nomination.
- The nomination will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for inclusion on their agenda. Final approval and review to award a honorary degree must come from the ACE Board of Trustees.
Awarding Posthumous and Terminal Diagnosis Certificates/Degrees
American College of Education may grant certificates or degrees posthumously or after a terminal illness/physical and mental incapacitation diagnosis that would prevent them from completing their program. If the college determines the student has completed sufficient coursework (80% of program requirements) to be awarded a certificate or degree, the Program Director, Department Chair, or designated academic official has the authority to grant the degree posthumously or before program completion if the student has a terminal illness diagnosis and will not be able to complete the program.
To award a posthumous/post-illness doctoral degree, the student must have completed 80% of the program requirements and completed RES6551 (Analyzing the Dissertation Research).
- Upon receipt of the Record Release for Deceased/Terminally Ill Student form, the college registrar will alert the appropriate academic officials of the student’s passing and/or diagnosis, conduct a degree progress audit and inform the percentage of program completion.
- Because this is an academic matter, the student’s program director, department chair, or designated academic official must give final approval and review to award a posthumous/post-diagnosis degree.
Commencement
Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Educational Specialist students who intend to participate in a commencement ceremony at ACE must be in graduate status within ten weeks of the commencement date. For example, if commencement is held in July, students with expected graduation dates in August and September may participate.
Doctorate (Ed.D.) students who intend to participate in a commencement ceremony must be expected to be in “Graduate” status within six week of commencement date. Furthermore, the academic team must confirm anticipated dissertation completion for all Ed.D. students before being allowed to participate in commencement.
Any exceptions to the Commencement Policy will be made by the Chief Academic Officer (or designee).
Degree Conferral and Credential Award
The Registration Office will review students’ records to ensure the following requirements have been met:
Standard Degree, Certificate, and Micro-Credential requirements
- “C” or better in all required program courses: All students must earn a “C” or better in all required ACE courses. If not earned, the student must retake the course.
- All Course and Program Requirements must be met: For a degree, certificate, or micro-credential to be conferred or awarded, all course requirements and/or any field experiences must be successfully completed.
Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements
- Degree: Undergraduate students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0; Graduate students and Nursing Students (RN to MSN, RN to BSN, and BSN to MSN students) must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0
- RN to MSN students are required, per the RN to MSN Matriculation Policy, to have a 3.0 GPA for the BSN degree to be conferred.
- Certificate and Micro-credential: Undergraduate-level students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0; graduate-level students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5; and students enrolled in Certificate programs designed for licensure purposes must have a GPA of 3.0.
General Education Competencies (GECs)
- Undergraduate degree GEC Requirements: For a bachelor’s degree to be awarded, the student must have demonstrated proficiency in all GECs.
Other General Requirements
The following general requirements must be met
- Satisfactory completion of all coursework.
- Satisfactory completion of the Capstone Experience.
- Satisfactory completion of the Dissertation Oral Defense for Ed.D. candidates.
- Satisfactory completion of internship, practicum, or student teaching, when applicable.
Degree Conferral Fee
Payment of degree conferral fee. The fee is waived for the following groups of students:
- U.S. Veterans, active military members, members of the National Guard and Reserves, and current spouses of each as verified through submission of a valid military ID or copy of DD214.
- First responders are defined as EMT/EMS, Firefighters, or Law Enforcement officers.
Good Standing
A student must be in Good Standing to be eligible for degree conferral or a certificate or micro-credential award. Good Standing is defined as meeting the College’s academic standards and program requirements as outlined in the catalog, fulfilling all material financial obligations to the College or any applicable third-party lender, and complying with the policies established in the College catalog. A state exception list maintained by the Office of Regulatory and Compliance outlines any applicable exceptions by state.
Graduation Requirements
Students must be in Good Standing to graduate. Good Standing is defined as achieving the required academic standards and program requirements as outlined in the catalog and meeting material financial obligations to the College or the student’s third-party lender.
The following requirements must be met before a student can graduate from American College of Education:
- Satisfactory completion of all coursework.
- Satisfactory completion of the Capstone Experience, when applicable.
- Satisfactory completion of the Dissertation Oral Defense for Ed.D. candidates.
- Satisfactory completion of internship, practicum or student teaching, when applicable.
- Minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 for Bachelor’s students with no D’s or F’s.
- Minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 for Master’s, RN to MSN, Specialist, and Doctoral students with no D’s or F’s.
Graduation with Honors
ACE recognizes exemplary academic performance for graduates. ACE graduates of post-baccalaureate degree programs will be awarded the honor of “Distinguished Graduate” if all degree requirements have been met, a cumulative GPA of a 4.0 has been achieved in program enrollment, and no academic or conduct violations occurred during the enrollment in the completed degree program.
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.
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