Academic Policies
CLASSIFICATIONS OF ENROLLMENT
- Full-time Study: Students at vocational programs registered for 2 or more courses per quarter are considered full-time students. Full-time students pay full-time tuition and fees. Certification by the Registrar’s Office of any student as full-time requires that the student be engaged in full-time academic study. Certification will not be warranted merely by payment of full-time tuition. Students not attending classes full-time will not be certified as such.
- Part-Time Study: All students who do not meet the criteria for full-time students (i.e., who enroll for less than the minimum number of hours per quarter as prescribed above) are considered part-time. Part-time students pay tuition based upon the number of course for which they are enrolled.
- Student Overloads: Ordinarily, a student who is willing to register for an overload beyond the full-time course load must have a satisfactory GPA as required by the program, preceding the overload. Students may not enroll in overload courses beyond (5 classes) per term, except in extremely rare and compelling circumstances. Students requesting an overload should be aware that additional tuition charges will be incurred.
Continuous Enrollment:
All students (whether full-time or part-time) are required to maintain enrollment in consecutive quarter of consecutive academic years until the completion of their programs. Exceptions may be made only for an officially authorized leave of absence.
ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT
The Enrollment Agreement signed by a new student will become effective upon receipt by the Admissions Office of the Institute. Students cannot enroll in a course after the Add/Drop period if an enrolled student has no response to the Institute’s formal written notice for more than three consecutive weeks.
A student may cancel the Enrollment Agreement without penalty or obligation prior to the start of a term or the Add/Drop period deadline, which occurs at the end of the second week of a term. Tuition refund is based on the Cancellation and Refund Section of this Catalog.
ACADEMIC ADVISING & FACULTY ACCESSIBILITY
Academic advising includes, but is not limited to, assisting students in choosing a concentration, planning course selection and registration, tracking academic progress, developing an academic plan, advising on how to improve a GPA, and providing guidance on career planning. General academic advising procedures are to be followed by all institute students. Some programs may require additional advising beyond what is prescribed here. All students are required to meet regularly with their academic advisers for discussion of their educational goals, career objectives, and academic progress. With their adviser’s help, students design and maintain an academic program that will fulfill general and specific certificate requirements. Students should note that it is their responsibility to understand and satisfy all academic requirements. Since individual programs may establish their own advising processes, students should check with their program director for any additional procedures.
Upon admission to an institute program of study, but before the beginning of classes, students are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor. This initial advising session includes the following:
- A review of the requirements for the student’s intended program of study.
- A review of the student’s record-to-date to determine whether academic deficiencies exist that must be remedied.
- A recommendation as to course selection for the upcoming quarter /academic year.
- A discussion of the career and/or graduate study options open to the student.
- Further evaluation of the student’s suitability to major in the chosen discipline.
Furthermore, in order to better assist students during the new orientations, institute faculty will also be available for academic and more specific course advising. At all other times when needed, students are advised to contact the program director to schedule a meeting with a faculty outside the regular teaching hours. Results of all advising sessions, including any recommendations or approved modifications, are entered into the student’s computerized study plan.
Students returning for study at the Institute must schedule a meeting with their advisors to take place no later than one week before the start of classes. The meeting should accomplish at least 1, 2, and 3 above (and 4 and 5 as needed).
The Institute values and encourages student-faculty-administrator interaction inside and outside the classrooms, and therefore, is committed to doing everything possible at its disposal to avail all administrative and academic support services for our students.
Instructional materials selection
Instructors are strongly encouraged to require extensive library use in their syllabus and course outlines.
Textbooks and ancillary materials that students are required to purchase for a course are selected by the faculty in consultation with the Academic Dean. Cost to students should be a major consideration in the selection of textbooks and ancillary materials. In general, the lowest cost alternative that meets the instructional needs and quality standards of the course will be selected. Ancillary materials will be required only if essential to meeting the student learning objectives of the course. In addition, instructors are encouraged to provide handouts of current material or other visual aids from various responsible media to foster timely and topical relevance for discussions, to the extent possible.
Textbook effectiveness is evaluated by students via course evaluations (twice per term) and by the instructors via course surveys (once per quarter).
