Policies and Procedures

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Students should enroll during the college’s published registration periods for each term. Online college registration dates can be found here: https://www.sjcme.edu/admissions/online/dates-and-deadlines/registration/

A student’s financial account must be in good standing prior to course registration.

 Students who choose not to enroll for a term during their program must speak with their Academic Advisor. Students cannot enroll in overlapping terms, so a new course cannot be started until the previous term end date has passed. 

  12-Week Program Term Schedule (Nursing and Graduate Theology programs) 

  Courses start on the first Monday of the month. Refer to academic calendar for specific dates.

10-Week Program Term Schedule (All non-nursing Undergraduate programs and courses, as well as Graduate Business, Graduate Accounting, Graduate Health Administration, and Graduate Education programs)

Refer to academic calendar for specific term start dates.

New students may enroll in a maximum of two courses concurrently. After the student successfully completes these first courses, s/he may exceed the two-course maximum with their Academic Advisor’s and/or Program Director’s approval, provided s/he maintains satisfactory academic progress. The following credit loads determine a student’s enrollment status:

Undergraduate

Graduate

In order to maintain satisfactory progress in a course, students must maintain regular, active participation for the duration of their course(s) and are expected to submit assignments according to the due dates established within the course. Students receiving financial aid are encouraged to review applicable policies in the Tuition and Fees section. 

Final course grades are posted within seven days after the official term end date. The following system of grading is used by Saint Joseph’s College.

Criteria for Evaluating Student Assignments

The College has prepared a guide to be used by students and faculty for the preparation and evaluation of student assignments. For students, the criteria for reading, reasoning, arguing, documenting, organizing, and writing comprise guidelines for the most effective completion of a given assignment. The guide enables faculty to provide specific evaluation and focused feedback to each student and promotes a consistent approach among faculty in their review of students’ written work. In addition, the criteria may facilitate student-faculty dialogue about the strengths and weaknesses of assignments. The guidelines are available in the Online Student Handbook.

Request for Review of Course Grade

When there is a discrepancy between the final grade the student thinks s/he has earned and the final grade received in a course, the student is encouraged to seek an acceptable resolution through discussion with the faculty member of the course as soon as possible.  Any change in grade is to be submitted by the faculty member in writing to the Registrar’s Office.

If a satisfactory resolution is not reached, a student may initiate a formal grade appeal only if there is a valid basis or clear evidence for an appeal.  Specifically, the student must demonstrate that the final grade was assigned as a result of:

1. A computational error,
2. Grading criteria were applied in a manner that treated the student differently than the others in the same course and section,
3. Unreasonable or unannounced changes made to the assignment, grading criteria or computational process,
4. A grading decision made on some basis other than the student’s academic performance.

A student may initiate a formal appeal no later than 15 calendar days after the date on which the student’s final grade was recorded.

Steps in the formal Grade Appeal Process:

1. The student files an appeal using the Review of Final Course Grade Request form, available from their Academic Advisor, and supporting documentation to the appropriate Program Director within 15 days of the date on which the student’s final grade was recorded. Supporting documentation includes, but is not limited to, the course syllabus and all graded assignments.
2. The Program Director will render a judgment and inform the parties within 15 days.
3. If a satisfactory resolution is not reached, the student can inform the Program Director within 7 days that the decision is not accepted, a Request for Review and supporting documentation must be submitted to the Senior VP for Learning & Programs.
4. Within 15 days, the Senior VP for Learning & Programs will render a judgment that is final. The decision is filed and conveyed to the parties.

Incomplete Course Grade

In the event of extenuating circumstances, such as a death in the family, a prolonged illness or emergency, a student can request an incomplete course grade, at least one week prior to the end date of the course. In order to be eligible, a student must be up to date in their coursework. In addition, the student must be in financial good standing with the college. To do so, students will speak with their Academic Advisor and then complete the online Incomplete Grade Request Form. The instructor, in consult with the Program Director, will review and approve or deny the request, and if approved, provide a new due date, not to exceed four weeks from the original course end date, for completing the remaining coursework. A grade of “I” will be assigned and reflects an agreed upon course of action between the instructor and student to complete the course within the designated time frame. If remaining course work is not completed within the established time frame, a final adjusted grade will be assigned based on course grade calculations.

