Academic Policies

ACADEMIC ADVISING

Advising is an integral part of academic life at Edgewood College. From the time students are admitted to Edgewood, they work with their academic advisor to clarify their life/career goals and to develop their educational plans for the realization of these goals.

Most academic advisors are faculty members, usually associated with a student’s chosen major. Some of the schools have professional advisors. In order to register for classes, students must meet with their academic advisor and are encouraged to confer with their advisor regularly to ensure they are progressing smoothly through their academic program.

Advising is coordinated by the Office of the Academic Dean. Students may contact that office with questions they may have regarding advising. Online resources may be found at the Virtual Advising Center, edgenet.edgewood.edu/advising.

Although advisors assist students, students are fully responsible for knowing and fulfilling the specific requirements in their major and for graduation, and for the academic policies in this catalogue.

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

As members of a scholarly community dedicated to healthy intellectual development, students and faculty at Edgewood College are expected to share the responsibility for maintaining high standards of honesty and integrity in their academic work. Each student should reflect this sense of responsibility toward the community by submitting work that is a product of his or her own effort in a particular course, unless the instructor has directed otherwise. In order to clarify and emphasize its standards for academic honesty, the college has adopted this policy.

The following are examples of violations of standards for academic honesty and are subject to academic sanctions: cheating on exams; submitting collaborative work as one’s own; falsifying records, achievements, field or laboratory data, or other course work; stealing examinations or course materials; submitting work previously submitted in another course, unless specifically approved by the present instructor; falsifying documents or signing an instructor’s or administrator’s name to any document or form; plagiarism; or aiding another student in any of the above actions.

Plagiarism, which is defined as the deliberate use of another’s ideas or words as if they were one’s own, can take many forms, from the egregious to the mild. Instances most commonly seen in written work by students in order from most to least serious are:

Borrowing, buying or stealing a paper from elsewhere; lending or selling a paper for another’s use as his or her own; using printed material written by someone else as one’s own
Getting so much help on a paper from someone else, including a college tutor, that the student writer can no longer legitimately claim authorship
Intentionally using source material improperly, e.g., neither citing nor using quotation marks on borrowed material; supplying an in-text citation but failing to enclose quoted material within quotation marks; leaving paraphrased material too close to the original version; failing to append a works-cited page when sources have been used
Unintentional misuse of borrowed sources through ignorance or carelessness

Sanctions recommended for dishonesty are an “F” on the assignment and/or an “F” in the course. More serious violations may be referred to the Academic Dean’s Office for appropriate action.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT PROGRAM

Freshmen admitted conditionally to the college are required to participate in a program that offers study skills assistance, special courses and mentoring by college staff during their first year. The College Transition Program is coordinated by the Academic Dean’s Office, Admissions, and Learning Support Services.

ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWAL

Edgewood College reserves the right to withdraw any student from classes at any time during the semester or term for reasons such as (but not limited to):

Disruptive behavior in the classroom that interferes with the learning of other students
Lack of course prerequisite(s)
Lack of instructor, advisor, or departmental approval for a course
Academic dishonesty

Once registered, the student retains responsibility and financial liability for all enrolled courses. Tuition refunds will not be granted when students are withdrawn by the institution for cause.

ATTENDANCE

Individual instructors set attendance policies for their classes. Responsibility for attending class is placed upon the student in the context of learning and academic achievement. Students are responsible for work missed due to absence. Students who miss class are encouraged to discuss their absence with their instructors, preferably before the absence occurs. When an emergency arises that will result in prolonged absence, the Academic Dean’s Office will notify the student’s instructors, if the student explains the reason for the absence and requests that instructors be informed.

Non-attendance does not constitute official withdrawal. See CHANGE OF SCHEDULE and WITHDRAWAL FROM COLLEGE information in this section for withdrawal policies.

A student who is not attending a class for which he or she is registered, and who has not officially withdrawn from the class by the tenth week of the semester, will receive a grade of “F” for the class.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, also known as the Buckley Amendment, provides that students have the right to see their official academic records (accessibility) and to determine who will see their records (confidentiality). Detailed information on the provisions of the Act and its applications are included in the Student Handbook.

PRE-COLLEGE SKILL DEVELOPMENT COURSES

Students whose placement scores indicate a deficiency in writing or mathematics that could jeopardize their future success are required to take appropriate skill-development courses. Students must take their English course during their first semester, assuming the course is open, and are required to take their pre-college math course during their first year at Edgewood College. Credit toward graduation is not given for these courses; however, credits do count toward full-time status in the semester in which they are taken.