Academic Affairs

General Requirements for Graduation

All Degree and Certificate Programs

1. High School Graduation
   The candidate for a degree or certificate shall have earned a high school diploma or a state equivalency certificate or have been granted a waiver of this requirement by the College president.
2. Degree Candidacy
   The candidate shall be enrolled in a planned program of study designated as leading to an associate degree or certificate. The outlines of these planned programs appear elsewhere in this catalog.
3. Fundamental Proficiency
   The candidate for a degree or certificate must have placed at the College level on the Basic Skills Assessment in English and mathematics, or completed the recommended developmental coursework.
4. Good Standing
   The candidate for a degree or certificate shall have earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of not less than 2.0.
5. Credits in Residency
   A candidate for a degree or certificate must have completed at least 25 percent of the minimum credit requirements for the degree or certificate through coursework at Quinebaug Valley Community College.
6. Application to Graduate
   The candidate for a degree or certificate shall have filed an application for graduation with the Records Office not later than April 1 for spring, June 1 for summer, and November 1 for fall graduation. The professional staff of QVCC also requires that a candidate who is fulfilling part of the degree requirements with credit from another institution shall provide appropriate transcripts reflecting all earned credits.
7. Financial Responsibilities
   The candidate for a degree or certificate shall have fulfilled all financial obligations to the College.
8. Second Degree
   A student may earn a second degree at QVCC. To earn a second degree, a student must:
      A. meet all degree requirements for the second curriculum
          AND
      B. ensure that at least 25% of the courses used to satisfy requirements of the second curriculum are unique to the second curriculum. That is to say, 25% of the courses required for the second degree must be taken over and above the courses used toward the first degree. Completion of a second option does not constitute a second degree.
9. Additional Degrees
   Requests for additional degrees beyond the second require prior approval from the dean of academic affairs. Students who receive approval must then complete all program requirements, including earning at least 25 percent of the minimum requirements for the new curriculum at the College through which the degree is conferred.

Attaining Academic Credit

Unit of Credit

The semester hour is the unit of academic credit earned at Quinebaug Valley Community College. One semester hour typically corresponds to a 50-minute (minimum) class meeting plus an additional two hours of work outside of class, or to a two-to three-hour laboratory each week for a traditional semester of 15 weeks. A course yielding three semester hours of credit, therefore, usually requires three 50-minute (or two 75-minute) class meetings plus six hours of preparation outside of class per week. When semesters are shortened, class meetings are lengthened.

Credit Hour Policy

In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education credit hour definition, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) publishes a Policy on Credits and Degrees [PDF]. One credit hour equals one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester.

Course Load

Usually students will not be permitted to register for more than 18 hours of credit per semester. Some full-time students, due to their academic background, will be limited to taking 6 hours. Students wishing to take more than 18 credit hours during the semester may, providing they have maintained an average of 3.5 or better during the preceding semester, register for one additional course with the approval of the dean of academic affairs or her/his designee.

Credit by Examination

Credit by examination will be recognized by Quinebaug Valley Community College when applicable to the degree or certificate program in which a student is enrolled. Semester hours of credit earned by examinations are assigned with a “TR” notation on the transcript. No quality points are earned. The student’s GPA is not affected.

1. External Examinations
   1. Degree credit will be granted on the basis of scores on the Advanced Placement Examinations administered by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). Students who earn scores of 3 or higher receive credit for the courses for which the examinations are stipulated as measures.
   2. QVCC will accept all College Level Examination Program (CLEP) General and Subject Examinations, awarding credit for scores earned according to current CLEP guidelines. Contact the Student Success Center for details.
   3. QVCC will accept the following phlebotomy certification exams awarding credit for HLT 141 Techniques in Phlebotomy:

National Center for Competency Testing, National Healthcare Association, American Society for Clinical Pathology or the National Phlebotomy Association (NPA). In order to earn credit, students will need to provide a copy of their official certification awarded by the certifying agency.

QVCC will accept DANTES test results, awarding credit for scores earned according to ACE guidelines.

1. College-sponsored Examinations
   1. A student may, on the basis of previous study and experience, take a special examination for credit for some approved QVCC course without having enrolled in those courses. Exams may be offered at the discretion of individual faculty members.
   2. The student pays an academic evaluation fee in advance for each examination. Students will not be permitted to earn credit by examination in a course for which they have already received a grade. Students must register for these examinations in advance in the College Learning Center. Credits earned in this manner are not guaranteed transferable.

