INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS/STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

Full-Time and Part-Time Status

Students are considered to be full-time or part-time according to the course load at the time of registration. A student enrolled for 12 or more semester hours, or 24 or more contact hours per week in noncredit courses, is considered to be a full-time student.

Audit Status

Students registering in a college-credit course on a ¨not-for-credit¨ basis will be considered as audit students and their records will be marked accordingly. An ¨X¨ grade will be placed on the permanent record, and no hours attempted or quality points will be recorded. Occupational courses may not be taken on an audit basis.

Examinations for audit students are not required; however, audit students are expected to attend classes on the same basis as credit students and to meet all the requirements of the course with the exception of examinations. Excessive absences for audit students are treated the same as for credit students. The instructor may recommend to the Vice President for Instruction that the student be dropped from the class with a grade of ¨W.¨

Fees are the same for both credit and audit students. Students may register for a class on an ¨Audit¨ basis at anytime during the regular registration period or change to ¨Audit¨ status prior to the date stated in the college calendar as the last day for dropping classes. ¨Audit¨ students must meet the same admission requirements as college-credit students.

Audit students may not change to credit status following the expiration of the Drop/Add period specified for each semester in the college calendar without written permission of the instructor.

Schedule Changes

Changes in courses or sections may be made during the drop/add period specified in the college calendar and/or in the Schedule of Classes each semester. Any such changes shall be accomplished by completion and processing of required forms to the Registrar's Office on the Niceville campus and other OWCC locations.

Class Attendance

Students are expected to attend all of their scheduled classes. The effect of absences upon grades is determined by the instructor who may recommend to the Vice President for Instruction a withdrawal grade whenever absences become excessive. Arranging to make up work missed because of legitimate class absence is the responsibility of the student in cooperation with the instructor(s). Instructors shall not, however, authorize major blocks of class absences (e.g., 25% or more of the total class hours) without approval of the Department Chair and the Vice President for Instruction.

Attendance is recorded by the instructor who will report immediately to the Registrar's Office each student who has accumulated three consecutive day class absences or two (2) consecutive evening absences from class or three absences in a month. Further, each time a student has been tardy three times in a class, it will count as one absence. Each set of consecutive absences will be reported. Veterans are subject to the same attendance requirements as all other students (see page 45).

Examinations and Grades

Final examinations are held at the end of each semester and must be taken at the scheduled time. If a student is absent from a final examination because of substantive illness or other approved reasons, a late examination will be given.

OWCC provides and maintains permanent records for all students registering for college courses, and grade reports are provided to all students within five days following the published date that grades are due in the Registrar's office each semester.

Letter grades will be assigned as follows: A-Excellent; B-Good; C-Average; D-Passing; F-Failing; I-lncomplete; V-Deferred Incomplete; S-Satisfactory; U-Unsatisfactory; N-No Grade (nonpunitive); and X-Audit.

Grade points per semester hour are as follows: A-4; B-3; C-2; D-1; and F-0. Grades of ¨I-lncomplete¨ will change to ¨F-Failing¨ at the end of the next 16-week semester following the issuance of the grade if work is not made up during that period of time. The ¨I¨ or ¨V¨ will carry ¨0" grade points until it is made up. ¨S's,¨ ¨U's,¨ ¨N's,¨ and ¨X's¨ carry no grade points. No grades or transcripts will be released to or for students with incomplete records or outstanding fees, loans, or fines.