Academic Policies and Standards Committee (ACPOL)

The Academic Policies and Standards Committee (ACPOL) acts on behalf of the faculty to review academic policies, as well as hear appeals from students who wish to waive/amend graduation/degree requirements, academic probation/standards, or other policies delineated in the Catawba Catalog. The policies in question are those described in the "Academic Policies, Procedures, and Terminology" section of the Catalog.

ACPOL serves as an appeals committee, approving or rejecting any requests for exceptions from approved academic policies. ACPOL reviews petitions and accompanying letters of recommendation and decides whether the requested exception is appropriate based on the facts and circumstances.
ACPOL initially reviews additions, deletions, exceptions, and revisions to academic policies. When academic policies are proposed or amended, the originating office or academic program shall send the policy language to ACPOL for review. ACPOL will respond with suggestions related to functionality and coherence with other, standing academic policies.
ACPOL serves faculty, staff, and students by providing recommendation and explanations related to academic policies and the way the policies interact and function. ACPOL functions as an educational resource regarding academic policies and may make recommendations for consideration by various campus offices or programs as to how they may best utilize academic policy.

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The process for petitioning the Committee for a waiver of the policies delineated in the Catalog is as follows:

Discuss your situation with your advisor and the Chair of your Department.
If your petition is to add a course after the deadline or permission to take a tutorial, make sure to also discuss with the instructor for that course or tutorial.
Ask your advisor to send a letter directly to ACPOL, describing whether they support your petition.
Ask your Department or Program Chair to send a letter directly to ACPOL, indicating they know that the petition is being made (any commentary about support of the petition is at the discretion of the Chair). If your advisor is also your Chair, only one letter is required.
If your petition is to add a course after the deadline or permission to take a tutorial, also ask the instructor to send a letter directly to ACPOL, describing whether they support your petition.
Prepare and submit a letter of petition to the ACPOL (see sample below). Only when ACPOL receives all of your letters will the Committee review the request.
The Committee typically meets the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tuesday of the month. Petitions and letters must be submitted by 12:00PM on the Friday prior to when the Committee meets for it to be considered; otherwise it may not be considered until the following meeting.
Once your petition and all letters are received, and the Committee has reviewed your petition, you will receive a response via your campus email. If you have not received a response within three weeks, please reach out to the chair(s) of ACPOL regarding your petition.
The Committee may consider petitions only intermittently during the summer and winter terms, depending on contractual requirements.

Preparing and Sending Letters
Students should use the model letter (see below) and submit the letter online. Please ensure you have all information needed when submitting your petition, as all information is required, otherwise your petition will not submit.

Submit a Petition

Committee Consideration of Petition
The ACPOL will consider rationale for requests to waive requirements according to the following criteria:

That the request is based upon action taken by the College or one of its representatives, such as having a required class cancelled or removed from the curriculum, or an advisor error that is explained in the letter by the petitioner's advisor;
That the request is based on some action by an agency outside the College, such as the State or Federal government if a student is deployed by the military or National Guard;
That the request is based upon need (such as when a course is needed to complete requirements) rather than optional choice (such as when a choice is an elective);
That the request is for a personal convenience or circumstance.

Decision
A letter indicating the ACPOL's decision will be sent to your campus e-mail address, with a copy sent to the advisor and Dept Chair. Regularly check your mail for the letter; letters returned because e-mail boxes are too full will not be resent.

SAMPLE LETTER

Student name
Student campus box or home address
Student reachable phone number
Student e-mail address

Academic Policies and Standards Committee (ACPOL) Campus Mail Date
Dear Members of the Academic Policies and Standards Committee (ACPOL),

Introduce yourself by name, provide your academic status, major, advisor, and GPA.

I respectfully request ACPOL grant me an exception for: Describe the exception you to the College rule/regulation.

My reason for this request: Provide the rationale for your request, focusing on the circumstances that have led you to petition the Committee for a waiver to the College graduation policies.

Thank the Committee in advance for its consideration of the request.

Signature

Policy for Handling Requests for a Foreign Language Waiver

The Student Academic Success Coordinator (SASC) will determine, based on a written request from the student and documentation from a medical provider, whether modifications to the foreign language requirement are warranted. Such modifications would take one of three forms:

A full waiver of the required courses;
A partial waiver of one or two courses;
No course waiver, but appropriate accommodations provided as deemed necessary by the SASC.

In all cases, the student will be required to complete a plan of 9 credits in foreign language and/or in courses chosen from an approved list maintained by the GEAR committee. For students waiving two or more courses, the courses chosen from the GEAR list must include one designated cultural course and one designated language course. Unless precluded by the reasons for the accommodation, the courses substituted should be at or above the level of the course being waived (1000 level for waiver of elementary language and 2000-level for waiver of intermediate language). This plan will be developed by the SASC and approved by both the student’s academic advisor and by the ACPOL committee.

Approved Lists

Updated: 2016-2017

Cultural Group

CA	2116	Asian Cinema
CA	3900	Intercultural Communications
ECON	2401	Comparative Economic Systems
ENGL	2218	Major World Writers
SPAN	2501	Hispanics in the US
SPAN	2052	Hispanic Culture in Literature and Film
REL	1035	Near Eastern Religions
REL	1036	Far Eastern Religions
SOC	1202	Global Societies
MUS	1113	World Music
MUS	2110	Japanese Musical Theatre and Dance
EDUC	2105	Cultural Geography
FREN	2052	Francophone Literature and Culture

Language Group

CS/IS	2505	Application Program Development
CS/IS	2550	Object-Oriented Design and Programming
CS/IS	2602	Introduction to Structured Programming
ENGL	3201	English Grammar
PHIL	1155	Logic
PHIL	1166	Critical Thinking
PER	2100	Introduction to Sign Language

For courses that already carry general education credit, a student will not receive general education credit for both that attribute and the foreign language waiver. For example, REL 1036 is certified for Non-Western Perspective. If a student selects that as a waiver course, then that student will not also receive Non-Western perspective credit for REL 1036.

GEAR will review and update the list of courses at least every three years to maintain currency of offerings.

Academic Policies and Standards Committee (ACPOL)

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Approved Lists

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Academic Policies and Standards Committee (ACPOL)

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Petitioning the Committee

Requests for a Foreign Language Waiver

Committee Members

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