Credit for Prior Learning Through Portfolio Assessment

Students who believe that through prior learning (e.g., self-directed study, on-the-job training, or past employment) they have acquired the competence ordinarily associated with satisfactory completion of approved QVCC courses, may request evaluation of the experience through the Credit for Prior Learning Portfolio Assessment (CPLPA) process. Students seeking credit for prior learning will be required to prepare a portfolio which clarifies, organizes, assesses, and documents the learning they have acquired through prior experience. The portfolio will then be submitted to a specially appointed assessment committee, which will determine which credits and how many credits the student will be awarded. No more than 50 percent of an approved associate degree or certificate program will be awarded for prior experiential learning. There is a one-time portfolio assessment fee of $50.00 that is paid when the portfolio is submitted. Students wishing more information about the CPLPA process should contact the office of the Academic Dean.

Independent Study

By arrangement between individual students and faculty members, the College offers independent study courses designed to provide an opportunity to pursue topics in depth beyond that usually required or available in formal classes. Topics will vary with the student and the subject. Independent study is conducted under the guidance and at the discretion of a faculty member qualified in the subject area of the student’s interest. These courses will be identified as “independent study” on transcripts and may yield a variable number of credits (ordinarily 3 credits). Independent study is considered part of a regular course load and regular academic calendar deadlines and requirements will apply. Interested students may obtain information from the Dean of Academic Affairs Office.

Summer College, Winter Intersession, & Extension Courses for Credit

Summer College and Winter Intersession (when offered), offer credit courses over an accelerated time period, generally June through August and January. Various sessions are available and courses are conducted via online or through traditional classroom delivery. Extension courses are credit classes conducted off-campus to fulfill a specific contractual agreement, often with another state agency or business.

Connecticut General Assembly Legislative Internship Program

In recognition of the need to provide educational opportunities which are not available to college students in the traditional academic setting, the General Assembly established an internship program to acquaint students with both the formal and informal aspects of the legislative process. Accordingly, the program encourages a high level of personal interaction among legislators and interns who serve as aides to their assigned legislators. A major objective is to prepare interns to perform necessary support services, such as bill analysis and tracking, spot and in-depth research, drafting of news releases and speeches, liaison work, and constituent casework.

Students at QVCC may participate in the program and may earn from 6 to 12 college credits. See POL* 290  and POL* 294 . The selection of students is made by the General Assembly’s Committee on Legislative Staff Internships. The committee interviews each candidate and selects approximately 90 interns, both full-time and part-time, to serve for a legislative session. Appointments are announced in December following November interviews.

Interns are assigned to legislative leaders, committee chairs, ranking members, and other legislators. A workable and mutually beneficial relationship between the legislator and the intern is a prime goal of the internship program. Every effort is made to match both legislator and intern.

For further information, please contact Jayne Battye, political science faculty.

Academic Evaluation

Grades and Grade Points

Letter grades are given to let students know how well they are learning the material in their courses. Each instructor chooses the factors he/she believes are important in deciding which grade to give (test results, attendance, outside projects, participation in class, etc.). For each letter grade there is a corresponding number of grade points. These are used to provide a numerical expression of a student’s work. Effective summer 2015, developmental courses (courses numbered less than 100 and identified with a pound sign #) will not be included in the calculation of grade point averages. The table provided shows the grades and their grade point equivalents.

Grade Points

*not calculated into grade point average

Grade Point Average

To determine the relative standing of any student, either for a single semester or for his/her total college career, a composite score, called a Grade Point Average (GPA), is computed from the student’s grades.

Grade points for a semester are calculated by multiplying the numerical weight allocated to each grade times the semester hours of credit assigned to each course. The GPA is determined by dividing the total number of grade points by the total number of semester hours of credit attempted by the student.

Grade Point Average Example:

Attendance

With enrollment in college the student accepts responsibility to take full advantage of the educational opportunity by regular attendance at classes and laboratories. Each instructor has the responsibility of clearly communicating personal expectations on attendance. Faculty may use their discretion in regard to the effect of absences on a student’s grade. In every case of absence, the responsibility for making up work rests with the student.

Academic Honors

Effective Fall 2013, full-time students who are matriculated in a certificate or degree program and who successfully complete 12 or more credits of work in a semester with a grade point average of 3.4 or higher shall be recognized by having their names placed on the Dean’s List.

Part-time students who are matriculated in a certificate or degree program are also eligible for Dean’s List recognition when they have completed 12 or more credits of work with a cumulative grade point average of 3.4 or higher. They may be subsequently recognized at the completion of an additional 12 or more credits of work with a cumulative grade point average of 3.4 or higher, and at successive intervals of 12 credits.

A course Withdrawal or Incomplete shall make the student ineligible for the Dean’s List recognition that semester. Upon completion of the Incomplete, the student may be recognized retroactively.

