Modifications to the Online Catalog
Life University
Policy Updates/Revisions:
Withdrawal from Life University
SS.014 [Updated 2/7/18; Effective 11/7/17] See Academic Policies & Information
Students who wish to withdraw from all classes at Life University.
A student’s withdrawal date is always the last date of academic attendance as determined by the school from its attendance records. A student is considered to have withdrawn if the student does not complete all the days in the period of enrollment that the student was scheduled to complete. The date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew should be no later than 14 days after the student’s last date of attendance as determined by the institution from its attendance records.
Student process to withdraw from Life University:
Students must complete a Withdrawal form.
- Students must meet with the Dean of their College, the Associate Dean or Assistant Dean; the Dean will determine the last date of academic attendance from attendance records and sign the form.
- Next the student must bring the Withdrawal form with Dean’s signature to the Student Services and Advocacy Center to meet with Financial Aid, Student Accounts and Registrar. Once the meeting is complete the form is taken for processing.
- The student is notified in writing within 30 business days of the withdrawal and any financial obligations to the University.
Students Who Withdraw and Receive Title IV Financial Aid:
Anytime a student begins attendance in at least one course but does not begin attendance in all the courses the student was scheduled to attend regardless of whether the student is a withdrawal, the school must determine if it is necessary to recalculate the student’s eligibility for Pell Grant and Campus-Based funds based on a revised enrollment status and cost of education.
If a student ceases attendance (drops or withdraws) from all his or her Title IV eligible courses in a payment period or period of enrollment, the student must be considered a withdrawal for Title IV purposes.
If the school cannot document attendance for a student who fails to complete a course the student must be treated as one who never began attendance for the payment period and all financial aid must be returned.
If a student who has withdrawn did not begin attendance in enough courses to establish a half-time enrollment status, the school may not make a first disbursement of a Direct Loan to the student after the student withdraws.
Refunds and Return of Financial Aid:
In accordance with the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Life University will provide a refund that matches the federal return of Title IV funds, if the student has withdrawn on or before the 60% point of the quarter.
Students receiving federal Title IV financial assistance will be subject to a “Return of Title IV Funds” calculation. This calculation determines the percentage of the quarter completed, the percentage of federal financial aid earned, and the amount of federal financial aid that must be returned by the University and by the student. Depending upon the types and amounts of financial aid received and the date of withdrawal, the student may be required to repay some of the financial aid previously received. If the official withdrawal date is after the “60%” point of the quarter, no return of Title IV funds will be required.
For students enrolled in the full quarter - 11-week classes the after 60% point of quarter is the 46th day (Thursday of the 7th week); For students enrolled in the 5 week accelerated classes the after 60% point of quarter is the 23rd day (Tuesday of the 4th week - 1st 5 weeks & Thursday of the 9th week- 2nd 5 weeks); For any GR students enrolled in the summer quarter - 5 week classes the after 60% point of quarter is the 23rd day (Thursday of the 4th week).
Online Deregistration Policy (Revision)
AS.026 [Updated 2/7/18; Revision Effective 1/2/18] See Academic Policies & Information
Students will be notified of de-registration on Wednesday of week two with the actual de- registration notification sent to Registrar and Financial Aid at the end of the day on Monday of week three. (Actual de-registration will then occur on Tuesday of week three due to system batching.)
Students may register for an online offering through Friday of week one; Blackboard batch for enrollment takes 24-hours. Students in this situation will need to be advised to participate academically by Monday of week three. Below outlines the De-registration timeline:
- Faculty will receive notification of pending de-registration by student/course between Wednesday-Friday of week two.
- A final notification will be sent to faculty by student/course at the end of the day on Monday of week three.
- Students are officially de-registered from their course(s) by Tuesday of week three.
If a student is de-registered from a course, they may appeal the de-registration to the Dean of Online and Continuing Education by the end of the day on Tuesday of week three. The student must provide documentation of the extenuating circumstance(s) that prevented them from participating in the course, and a plan detailing how they will successfully complete the remainder of the course.
