160 rasmussen.edu | 888-5-RASMUSSEN ACADEMIC INFORMATION AND UNIVERSITY POLICIES ALL CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE BY ADDENDUM Program Transfer Policy Accepted students may transfer programs based on meeting certain criteria. Active student requests for program transfers, appeals, if required, and the subsequent approval, must be received prior to Friday of the first week of a quarter break in order for the program transfer to take effect the next quarter. The request for a program transfer will either be approved or denied based on a review of academic standing and progress to date with Rasmussen University and any documentation submitted for an appeal, if an appeal is required. A clear background check is required for enrollment in certain programs as determined in the background check section of the catalog. Students who do not successfully pass a background check will be administratively withdrawn from the University. If a student chooses to transfer their academic program, the student defaults to the current catalog and curriculum requirements. A student who chooses to transfer programs must provide written authorization and a new enrollment agreement. A student in good academic standing at the end of the most recent quarter of attendance will be allowed to transfer programs at the start of the next quarter as long as all program transfer requirements have been met. A student who is not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress, as defined in the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress, at the end of their most recent quarter of attendance will be allowed one program transfer at Rasmussen University. Any subsequent requests for a program transfer when the student is not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress will be denied, unless they meet the exemption criteria. The one program transfer limitation may be appealed to the University Academic Appeal committee following the process available through the campus of enrollment. Students who meet any one of the criteria below are considered exempt from the one program transfer limit if they are not meeting the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of their most recent quarter of attendance. Students who meet this criteria do not need to file an appeal to the University Academic Appeal committee. The program transfer will be granted if all other program acceptance criteria are met: • The returning student has not attended Rasmussen University within the past five years (sixty months) since their most recent withdrawal date • The returning student earned a credential from another accredited institution after attending Rasmussen University • The returning student’s previous program from which they withdrew while not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress is no longer offered at Rasmussen University • The returning student’s previous program from which they withdrew while not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress is no longer offered at that campus (i.e., bachelor program now only offered through bachelor-completer) • An active student is requesting to transfer to the most recent catalog version of the program in which they are currently enrolled • An active student is changing credentials within the lower-level coursework, such as from an associate’s degree to a certificate or a diploma, or from the certificate to a diploma or an associate’s degree. A student who requests to move from an associate’s degree or certificate or diploma credential to a bachelor degree program must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress program transfer requirements. If a student has exhausted their one opportunity for a program transfer while not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress, the student may request a program transfer appeal to be reviewed by the University Academic Appeal committee. The process requires the student to complete and return a Program Transfer Appeal form and, in some instances, supporting documentation. The program transfer appeal process information is available to active students through their Advisor and to returning students through their Admissions Advisor. If a returning student is granted a program transfer appeal, the appeal will be honored for a single reenter to take place within the next three months as noted on the approved Program Transfer Appeal. An approved program transfer appeal is only honored for the program the student appealed to enter. Students will receive written confirmation of the approval or denial to transfer programs. Students reentering into or transferring to the Physical Therapist Assistant program must complete the requirements as detailed in the Physical Therapist Assistant Associate’s Degree Re-Enrollment Policy. Independent Study Policy Independent study applies when a student contracts to meet regularly with a qualified instructor to fulfill the assignments, tests, projects, and other tasks necessary to achieve the performance objectives of a given course. Independent study requires a student to be motivated and organized. Because an independent study does not provide the student with the classroom interaction normally expected in higher education, it is to be offered only when there is no alternative and as infrequently as possible. Students may take, and the University may offer, a course through independent study when all of the following conditions are met: 1. The course is not currently offered on-site or online. 2. Completion of the course is necessary for on-time graduation. 3. The need for the course in the quarter/term in question does not arise from the student’s decision to withdraw from the course in an earlier quarter/term, the student’s failure to satisfactorily complete the course in an earlier quarter, the student’s decision to change programs, or the student’s decision to accelerate graduation near the end of their program. 4. The student will complete work of a similar quantity and quality as required in a regularly scheduled course and will meet the standard performance objectives for the course. If the method for meeting and assessing the performance objectives differs from the standard course syllabus, the changes will be noted within the course section. 5. Within the first week of the independent study, the student and instructor must meet to review the course schedule and determine how the course and weekly objectives will be met and assessed. 6. If the independent study is held residentially, the instructor and student(s) will meet an equivalent of at least 11 hours which are distributed evenly across the weeks of the quarter/term. Academic Overload Policy An academic or credit overload occurs when an undergraduate student registers for more than 20 credits per quarter or more than 12 credits in a 5.5-week term, or when a graduate student registers for more than 16 credits per quarter or more than 12 credits in a 5.5-week term. In order to qualify for an overload, an undergraduate student must have completed a minimum of 30 credits at Rasmussen University. A graduate student must have completed a minimum of 16 credits at Rasmussen University in order to apply for an overload. The student must also be meeting the Rasmussen University Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress. Undergraduate students must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.01 (3.5 for bachelor-completer programs), and graduate students must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 to apply for an overload. Students who qualify will be eligible to take up to 24 total credits in the designated quarter. Students who desire an overload should consult with their Advisor as well as the Associate Dean or Dean of Nursing/Nurse Administrator of the campus in which they are enrolled. Course Add Policy Students who are enrolled in courses at the beginning of an 11- week quarter may add Term 1 courses through the second business day of Term 1 and add Term 2 courses through the sixth business day of Term 1, which is the close of the Course Add period. Courses may be added through the second business day of Term 2 only when Term 2 is the student’s first Term of attendance. Students may add 11-week courses through the sixth business day of the quarter, which is the close of the Course Add period. Business days are defined as Monday through Friday, excluding any University holidays. Course Drop Policy Students may drop courses through the sixth business day of the quarter/term. The sixth business day of the term or quarter is the close of the drop period for all programs. For courses dropped prior to tuition billing, the student will be unregistered from the course and no grade will be assigned. Tuition is billed on the seventh business day of the term or quarter for all courses remaining on the schedule. If tuition billing has occurred, the student may drop a quarter-based Term 2 course through the sixth business day of Term 2 and the student will receive a grade of CL; which does not have an academic impact. It may, however, have a financial impact. Anticipated graduation dates may be adjusted for a student who drops registered courses. Beginning on the seventh business day of a quarter/term, a dropped course in the current quarter/term will receive a withdrawal grade per the Course Withdrawal policy. For quarter-based Term 2 courses a student who has already been billed tuition may swap courses for an equivalent credit-value course up through the second day of Term 2. The student cannot add courses to their schedule if tuition has already been billed. Business days are defined as Monday through Friday, excluding any University holidays. Course Withdrawal Policy Course withdrawal dates vary depending on the scheduled length of the course. Once the Course Drop period has passed, students are permitted to withdraw from a course no later than Friday of Week 9 for 11-week courses, Tuesday of Week 5 for 5.5-week Term 1 courses, and Friday of Week 10 for 5.5-week Term 2 courses. The request for withdrawal must be received in writing by the Advisor no later than 11:59 p.m. on the last day to withdraw.