Textbooks selected will generally be used a minimum of two years. New editions are not considered new selections.
All faculty teaching the same course will use the same textbook and ancillary materials.
Tysons Institute’s IT Department is responsible for obtaining (in consultation with the Academic Dean), installing and maintaining all educational software incorporated into class curriculum. The IT Department ensures that all software and programs are running up to date. At the end of each quarter, the IT Manager shall check each classroom to ensure these materials are up to date and readily available on a consistent basis.
EXPLANATION OF GRADES
The grades of A, B, C, D, and S are passing grades. Grade “F” is a failing grade. The grade of “I” (Incomplete) is given to a student whose work has been of passing quality but who has, for compelling reasons, been unable to complete all of his or her required course work by the end of the quarter. The quality of performance in any academic course is reported by a letter grade. These grades denote the character of work and are assigned grade points as follows:
| Percentage | Letter Grade | Grade Points | Cumulative GPA (CGPA) | Academic Standing |
| 100-90 | A | 4.0 | 4.0 | Excellent |
| 89-80 | B | 3.0 | 3.0 | Good |
| 79-70 | C | 2.0 | 2.0 | Satisfactory |
| 69-60 | D | 1.0 | 1.0 | Passing |
| 59and below | F | 0 | 0.0 | Failure |
| — | S* | — | — | Satisfactory (non-credit) |
| — | I | — | — | Incomplete (see below) |
Symbols: The following symbols may appear next to a grade or in the grade column:
R: Repeat Course TC: Transfer-in Credits
W: Withdrawn X: Audited Course
IP: In-Progress (*): Course not applicable to current programs
INCOMPLETE “I” CLASS POLICY
The grade of “I” (Incomplete) is given to a student whose work has been of passing quality but who has, for compelling reasons, been unable to complete all of his or her required course work by the end of the quarter. Students receiving a grade of “I” will be evaluated at the end of the sixth week of the following quarter according to the minimum standards for academic progress. At this time, all work from the previous quarter must be completed and submitted to the instructor.
A grade of “I” is not included in the calculation of the GPA, but will count as credit hours attempted for the purposes of calculating the successful course completion percentage. Courses that remain as an “I” at the end of the six-week period will automatically become an “F” and will be calculated in the GPA. Incompletes are also counted in the calculation of the successful course completion percentage if the student was charged for any portion of the course. Incompletes and withdrawals may have an adverse effect on the successful course completion percentage of a student if he/she has been charged tuition for any part of the course. The “I” grade is issued for verifiable, unavoidable reasons. Since the “I” grade extends enrollment in the course, requirements for satisfactory completion will be established through student/faculty consultation and documented on the student’s transcript. The instructor may complete a Grade Change Form to change a grade and must submit the form to the Registrar’s Office.
REPEAT OR RETAKE COURSES “R”
If a student repeats a course and completes it with any grade other than the grade of “F”, the following rules will apply in posting the student’s cumulative record:
- The original grade, credit hours, and subsequent repetitions must be calculated as credits attempted in the successful course completion percentage for the purpose of satisfactory academic progress. As a general rule, all of the credit hours for which the Institute has collected any tuition, whether for a first time or repeated course, will be included in the computation of the successful course completion percentage.
- The GPA will be based only upon the higher grade for the repeated course attempted.
- The original grade for the course repeated under this rule will remain on the student’s academic record. The lower attempt will be flagged for exclusion in the GPA calculation and the higher attempt will be flagged for inclusion in the GPA calculation.
Course repetition does not extend the maximum time frame for completing a program of study. Maximum Time Frame is the time allowed for a student to complete a course of study. This requirement is discussed in more detail in other sections. The student must complete the program within the original Maximum Time Frame allowed for their program.
TRANSFER CREDITS POLICY “TC”
When a student brings credits from other institutions, these credits will be noted with a grade of “TC”, meaning Transfer Credits. Since these courses will not carry grades, they will have no effect on GPA calculations. These courses meet graduation requirements only. The student’s new normal program length will be shortened to reflect the transfer courses and the maximum time frame will be recalculated. Normally, a transfer student would start with a 0.0 CGPA and 0% courses attempted and successfully completed for the purpose of satisfactory academic progress.
