Federal Requirement 4.3

Publication of Policies

The institution makes available to students and the public current academic calendars, grading policies, and refund policies.

Judgment of Compliance: Compliance

Narrative/Justification for Judgment of Compliance:


Executive Summary

St. Petersburg College (SPC) is in compliance with this requirement because it makes available to students regardless of modality (i.e., face-to-face, distance) and the public, current academic calendars, grading policies, and refund policies via public online links, within its learning management system ANGEL, course shells, and various print publications.

SPC publishes its academic calendar and policies affecting students, such as grading and refunds, in the College Catalog (available online) and the Student Handbook (available online and in printed format). The academic calendar, grading policies, and refund policies are linked from a number of locations on SPC’s website including the SPC Home Page, syllabus addendum, and Compliance and Policy Center.

 

Academic Calendar

St. Petersburg College establishes an academic calendar by following guidelines established by the State Board of Education as detailed in Florida Statute 1001.65 (7) and overseen by the SPC Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-1.29.

SPC’s academic calendar is available to all students (regardless the modality) and the public. SPC’s online academic calendar (see also: archived version) contains detailed information for campus and distance students pertaining to registration, schedule changes, last dates to add, change, drop and withdraw, class start and end dates, holidays, and final exam dates. The academic calendar includes embedded links that provide convenient access to pertinent information such as tuition payment plan details, financial aid information, and dropping with a refund. The information provided addresses the various populations SPC serves: campus, online, modular, weekend, and express students.

SPC’s online calendar (see also Appendix A):



The academic calendar is available via direct link through the SPC Homepage as shown below:



The calendar is available in the Student Handbook and Planner in both electronic and in a printed format available at SPC sites as shown below:



The calendar is included in the College catalog as shown below:

The calendar is linked through the syllabus addendum as shown below:



 

SPC sets the expectation that faculty make their course syllabus and syllabus addendum available electronically via the College’s learning management system for face-to-face, blended, and fully online courses as the following example illustrates:



SPC’s student orientation available online also directs the student’s attention to the academic calendar for important dates:



Grading Policy

SPC's grading system is established in accordance with SPC Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-4.20 and the description of that grading system is described in SPC Board of Trustees Procedure P6Hx23-4.20. The protection of student records, including grades, is maintained under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and also in accordance with SPC Board of Trustees Procedure 6Hx23-4.37.

SPC's grading policy is available to all students (regardless the modality) and to the public. SPC’s grading policy, including quality points and special grading instructions, is contained in the College Catalog (available online) as shown below:

 





Faculty are required to include the grading policy in their course syllabi, per the faculty handbook as shown below:



The grading policy is included in the syllabus addendum. SPC’s expectation is that faculty make their course syllabus and syllabus addendum available electronically via the College’s learning management system for all courses via the ANGEL course shells:

 



Refund Policy

SPC Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx25-5.19 authorizes the President to develop a refund policy and SPC Board of Trustees Procedure P6Hx25-5.19 contains the description of the procedures to carry out that policy.

SPC’s refund policy is available to all students (regardless the modality) and the public via the Refunds Webpage as shown below:

 



The Refunds Webpage is linked through the College catalog as shown below:



The Refunds Webpage is linked through the Compliance and Policy Center as shown below:



The Refunds Webpage is linked through the Student's Right to Know Webpage as shown below:

 

 

The Refunds Webpage is linked through the student’s Fee Schedule as shown below:



Refunds are provided to the students through the SPC OneCard as shown below:



Refund dates are provided with the explanation of the refund policy on using the SPC OneCard as shown below:

 

 

Supporting Documentation

In order to preserve the integrity of the supporting documentation in case of updates occurring between the submission of this document and the review, the narrative above links to pdf versions, whereas live links are included below.