Policy Statement
Students who do not begin to participate in a course in which they are registered (whether the course is offered in a face-to-face, hybrid, or online format) will be administratively dropped for nonattendance.
Nevada State College is committed to serving its students and maintaining accurate enrollment records. Introducing an administrative drop option for non-attending students addresses several issues. When students remain in courses they never attend, they incur unnecessary debt; students' GPAs also suffer when failing grades are assigned for non-attendance. Administratively dropping students who never begin participating in a course provides a better alternative.
In addition, the College is required to determine whether a student participated in a course in order to correctly report enrollment to state and federal agencies and to administer federal Student Aid, Veterans Administration benefits, and other federal, state, institutional, and private aid programs.
Procedures
I. Measuring Participation
Faculty will record participation in all courses (regardless of format) during the first two weeks of fall and spring terms. For face-to-face and hybrid courses, faculty will report In-Person Participation; for fully online courses, participation is measured through Substantive Online Participation. To fulfill federal requirements, online activities which are used to track attendance for reporting purposes must be "academically related." Non-academic assignments, such as posting a biographical description in a discussion forum or completing a syllabus quiz, do not qualify as academically-related activities.
II. Reporting Participation
By 3:00p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) on the second Friday of the term (with the exception of accelerated terms lasting fewer than twelve [12] weeks), course instructors will indicate on the Attendance Roster in the myNSC Faculty Center whether each student has begun participating in their course.
III. Administrative Drop Process
The Registrar's Office will administratively drop students reported by faculty as not participating. Whenever possible administrative drops from courses will occur by 5:00pm PST on the second Friday of the term (for terms of [12] weeks or greater length). Delays may occur if all faculty have not completed the attendance verification process or other unforeseen issues arise. In such cases, the Registrar's Office will prioritize completing administrative drops as quickly as possible.
Administratively dropped students will be removed from the course roster and from the course website in the learning management system; the course will not appear on the student's transcript. The Office of the Registrar will report the student's updated registration status and level to the National Student Clearinghouse.
The Cashier's Office will reverse all institutional charges related to a course from which a student is administratively dropped. The Office of Financial Aid will make any necessary adjustments to a student's award package based on the enrollment change and the Veterans Administration (VA) Certifying Official will update enrollment certifications as necessary.
The College syllabus template will be revised to describe the administrative drop process and the consequences for non-attendance.
IV. Adjusted Timelines for Accelerated Terms
The Office of the Registrar will provide adjusted timelines for accelerated classes of fewer than twelve (12) weeks in length. All timelines will be distributed via email on the Friday prior to the beginning of each term.
V. Petitions for Reinstatement
Students may petition to the Office of the Registrar for reinstatement in a course from which they were administratively dropped. Reinstatement requires instructor approval. The College does not guarantee reinstatement into a class from which a student was dropped for non-participation.
Definitions
Hybrid Course: A course in which instructional contact time is met through a combination of face-to-face class meetings and online learning activities.
In-Person Participation: Participation that meets the threshold for a student to have formally begun attendance in a face-to-face or hybrid course. While the most common measure is class meeting attendance, it may also be defined as the completion of a graded assignment, quiz, or meaningful discussion relating to course-specific subject matter.
Substantive Online Participation: Participation that meets the threshold for a student to have formally begun attendance in an online course. At minimum, substantive participation would include completion of one graded assignment, quiz, or meaningful discussion relating to course-specific subject matter.