As a general rule, a transfer student must complete at least 50% of the credit hours required by their program of study in residence at the Institute. A minimum of a 2.0 grade point average (C) out of 4.0 must have been earned on all undergraduate-level transferable credits.
Transferable credit is considered upon the request of the student at the time of initial registration. An official copy of all transcripts from higher education institutions must be submitted to the Admissions Office to be forwarded to the Registrar for evaluation. Additional documentation such as course descriptions, syllabus, and academic catalogs may be necessary to assure that the transferred course is equivalent to one of the courses required for completion of the programs at the Institute. Tysons Institute does not award credit from previous work experience.
TRANSFERABILITY OF TYSONS INSTITUTE CERTIFICATE
Transferability of the Institute’s certificates or courses/credits earned at the Institute are determined by the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether an institution will accept certificate from the Institute. Therefore, the Institute does not guarantee the transferability of its certificate to any other institution unless there is a written articulation agreement with that institution.
ADD/DROP A COURSE
After registration, a student may add a course at any time before the deadline specified in the Academic Calendar. Adding a course after the last day to add a course requires proof of extenuating circumstances and the written approval of both the course instructor and the Academic Dean. Under no circumstances may a course be added after three (3) calendar days beyond the last day to add a course. Students wishing to drop a course must do so before the last day to drop a course. A course that is dropped before the specified date will not appear in the student’s academic record. To add or drop a course, the student must fill out a Course Add/Drop/Withdrawal Form (available from the Registrar’s Office).
ATTENDANCE POLICIES
Good academic standing requires the presence of students at all class meetings. Therefore, course attendance at the
Institute is mandatory. All students are expected to arrive to class on time. Late attendance or early departure is disruptive to both the instructor and students.
Students are recommended to e-mail instructors for absences prior to the missed class. If prior contact is not possible, the student must contact each instructor and arrange to make up work immediately upon returning to the Institute. Students with excused absences will be allowed to make up all missed work that shall be accepted for full credit. All work assigned during a student’s excused absence may be submitted without penalty upon the student’s return at a time agreed to by the instructor and student but no fewer than the number of consecutive days absent. Students shall make up all graded class work and tests assigned during an unexcused absence. All missed work during an unexcused absence must be requested by the student. A timeline for the completion of all missed work and/or tests will be determined by the instructor and the student and shall not exceed the number of days the student was out of school. At the instructor’s discretion, graded class work/tests may be accepted with 15% reduction in points, or for full credit.
Instructors will track attendance for each class which will be readily available for a third-party inspection and validation on site. Students are required to attend at least 80% of the class to consider present in a class. Instructors may use their discretion in determining tardiness and early departures, along with its consequences. The minimum acceptable attendance for students enrolled is also an 80% attendance rate of the program. The maximum number of consecutive days absent at which point a student will automatically be considered withdrawn are three or more classes per term.
Institute does not permit excused absences to count as time attended. All absences count against a student’s cumulative attendance percentage. In addition, students arrive tardy to class or who leave before class is over must have that time removed from the cumulative attendance percentage. Absences is when a student misses 20% or more of the class time.
There are only two acceptable reasons for excused absence from class: 1) serious illness on the part of the student or 2) a family emergency. In the former case, the student must submit a doctor’s or clinic note explaining the reason for the absence to the instructor(s) and the Registrar’s Office. In the latter case, the student must submit a note to his/her instructor explaining the reason for the absence. Explanations for excused absences must be received no later than one week after the last missed class. However, exceptions can be made by the instructor for prolonged emergencies when a student does not have means or opportunity to inform the Institute of his or her situation.
If an absence is approved as an excused, a student will be allowed to make-up the class work. All make-up work is assigned by the instructor. Instructors are not obligated to provide make-up work for unexcused absences.
