Academic Freedom
Academic freedom allows all faculty to seek and present knowledge in their respective disciplines. Faculty members are free to explore problems and issues, without fear of interference from administrators, the Board of Trustees, governmental agencies, the public, students or parents of students. Faculty members have a basic responsibility to promote freedom of thought, expression and the pursuit of knowledge.
Faculty members have an obligation to protect students’ rights to freedom of inquiry. In using potentially controversial materials, the faculty member has the obligation to ensure the material meets the valid educational objectives of the class. Faculty members have the responsibility to exercise reasonableness and good judgment in their presentations and to function within the ethics and standards of their respective disciplines and the teaching profession.
Academic Honesty
Students are expected to maintain a high standard of honesty in their academic work. Cheating and plagiarism are specifically prohibited under the college’s Student Rights and Responsibilities provisions.
Acts of cheating may include submitting for credit work that is not the student’s own, copying examination answers from fellow students or other sources or assisting other students in acts of these kinds.
Plagiarism, the presentation of another’s writing or ideas as one’s own, can take a number of forms - failing to cite sources, copying source texts or online sources without quotation, or inadequately paraphrasing or synthesizing source materials.
Students who are unsure of what might constitute plagiarism or cheating are encouraged to consult their instructors, class materials and other college resources for guidance.
Academic Standards
Academic Standing Policy for Students with Cumulative and Quarterly GPA below 2.0
Satisfactory Academic Standing: Satisfactory Academic Standing is a status indicating a student is meeting the academic standards policy requirements by maintaining a cumulative and quarterly GPA of 2.0 or above.
Level 1 Academic Standing
- Definition: Level 1 Academic Standing is status indicating a student is not meeting the academic standards policy requirements. Students are on Academic Standards Policy (ASP) Level 1 if both their quarterly and cumulative GPAs are below a 2.0 for one quarter.
- Students on ASP Level 1 are placed an ASP registration hold and must complete a Highline College Academic Improvement Plan in order to have the hold lifted.
Level 2 Academic Standing
- Definition: Level 2 Academic Standing is placed when both quarterly and cumulative GPA is less than 2.0 for two consecutive quarters.
- Students on ASP Level 2 are placed an ASP Level 2 registration hold and must complete all of the following to have the hold lifted:
- Submit a Highline College Academic Improvement Plan approved by a Highline College staff or faculty and
- Participate in an Academic Standards Policy sponsored activity
Level 3 Academic Standing
- Definition: Level 3 Academic Standing is placed when both quarterly and cumulative GPA is less than 2.0 for three or more consecutive quarters. At this level, the college is concerned about continued challenges and requires the student to pause their enrollment to re-evaluate their academic progress before returning.
- Students on ASP Level 3 are placed on ASP Level 3 registration hold, and their classes will be dropped by the 100% refund date of the following quarter. Prior to re-enrolling, they are to meet with the Academic Standards Policy Manager or designee to develop a Highline College Academic Improvement Plan.
- Appeal Process: If the student wishes to appeal their Level 3 Academic Standing status so they can continue enrollment, they are to follow the appeal process outlined below:
- Submit an Academic Standards Policy Appeal Form by the stated due date and time and
- The student is to meet with the Highline College ASP Appeal Committee or designee. Upon review, the appeal will be approved, denied, or approved with conditions for continued enrollment.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all sessions of their classes. Some instructors may require class attendance as part of their grading criterion. Only students in a valid enrollment status may attend classes.
Auditing a Class
Students may enroll in a course and choose the audit option if they meet the course prerequisites. This option allows students to participate in courses to explore or review a subject and not receive a grade. An audit does not calculate into the quarterly or cumulative GPA and is not included in the number of credits attempted or completed. A grade of “N” will be reflected on the transcript. Regular tuition and fees are charged. Students interested in auditing a class must have their instructor sign a Registration Add/Drop Form approving the audit. This form must be submitted to the Registration and Records Office by the Friday of the first week of the quarter (or the Thursday of the first week of summer quarter). Students who choose to audit may participate in the course to the extent that they desire, and are encouraged to discuss their desired outcomes with the instructor early in the quarter. Courses approved for audit may not be changed to credit classes.
Audits may not satisfy the requirements of various special funding, visa status and dual-enrollment programs including Running Start, High School Completion, Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language and is not an option for students who utilize funding from Veteran’s Affairs (VA), Financial Aid, Workforce Education and/or Workfirst.
