Policies

Academic Affairs Checklist

Faculty

Scheduling

Enacted July 2013, Reviewed 2019, July 2020

Academic Progress Standards

Good Academic Status

Students who are not on academic probation or dismissal from the College are considered in good academic status.

Probation

Students in credit programs must maintain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of:

• 1.4 or better for 1-14 semester hours attempted
• 1.6 or better for 15-27 semester hours attempted
• 1.8 or better for 28-45 semester hours attempted
• 2.0 or better for over 45 semester hours attempted

The College administration will continually assess the impact of the academic progression policy and make adjustments as necessary to the academic probation grade point average table above.

It is anticipated that the cumulative grade point average to remain in good academic standing will increase in the future. Therefore, it is imperative that students meet with an academic advisor on a regular basis to discuss academic success issues and support services, as well as carefully plan their academic program.

Academic Probation

Probation will be continued as long as the student fails to achieve the standard cumulative grade point average (CGPA) for the number of hours attempted (see table above). Probation will be calculated at the end of each term. Transfer students whose CGPA does not meet the standard for good academic status will enroll on academic probation. Any student on academic probation will be limited in course load to a maximum of 12 semester hours during the fall, spring and summer terms.

Students on academic probation are required to meet with an academic advisor prior to registering for subsequent terms. Academic advisors are authorized to limit the number of hours and types of courses taken by students on academic probation. Academic probation is noted on the student’s permanent record.

Academic Suspension

Academic suspension is the first involuntary separation. Academic suspension results from a student’s failure, while on academic probation, to regain good academic standing or achieve a minimum 2.0 term grade point average (GPA). Suspension requires the student to stay out of school for one semester to reflect on their academic goals and level of commitment to education.

Academic suspension is noted on the student’s permanent record. Students readmitted after an academic suspension will be on academic probation and must meet with an academic advisor prior to registering for classes.

Academic Dismissal

Academic dismissal is a subsequent involuntary separation imposed upon a student who, having been previously suspended from the College and readmitted, fails to regain good academic status or achieve a minimum 2.0 term grade point average (GPA) for each academic term. Academic dismissal requires the student to stay out of school for one full calendar year to reflect on his/her commitment to education and to make any necessary changes to facilitate future success. Academic dismissal is noted on the student’s permanent record. Students who are readmitted after being academically dismissed will be on academic probation and must meet with an academic advisor prior to registering for classes. See Guidelines for Reinstatement.

Note: Students on academic suspension or dismissal are eligible to enroll in the Career Certificate Program (CPP) or avocational courses.

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; reviewed June 2010, reviewed May 2019, July 2020

Academic Records Retention Policy

Schedule A: Academic Records

Link to Records Retention Schedules, https://dos.myflorida.com/media/693588/gs05.pdf

Notes:

1. All records will be submitted to the office of the appropriate Associate Dean or Dean responsible for the program or discipline.
2. Individual student exams will not be retained.
3. Examination materials: Non-standardized will be retained 1 semester after expiration of appeal process.
4. Health Science programs and other limited access academic programs holding “programmatic accreditation” must comply with specific standards as required. For example, the State Department of Health, American Medical Association and subsidiaries, HIPAA and other regulatory agencies may have additional standards for records retention.
5. All records disposal MUST be done by shredding or incineration.

Schedule B: Faculty Related Documents

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; reviewed July 2010; revised February 2020

Attendance and the First Day of Class

In our focus on student engagement, Palm Beach State seeks to emphasize the importance of first class meeting attendance. Research and our own experience clearly show the connection between teaching and learning that begin in the first class and student success. We earlier proposed a prohibition on adding a class after the first class meeting. However, this registration solution has raised many concerns and prompted further discussion on possible negative impacts on students.

In these discussions, it became clear that a student's presence in class on the first day is not a registration issue but an attendance issue. While attendance is expected for all class sessions and activities, class attendance policies are set by the individual faculty member. Therefore, the policy on adding classes must give the faculty member some flexibility to determine in advance whether to allow or prohibit adding the class after the first class meeting.

The statement in bold below was developed by a subcommittee that studied this issue. The Joint Deans’ Council recommended approval of the policy to the President’s Cabinet, who approved the policy. It is published in the College Catalog and the Student Success Handbook, as follows:

Attendance at the first class meeting of any Palm Beach State course is required. Students who do not attend the first class may be dropped from the course, depending upon the individual faculty member's attendance policy. It is the student's responsibility to read the course schedule notes and/or visit the College website. The College policy of reinstating students for financial aid reasons or for having been dropped due to College error supersedes individual faculty attendance policies.

Enacted July 2006; reviewed June 2010; reviewed July 2019, July 2020

Attendance Statement and Reporting Requirements

https://www.pbsc.edu/academicservices/information-and-reference/academic-affairs-policies-and-documents/

Students are expected to attend all of their scheduled classes for the duration of the session. For eLearning classes, students are expected to regularly log in to access the class website and participate in the course according to the schedule of events outlined by the faculty/instructor. Any class session or activity missed, regardless of cause, reduces the opportunity for learning and may adversely affect a student’s achievement in the course.