An Incomplete Course Grade may impact your financial aid eligibility and/or loan deferment status.  Please contact Financial Aid at 800-752-1266 or finaid@sjcme.edu with any questions.

Note: Students needing an Incomplete Course Grade due to ADA accommodations should contact Holly Sanborn, Manager ADA Accommodations, at hsanborn@sjcme.edu or 207-893-7562.

Students may drop a course prior to the start date and during the first three days of the course. Starting on day four, academic and refund policies will apply. A dropped course will not appear on the student’s transcript. Students may be able to add a course or substitute a course within the first five days of the course start date with approval from their Academic Advisor. A change in course load may have financial aid implications; please see the Tuition and Fees section for more information.

Students may request evaluation for a possible program change at any time. Requests must be made in writing to the student’s Academic Advisor. With certain program changes, the student may be required to submit a new application through admissions and submit additional application materials. If the student’s program change is approved, they would enter the new program under the most recent curriculum requirements and policies.

Students have up to one year from the end date of their last completed course, or acceptance date if no courses were completed, to return to their program of study within the catalog year under which they were admitted. After one year, students must reapply through Online Admissions and are subject to the current admissions and program requirements. Students should consult with their Academic Advisor for details.

Note: Nursing program students are not eligible for reinstatement into their program of study after withdrawal of any kind. Withdrawn Nursing students must reapply through Online Admissions and are subject to the current admissions and program requirements.  

All student financial balances must be resolved with the Office of Student Accounts before enrollment in subsequent courses can occur.

Course Withdrawal

To withdraw from a course, students must notify the College by contacting their Academic Advisor and completing a withdrawal form. Withdrawals without academic penalty will result in a grade of “W,” which is not computed into the student’s GPA. Withdrawals after the deadline to withdraw without academic penalty will result in a failing grade of “WF” on the student’s transcript, which is computed into the student’s GPA. The date of withdrawal is determined by the date that the student last submitted gradable work**.

Ceasing to submit assignments does not constitute an official request for course withdrawal. A change in course load may have financial aid implications; please see the Tuition and Fees section for more information.

Please refer to the chart below for information on withdrawal deadlines. 

Students requesting to withdraw from their program must speak with their Academic Advisor and complete the Withdrawal Form for approval. If currently enrolled in a course at the time of the program withdrawal request, please refer to the Course Withdrawal policy to determine any applicable academic penalty.

Inactivity Withdrawal

Students may elect not to enroll in courses for one term, following completion of their current term. Students who do not register for the subsequent term after this break will be administratively withdrawn from their program, effective the end date of their last term. Students have up to one year from the end date of their last completed course, or acceptance date if no courses were completed, to return to their program of study within the catalog year under which they were admitted. After one year, students must reapply through Admissions and are subject to the current admissions and program requirements. Students should consult with their Academic Advisor for details.

Note: Nursing program students are not eligible to return to their program of study after withdrawal of any kind. Withdrawn Nursing students must reapply through Admissions and are subject to the current admissions and program requirements.

Involuntary Withdrawal for Active Duty Students

Involuntary withdrawal requests from students who are called to active duty into the armed services must be substantiated with copies of military orders that show proof of date of entry. The student’s commanding officer or another appropriate official must sign the orders. The College will consider a refund of tuition and fees on a case-by-case basis.

Students may repeat courses taken at Saint Joseph’s College in the event the initial grade for a course is lower than a C- or fails to meet the minimum grade requirement by the student’s academic program of study. In most cases, courses may be repeated once at SJC and once elsewhere (for three attempts). Nursing students will refer to the nursing student handbook for course repeat policy.

All course attempts and final grades earned at SJC appear on the student’s academic transcript. Only the higher grade is used in calculating the cumulative grade point average. Pursuant to the College’s transfer credit policy, courses repeated at other institutions do not calculate into a student’s grade point average. Credit for a course toward graduation will be given only once, even if the course is passed more than once.

Students requesting to repeat a course to improve a grade must receive approval from their Academic Advisor.

Students who have graduated cannot file requests for retroactive grade replacements and cannot replace the grades in courses taken prior to graduation.