Catalog Information
Highline’s catalog contains general information about the college and its programs, courses, services, staff and policies. Information is subject to change between catalog updates. It is the student’s responsibility to become familiar with all academic and administrative regulations and procedures that relate to their course of study.
College Success Course Waivers
The Associate in Arts DTA (AA-DTA) degree requires a College Success Course. Courses available to meet this requirement include COL 101, STEM 101, HEAL 102, and COL 105.
A student can have this requirement waived if they have done one of the following:
- Transferred to Highline with 30+ credits
- Completed 30+ credits in a different program before switching to the AA-DTA
- Completed an equivalent course at another college
- Started the AA-DTA before Summer 2022
- Earned a passing grade in HONOR 200 or CARER 110
If a student meets one of these criteria, they can fill out the College Success Course Appeal form to receive a waiver. This will show the requirement met on the student’s ctcLink Academic Advisement Report (AAR).
If a student plans to take HONOR 200 or CARER 110 but hasn’t yet, a note can be added to their ctcLink account as documentation for advisor(s) and financial aid sources. Students can request this note by filling out the College Success Course Appeal form. They will have to submit the form again after completing HONOR 200 or CARER 110 to receive a waiver.
Course Requirements
Students are responsible for meeting the requirements of any course in which they are enrolled. Instructors will inform students of course requirements in the course syllabus.
Credits
College Credits
Highline College operates on quarter credit hours. Courses offered during the instructional year are assigned credit values of one or more credits. In general, a class that meets two hours a week awards two hours of credit per quarter; one that meets five hours a week awards five credit hours. Some classes, such as laboratories, may vary from this pattern.
Necessary preparation time will also vary according to the class and the student’s background.
Credits are earned only for courses in which students are officially enrolled.
One semester credit hour is equivalent to one and one-half quarter credit hours.
Credit Load
Students intending to enroll in more than 18 credits must meet the following conditions:
• Have completed at least 15 credits of college level (100 or above) coursework
• Have a 3.0 or better college-level GPA
The maximum enrollment is 23 credits per quarter.
Students seeking an exemption from the policy must submit a written request to their advisor of record. When the advisor of record is a faculty member, the request may be approved by that instructor or that instructor’s division chair. When there is no assigned advisor or the assigned advisor is a Student Services staff member, the request may be approved by the Vice President for Student Services (or designee). In either case, the decision of the reviewer is final.
Examination or Challenge
A currently enrolled student who believes previous professional, business or educational experience has provided the skills and knowledge required for passing a course offered by Highline may be permitted to challenge that course by examination or other evidence that meets course learning outcomes. This process is called Prior Learning Assessment.
Courses that may be challenged and procedures for challenging can be obtained from the department that schedules the course.
Credit for this type of learning may be used for distribution or elective credit and is limited to 15 credits for the Associate in Arts and Associate of Science degrees. For details, visit Highline’s Prior Learning Assessment webpage.
Transfer Credits
Highline College grants academic credits toward its degrees for courses completed at other regionally accredited institutions. To have other colleges’ transcripts evaluated, an official transcript must be sent to the credentials evaluator along with a Transcript Evaluation Request form. This form can be found on the Student Records Transcript Credit Evaluations webpage.
Examinations
All examinations must be taken at the times scheduled by the instructors. A request to take an examination at any other time must be approved by the instructor.
Final Examinations for Courses
A final examination or evaluation is part of each course. Students are required to take the final examination or participate in the evaluation at the scheduled time in order to complete the course and receive credit. A final examination schedule is included in the quarterly class schedule.
Grades and Transcripts
Highline College is committed to integrity and transparency in our grading practices. This policy provides the following system of grading and grade point averages for reporting attainment of course learning outcomes.
Grade Report
Grades are available approximately five days after the quarter ends. Exact dates for the current academic year can be found on Highline’s Dates & Deadlines webpage.
Grading System
Highline uses a numerical grading system to measure and evaluate student performance. Instructors are responsible for measuring and evaluating the performance of their students and must provide a course syllabus that clearly defines the grading requirements for each course.
Instructors may report numerical grade points within a range of 0.7 to 4.0, in 0.1 increments. The grade of 0.0 does not satisfy minimum academic standards for earning credit.