Students who are in a probationary status are not eligible for Dean’s List recognition, even if their cumulative grade point average might otherwise make them eligible.

To graduate with honors, a student must have earned at QVCC at least 30 of the credits accepted for graduation. Graduation honors are:

Summa Cum Laude-GPA equal to 3.9 or higher
Magna Cum Laude-GPA equal to 3.7 to 3.89
Cum Laude-GPA equal to 3.4 to 3.69

Students with a grade of “I” (Incomplete) are ineligible for graduation honors.

Courses taken at other institutions are not included in computing honor status.

The College also has a chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, a national community college academic honor society, Alpha Beta Gamma, a national community college honor society for business students, Epsilon Pi Tau, a national honor society for engineering and technology students, and Tau Upsilon Alpha, a national honor society for human services students.

President’s Award

Given each year at commencement, the college makes an award to the degree graduate with the highest academic average with at least 45 credits earned in residence at QVCC. This is known as the President’s Award.

In Progress Work

The student whose work in a course is incomplete at the time of grading due to extenuating circumstances and who has the approval of the instructor for an agreed-upon extension of time in which to complete the coursework may receive a grade of “I” (Incomplete).

A written contract must be signed by the faculty member and the student and submitted to the dean of academic affairs prior to issuance of the “I” grade. “I” grades which have not been changed by the instructor by the end of the following semester in which they are received will be changed automatically to “F”.

General Educational Outcomes

To meet their academic, professional, and personal goals, learners will:

• Competently and effectively produce, interpret, question, and analyze written text, oral messages, and multi-media presentations to satisfy a variety of contexts and needs
• Apply mathematical concepts and skills to interpret, understand, and communicate quantitative data
• Apply logical, critical, ethical, and creative processes and information to identify problems, evaluate alternative solutions, and make decisions
• Effectively search for and obtain appropriate information through both traditional and electronic media, and evaluate information for accuracy, perspective, and utility
• Demonstrate an understanding and appropriate application of computer technology
• Integrate and apply the fundamental principles and methods of scientific inquiry, social sciences, and arts and humanities
• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively both as an individual and as part of a group
• Recognize and appreciate the diversity of human behaviors and cultures as they relate to individual development and group interaction, including key issues of age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
• Identify and evaluate ethical issues and conflicts, contribute to the community and society, and recognize the responsibility of the individual in a democracy.

Academic Policies

Minimum Computer Skills for Online and Hybrid Classes

Use Blackboard to:

• Communicate with instructor and classmates (emails and announcements)
• Participate in discussions
• Find course content
• Turn in assignments
• Take tests or other assessments

Basic Computer Skills:

• Upload or download files, extract all files
• Create folders
• Save documents, spreadsheets, etc. to folders and external devices, compress folders
• Troubleshoot computer and software issues by using technical support
• Update operating system and add-on programs required to view files
• Attach documents to emails and assignments
• Use word processing software to save files in readable format
• Use specific software required for various courses (publisher software)
• View PowerPoint presentations

Online and Hybrid Course Student Code of Conduct

To establish a safe space in the online classroom, students need to agree to uphold specific expectations for conduct online.

• Maintain an appropriate tone and stay on topic to extend productive discussions. Respectfully disagree with ideas. Do not attack peers or the instructor because their ideas are different from or contrary to your own. Exhibit sensitivity to others when discussing issues and avoid name calling and other put downs.
• Respect the diversity of opinions expressed by the instructor and members of the class and respond to them in a courteous manner. Electronic communication consisting of all caps, large font, or bold print, or containing multiple exclamation points or question marks may be considered unprofessional and a form of verbal abuse.
• Be open-minded. Believe you can learn from the diversity of perspectives in the class. Attempt to think “outside the box” to present new ideas and perspectives.
• Respect the privacy of your peers. Do not republish (i.e. cut and paste contents from our discussions to other social networking forums) or discuss conversations that take place in our classroom site.
• Support classmates in their learning process. No teasing or making fun of peers.
• Only attach information (i.e. documents, images, videos, etc.) that is appropriate to the educational setting.
• Submit work that follows the appropriate conventions of English (i.e. spelling, grammar, sentence structure, word choice, etc.) to ensure that postings clearly communicate your ideas.
• Maintain an environment free of harassment, stalking, threats, abuse, profanity, insults, or humiliation for the instructor and members of the class. This includes, but is not limited to, demeaning written or oral comments of an ethnic, religious, sexist (or sexual orientation), or racist nature; and unwanted sexual advances or intimidations by email, or on discussion boards and other postings in course shells.
• Abide by all rules and regulations published by QVCC with regard to academic honesty and plagiarism and agree to be subject to disciplinary actions as described in the Student Code of Conduct.