College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
Policy Updates/Revisions:
Undergraduate Academic Forgiveness Policy
AS.034 [Updated 2/1/18; Effective 1/1/18]
A student may request to have the first grade earned (not a “W” notation) from a retake course excluded from the calculation of the grade point average for a maximum of three (3) courses during one’s undergraduate career, where the original grade earned was a “D” or below. If a student attempts a course a third time and Academic Forgiveness is applied, then all grades except the first will be used to calculate the GPA. Once applied to a particular course, Academic Forgiveness cannot be cancelled or removed and the rule may not be appealed. The Assistant Dean of the area must approve the request for academic forgiveness.
Undergraduate Internship for Academic Credit Policy
AS.036 [Updated 2/5/18; Effective 1/2/18]
An Academic Internship – An academic internship is an approved and monitored co-curricular experience of a pre-professional nature that meets specific learning goals and is related to an academic field of study. The activities at the internship site under the direction of a site supervisor is only part of the experience. The student is to have a faculty advisor for the internship who will make the academic assignment for the student to complete.
Requirements for Academic Internship – To participate in an academic internship, a student must meet the following requirements:
- Be a full-time undergraduate student
- Having rising junior standing (minimum of 100 quarter credit hours) and
- Have a minimum GPA of 3.0
- Approval of the Community Outreach and Internship Coordinator and faculty advisor prior to acceptance of internship
Learning Agreement – Students must complete an internship application and provide a proposal that describes the learning goals of the internship and the intern’s responsibilities to achieve these goals. All applications must be signed by 2 faculty members within the discipline and one must be designated as the faculty advisor for the internship. The application should also indicate the name and contact information for the internship site supervisor.
Faculty Advisor – The student is responsible for locating a full-time faculty member to be his/her faculty advisor for the internship. The academic component of the internship will be defined by the faculty advisor and will include analytical activities such as reflective journaling, compiling a portfolio, and writing integrative papers. The student and faculty advisor should meet periodically to discuss the progress of the internship and the academic assignments. The grade for the internship will be determined by the faculty advisor and will be based on the academic assignments completed by the student and the evaluation provided by the internship site supervisor.
Earning Credit for Academic Internship – The credits earned for an academic internship are not tied solely to hours “at the internship site” but to the amount and type of academic related activities the student completes during the internship. The academic assignments are due at the end of the quarter in which the internship is undertaken and will be evaluated by the faculty advisor.
In these assignments, the student is to reflect on his or her learning at the internship site and integrate this learning with topics or issues from an academic subject area. The academic assignments should also indicate the student’s accomplishments while working in the internship as well as areas for his or her future inquiry and study that lead from the experience.
As its name implies, experiential learning is based on activity that is then to be reflect upon. An internship assumes a certain amount of work and time spent at the internship site. The academic assignment must also be commensurate with the number of credits to be earned.
The following examples indicate the relationship between the number of hours at an internship site, the academic assignments and credits to be earned:
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Credits Available
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Hours at Internship Site per Week
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Academic Assignment
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1 quarter credit hour
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3
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Topical paper (1500 words in length) that integrates the intern’s experience with selected topics from within an academic discipline, as assigned by the faculty advisor
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2 quarter credit hours
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6
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Topical paper (1500 words in length) that integrates the intern’s experience with selected topics from within an academic discipline, as assigned by the faculty advisor
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3 quarter credit hours
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9
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Topical paper (1500 words in length) that integrates the intern’s experience with selected topics from within an academic discipline, assigned by the faculty advisor AND a portfolio containing samples of students work at the internship site
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4 quarter credit hours
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12
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Topical paper (3000 words in length) that integrates the intern’s experience with selected topics from within an academic discipline, assigned by the faculty advisor AND a portfolio containing samples of students work at the internship site
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Registration for Internship – Students must meet with their faculty advisor to determine the parameters of the internship. Students must also identify an appropriate internship site and receive the approval of both the faculty internship advisor and the Community Outreach and Internship Coordinator prior to registration for the internship. All internships must be approved by week 9 of the quarter prior to the start of the internship and students must schedule an appointment with the Community Outreach and Internship Coordinator prior to receiving final approval. The Community Outreach and Internship Coordinator will register the student for their selected internship. The Internship Application needs to be completed in its entirety and submitted to the Internship Coordinator prior to the internship commencing.