Numerical grades measure achievement according to the following standards:
4.0 Highest achievement
2.0 Satisfactory achievement
0.7 Minimum achievement for credit
0.0-0.6 No credit
Note: Students are responsible for checking with appropriate departments for minimum grades required for certificate program completion or as prerequisites for higher-level courses. Per the college’s General Degree Requirements, any course taken in an AA, AS, or AAS degree must be a D (1.0 GPA) or better.
CR: Credit
A grade of Credit (CR) may be granted for completion of course requirements at the 2.0 level or above. A CR grade must be initiated by the student at the time of registration or by the 11th instructional day of the quarter (an equivalent date is listed in the quarterly class schedule for summer).
Only 15 CR credits are applicable toward the Associate of Arts Option A degree. CR credits may or may not be recognized by other institutions. Other degrees and programs will designate the maximum number of applicable CR credits. Divisions may designate specific courses which are only graded CR/NC.
I: Incomplete
An instructor may issue an I when the following conditions apply:
- A student was still registered for the class after the official withdrawal date;
- A student satisfactorily (grade of 2.0 or higher) completed at least 80 percent of the total coursework but was not able to complete all coursework due to extenuating circumstances;
- A student and instructor have agreed on a date of completion to occur within the following 12 months;
The I will be converted to a numerical grade or CR/NC upon completion of the course requirements. If the I is not removed through the completion of the requirements after 12 months, it will be converted to the grade earned, as shown on the “Incomplete Grade Contract.” This converted grade may not be changed. If an I grade is submitted and the instructor and student fail to file an Incomplete Grade Contract within one quarter, the I grade will be convert to a 0.0.
N: Audit
Students may enroll for a course on an audit (N) basis. Regular tuition and fees are charged. The N does not carry decimal points.
NC: No Credit
NC indicates a student did not satisfactorily complete course requirements at the 2.0 level to receive credit. The NC grade is used only for courses designated by an instructional division as CR/NC, and carries no GPA calculation.
R: Repeated Class
The symbol R, “Repeat-Excluded” or “Repeat-Included” indidates a course has been repeated.
W: Withdrawal
The W grade indicates that the student withdrew from the course, in keeping with college withdrawal policies. The W carries no credit, indicates neither passing nor nonpassing work at the time of withdrawal and does not affect GPA. Some courses, identified in the catalog and/or quarterly class schedule, require group participation and are not eligible for a W without the instructor’s permission.
If a withdrawal is submitted on or before the 10th instructional day of the quarter (an equivalent date will be listed in the quarterly class schedule for summer) the class will not be reported on the transcript.
First-Week Nonattendance
To accommodate students waiting to enroll, instructors may initiate a withdrawal for students who do not attend at least 60% of class time during the first week of the quarter (or the equivalent period in summer session). This decision is at the instructor’s discretion. Students with unavoidable absences should contact their instructor in advance to request an exception to this policy and avoid being withdrawn.
Missing Grade
A grade that is missing is indicated by a blank or an asterisk (*) when no grade was received from the instructor.
Repeating a Course
A student may enroll in the same course a maximum of three times: one original enrollment and up to two repeats. When a course is repeated for a higher grade, credit will be granted only once.
To exclude a previous grade from GPA calculations, students must submit a Grade Repeat Application to the Registration Office. While all grades remain on the transcript, only the highest grade will be used to compute the GPA. This policy applies to all repeated courses where a grade is earned, including those assigned “I” (Incomplete), “N” (No Credit), “W” (Withdrawal), or “NC” (No Credit).
Important: Grade replacement cannot be applied retroactively once a degree or certificate has been awarded and posted to the student’s transcript.
Exceptions may include:
- Extenuating Circumstances: At the discretion of the college, students may be granted a fourth attempt under documented extenuating circumstances. These may include medical or military withdrawals (as defined by state statute), required courses with limited or no substitution options, significant gaps in enrollment, eligibility for grade forgiveness, or mandated job-related training.
- Variable Credit Courses: Students may enroll multiple times in variable credit courses as needed to complete the full curriculum and credit value. However, they may not repeat parts of the course already completed. While duplicate credit will not be awarded, repeated enrollments may be used to improve GPA.
Note
Students retaking a previously passed course more than once may become ineligible for federal or state financial aid.
Students utilizing veterans education benefits cannot be certified or compensated for repeating a course that has already been passed.