GRADE APPEALS
The Institute’s faculty members strive to conduct fair and just performance evaluations of students’ academic work and scholarly success. A student who believes that his/her efforts and achievement have not been reflected by the final grade obtained may file a grade appeal in writing with the faculty member within two weeks of receiving the grade. If the issue remains unresolved after receiving the faculty member’s decision of the appeal, then the student may appeal in writing to the Academic Dean within seven (7) days after receiving the decision.
The Academic Dean will call a meeting with the Academic Committee and both the student and faculty member will be invited to present their sides of the issue. The Academic Committee will then vote for a resolution and both the student and faculty member will be notified about the decision within seven (7) days. The decision made by the Academic Committee is final and cannot be appealed further.
COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible for graduation the student must:
- Successfully complete all the academic program requirements according to our Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
- Comply with the Attendance policies of the Institute.
- Complete all the administrative requirements.
- Fulfill all the financial obligations of the Institute.
- Submit a complete graduation application
A certificate of completion is presented by Tysons Institute to students who satisfy the graduation requirements.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY
The following standards and requirements of satisfactory academic progress apply to all enrolled students at Tysons Institute.
The Maximum Time Frame (MTF) is the time allowed for a student to complete a course of study. According to an accreditation Criteria, “The Maximum Time Frame is not to exceed 150% of the Normal Program Length (NPL).” In practice, this means all students at the Institute must complete their programs of study within 1.5 times the program length as measured in quarter credit hours attempted. If a student cannot complete the program within the MTF, the student will be dismissed from the Institute.
All registered hours, at the end of the add/drop period will be counted in the MTF determination. In addition, all transfer credit hours accepted from other institutions will be counted in the Maximum Time Frame, hence reducing the MTF to graduate. All courses attempted will be included in the calculation regardless of its pass or fail status. Therefore, courses resulted in an incomplete grade, repeated courses, and non-punitive courses are also counted toward the MTF.
The MTF is 1.5 times the Normal Program Length (NPL) which can be formulized as MTF = 1.5 x NPL. For example:MTF = 360 hours x 1.5 = 540 hours (maximum time allowed for a “Certificate” in Database Programming).
| Program of Study | NPL in hours | MTF Allowed in hours* |
| Certificate in Web Design | 360 Hours | 540 Hours |
* MTF includes hours attempted at Institute and transferred to Institute from other institutions and beyond the program prerequisites (if any)
If a student is unable to complete the program within one of the aforementioned time periods, the individual will not be eligible to receive the original credential (i.e., certificate).
The Institute will evaluate the successful course completion percentages for all enrolled students at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the Maximum Time Frame above to determine whether the student is maintaining specific qualitative and quantitative minimums in order to avoid probation or dismissal.
| Evaluation Points(% of MTF attempted) | Required Minimum Completion %(all credits attempted) |
| At 25% of MTF | *55% |
| At 50% of MTF | **60% |
| At 75% of MTF | **65% |
| At 100% of MTF | **70% |
* A student not meeting standards does not have to be dismissed; probation is required.
** Probation is not allowed at this point and academic dismissal is required.
In practice, this means that when the attempted credits are 25% of the MTF, the student must successfully complete 55% of all credits attempted with a grade of D or above in certificate or undergraduate level programs. Failure to meet this requirement will result in academic probation. Academic probation is permitted at this point only. Failure to meet the minimum completion percentages at 50%, 75%, or 100% renders the student ineligible for probation and the student must be dismissed. All courses, including withdrawals and retakes, will be included in credit hours attempted. Therefore, withdrawals and retakes will have an impact on the minimum completion percentage. The completion percentage is calculated at the end of each quarter.
The third requirement of acceptable satisfactory academic progress is to meet the minimum CGPA requirement at each evaluation point of the MTF.
Institute uses a 4.0 scale grading system and GPAs are calculated at the end of each term. Withdrawals are not included in GPA calculations. However, in the case of retakes, only the highest grade is included in the GPA calculation. The required minimum CGPA for undergraduate programs are show below table.
| Evaluation Points(% of MTF attempted*) | Required Minimum CGPAfor all undergraduate Programs | |
| Probation Point | Dismissal Point | |
| At 25% of MTF | CGPA < 1.25 | No dismissal is allowed. Probation is required. |
| At 50% of MTF | CGPA < 1.50 | CGPA < 1.25 |
| At 75% of MTF | CGPA < 1.75 | CGPA < 1.50 |
| At 100% of MTF | No probation is allowed. Dismissal is required. | CGPA < 2.00 |
* If these evaluation points fall during the middle of a term, the evaluation will be conducted at the end of the previous quarter. The Institute will not wait until the end of the next quarter to monitor the satisfactory academic progress of its students.
