ACADEMIC POLICIES & PROCEDURES , continued

INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSES

Independent Study courses are limited and must be approved by the Campus Executive Director. The Director of Education will request an independent study on a case-by-case basis by submitting a Request for Independent Study Form. Independent study courses are not available for all programs or all program courses.

Auditing of Classes

Only graduates may take advantage of complimentary enhancement training, provided that classes are available and space permits. Graduates will be responsible for the cost of materials, if applicable. Graduates preparing for new employment may find this a valuable opportunity to update and refine their skills since graduation. Once auditing, students must adhere to all classroom policies.

Make-Up Work

Students are expected to attend all scheduled hours and complete all coursework for each class in their program. Students are allowed to make-up limited amounts of coursework to ensure that they may continue to be successful, even when extenuating circumstances arise that cause students to miss portions of class.

The Make-Up Work policy in no way alters the attendance or other requirements as stated in the school catalog.

Tutoring

The School faculty arrange and conduct a number of interactive activities in which students are able to reinforce learning material presented in their program of study. Tutoring is available through scheduling with faculty for one-on-one or group style review of material and development of study skills. Review classes are also held prior to certification and licensure exams. Additional laboratory time is available for students wishing to practice the hands-on performance of technical applications.

Special Recognition Awards

Students have the opportunity to earn special awards while pursuing their studies. Specific awards that can be achieved are Attendance Excellence and various Academic Excellence Awards.

The accomplishments are acknowledged by the presentation of special certificates at graduation. Students who achieve a cumulative grade point average of 95% or higher graduate with honors. If a student is on Attendance Warning or Restricted hours they are not eligible for any Special Recognition Award.

Transcripts

An official Student Transcript is maintained for each student. The transcript provides a complete record of all course grades. Anthem Institute will supply a reasonable number of official transcripts to whomever the student or graduate designates. There is no charge for this service. The School reserves the right to limit the number of transcripts provided at no charge. A hold may be placed on the issuing of official transcripts for students who have not made arrangements for all financial obligations to the School, have not participated in an exit interview with the Financial Aid

Department, and/or have not completed all requested Career Center paperwork.

Transfer of Credit to Other Institutions

Decisions concerning the acceptance of credits by any other institution are made at the sole discretion of the receiving institution. As such, credits earned at Anthem Institute may not be transferable to another academic institution. Students considering continuing their education at, or transferring to, either another Anthem Education school or an unaffiliated school, must not assume that credits earned at Anthem Institute will be accepted by the receiving institution. It is their responsibility to determine whether that school will accept their college credits, and Anthem Institute encourages that students make this determination as early as possible. Anthem Institute does not imply, promise, or guarantee transferability of its credits to any other institution.

ACADEMIC POLICIES & PROCEDURES

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Students who have a family or personal emergency at any time in the program prior to beginning externship* may take a Leave of Absence (LOA) from the Institution and will not be required to apply for readmission. The student must make a written request for LOA and attach all applicable supporting documentation. The written request must state the nature of the emergency and when the student is planning to resume classes.

The LOA may not exceed 180 calendar days within any 12-month period. The request for LOA must be approved by the Institution and must begin at the start of a module. Once approved, the student is considered to be on an approved LOA. The approved LOA may affect the student’s financial aid eligibility and the expected grad date.

The student must return by the first scheduled class day of the return module or the student will be withdrawn.

Pursuant to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Guidelines, students receiving veteran’s benefits will not be eligible for veteran’s educational benefits while on Leave of Absence.

*LOAs may be available to students on externship in certain circumstances.

Students on externship with emergency situations should discuss with the Director of Education to determine if the LOA is an option.

LEAVE OF INTENT

The College recognizes that scheduling conflicts and rare situations may arise which may require a short term leave. To accommodate those circumstances, a Leave of Intent (“LOI”) may be granted from the College. Students in clock hour programs are not eligible for LOIs. The students on an approved LOI will not be required to apply for re-admission. The gap in attendance during an LOI may not exceed the time period of one module or term.

Students cannot exceed a gap in attendance of more than 45 consecutive days for Federal Student Financial Aid purposes.

The request for LOI must be signed by the student and contain documentation to support their extenuating circumstances. All requests are evaluated for approval by the College on an individual basis. The LOI must begin at the start of a module/term and must be approved on or before the actual module/term start date for the LOI. Once approved, the student is considered to be on an approved LOI. A LOI can impact the student’s financial aid eligibility and could result in future schedule complications. Students who fail to return from a scheduled LOI will be withdrawn and must re-enter to resume their program. Courses that have been assigned for the module of the LOI will be recorded on the academic transcript as an early drop (EDR).

Termination by the School

At its sole discretion, the School reserves the right to terminate any student who fails to maintain passing grades, fails to adhere to any of the standards or policies stated in the catalog, fails to make tuition payments as agreed, destroys any property of the School (the student may be held liable for repair and/or replacement of the damaged property) or when the action is deemed necessary to protect the reputation of the School or the student body.

Quality Commitment Program

If there is an area of study in which the Graduate feels that he or she needs some retraining or updating, Anthem Institute will retrain him or her at no cost. This is an offer which can be utilized as many times as necessary provided the School offers the graduates' program of study at the time the retraining is requested. If the Graduate should have any technical questions while on the job, he or she may call the School and request to speak to the Director of

ACADEMIC POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Changes to Programs, Schedules, etc.

The School reserves the right to make changes to school policies, the instructional staff, equipment and curriculum to reflect the current technology; to reset class schedules and hours; to consolidate classes and to change locations.

