Policies and Requirements

This is a course that must be taken prior to a given course. Prerequisite courses are required for certain classes. A student must achieve a “C” or better in the prerequisite in order to be officially enrolled in the subsequent course.

This is a course that may be taken before or at the same time as a given course.

This is a course that must be taken at the same time as the course in question.

CMN expects students to meet requisite requirements. On rare occasions, requisite waivers may be granted by the Chief Academic Officer. Students must consult with their Academic Success Coach to understand the associated risks of the waiver. All requests must include a detailed explanation for the requisite waiver. The final decision regarding course requisite waivers is made by the Chief Academic Officer.

The Course Requisite Waiver form and procedure is available in the Student Form Library.

Academic Honors are awarded to students with outstanding GPAs based on term GPA. Full-time students who have completed at least 12 graded credit hours are eligible for Academic Honors at the end of each semester. Students must be in good academic standing to qualify. Students with outstanding GPAs are recognized as having achieved:

Academic Honors are awarded to students with outstanding GPAs based on cumulative GPA. Honors are awarded based on the cumulative GPA the term the student graduates. The graduate academic honors are based on the following:

Incomplete (“I”) grades are assigned at the discretion of instructors when, due to extraordinary circumstances, students were prevented from completing coursework on time. Students may request incomplete grades under these conditions:

• At least 75 percent of all course requirements to date are complete.
• Instructors determine student work to date is satisfactory.
• Attendance has been satisfactory.
• An illness or other extenuating circumstance legitimately prevents completion of required work by the due date. Written verification by the medical practitioner is required.
• The Incomplete grade is not based on students’ failure to complete work or as a means of raising their grades by doing additional work after the grade report time.

The assignment of a grade of “I” requires a written agreement between instructors and students specifying the time not to exceed 60 days from end of semester and manner in which students will complete their course requirements.

The Incomplete Grade Request form and procedure are available in the Student Form Library.

Grades submitted by the instructor upon completion of a course are assumed to be the students’ final grades and become part of the permanent record. A grade may not be changed unless submitting of the grade updates an incomplete grade or for a mitigating circumstance, which must be explained.

The deadline for submitting a grade change is ten (10) business days after the end of the semester in which the student took the class, unless fulfilling an incomplete or a grade appeal is in process.

The Change of Grade form and procedure are available in the Student Form Library.

If a student believes an assigned course grade is incorrect, the first step is to discuss the grade with the instructor who issued the grade. If the student is dissatisfied with the instructor’s response, the student may appeal further to the Chief Academic Officer no later than fifteen (15) business days from end of term.

In a letter to the Chief Academic Officer, the student must state the reason(s) for the dispute and provide evidence supporting the appeal. Examples of evidence include demonstrating an error in calculating points assigned or demonstrating a test and / or assignment was graded incorrectly.

The Chief Academic Officer then appoints a three-member faculty team to the Grade Appeal Committee (GAC) to review the appeal. Within fifteen (15) business days, the GAC makes its determination based solely on the information provided by the student and the instructor. The GAC forwards a written recommendation to the Chief Academic Officer who gives the student the final determination. The decision of the GAC is final.

Students may request exceptions to College policy by obtaining a student Petition Request form from their Academic Success Coach. Students should discuss the circumstances of a petition with their Academic Success Coach and follow the appropriate steps for each type of appeal.

When a determination cannot be made at the departmental level, the petition may be referred to the Petition Committee for review. The student will be charged a fee for a petition that advances to the Petition Committee. The Petition Committee will consist of three members chosen from the faculty and staff by the Chief Academic Officer.

The Chief Academic Officer is responsible for all final decisions.

The Petition Request form and procedure are available in the Student Form Library.

CMN requires all students to meet standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and maintain good standing in their courses.

Satisfactory academic progress is measured by GPA. Students are in good academic standing if their cumulative resident GPA is 2.00 or greater. The SAP calculation does not include grades from any courses transferred to CMN.

Failure to meet the academic progress standards for two consecutive semesters may result in academic suspension. The SAP calculation uses cumulative credit/hour totals. This means that CMN includes all terms of enrollment.

NOTE: For Federal financial aid purposes, SAP is different from the CMN academic SAP. CMN’s academic SAP is based on one criterion – grade point average (GPA). The financial aid SAP includes two criteria – GPA and a 67 percent successful completion ratio of classes attempted.

Additional Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards

• Incomplete grades (I) are counted as uncompleted courses until the Registrar’s Office posts the final grade on the transcript.
• Audit credits are not considered attempted or earned.
• Credits attempted include grades of W and A, AB, B, BC, C, CD, D, F.
• Only the most recent grade received in a repeated course is used to calculate GPA.
• Grades of A, AB, B, BC, C, CD, and D are considered passing grades or earned credits.
• Transfer credits and credits forgiven via the Academic Amnesty policy are included when calculating credit completion ratio and maximum time frame, but not GPA.
• SAP is reviewed at the end of each Fall, Spring, and Summer term.
• Units / Hours attempted include repeated courses.

