College Policies

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION

Southwestern College is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, marital status, military and veteran status, registered domestic partner status, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristic, physical or mental disability, or any other legally protected characteristic in hiring, admissions, and educational programs or activities, all as required by applicable laws and regulations. The college also practices affirmative action in hiring. Responsibility for coordination of compliance efforts and receipt of inquiries, including those concerning the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other related federal, state, and local legislation, executive orders, regulations, and guidelines has been delegated to the director of human resources, Lonnie Boyd, Southwestern College, 100 College, Winfield, KS 67156, telephone (620) 229-6141.
Persons with questions or concerns regarding this policy may contact Lonnie Boyd, director of human resources.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Enrollment at Southwestern College is interpreted by the institution to have both academic and social behavioral implications. The following actions or behaviors are examples of those that are inconsistent with the college mission and unacceptable to the established community standards, and may result in suspension or expulsion. Learners are expected to conduct themselves ethically, honestly, and with integrity. This requires the demonstration of mutual respect and civility in both academic and professional discourse and settings. Learners are expected to respect the rights and privileges of others and to foster an environment conducive to learning.

No student may engage in any of the following:

1. Actions, oral statements, and/or written statements which threaten or violate the personal safety of faculty, staff, or learners;
2. Harassment, sexual or otherwise, that has the effect of creating a hostile or offensive educational environment for any learner, faculty, or staff member;
3. Stalking or persistently pursuing another person and creating unwelcome contact or communication;
4. Unauthorized, inappropriate, or misuse of computers, technology, data, and information;
5. Falsification, alteration, or invention of information such as on college forms including financial aid applications or unsubstantiated statements or claims about another individual;
6. Theft or damage to personal or college property or services;
7. Physical harm or threat of physical harm to any person or persons, including but not limited to assault, sexual abuse, or other forms of physical abuse;
8. Using, dealing in, or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while in class; and
9. Violation of federal, state, or local laws and regulations, or college policies that impact the college educational environment.

This list is representative but not all‐inclusive of violations. Violators will initially be referred to the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs for Professional Studies (AVPAAPS). The AVPAAPS will investigate by interviewing the violator and using the resources of Professional Studies Faculty Affairs and/or Student Affairs, and make a determination of the appropriate administrative process to address the violation. In most instances the following process will apply.

• Upon review, the AVPAAPS will either issue a warning or make a recommendation for suspension to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) or expulsion to the Professional Studies Academic Council (PSAC) of which the AVPAAPS, VPAA, and Vice President of Student Affairs are members.
• If a suspension is recommended, upon review, the VPAA will either suspend the learner or issue a warning.
• If expulsion is recommended, the PSAC will issue an expulsion, suspension, or warning.

Violators may appeal the suspension or expulsion decision to the PSAC within 30 days of the date of the decision. Generally, violations that are considered of serious harm to others or criminal in nature may be considered for an expulsion whereas others may be considered for a suspension or warning. However, each violation will be assessed by the college administration on its own merits to ensure a fair process for all concerned. Violators may seek reinstatement and readmission after the designated period of time by making an appeal to the PSAC.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Southwestern College assumes the academic integrity of its students. In cases where academic integrity is in question, the academic integrity definitions are as follows:

Academic dishonesty is any act of cheating, fabrication, and plagiarism, abuse of resources, forgery of academic documents, dissimulation, sabotage, and any act of aiding and abetting academic dishonesty.

Cheating is using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise. Examples: copying homework, copying someone else’s test, using an unauthorized “cheat sheet,” etc.

Fabrication is the falsification or invention of any information or citation in any academic exercise. Examples: making up a source, giving an incorrect citation, misquoting a source, etc.

Plagiarism is the representation of the words and ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. Plagiarism includes failing to give a citation for using work from another person or source. Modifications to phrasings do not reduce the requirement for giving a citation. This also applies to information obtained electronically, such as from the Internet.

Dissimulation is the disguising or altering of one’s own actions as to deceive another about the real nature of one’s actions concerning an academic exercise. Examples: fabricating excuses for such things as missing classes, postponing tests, handing in late papers; turning in a paper for one class that was originally written for another class (when original work is requested, without the express written consent of the instructor); etc.

Abuse of resources is the damaging of any resource material or inappropriately limiting access to resource material, which is necessary for academic work. Examples: hiding library materials, removing non-circulating material from the library, hiding or stealing another person’s textbook, notes or software, failure to return library materials when requested by the library, etc.

