August 16, 2000

TO: Members of the Faculty

FROM: Helen Scott, Chair
Committee on Academic Standing

RE: Committee on Academic Standing Annual Report, 1999-2000

The duties of the Committee on Academic Standing are listed on p.18 of the Faculty Handbook.

The Committee met regularly to review petitions, waivers, and other requests concerning academic regulations. During January and June, the Committee also reviewed the academic status of all students on the academic docket.

The number of dismissals, suspensions, and probations was significantly lower this past year. During the 1999-2000 academic year, there were a total of three dismissals and ten suspensions. During the January docket, two students were dismissed and six students were suspended; in June, one student was dismissed and four were suspended. During the 1998-99 academic year, a total of five students were dismissed and twelve suspended. Twenty-one students were placed on probation in the fall of 1999 and ten in the spring of 2000 resulting in a total of thirty-one compared to forty-nine in 1998-99. In the fall of 1999, twenty-one students were removed from probation while 12 students were removed from probation in the spring of 2000.

The Subcommittee on Academic Honesty considered four cases involving a total of six students during the 1999-2000 academic year; the preceding year, the Committee heard ten cases involving a total of sixteen students eight of whom were found guilty. This year five of the six students were found guilty. In one case involving two students, only one was found guilty. Of the five cases resulting in a guilty decision, two cases involved plagiarism, two cases involved dishonest collaboration, and one case involved cheating on an exam. Penalties were consistently imposed for those found guilty of a first instance of dishonesty: zero on the assignment, calculation of the zero into the final grade, lowering of the resulting grade one full letter, and two semesters of academic dishonesty probation.

The Committee brought two statements on academic honesty to the full faculty for discussion early during the fall semester. The first statement provided guidelines for informing students about proper quotation and citation rules; the second statement raised issues regarding a distinction between “lack of academic craft” and “academic dishonesty.” These statements were intended to generate discussion about our processes of evaluation and judgment in dealing with academic honesty cases. The faculty took no formal action. Based upon the comments of the faculty, the Committee will consider the merits of holding a meeting with new faculty at the beginning of each academic term to inform them of the procedures to be followed in academic honesty cases. The Committee will continue to pursue issues which have been raised relating to penalties and a student’s “permanent” record.

The Committee on Academic Standing reviewed our policy of incorporating into the cumulative GPA courses taken at the college by high school students prior to becoming fully enrolled students at the college. The Committee recommended that we only incorporate into the cumulative GPA those courses which special students choose to use towards the 124 credits needed for graduation. The Committee has asked the Registrar to report back about any feasibility issues which might arise in implementing this recommendation.

The Committee discussed our procedure for readmitting students from suspension.
The Committee decided that, since suspended students are automatically readmitted at the end of their suspension if they have fulfilled any contingencies placed on their suspension, they should not be required to write a letter to the Committee on Academic Standing. In the future, they will apply directly to the Registrar for readmission. In addition, the Committee will encourage them to put together, with the help of Student Affairs, an action plan during the first semester after their return designed to help them be successful. A new suspension letter was written to reflect these recommendations.

The Committee approved the following statement, to be added to statements about residency requirements in the College Catalog and in the Student Handbook, which will clarify the grounds on which the Committee will entertain a petition from a student who may need or wish to stay beyond eight full-time semesters:

All students are expected to complete their academic program within eight full-time semesters. Some students may be permitted to take more time. Examples would include students with disabilities which prevent them from carrying a full course load, students who have fallen behind normal progress as determined by the Committee on Academic Standing and students whose comprehensive academic program would be substantially enhanced by another semester of work. In all cases of extended study, the student must secure prior approval from the Committee on Academic Standing. The Committee on Academic Standing will review such requests in consultation with appropriate administrative offices. The college reserves the right to refuse college housing to students beyond eight semesters, and the college will not provide its own aid funds to students who exceed eight semesters of college residence.

The Committee revised the language for the Student Handbook and the College Catalog to make it clear to all students that they are expected to register for and complete a minimum of 12 credits per semester to remain in good standing. Student Handbook, under the section “Course Loads, Normal Progress, Classification” will now read:

The normal course load for students wishing to graduate in eight semesters is 16 credits per semester. To remain in good standing, all students are expected to register for and complete a minimum of 12 credits per semester. The maximum load is 18 credits, including music performance and all practica, except Physical Education 100 and 101 A student requests permission to carry more than 18 credits in a semester (or fewer than 12 credits) by submitting a written request to the Registrar for action by the Committee on Academic Standing."

The Committee approved acceptance of transfer credits from winter interim terms for continuing students. The maximum number of credits for any winter term will be set at 4 credits as the terms are usually between three and four weeks long. In addition, the maximum of 18 total credits of summer courses prior to graduation will now include winter interim term credits.

Jo Calhoun, Dean for Academic Support Services, reported to the Committee, as she has each year, on physical and learning disability accommodation requests from students. The Office of Academic Advising currently has documentation on twenty-seven students who can request special accommodations for completion of academic work. The number of students with learning and physical disabilities whom we are accommodating has remained fairly constant over the past several years. In recent years, accommodation of psychological disabilities has become an increasingly high profile ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) issue. During the 1999-2000 academic year, we began counting the number of psychological disability accommodation requests; we had documentation on six students requiring psychological accommodation.