Probationary actions are an advisory warnings that students must improve their academic achievement or the result may be academic suspension.

CMN uses a cumulative GPA of 2.00 as the minimum GPA needed to meet the Standards of Academic Progress (SAP). If at the end of any Fall, Spring, or Summer term students’ cumulative GPAs falls below 2.00, students are placed on academic probation. When the cumulative GPAs of students who are on academic probation remains below 2.00 but the term GPAs are 2.00 or above, students remain on academic probation. This is allowed for a maximum of four terms.

Students placed on academic probation are required to seek assistance from their Academic Success Coach, faculty member, or academic support staff. In an effort to give students time to improve their standing and resolve the issues that seem to be interfering with acceptable progress, a recommendation may be made to reduce the number of credits being taken.

If at the end of any Fall, Spring, or Summer term a students’ cumulative GPAs meets the 2.00 GPA standard required, the student is removed from academic probation.

Academic suspension actions occur when students have not met CMN’s minimum GPA requirements. Students who have cumulative GPAs below 2.00 and are on academic probation must attain term GPAs of 2.00 or higher, or they will be placed on academic suspension.

An academic suspension period is one academic term, excluding Summer. Students are not permitted to register for credit courses during the suspension period. Students on academic suspension may use the resources available on campus offered through academic support, library services, and workshops.

If students stop out two or more semesters, regular admission rules apply. In either case, students will be placed on academic probation and must create and follow individual academic plans in coordination with their Academic Success Coach.

Students who have been academically suspended more than once must petition for readmission.

Petition for Reinstatement

Students who have mitigating circumstances may appeal academic suspensions. Appeals must include written explanations and documentation explaining why standards could not be met. Students must also include in their appeal an individual academic plan to improve academic performance. Continued academic probation may be granted based on the circumstances. Appeals are reviewed by the Petition Committee. Appeals must be filed at least two weeks before the first day of class.

Reinstatement

Reinstatement means that students will again be eligible via both options above for registration and participation in courses. Students reinstated for eligibility will typically still be placed under the academic probation status. Specified conditions, which may include individual academic plans and a reduced credit load, may apply to reinstatement.

The Academic Amnesty policy is designed to avoid placing an unnecessary burden on students who had unsatisfactory semesters previously at CMN.
Because a low cumulative GPA earned at the beginning of an academic career can adversely affect a student’s academic record for the student’s entire stay at CMN, this policy allows forgiveness, or the exclusion from grade point calculation of a maximum of 21 credits. The Academic Amnesty Request form must be completed with an assigned Academic Success Coach and submitted to the Chief Academic Officer for determination.

Academic forgiveness is granted only once to students under the following
conditions:

• Students must be currently enrolled at CMN.
• Up to 21 credits may be forgiven from a student’s previous work at CMN. Credits to be forgiven need not all be from the same semester’s work. Only grades lower than a “C” may be forgiven.
• Only courses taken at CMN are considered for forgiveness.
• All credits to be forgiven (maximum of 21) must be applied for at the same time.
• The original academic record remains on file. An Amnesty Withdrawal (“AW”) grade is issued on the current transcript and a notation that academic forgiveness was granted. The “AW” grade is not included in the GPA calculation. However The “AW” grade is not excused from any Satisfactory Academic Policy (SAP) components (GPA, Completion Ratio, and 150% program completion) for financial aid.
• Credits excluded as a result of academic forgiveness cannot be used to meet course or program prerequisites or requirements. Any forgiven courses, if needed for completion of a degree or diploma, must be retaken.
• If academic forgiveness is granted, the Financial Aid Office does not recalculate cumulative GPA in evaluating compliance with the GPA component of the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy for financial aid.
• This policy applies to CMN records only. In the event of transfer to another institution, students are bound by that college’s terms and conditions for accepting transfer credits.
• Students must complete an Academic Amnesty Request form and meet with their Academic Success Coach to create an individual academic plan.
• Students may apply for academic amnesty after a period of two consecutive terms, excluding Summer, and the grades being considered for amnesty must have been received six months prior to the request for amnesty.
• Any academic warnings, suspensions, or dismissals from previous terms are not forgiven. SAP standards count towards the current term when the SAP policy is applied to the student records after academic amnesty is granted.
• Federal Regulation does not allow for credits forgiven to be included in any SAP standard components (GPA, pace, 150% completion of program). The student and SAS will need to contact the financial aid office to evaluation the students Title IV funding eligibility.
• Students are notified in writing as to the results of their application.

The Academic Amnesty Request form and procedure are available in the Student Form Library.