Integrating Learning from an Internship Experience with Academic Subjects –
Topical Paper: A paper to be written at the conclusion of the internship demonstrating integration of the internship experience with one or more topics related to specific courses or other academic interests. Researched references should be cited to support conclusions drawn. The paper is to indicate how the student has integrated the experience with his or her academic knowledge base as well as to identify areas or questions for further exploration. The topics should be selected by the student and faculty internship advisor as part of the academic component and listed on the Learning Agreement.
Portfolio: Students create a portfolio to keep samples of written work, photographs, videos, reports, interview transcripts, summaries, certificates of training, reference letters and other documentation of the internship experience and their contribution to the work of the organization in which they were interns. The portfolio is to illustrate what the student has learned and how his/her skills or knowledge base has expanded through the internship.
Grading – Internships are graded on a pass/no pass basis. Internship credits count toward graduation, but are not included in the calculation of a student’s overall GPA.
CGUS Transfer Policy Regarding Associate Degree and General Education Core Requirements Policy
AS.033 [Updated 2/7/18; Effective 1/2/18] See College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
Students transferring to Life University having earned an Associate’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or equivalent, with a minimum of 60 semester credit hours or 90 quarter credit hours and a GPA of 2.0 will enter as a junior and automatically meet the general education core requirements. Students earning an Associate’s degree at Life University and accepted into a bachelor’s degree program at the University will automatically meet the general education core requirements of the bachelor’s degree.
Students are not automatically exempted from General Education courses that are pre-requisites for upper level courses in the various majors. Approval from the Assistant Dean of the area to waive the pre-requisites will be required.
CGUS Evaluation of Transfer Credit Policy
AS.035 [Updated 2/28/18; Effective 1/1/18] See College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
Life University College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies (CGUS) generally accepts courses from regionally or nationally accredited colleges, universities or programs provided the work is not of a highly specialized nature and a grade of C or better is earned. Transfer Credit Practices of Designated Educational Institutions, published by the American Association of Collegiate Academic Registrars and Admissions Officers, is used as a guide in determining acceptability.
If the transfer evaluation does not indicate specific applicability for an acceptable course, general elective credit will be granted. Coursework completed more than 10 years prior to application will not be considered for transfer credit.
Baccalaureate Transfer Policies
All undergraduate students accepted to Life University with prior college or university course credit will receive an official transfer credit evaluation showing how the courses completed at each previous school will transfer. Evaluations will include the total number of credits accepted, as well as a course-by-course breakdown indicating how each class may be applied toward CGUS graduation requirements. Courses may be accepted as upper or lower division general electives, upper or lower division major or minor electives, or as directly equivalent University courses.
Life University uses the following policies to determine acceptability of courses in an undergraduate program:
- For undergraduate programs, an overall maximum of 75% of total credit hours required for the degree will be accepted.
- A maximum of 30 credits, combined from the list below can come from alternative credit options:
- College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
- Prometric DSST Exams (DANTES)
- Advanced Placement (AP)
- International Baccalaureate (IB)
- American Credit Evaluation (ACE) approved credits
- National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) approved credits
- Another 30 credits maximum can come from military schools and training.
- All other transfer credits must come from accredited, Life University approved college transcripts.
- The University will not accept transfer credits from a third-party transcript. Each transfer course must be presented on the college transcript from which the course was completed. For International students, transcripts must be evaluated by Global Education Group, Josef Silny & Associates or World Education Services.
- Courses with a grade of Pass (P) will be considered if “P” is equivalent to a “C” or better. This is determined by reviewing the grade scale of the institution where the course was completed.
- The University will not accept any course for credit that is described as having remedial or developmental content.
If a student disagrees with the way credit has been awarded, he or she may appeal through he appeals process as outlined in the University Catalog.
Course Modifications
Course Changes:
SHS 300 - Exercise Physiology I (Online offering was added)
Added to Catalog on 5/10/18; Effective Spring 2018
NTR 240 - Medical Terminology (Online offering was added)
Added to Catalog on 5/10/18; Effective Spring 2018
PSY 241 - Quantitative Methods in Psychology (Online offering was added)
Added to Catalog on 5/10/18; Effective Summer 2018
BIO 302 - Embryology (Online offering was added)
Added to Catalog on 5/10/18; Effective Summer 2018
BIO 316 - Principles of Genetics (Online offering was added)
Added to Catalog on 5/10/18; Effective Summer 2018
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