STUDENT RESOURCES & POLICY INFORMATION

EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS

Tabor College believes that those deserving credit should receive it and therefore has established policies that reward and encourage selfmotivated learning. The college has established policies which outline the acceptance of credit from the following four external examinations:

ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM (AP)

Advanced Placement examinations are offered annually to give high school students opportunities to demonstrate college-level achievements. Credit is generally given for scores of 3 or higher.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB)

The International Baccalaureate program is a comprehensive and rigorous two-year curriculum leading to examinations for students between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. Generally, credit will be awarded for higher level exams in which a grade of 5 or better has been earned. Subsidiary level subjects will be evaluated on an individual basis.

COLLEGE LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM (CLEP)

The College Level Examination Program provides people of all ages and backgrounds an opportunity to demonstrate college-level proficiency on the basis of examination designed to reflect college course curriculums. The minimum scores required for credit are generally recommended by the American Council on Education.

DEFENSE ACTIVITY FOR NONTRADITIONAL EDUCATION SUPPORT (DANTES)

The Program was designed in 1983 by the Department of Defense to help service members obtain credit for knowledge and skills acquired through non-traditional education experience. Students who do not receive a passing score must wait 180 days before retaking the test. A fee is assessed for each DANTES exam provided. Registration for External Examinations - Registration information, including the location of testing centers and the cost of examinations for all the external examinations, is available from the Online Academic Services Coordinator.

GRADE APPEAL

If a student deems it appropriate to appeal a final course grade, the following process must be followed: 1. The student should seek a solution with the concerned instructor within 30 days of the end date of the course. 2. If there is no satisfactory resolution with the instructor, the appeal must be made in writing to the Executive VP of Academics &

Compliance who will investigate and issue a ruling in writing to the student. 3. The Executive VP of Academics & Compliance may refer the matter to an ad hoc committee on academic standards. The decision of the

Executive VP of Academics & Compliance or the ad hoc committee if so empowered, is the final word in this process.

GRADING POLICY

Students have access to their grades through Campus Café (https://scansoftware.com/cafeweb/login). Only the instructor of the course can make a grade change. If a student believes that the grade has been improperly given, the instructor should be contacted no later than 30 days after the end date of the course. If the instructor decides that a grade change is warranted, the instructor will submit an appropriate change of grade form to the Registrar.

INCOMPLETES

A grade of I (Incomplete) may be assigned to any student at the discretion of the instructor. Students must have a completed and approved Incomplete form submitted to the faculty no later than the last day of the course. Incomplete courses shall be completed and the work turned in to the faculty member by the date stated on the Incomplete form. If a grade for the incomplete course is not submitted to the Online Academic Services Coordinator within two weeks after the due date, the grade for the course shall default to the alternate grade submitted by the instructor at the time the Incomplete grade was given. If no alternate grade was submitted, the grade will default to F. If the failure to submit a grade to the Registrar is the fault of the instructor, he/she must use the existing change of grade mechanism to address the problem. Any request for an extension to the completion date stated on the Incomplete form must be made in writing to the Executive VP of Academics & Compliance before the stated date.

INDEPENDENT STUDY POLICY

Tabor Online directed studies provide individualized educational experiences for students under the supervision of Tabor Online faculty members. Independent studies shall not be approved unless there is strong evidence that delay in taking a course would cause an academic hardship for the student. Due to the nature of some courses, not all courses will be available by Independent Study, nor is a professor obligated to teach via this method. Independent studies are only available to Tabor Online students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and may be granted only in very rare circumstances. The decisions concerning academic hardship and/or rare circumstances are at the sole discretion of the Executive VP of Academics & Compliance. Students taking courses by independent study will need to complete an Independent Study form with the assistance of the professor involved, provide a syllabus and pay tuition and the appropriate Independent Study fee. Independent studies must be approved by the Program Director of the course being offered and by the professor prior to enrolling in the course. Tabor Online Independent Study forms may be secured from the Online Academic Services Coordinator, who approves the assigned dates for any independent study and enrolls the student. Credit will be awarded only if all course requirements are fulfilled no later than one week past the assigned date on the Independent Study