Grade Forgiveness Policy
(Approved by Faculty Senate, June 2, 2010)
This policy provides an option for qualified students to set aside or exclude quarters previously attempted or completed from the GPA, when the coursework does not reflect their true academic ability.
With written approval of the advisor, students who meet the conditions outlined below may petition the Registrar to exclude grades from their transcripts that negatively affect their cumulative credits and cumulative GPA. All courses and credits prior to the selected quarter will be excluded.
Option 1
- Student has not been enrolled for at least 1 year.
- Student must have completed 15 credits with a 2.5 GPA or better (since returning to Highline).
Option 2
- Student has less than a year’s break in enrollment.
- Student must have completed 30 credits with a 2.5 GPA or better (after the most recent quarter to be excluded)
Further conditions:
Students cannot select individual courses or quarters for forgiveness. For example, if a student wishes to exclude courses in which failing or poor grades were received during the fourth quarter at Highline, all work taken during the first four quarters would be excluded.
Credits and grade points for excluded courses will be changed to zero (0) and will not be included in the Highline credit total and GPA. The course number, course title, and original grade will remain on the transcript.
Once forgiven, courses and credits may not be reinstated, may not be used as prerequisites, and may not apply toward degree requirements. Students will be allowed to have Grade Forgiveness applied once.
Financial Aid does not honor Grade Forgiveness.
Although Highline College makes provisions for Grade Forgiveness, students should not assume that other colleges to which they transfer will compute the GPA in the same manner. Only the Highline record can be set aside; the College cannot set aside records from other colleges.
Grade Forgiveness Request forms are available at the Registration Office, Building 6, lower level.
Transcripts
A college transcript is a copy of a student’s academic record. It includes quarters attended, credit courses taken, grades received, honors awarded and credentials conferred.
An official transcript carries the signature of the registrar and the college seal. Institutions receiving a transcript will interpret it according to their own policies. A fee for each transcript is payable at the time of the request.
An unofficial transcript is typically requested for personal use. Unofficial transcripts are available at no cost to current or former students.
Instructions on how to access both official and unofficial transcripts can be found on the Student Records Transcripts webpage.
Transcripts from Other Schools
Highline does not release or certify copies of transcripts from other institutions. Transcripts that have been submitted to Highline from previously attended secondary schools and colleges become part of Highline’s official file and may not be returned to the student or the college.
Graduation
June commencement is a ceremony for those students who have completed or plan to complete their degree or certificate during fall, winter or spring of the current academic year, or the summer quarter immediately following. Participation is not required. Ceremony participation does not guarantee degree completion.
Highline encourages all students to apply for graduation through ctcLink once a student has registered for their final quarter of classes.
Submission of the application for graduation form initiates an evaluation of all coursework applicable to the degree indicated. Upon completion of this process, students are notified of the results.
The Graduation Review Board considers requests for substitutions and waivers to degree requirements. Such requests must be submitted in writing to the Graduation Review Board.
Honors
Highest Scholastic Achievement Award
The Highest Scholastic Achievement Award is presented each commencement to the graduating student(s) who has attained the highest GPA and who has completed all degree requirements by the end of the spring quarter of the academic year of graduation. “Highest Scholastic Achievement Award” will be printed on the transcript.
Honors at Graduation
A student completing an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree who achieves a college-level cumulative GPA of 3.5 to 4.0 is eligible for honors at graduation. The transcript will indicate “Honors”. Winter quarter GPA is used for students who are scheduled to complete degree requirements during spring or summer quarter.
Honors Scholar
Students with a 3.5 GPA or higher, who have completed the 35 required honors credits, will graduate as Highline Honors Scholars. For information, see “Honors Scholar” in the Other Instructional Programs section.
Quarterly President’s and Vice President’s Lists
A student completing 12 or more credit hours of courses numbered 100 and above during any quarter at Highline College with a term GPA of 3.5 to 3.99 and with no grade below 2.0 or an incomplete (I grade) is placed on the Vice President’s List for the quarter. A student with a 4.0 GPA will be placed on the President’s List. The transcript will indicate’ “Vice President’s List” or “President’s List” for the quarter(s) involved. Honors are generally posted to the transcript the third week of the following quarter.
Instructional Cycle
College Year: The college instructional year consists of fall, winter and spring quarters of approximately 11 weeks each and a summer quarter of about eight weeks.