Specific attendance and grading requirements for each course are stated in the respective course syllabus. These requirements may vary from course to course, and it is the student’s responsibility to read and adhere to the policies set forth by each class faculty/instructor syllabus. Students should seek any needed clarification from the class faculty/instructor.

The Never Attended grading roster opens the first day after add/drop and remains open for 8 days. You have up until midnight of the 8^th day to post your Never Attended rosters.

1. You can access your Never Attended roster by going to your Class Roster and clicking on the open button and then scrolling to the right to find the boxes to mark the students who have not attended.
2. If all students have attended, click on the box “All Students Have Attended” at the bottom of the page. Once you have submitted, you cannot make changes and you will need to follow the instructions below.
3. You should wait until at least two class meetings, if possible, before the window closes to make sure you have seen students who registered during the last days of add/drop.
4. The roster must be submitted by midnight of the 8th day after the end of add/drop of the class or the window will close and you will have to report the Never Attended manually by printing your roster, marking the students that Never Attended, or writing All Have Attended and submit to your Academic Deans office for processing. A WN grade appears on the student’s record (or FN if the student’s class is a third attempt) once the Never Attended is recorded for that student.
5. If you have marked a student as Never Attended in error, you will need to send an e-mail to Peter J. Biegel, College Registrar, (biegelp@palmbeachstate.edu) indicating the Student’s Name, I.D. and reference number of the class. NOTE: One e-mail for each student is required, as this e-mail will serve as the grade change request and be placed in the student’s file. Once you Save Changes, even if the window is still open, you must contact me to have the WN removed from the student’s record.

Enacted July 2007; reviewed June 2010; revised July 2011; revised July 2013; July 2014; July 2015, updated August 2018, July 2020

Block Scheduling Templates

Fall/Spring

Class Scheduling Template

16 Weeks/12 Weeks/8 Weeks

Summer

Class Scheduling Template

6 Weeks/8 Weeks/12 Weeks

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; reviewed June 2010; revised May 2019, July 2020

Chart of Programs

2020-2021

*Original spreadsheet is available at Academic Services Office.

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; reviewed July 2005; July 2006; July 2007; July 2008; July 2009; July 2010; July 2011; July 2013; July 2014; July 2015; August 2016; May 2018, July 2019, June 2020

Class Audit Policy

A student may be admitted to certain courses on an audit basis with the completed request form submitted prior to the deadline as published in the Palm Beach State catalog. Audit requests will not be processed after the add/drop period ends. Classes designated as audit during add/drop do not count as attempts. Students auditing a course must attend class, but they are not required to take tests and examinations. No audit students may change their schedule to seek credit in any course in which they are enrolled. Prerequisites, tuition and all special fees apply.

Courses taken for the third or fourth attempt or for high school dual enrollment/early admission may not be audited. Students are not permitted to audit college preparatory courses, courses under a selected admission program, or vocational credit or noncredit courses. A student may not audit a course in which he or she received a grade of ‘C’ higher. An instructor may withdraw an audit student (XW) for non-attendance.

Enacted July 2006; reviewed June 2010, July 2020

Class Size Guidelines/Suggested Week Guidelines

Guidelines for Scheduling Credit/Prep Course Offerings 2020-2021

Class size is set by the college administration with exceptions approved by Academic Deans’ Council and VPAA. The college administration may change the class size.

Scheduling Goals:

1. Develop a schedule that is based on student need.
2. Maintain an average class size of 25.
3. Reflect on schedule the approved program and discipline wheels.
4. Achieve a fulltime to part-time faculty ratio of 55/45%.
5. Schedule classes in appropriately sized room based on assigned class size.

Recommended Class Size and Length of Time Guidelines by Course 1 or Prefix

08182020

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; reviewed July 2005, July 2006, July 2007, July 2008, July 2009, July 2010; July 2011; July 2013; July 2014; July 2018; July 2020