Forgery of academic documents is the unauthorized changing or construction of any academic document. Examples: changing transcripts, changing grade books, changing grades on papers which have been returned, forging signatures, etc.

Sabotage is the damaging or impeding of the academic work of another student. Examples: ruining another student’s lab work, destroying another student’s term paper, etc.
Aiding and abetting academic dishonesty is knowingly facilitating any act defined above.

Examples of academic integrity violations also include completion of an application for any Southwestern academic program which omits or falsifies any requested information. Such violations can result in the revocation of the application, even if approval was previously granted on the basis of fabricated information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY VIOLATIONS

The instructor shall determine if the infraction is intentional or unintentional. Any violation of the policy not under the supervision of a faculty member will be handled by recommendation of the vice president for academic affairs to the Academic Affairs Committee (main campus) or Academic Affairs Council (Professional Studies). On the first offense, violations of the academic integrity policy will result with:

1. A reprimand (written or verbal) for unintentional violations
2. A zero for the assignment (paper, exam or project) for intentional or flagrant violations

Unintentional infractions may be reported to the vice president for academic affairs at the discretion of the faculty member. All infractions deemed by the faculty member to be intentional or flagrant must be reported in writing to the vice president for academic affairs; the student will also be Undergraduate Academic Policies 14 notified verbally or in writing. The vice president for academic affairs shall keep a record of reported infractions and sanctions.

A second or any subsequent intentional or flagrant violation of any part of the academic integrity policy during a student’s academic career at Southwestern is grounds for suspension and requires a conference with the vice president for academic affairs to determine the outcome. Any student so suspended has a right to an appeal. If a student wishes to appeal, the request should be made in writing and must be received in the vice president for academic affairs office within thirty days of the suspension announcement. The appeal will be heard by the Academic Affairs Committee (main campus) or Academic Affairs Council (Professional Studies) and the committee’s decision shall be final.

Adapted and used by permission from Tabor College.

INCOMPLETES

A student may request a temporary grade of incomplete when the work of the student has been generally satisfactory, but for reasons beyond the student’s control it has not been possible to complete certain assignments made by the instructor. If the instructor agrees to the student’s request, the student and teacher must jointly complete and file with the registrar a form describing the work remaining in the course and a plan for its completion. An instructor may not give an incomplete unless the student has requested it. If the signed incomplete form is not submitted to the registrar’s office by the end of the grading period for that semester, a grade of “F” will be recorded.

If an incomplete is given, the deadline for finishing the course work is 30 days after the beginning of the semester (fall, spring, summer) following the semester in which the incomplete is given, or 30 days after the close of the session for which the Professional Studies student is petitioning an extension. An earlier deadline may be imposed as agreed to by the student and teacher. Professional Studies students are required to have completed a minimum of 50 percent of the course work before an incomplete can be granted. Extension of the deadline may be allowed by special permission by the vice president for academic affairs in cases of illness or other conditions beyond the student’s control. Requests for extensions of deadlines must be initiated by the student and endorsed by the instructor involved in order to be considered.

A grade of “F” will automatically be entered as a final grade if the remaining work is not completed by the deadline.

During the period in which a student holds an incomplete, the grade point average will be calculated without counting the incomplete.

Repeating Course Work. If a student repeats a course, both the original and repeat grade will be recorded on the official transcript, but only the repeat grade will be used in calculating earned hours and grade point averages, regardless of whether that grade is higher or lower than the original grade. Courses shown in the catalog as repeatable for credit are exempt.

WITHDRAWAL

Administrative Withdrawal. The administration may elect to register the “AW” mark for courses in progress under limited circumstances associated with medical emergencies, disciplinary action, or exigent circumstances preventing the student from requesting a withdrawal or an incomplete.

Official Withdrawal from Courses. A student may withdraw from a course by the deadline outlined below and receive a grade of “WD,” which does not influence the grade point average. Failure to withdraw in a timely manner may result in an “F” showing on the transcript if the student does not fulfill the course requirements in a satisfactory manner.

A main campus student may withdraw from a course in the fall or spring semester at any time until the close of the ninth week. During a summer semester, each day of class counts as equivalent to a week in a regular semester. For classes that last one week or less, regardless of semester, no cancellation is possible once the class begins. Withdrawal requests must be made in writing at the registrar’s office.