During the instructional year, class sections are offered during the early morning, late afternoon and evening hours at the college and at other sites throughout the district. Transfer, professional-technical and basic skills courses are offered during summer quarter, as well.
College Quarters: Highline offers classes on a quarterly schedule. Fall quarter classes begin in late September, winter quarter begins in January and spring quarter begins in late March or early April. Summer quarter begins in June.
Instructional Grievance Process
Highline College provides a process through which students can seek resolution of complaints about instructional matters. Typically, these matters include grades and classroom practices. An attempt should be made to resolve all instructional complaints in an informal manner. The interests of all are best served when complaints are resolved at the lowest possible level of the administrative structure. Any employee of the College receiving a complaint concerning a faculty member shall encourage the student to discuss the situation with the faculty member involved before meeting with anyone else. In the case of a student not wishing to discuss the matter with the faculty, employees should direct the student to the appropriate Division Chair or Office of Academic Affairs (who will help refer the student to the appropriate Division Chair). Complaints against faculty members, even when arising out of student conduct remain the purview of academic affairs as noted in the HCEA contract.
Reports will be evaluated in order to determine the appropriate institutional response. Excluded from this process are those complaints for which other specific remedies are provided such as Title IX, faculty against faculty, and administration against faculty, or non-academic complaints. Reports indicating concern for discrimination or harassment will be immediately referred to the Title IX Officer. If the person has already discussed the matter with the faculty member or refuses to do so, and desires to pursue the complaint, the person will be directed to meet with the Division Chair. Complaints must be initiated within 120 calendar days of the end of the quarter in which the precipitating incident(s) occurred.
Informal Process
Upon hearing the complaint, the Chair should attempt to facilitate resolution by encouraging further discussions between the student and the faculty member. During this informal process, the Chair may decide to meet with both parties separately or together, and collect and review course information as necessary to move towards a resolution, such as syllabi, information in Canvas, etc. If attempts at an informal resolution fail, the following steps must occur.
Formal Process
- The student must create a written version of the complaint, including the steps they have taken to try and resolve the concern, and deliver this to the Division Chair.
- The Chair will promptly forward a copy of these materials to the faculty member. In addition, the Chair will document the formal complaint in a shared drive and notify the Chief Academic Officer (CAO). If the faculty member is an adjunct, the Chair will also notify the appropriate Coordinator.
- At this point, the student, the Division Chair, and/or the faculty member may request that a different Division Chair conduct further review. The re-assignment of the new Chair will be facilitated by the CAO, or designee.
- After receiving the materials from the Division Chair, the faculty member may choose to send the chair a written response to the complaint.
- After reviewing the complaint with the parties involved, the Chair will provide, in a timely manner, a written response to the student and faculty member which includes the Chair’s resolution to the complaint.
- The Chair will document the resolution in the shared drive and notify the CAO, and Coordinator when necessary.
- Failure of the faculty member to comply with the resolution will be considered the same complaint and will be appealed to the Chair. At this point, the Chair has the option of either continuing to facilitate the resolution or to refer it to the CAO.
Military Credit Acceptance
The following procedures ensure that each active duty military service-member and veterans receive the maximum amount of college credit for military training possible:
- Highline College evaluates every military transcript received from the service member and/or veteran pursuing an education at Highline.
- Highline uses the American Council on Education (ACE), “A Guide to the Evaluation on Educational Experiences in the Armed Services” as a guide. ACE translates all military and occupations into academic credit recommendations, and provides guidelines to interpret and recommend credit for college courses.
- Highline accepts ACE military course recommendations for both the amount of credit suggested, and the level of the credit recommended (upper or lower division credit) under the following circumstances where the military course must match a required course listed in the student’s area or degree or pursuit.
- ACE credits that do not match any courses in any degree of pursuit may be accepted as elective credits when possible (subject to limits of the degree program).
- Prior Learning Assessment credit can also be attained from military training and experience.
- This policy and resources will be widely and easily available to veterans and active duty military seeking enrollment at Highline College.
Progress Standards for Financial Aid Recipients
Students applying for or receiving financial aid should review the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy in order to ensure continued eligibility for financial aid. Students can read the policy in the Financial Aid office in Building 6 or on the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress webpage.
Student Complaint Policy
The Student Complaint policy and process is published in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 132I-310.
Veterans Credit
See Military Credit Acceptance above.
|