Repeating a course may affect financial aid. It is the student’s responsibility to consult with the Office of Student Financial Services.

A leave of absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption in a student’s program due to extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to: documented medical issues, death of an immediate family member, military deployment, natural disasters and other unforeseen temporary events. Students must be in good academic, disciplinary, and financial standing to be considered for a leave of absence.

Matriculated online students may request a leave of absence not to exceed two terms from the end date of their current (or last, if not currently enrolled) term. Students will not be granted a leave of absence from a course.

Students must complete the required Request for Leave of Absence form and forward it to their Academic Advisor for review. Students are required to complete the following information on the form:

• Reason for Request
• Date of Request
• Signature of Student 

Requests for a leave of absence are reviewed by the Senior Associate Director of Enrollment Management and/or the Program Director. If approved, the effective start date of an LOA is the end date of the student’s current (or last, if not currently enrolled) term. Students who are approved a leave of absence will be assigned a reasonable leave end date. Failure to enroll for the next term following the leave end date will result in a withdrawal from the program, effective on the end date of the student’s last term. Carrying with it the intention of returning to Saint Joseph’s College, a leave of absence guarantees readmission to the College. 

Discontinued class participation and unit submission does not constitute an official leave of absence. Students are still subject to the College’s withdrawal, academic, and attendance policies within the catalog.

Students are required to consult with the Offices of Student Accounts and Financial Aid to discuss any potential impacts on Title IV funding and student account charges.  Students who have educational loans are encouraged to contact their lenders directly to learn about options and requirements for in-school deferment eligibility.

Note: Students active in the military who are subject to deployment should contact their Academic Advisor to discuss incomplete grade and leave of absence options.

All members of the Saint Joseph’s College community are expected to adhere to the principles of academic honesty central to the College’s mission. Plagiarism, collusion, falsifying the results of one’s research, cheating on examinations and any form of misrepresenting one’s own work, or collaborating in the misrepresentation of an other’s work, are contrary to the traditions and goals of the institution. Instances of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action and/or academic sanctions.

There are a number of ways academic dishonesty can occur.  An example of academic dishonesty is when a student sells or uploads their work to be sold/used to other students. Selling or uploading assignment work are actions that may violate Saint Joseph’s College core values of respect and integrity.  This includes distributing course information in open warehouse sites, such as CourseHero, Oppapers, MedLibrary, etc.   In addition, a student must not reuse one’s own work that has been previously submitted in other academic courses without permission from the instructor and proper citations, as these actions are considered self-plagiarism.  This includes copying and pasting portions of previously submitted material or submitting duplicate assignment material, such as essays, discussion posts, audio/video submissions, problems/solutions, and/or any other assignment work.  Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and academic dishonesty are serious issues which can lead to disciplinary action, including dismissal from the college.

Students are expected to cite any sources upon which their work is based through the use of bibliographical lists, footnotes, end-notes, and the like. All uses made of the content, style conceptualization, organization methods, and factual materials of others, or of other work students may have produced must also be documented.

As an educational institution, our primary goals regarding plagiarism are to help students understand the ethics of information in today’s world and to give them the tools and knowledge they need to remain academically honest. Faculty may use plagiarism detection services, such as Turnitin.com, to help identify potential plagiarism in students’ written work.

Procedure in Cases of Academic Dishonesty

When a breach of the Academic Honesty Policy is suspected (or determined), the Instructor must contact the Program Director to discuss the concern.  In collaboration, the Program Director and Instructor will decide what action should be taken, including failing the assignment, the course, or even dismissal from the college, depending on the number of violations or degree of academic dishonesty

The student also will be provided information for learning more about correct citation of sources. Saint Joseph’s College Wellehan library can be accessed for assistance with avoiding plagiarism, as well as understanding APA, MLA, etc. formatting and citations. These resources can be accessed in Wellehan Library’s Citing Sources section.

Actions may include:

1. Discuss the concern with the student and decide to take no further action,
2. Discuss the concern with the student and require that the student’s work be resubmitted with appropriate changes,
3. Assign a failing grade for the work submitted,
4. Assign a failing grade for the course, and/or
5. Dismiss the student from the program or the College.

