ATTENDANCE

Successful course completion in a CUSBLT course depends on routinely following the instruction and guidelines provided in the course syllabus. The student’s responsibility is to check and become familiar with the course syllabus and requirements at the beginning of each course.

Attendance for Online Classes: Attendance is measured and recorded by posting responses to weekly discussion questions, log on time, participation in the peer assessment process, timely submission of assignments, and to take periodic quizzes. Students attending online classes will be considered in attendance when they adhere to the online attendance rules.

Students Attending Online Classes: Students registered in online courses must attend at least 25% of the total duration of each course in class meetings to be listed in the CUSBLT schedule of classes. Students who do not fulfill these requirements will receive a grade of “F” in the course.

Regular and punctual class attendance is an important form of student participation, facilitating clear delivery of course material, discussion of key ideas, and development of cooperative relationships between students and faculty that results in immediate academic results and longer-term success in personal and career development.

At CUSBLT, class attendance requirements are established within the individual academic courses. To earn academic credit in a particular course, a student must be officially enrolled in that course within the first 14 days of the semester and must attend at least 75% of all class sessions for that course. Students who do not fulfill these requirements will receive a grade of “F” in the course.

Any CUSBLT-related activity necessitating an absence from class counts as an absence when determining if the student has attended the required number of class sessions. However, if prior arrangements are made, the student may be allowed to complete his/her assignments or exams missed, or the faculty member may provide appropriate substitutes. Likewise, students are usually allowed to make up class work and/or tests missed due to serious illness, accident, or death in the family. In these cases, the instructor should be informed in a timely manner.

Faculty members are responsible for:

Informing the students about the attendance requirements in the course syllabus, and Notifying the students either through posted attendance records (such as on the university’s LMS) or direct correspondence before the limit for grade action is reached.
Faculty members have the authority to establish alternative class-specific attendance expectations and requirements for punctual arrival in class as long as the policy is stated in the course syllabus.

Students have to attend all scheduled class meetings and are financially responsible for all classes on their schedule at the end of the Add/Drop period.

COURSE DROPS AND WITHDRAWALS

Each program is made up of a number of different courses. Students are responsible for managing their time at CUSBLT and balancing their studies with their non-CUSBLT commitments. There is, however, some flexibility to enable students to manage their workload. There may be circumstances and occasions when it is necessary for students to change their University activities by dropping a course or withdrawing from a course. Should students need to do so, they must follow the correct procedures and should understand the implications that are explained in this section.

Course Drop

A student may drop a course during the first 7 days of the course session without academic penalty. A course drop during this time does not appear on the student’s transcript and does not affect grade point average (GPA).

Note: Please refer to the Academic Calendar in order to be sure of the last date for a course drop.

A course drop applies to one course at a time and does not assume withdrawal from the University. Students are responsible for requesting a course drop by sending an e-mail to the Chief Academic Officer.

The request must indicate:
Student’s full name (first and last)
Student ID
Course name and number

Course Withdrawal

Course withdrawal refers to students formally withdrawing from the course roster after the add/drop period has passed. A withdrawal relates to only one course at a time and does not assume withdrawal from the University. A course withdrawal is different from a course drop in that the course will appear on the student’s official transcript and will be included in attempted credits when academic progress is monitored. Students should note the following:

Course withdrawal requests must be sent by e-mail to the CAO and must include:

Student’s full name (first and last)
Student ID
Course name and number

The following consequences apply to a student who withdraws from a course:

The student receives a grade of “W” for the course
The grade of “W” appears on the student’s transcript
The grade of “W” does not affect GPA, but course credits are included in attempted credits when monitoring academic progress

Administrative Withdrawal

Students who have not participated in a course, or who may have had minimal participation but show no credit for any graded assessments, and have not requested a course drop or course withdrawal will be subject to Administrative Withdrawal. The following consequences apply to a student who is administratively withdrawn from a course:

The student receives a grade of “W” for the course
The grade of “W” appears on the student’s transcript
The grade of “W” does not affect GPA, but course credits are included in attempted credits when monitoring academic progress

Withdrawal from CUSBLT and Institutional Refund Calculation

A student may withdraw from CUSBLT at any time for any reason. Students who wish to withdraw from CUSBLT must send an email indicating their name and Student ID to the Chief Academic Officer requesting to withdraw. Students submitting a request to withdraw are also asked to state their reason for withdrawing from CUSBLT in the email to the CAO.

Students who have withdrawn but wish to return to study in the future will be required to re-apply for admission and to pay the current Application Processing Fee.

A withdrawal is considered to have occurred on the earlier of (a) the date the student officially notifies the campus of his or her intent to withdraw, or (b) the point at which the student fails to meet the published academic policies outlined in the Academic Catalog (“Date of Determination”).

Notice of withdrawal may be given by mail, hand delivery, fax or email. The notice of withdrawal, if sent by mail, is effective when deposited in the mail, properly addressed with postage prepaid.

For CUSBLT online students, notice of cancellation should be given by email. The written notice of withdrawal need not take any particular form and, however expressed, is effective if it states that a student no longer wishes to be bound by the Enrollment Agreement.

CUSBLT reserves the right to withdraw a student if, at any time, the student fails to meet the policies as outlined in the Academic Catalog.

Determination of Refund

Upon a student’s withdrawal, CUSBLT will perform a calculation to determine unearned tuition and return of corresponding funds. Students can obtain a full refund of charges paid through attendance at the first session, or the seventh day after enrollment, whichever is later. Any student may withdraw from the school at any time, after classes start, and receive a pro rata refund calculated based on the remaining scheduled days in the current payment period in the program, based on the last day of attendance.

The refund granted will have a further deduction for a registration or administration fee, not to exceed $200.00, and the final refund amount will be paid or credited to the student within 45 days of withdrawal. For the purpose of determining the final amount of the refund, the date of the student’s withdrawal shall be deemed the last date of recorded attendance. The amount for refund equals the daily charge for the program (total institutional charge, minus non-refundable fees, divided by the number of days in the program), multiplied by the remaining number of days scheduled to attend, prior to withdrawal.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

1. Students’ academic progress will be evaluated at the end of every term, starting in the third term of their studies. For each evaluation point, a minimum standard of satisfactory academic progress (“the Academic Standards”) is defined in each of the following three parameters:

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

Credits earned

Completion rate (i.e. credits earned divided by credits attempted)

2. Students must meet or exceed the Academic Standards in all of the three parameters listed above in order to stay enrolled as a regular student. A student will be put on Academic Warning at the first evaluation point in which he or she doesn’t meet or exceed the Academic Standards.

3. A student that is under Academic Warning and in the consecutive evaluation point she meets or exceeds the Academic Standards will be returned to a status of regular student. If the student under Academic Warning doesn’t meet or exceed the Standards in the consecutive evaluation point, she will be put on Academic Probation.

4. A student that is under Academic Probation and in the consecutive evaluation point she meets or exceeds the Academic Standards will be returned to a status of regular student. If the student under Academic Probation doesn’t meet or exceed the Academic Standards in the consecutive evaluation point, she will be dismissed from the institution.

5. If at any evaluation point it can be determined by CUSBLT that it is mathematically not possible for a student to meet the Academic Standards, he or she will be dismissed from the institution.

6. CUSBLT reserves the right to place a student on Academic Warning or on Academic Probation and the right to remove a student from Academic Warning or on Academic Probation based on her academic development, notwithstanding the Academic Standards. Student Services will send emails to students notifying them that they failed to meet the Academic Standards within 30 days of every evaluation point.

7. Students on academic or disciplinary probation will not be allowed to graduate.