In practice this means that, for an undergraduate student, when attempted credits are 50% of the maximum time frame, a GPA below 1.50 but greater than or equal to 1.25 will result in probation. A CGPA below 1.25 will result in dismissal.
At 100% of the MTF, or graduation, whichever occurs sooner, the student must have completed all of the program requirements with a CGPA of 2.0 or higher in a certificate program. The student who falls below the statutory minimum is not considered to be maintaining satisfactory progress, no probation is allowed at this point, and the student will be dismissed from the program. The student cannot receive the original credential.
Any student who:
- Fails to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all undergraduate programs; or
- Who receives an “F” or incomplete “I” grade; or
- Who engages in academic dishonesty as defined in the Academic Catalog below
will receive an academic warning at the end of that quarter. The student will continue to receive warnings until the situation improves. The Registrar has the authority to place on academic probation any student who receives warning letters for three consecutive quarter.
Students who fail to maintain the required CGPA and successful course completion percentage minimums at 25%, 50%, and 75% of the Maximum Time Frame (MTF) at the end of each quarter will be placed on academic probation as shown in the table below:
| Evaluation Points(% of MTF attempted*) | Probation Periodfor all undergraduate Programs |
| At 25% of MTF | CGPA < 1.25 |
| At 50% of MTF | 1.25 < CGPA < 1.50 |
| At 75% of MTF | 1.50 < CGPA < 1.75 |
| At 100% of MTF | No probation is allowed. Dismissal is required. |
Students who do not maintain satisfactory academic progress will be placed on academic probation for one quarter. The student on academic probation will be counseled and given assistance, if needed, in order to improve his/her CGPA. The statement “Placed on Academic Probation” will be entered into the student’s permanent record. The academic probationary period is normally one quarter, except under mitigating circumstances. The student is considered to be maintaining satisfactory academic progress while on probation.
If a student fails to attain a minimum GPA of 2.0 at the end of the academic probationary period, the student will be dismissed and the statement “Academic Dismissal” will be entered into the student’s permanent record.
Students who do not maintain at least a 2.0 GPA at the end of the academic probationary period, and who cannot meet the minimum CGPA requirement at the evaluation points shown in the table below, will be dismissed from the Institute.
| Evaluation Points(% of MTF attempted*) | Dismissal Pointsfor all undergraduate Programs |
| At 25% of MTF | No dismissal is required. |
| At 50% of MTF | CGPA < 1.25 |
| At 75% of MTF | CGPA < 1.50 |
| At 100% of MTF | CGPA < 2.00 |
The statement “Academic Dismissal” will be entered into the student’s permanent record. Academic dismissal normally is permanent unless, with good cause, students reapply and are accepted under special consideration for readmission by the Institute. (See “Reinstatement as a Regular Student” policy below.)
EVALUATION OF PROGRAM PROGRESS
We use our Campus Effectiveness Plan (CEP) which is also required component for the accreditation process during the self-study stage process, in order to collect and analyze data, and develop an implementation plan. The CEP will outline how continuous improvements are going to be made to improve or enhance the following five significant elements at Institute:
- Student Retention Rates
- Student Placement Rates
- Level of Graduate Satisfaction
- Level of Employer Satisfaction
- Student Learning Outcomes
The data that the Institute utilizes to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan include:
- The number and percentage of graduates in each program
- The frequency distribution of Grade Point Averages (GPAs) among graduating students
- Final examinations or projects to assess student achievement
- Graduate Satisfaction Survey
- Orientation Survey
- Employer Satisfaction Survey
- Alumni Survey
- Exit Survey/Interview
- Graduate Thesis where applicable