Program Transfers

Any student who wishes to transfer programs must submit a request in writing to the Team Lead of the student’s current program.

A program transfer is:

• a change from one field of study to another field of study; or

• into or from non-standard evening programs (6 week evening technical or design programs).

A student is allowed only one ‘field of study’ program transfer while enrolled at our institution but the student may apply for the transfer at any point in his or her enrollment.

The Director of Education may approve or deny the application for transfer of program.

Academic Eligibility Requirements

A student must be making satisfactory academic progress in order to be eligible to transfer programs. If a student is at the point of dismissal for failing to meet one or more academic progress standard(s) in the first program, that student must be dismissed, appeal the dismissal, and have the appeal granted based on mitigating circumstances before transferring to the new program. Under no circumstances can a request to transfer programs circumvent an academic dismissal.

Appeal and Re-entry

Students who are withdrawn or terminated by the school may apply for entry through the Admissions Department. Students re-entering the school may be subject to current tuition rates for the time required to complete the program, plus a $20.00 reinstatement fee and may be required to re-enter on probationary status.

Final Grade Appeals

Students who believe their final course grade is incorrect should make every effort to resolve the issue with the instructor directly.

If a mutual agreement is not reached between the student and instructor, the student has 30 days from the end of the course to appeal the final grade determination. The appeal must be in writing and addressed to the Director of Education. The academic judgment of the instructor is presumed correct, so the appeal must provide detailed information on why the student believes the grade is incorrect. Students will be notified of the outcome of the appeal within 30 days of submission.

Student Complaint / Grievance Procedure Student grievances relating to School matters should first be discussed with the individual Instructor and/or Team Lead and then the Director of Education. If the grievance is not resolved satisfactorily with the Director of Education, it can then be submitted to the Executive Director of Anthem Institute, whose decision is considered final in all matters pertaining to the School.

For any grievances relating to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex) or the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Executive Director who is the Section 504 Coordinator should be contacted. The individual to contact is the Executive Director, at (973) 630-4900.

The student may expect a grievance to be addressed and/or resolved in a timely manner, usually within two weeks from the time the grievance is issued at each level.

Schools accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges must have a procedure and operational plan for handling student complaints. If a student does not feel that the School has adequately addressed a complaint or concern, the student may consider contacting the Accrediting Commission. All complaints considered by the Commission must be in written form, with permission from the complainant for the Commission to

ACADEMIC POLICIES & PROCEDURES

The complainant will be kept informed as to the status of the complaint as well as the final resolution by the Commission. Please direct all inquiries to: Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, 2101 Wilson Blvd., Ste. 302, Arlington, VA 22201 (703-247-4212). A copy of the Commission’s Complaint Form is available at the School and may be obtained by contacting the Director of Education.

Please direct all inquiries to:

Accrediting Commission of Career Schools & Colleges 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 302

Arlington, VA 22201

(703) 247-4212; www.accsc.org

Grievances for Section 504, Title IX, Title VI and Age Complaints

For any grievances relating to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex and sexual harassment), Title VI prohibiting

discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin), or the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age), the following steps are to be taken:

Step 1:An alleged formal discrimination grievance complaint should first be made to the Director of Education. Students are strongly encouraged to file their complaint as soon as possible.

Accept as required to investigate the complaint, the complaint and investigative results will be held in strictest confidence.

Grievance filing: Grievances filed shall be in writing on a form provided by the Director of Education, and shall provide the following information: 1) name and address of grievant; 2) nature of alleged violation; 3) name of persons responsible for alleged violation (where known); 4) requested relief or corrective action (specification of desired relief shall be at the option of grievant);

5) any background information grievant believes relevant (e.g., names or groups of other persons affected by the violation, etc).

Once the grievance form is received, the Director of Education will conduct an investigation and present their findings to the student and the Executive Director, along with suggested resolution within twenty (20) school days. The Executive Director will maintain the complaint on file.

appeal and render a determination within fifteen (15) school days.

An appeal must be submitted in writing clarifying why the student disagrees with the decision within ten (10) days of the date of the letter of findings. Further, if a student appeals the findings in his or her case, the student will need to specify in writing the reason(s) for his or her appeal.

Step 3:If not resolved at Step 2, the decision may be appealed, to the School’s Regional President, who functions as the final mediator at the local level, within fifteen (15) school days from the date of the Step 2 decision. The Regional President will then review the Student’s appeal and render a determination within 15 school days from receipt of the appeal.

Retaliation in any form for the filing of a complaint on the basis of Section 504 (disability discrimination), including Title IX (sex discrimination and sexual harassment), Title IV (race, color, or national origin discrimination) Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (age discrimination), is prohibited and shall not in any way affect the status, grades or work assignments of the person who reports such discrimination or harassment.

If discrimination on the basis of Age, Sex, Race, or Sexual Harassment is established, appropriate corrective and remedial actions will be taken.

The location and phone number of the Title VI/Title IX/Section 504 Coordinator is:

If a student changes programs, only those courses that apply toward the new program will be counted in calculating the number of credits attempted and in calculating the cumulative GPA.

Additional Programs

If a graduate of Anthem Institute enrolls in a new program at the school, only those courses that apply toward the new program will be counted in calculating the number of credits attempted and in calculating the cumulative GPA.

ACADEMIC POLICIES & PROCEDURES

STANDARDS OF SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP)

POLICY

All students must meet the following minimum standards of