A Professional Studies student may withdraw from a course at any time before the start of the last week of class in a regular six-week session. For courses lasting longer than six weeks, the last date to withdraw is two weeks before the end of the course. Withdrawal requests must be made in writing or by submitting the online form found at: web01.sckans.edu/pswithdraw/.

Withdrawal from College. Any student wishing to withdraw entirely from the college during a semester should give official notice at the registrar’s office by the deadline to withdraw from a course. Withdrawal protects the academic record in that the designation of “WD” is recorded for any course in progress at the time of the student’s departure from the college. Students who leave without completing the withdrawal process risk receiving “F’s” for courses in progress and jeopardize any partial refunds of tuition and board in accordance with the information shown in this catalog under “Charges and Fees.”

Grading Standards

General Grading Standards for Coursework
Grade	Range	Description
A	90-100	Superior work. Exceeds minimum expectations and demonstrates a comprehensive understanding and application of concepts addressed in the assignment.
B	80-89	Above average work. Exceeds minimum expectations and demonstrates a comprehensive understanding and application of concepts addressed in the assignment.
C	70-79	Average work. Meets the minimum expectations and demonstrates a comprehensive understanding and application of concepts addressed in the assignment.
D	60-69	Minimally acceptable work. Does not meet the minimum expectations and does not demonstrate a basic understanding of the concepts addressed in the assignment.
F	0	Failure. Unacceptable performance.

Grading Scale

Grade	Quality Points	Course Scale
A+	4.00	97.0-100%
A	4.00	94.0-96.9%
A-	3.67	90.0-93.9%
B+	3.33	87.0-89.9%
B	3.00	84.0-86.9%
B-	2.67	80.0-83.9%
C+	2.33	77.0-79.9%
C	2.00	74.0-76.9%
C-	1.67	70.0-73.9%
D+	1.33	67.0-69.9%
D	1.00	64.0-66.9%
D-	0.67	60.0-63.9%
F	0.00	<60.0
WF	0	Issued for non-attendance

These additional marks are also used but do not designate graded hours and do not impact calculation of a GPA:

WD	Withdrawal from a course
U	Unsatisfactory work
AW	Administrative withdrawal from a course
I	Incomplete work
S	Satisfactory work (equivalent to a C‐ or better)

Southwestern College Professional Studies’ participation in memoranda of agreements may require additional grade designations. This includes WM, withdrawal by the Army (obtained through the Army).

GRADE APPEAL POLICY

Any grade change or appeal for a grade change must be requested within 30 days after the beginning of the term following the semester in which the grade is given. A grade appeal should only be sought under one of the following conditions:

• When a student contends that their grade had been incorrectly calculated, recorded or reported.
• When a student contends that the instructor has substantially and unreasonably departed from the instructor’s own specified grading standards.
• When a student contends that the instructor’s grading decision was made on some basis other than performance in the course.
• When a student contends to have been subject to grading criteria different from those used to evaluate the academic work of other students in the class.

If a student believes they have sufficient grounds for a grade appeal based upon the documentary evidence, an informal discussion with the faculty member is required as the first step of an appeal. If satisfactory resolution is not achieved at this level, the student may then seek resolution with the Division Chair in which the course is taught. The final step would be to submit a written request for an appeal of a grade to the vice president for academic affairs. After receiving the written request, the vice president will meet with the student to verify an attempt at resolution of the issue through the negotiation process and/or in mediation with the student and faculty. If it is determined that resolution has not occurred, the vice president will request written documentation with rationale from both the student and the instructor regarding the grade assigned. The vice president will also schedule a hearing with the appeals committee. The appeals committee will be made up of the vice president for academic affairs, dean of students (or assistant dean of students), and the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee (main campus) or Academic Affairs Council (Professional Studies). The committee has the right to interview the student, the faculty member(s), and other pertinent individuals in an effort to reach a just resolution of this issue. This committee will render the final decision on the appeal. Notification of the grade appeal findings will be forthcoming from the vice president for academic affair’s office. This process is followed in appealing sanctions placed on a student as a result of the academic integrity policy as well.

PROFESSIONAL STUDIES GRADE APPEAL PROCESS DETAILS

As Professional Studies operates on a six-week session basis instead of a typical semester, grade appeals should be made within 30 days after the beginning of the six-week session following the one in which the grade is given. If satisfactory resolution is not achieved with the faculty member, the student may take the second step of grade appeal by submitting details of their grade dispute to Professional Studies Academic Affairs: PS.AcademicAffairs@sckans.edu.