rasmussen.edu | 888-5-RASMUSSEN ACADEMIC INFORMATION AND COLLEGE POLICIES ACADEMIC POLICIES Assessment Rasmussen College has developed an institutional culture wherein assessment is at the heart of the College’s daily functions. The Rasmussen College Comprehensive Assessment Plan (CAP) is the primary measurement for the Institution’s mission. The CAP is organized around the Mission Statement and the five purposes that support the mission. For each purpose, supporting objectives have been developed, and assessment tools are used to collect data and assess each objective. In this way, the College systematically assesses the purposes and, ultimately, the mission of the Institution. To guide this process, Rasmussen College has established five Councils, which align with the five purposes that support the mission; as such, the College provides its faculty and staff with a central role in the decisions that impact the future of the institution. In the spirit of this learning-focused approach to assessment, academic assessment at Rasmussen College follows a pattern of incoming, ongoing, and outcome assessment. The College has an academic assessment plan that it uses to evaluate and improve the quality of learning and teaching. The academic assessments used measure incoming student skills through a placement test to determine students’ reading, writing, and numeracy skills; ongoing skills in a formative fashion in individual courses; and end of program skills through various program outcomes assessments. Transferable Skills Assessment Transferable Skills are essential abilities which are valued by employers in many professional fields and form the basis for lifelong learning. Rasmussen College has identified the following six Transferable Skills as institution-level learning outcomes: Communication, Critical Thinking, Digital Fluency, Diversity and Teamwork, Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and Information Literacy. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate these skills in a number of courses across their programs of study, especially in course projects across the curricula. Most of the projects have an authentic focus on the type of tasks students will perform in the workplace. Students will be assigned to submit a comprehensive Transferable Skills project in their program capstone courses. Class Content The College reserves the right at any time to make changes to improve the quality or content of the programs of study offered. The College reserves the right to cancel any classes or programs where enrollment is under 12 students. Students will be notified of changes impacting their program of study. Class Standing Rasmussen College determines class standing by the number of credit hours a student has completed. The College assigns class standings according to the following criteria: Freshman 0–36 credits completed Sophomore 37–72 credits completed Junior Senior 73–129 credits completed 130 or more credits completed Individual Progress Students may enroll in one or more courses at a time, or in succeeding quarters, without enrolling in a program of study. Courses beginning with HIM, MEA, MLT, NGR, NUR, PHT, PRN, PTA, RTE, and STS cannot be taken as individual progress courses. For courses with prerequisite requirements, the prerequisites do not apply. To be considered for admission, individual progress students must complete the application form and attestation of high school graduation. The Rasmussen College entrance placement exam is not required for IP students. Individual progress coursework is assessed at the full cost per credit for each course. Individual progress students remain enrolled at Rasmussen College as long as they continue to select coursework and meet all additional requirements. Upon successful completion of their courses, individual progress students will receive a letter grade and be awarded credits. To enroll in a program at Rasmussen College, students must complete all remaining programmatic application requirements (including the Entrance Placement Exam). Eligible individual progress courses will be applied to their degree program, and count as credits attempted and earned for purposes of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Auditing a Course A student who audits a course does so for the purposes of self-enrichment and academic exploration. Students who are not enrolled in an eligible program and elect to take courses without earning college credit are considered Audit students. This non-credit option is NOT available to students for courses beginning with: CDA, CEN, CET, CGS (excluding CGS 1240), CIS, CNT, COP, COT, CTS, EEC, EEX, GRA, HIM, ISM, MEA, MLT, PHT, PRN, PTN, NGR, NUR, RTE, or STS. However, students who are enrolled in a program in which any of the aforementioned course prefixes exist may be eligible to take the course as an Audit if the student’s Rasmussen College transcript reflects prior successful completion of the course. An Audit student is not eligible to complete any laboratory or clinical components of a course or any externship or internship or practicum experiences. However, a student who is enrolled in a Health Sciences program may be eligible to Audit a laboratory component of the course with approval from the Dean or Program Coordinator. Students who elect to complete courses on a non-credit basis are not guaranteed full technology access; however, every effort will be made to provide technology resources. Transcripts denote an “Audit” upon completion of the course. Students may choose to convert the Audit grade to a letter grade and earn credit for an additional fee. Audited courses with a clinical, practicum or laboratory component are not eligible for conversion to a letter grade. An Audit student is considered a learner and it is expected that the student will participate with reasonable regularity and do assigned work, particularly if she/he expects to convert the Audit grade to a letter grade at a future time. Competency-Based Education courses are not eligible for Audit. Audited courses are not eligible for Title IV funding. The ability to Audit a course is based on space availability. Developmental Education and Rasmussen College Entrance Placement Assessment Re-Test Policy The goal of Developmental Education is to provide students with a solid foundation of basic skills and knowledge as they move on to college-level classes. Placement into Developmental Education courses reflects the commitment Rasmussen College has to ensuring the success of all students, and to providing educational opportunities to those who enroll. Coursework in math or English that is numbered below 100 is considered to be Developmental Education. College Entrance Placement Assessment scores are used to appropriately place students in English and math courses according to skill level. 122 See Entrance Assessment Table for placement scores. The College entrance placement assessment may not be retaken for initial placement purposes during the quarter in which a developmental level course is scheduled. However, a student may repeat the assessment at the end of a quarter in which the Developmental Education course was attempted and prior to the start of the following quarter in order to prove readiness for college-level coursework. If the student places into Developmental Education coursework following the re-assessment, the student must repeat the Developmental Education course in the following quarter as long as the student is still eligible to repeat the Developmental Education course. Developmental Education Courses Students are placed into Developmental Education courses based on the results of the Rasmussen College Entrance Placement Assessment. To help ensure student success, students requiring Developmental Education coursework must attempt one such course in their first term of enrollment. Students requiring two Developmental Education courses must attempt the first course, Reading and Writing Strategies (B080), in their first term of enrollment and the second course, Combined Basic and Intermediate Algebra (B095) in Illinois and Practical Math (B087) in other states, in their second quarter of enrollment. If a student withdraws from or does not pass a required Developmental Education course, the student must successfully complete that course in the subsequent full quarter of enrollment or the student will be dismissed from the College. As such, any required Developmental Education courses must be completed no later than the end of the student’s third full quarter of enrollment, or the student will be withdrawn from the College. Students requiring two Developmental Education courses must attempt Reading and Writing Strategies (B080) and one additional course in their program of enrollment prior to enrolling in the Developmental Education math course. Students requiring two Developmental Education courses will not be scheduled into both courses in their first quarter of enrollment. If necessary, however, a student may be scheduled into both Developmental Education courses in each of the terms of the second quarter. Upon successful completion of Reading and Writing Strategies, and at least three credits of coursework in their program of enrollment with a grade of “C “or higher, the student will be allowed to take a full time credit load, if desired.