Regardless of the action taken, the Program Director will notify the Operations Department of the Online College and may notify the Office of Academic Affairs, and a warning letter from that office will be sent to the student. 

A student accused of academic dishonesty may appeal his/her case in writing to the Office of Academic Affairs and the appropriate Dean will then convene the Academic Review Panel.  The role of this Panel is to evaluate the accusation in light of the circumstances bearing upon the case, and then advise the Dean. The decision of the Dean shall be final.

Plagiarism occurs when a person uses the words, ideas, opinions, research, or creative expressions of another as if they were her or his own.

Plagiarism can take many forms. One common type of plagiarism occurs when a person uses another’s words without adding quotation marks around the words and clearly stating the source. The words of another may be used only when both of these conditions are present (quotation marks and clear citation of the source). Not using quotation marks implies that the words are created by the student.

Another common example of plagiarism is when an individual uses another person’s ideas or opinions and expresses them in his or her own words (called paraphrasing) but fails to cite the source. Although in this case, the words may be the student’s, the ideas have been borrowed from another, and that borrowing must be acknowledged.

Plagiarism can involve unacknowledged borrowing from any number of places, including published articles, a classmate’s paper, graphs, charts, the Internet or a video production. To take anything owned by another without proper acknowledgment is theft, and plagiarism is intellectual theft. Plagiarism occurs in research papers through failures of documentation, but it also can happen in class reports, essays, tests, and in any other situation in which a student may use the words or ideas of another.

Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity; it always involves deceit, whether that deceit is intended or not. Ignorance and carelessness sometimes lead to plagiarism, but they are not acceptable excuses. Each individual student has the responsibility to understand and avoid plagiarism. Opportunities to learn about proper use of documentation include English Composition I, II courses and any number of college handbooks or research paper style guides.

The Wellehan Library’s home page maintains a Ready-Reference page of useful links, including resources for reference citation formats. 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate. Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the Registrar and clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

The College may disclose appropriately designated directory information without written consent, unless you have advised the Registrar of your request not to have directory information released without your consent. This is accomplished by submitting an “Access to Student Records” form to the Registrar. The following data has been designated as Directory Information at the College:

• the student’s name, address, telephone listing and e-mail address
• date and place of birth
• major field of study
• participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• the weight and height of members of athletic teams
• dates of attendance
• degrees and awards received
• the most recent previous educational institution attended

     4.  The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605

Saint Joseph’s College requires that social security numbers be provided for a permanent and lasting record in accordance with the requirements of federal and state tax laws, certain laws that govern student financial aid, and various institutional policies that it has adopted under provisions of state and federal law that govern institutions of higher education.

Saint Joseph’s College will request that a student provide a social security number at the time of application to the institution. If not entered on the application, Saint Joseph’s College does require that a social security number be provided in advance of being enrolled in a course or courses at the institution. In order to receive federal financial aid, students must provide their social security number.

The social security number will not be used as the student ID number but will be provided to entities requiring a social security number, including but not limited to the federal government for financial aid and Tax Relief Act (1997) reporting, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and as required by court order in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Saint Joseph’s College uses social security numbers for various tax records and filings that are required under state and federal tax law. When possible, an alternative number will be assigned and used by the institution for all purposes which do not require the social security number. Saint Joseph’s College is dedicated to ensuring the privacy and proper handling of confidential information pertaining to students and employees. 

All forms of communications, written, e-mail, telephone, and face-to-face, within the Online College shall be conducted with a mutual level of respect.  Adherence to the generally accepted norms for human communications, especially avoiding communications that are false or are likely to be considered as discourteous, malicious, unwanted or causing unjustified loss of prestige is asked of all students, faculty, and staff.

Disruptive classroom conduct negatively affects classroom environments as well as the educational experience for all of the students enrolled in the course. The Online College defines disruptive classroom behavior as “any behavior that a reasonable person would view as substantially or repeatedly interfering with the conduct of a class”. Disruptive classroom behavior will not be allowed. Faculty members have the ability to ask a student to leave a classroom for disruptive behavior; that student will be marked absent for the entire class time.

Students who exhibit disruptive conduct of any type may be put on notice and may be dismissed from the program.