Cluster Guidelines

1. The Cluster is comprised of disciplines and/or programs. Each cluster has a liaison, who is an associate dean or director.
2. Programs or a discipline(s) may choose to meet more frequently. If a program or a discipline meets outside of the four required meetings during the academic year, minutes must be taken and distributed via email to the Academic Minutes Distribution list.
3. Any cluster member may place an item on the agenda for discussion and/or voting. The cluster chair does not have the right to refuse an agenda item from a cluster member.
4. An item is approved if the majority of cluster members present approve the agenda item.
5. The Cluster Liaison is responsible for:
   1. Collaborating with the Cluster Chair to ensure that at least the four required meetings are scheduled.
   2. Holding a group meeting with all the programs and disciplines under that cluster.
   3. Ensuring that minutes are taken, including addressing any district issues set forth by the VPAA, and distributed to the Academic Minutes Distribution list.
   4. Identifying which program/clusters actually meet in addition to the main cluster meeting. If discipline or programs meet in addition to the main cluster meeting, minutes must also be taken and distributed.
   5. Clusters are recommending bodies. Recommendations by the cluster are made to the cluster liaison, who then sends them to Deans’ Council following established policy and procedure.
   6. Supporting approved and established college policies and procedures.
6. Minutes Guidelines:
   1. The Cluster Chair is responsible for naming a scribe and ensuring that minutes are submitted.
   2. Minutes should be prepared and distributed no more than one week after a cluster meeting is held.
   3. Minutes should be prepared using the standard minutes template located at https://www.pbsc.edu/academicservices/documents/MinutesTemplate.doc. Minutes must address any identified district issues set forth by the VPAA.
   4. Any cluster recommendations should be in writing and sent to the VPAA in addition to being in the cluster minutes.
   5. Any curriculum changes (new courses, revised courses, etc.) must be initiated through the established curriculum process (www.pbsc.edu/Curriculum-Development)

Enacted July 2004; revised July 2008; reviewed July 2010; revised July 2014; revised July 2015; July 2020

Conversion of Non-Credit to Credit

Palm Beach State College recognizes the State of Florida’s statewide articulation agreements for:

1. Career Certificate Program (CCP) to AS Degree
2. Industry Certification to AS Degree

Credits are granted through the Prior Learning Assessment process at (www.pbsc.edu/priorlearning). For additional details on program specifics, please see the state Web page at www.fldoe.org/academics/Statewide-Career-and Technical-Education-Articulation-Agreements.

Enacted July 2010

Course Outlines Database

All Palm Beach State College course outlines are stored electronically in a database system. These course outlines include the following fields:

• Full course title
• Course description
• Credit hours, Clock hours, Lecture hours, Lab hours, Clinical hours (as each apply to the course)
• Funding Category and Transfer Status
• General Education Status
• Gordon Rule Status
• Pre-requisite courses
• Co-requisites courses
• Materials/equipment required by the student
• Number of times course can be taken
• Course effective term/outline creation term/course revision term
• Special Fees/Course Fee Revision Date
• General Education Learning Outcomes Supported
• Course Learning Outcomes
• Methods of Assessment

Course outlines are updated through the curriculum process as described under curriculum development procedures.

All course outlines are located at palmbeachstate.edu/utilities/CourseOutlines

Enacted July 2009; reviewed July 2010, revised July 2016, reviewed July 2018

Credit Hour Definition

Policy

Palm Beach State College has policies and procedures for determining credit hours to be awarded for courses. These policies and procedures are reflective of commonly accepted practices in higher education and are compliant with SACSCOC policy and State of Florida policy. Florida Administrative Code policy 6A.14.030, defines credit hours for various course types, and forms the basis for the College’s definitions and policy.

Definition

Palm Beach State College operates on a semester basis. Credit is a unit of measure assigned to courses or course equivalent learning. Credit is awarded if the learning activity it represents is part of, or preparatory for, an organized and specified program leading to a postsecondary certificate or degree. Credit is a device which indicates to the learner, to educational institutions, to employers, and to others how much of the program the learner has completed. The credit awarded may be independent of where the learning occurs. If a learning activity does not meet these requirements, credit shall not be awarded.

All credits are based on Carnegie Units, where 50 minutes of instruction is the accepted metric in accordance with commonly accepted practice in higher education, and comply with federal government regulations (34 CFR 600.2):

Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8(k) and (l), a credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than — (1) 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 or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

A clock hour is a period of time consisting of a period of time consisting of— (1) A 50- to 60-minute class, lecture, or recitation in a 60-minute period; (2) A 50- to 60-minute faculty-supervised laboratory, shop training or internship in a 60-minute period; or (3) Sixty minutes of preparation in a correspondence course.

Types of Credit at Palm Beach State College

Courses offered in Alternative Formats and Settings

Courses offered in alternative formats in various learning modalities (hybrid courses, online courses, independent study, cooperative education, practicums, internships, and externships) meet the same learning outcomes as classroom courses. Courses taught in high schools through the dual enrollment program use the same course outline and learning outcomes, per Florida Administrative Code 6A-14.064, College Credit Dual Enrollment.

Program Credit Hour Length Determination

Program lengths are set by the State of Florida for all degree and certificate programs.

All established program lengths are found at: www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/career-tech-edu/curriculum-frameworks/index.stml

Procedure for Adherence to the Guidelines

All courses recommended for approval by the College’s Curriculum Committee are approved by the VPAA. All changes made to a course’s credit or clock hours are proposed to the Curriculum Committee. All approved courses are sent the Statewide Course Numbering System for prefix and number assignment.

Scheduling Classes

The College’s Student Information System PantherNet has programmed routines to make sure a class’s loaded hours are in compliance with the guidelines as stated in this policy.

Enacted July 2014; reviewed July 2015; reviewed July 2016, updated July 2019; updated August 2020