Academic Standards

The semester hour is the unit of credit used by Five Towns College. One semester hour represents approximately three hours of study per week for one semester. For example, a course requiring three class recitations (60-mimute periods a week for a semester would receive three semester hours of credit. Credit for major Instrument/Voice instruction based on one lesson a week plus a minimum of six hours of individual practice.

Grade point averages are computed by multiplying the point value of each grade by the credits designated for each course. This gives the grade point total. The sum of these totals divided by the number of credits attempted gives the G.P.A for the semester.

“I” is a grade recorded from a course in which a student has failed to complete certain work or has been absent from the final examination because of circumstances beyond his/her control. The written approvals of the Chairperson and Dean are required before an “I” grade may be given. An incomplete not removed before the conclusion of the drop/add period semester becomes an “F”. Responsibility for removing an “I” within this time limit rests with the student.

“R” is a grade given in non-credit courses for course requirements not successfully completed.

Five Towns College reserves the right to offer a portion of each degree program in an online course format. In such cases, the College expects that students registering for these courses will supply their own computer and access to the Internet, as set forth in the Catalog section entitled: “Computer Requirements.” The College also reserves the right to limit the number of online courses that any student may pursue wholly online. In order to ensure the integrity of online courses, the College may require students enrolled in online courses to present themselves at the College for a variety of reasons, including course orientation, and mid semester and final examinations.

The Registrar’s Office evaluates credit earned from other institutions of higher education usually soon after admission and bases its determinations of credits transferrable to Five Towns upon four factors: (1) the accreditation of the institution or program which awarded the credits, (2) the number of credits per course awarded, (3) the grade earned in each course completed, and (4) the applicability of each credit earned to the relevant degree program’s requirements at Five Towns College. To be eligible for transfer credit, a student’s final transcripts from all post-secondary institutions previously attended must be received before students have completed their first semester. For credit earned through traditional classroom work, evaluation is conducted on a course-by-course basis for all work in which grades of “C” or above have been earned. It is important to note that grades awarded in courses receiving transfer credit are not used in computing a student’s grade point average (GPA) at Five Towns. Five Towns College routinely accepts credit from regionally accredited institutions of higher education. The College will also accept credits earned at institutions that are not regionally accredited but for which one or more specific degree programs have received accreditation from a nationally recognized accrediting organization, e.g. NCATE, NASM or NAST. Transfer credit evaluations in these latter cases are done on a case-by-case basis. Students must furnish the College with a copy of the course descriptions for each course they seek to transfer, a copy of the transferring institution’s catalog, and such other information as may be reasonably necessary to determine course equivalency. Once matriculated at Five Towns College, students do not have the right to transfer credits to the institution, except as set forth herein. An undergraduate student who seeks to transfer credit from another institution after matriculation at Five Towns College must request approval in advance. Students should file a written request for permission to take courses at another institution with the Registrar at least six (6) weeks in advance. Such a request should contain the rationale for taking courses at another institution, as well as a description of the course description as published by the school the student wishes to attend. No credit will be transferred without prior approval, nor will credit transfer for coursework with a grade below a “C.” Credit may be available for courses sponsored by organizations that are recommended in the “Guide to Educational Programs in Non-Collegiate Organizations” of the State University of New York. The decision to award credit in such cases may be determined by the Provost or the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee.

Students may be eligible for credit for Advanced Placement (AP) examinations for which a grade of three (3) or better has been achieved. Examinations are administered to high school students in more than a dozen different college subjects. Prospective students who have taken AP examinations must provide the College with official score reports sent from the College Board to the Admissions Office during the admissions process. The College will consider requests for AP credit only when made by new students for examinations taken prior to matriculation. AP credit is not awarded to students after they have matriculated.

Students who graduate from a High School International Baccalaureate Program may request and be granted transfer credit for courses completed and for which they have received a grade of at least a “B.” The transfer credit request must be made in advance of admission to the College. Decisions on such transfer credit requests are made on a case-by-case basis. The high school at which the course was taken must be accredited by a federally authorized regional accrediting organization (e.g., the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges).

The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) gives students an opportunity to demonstrate prior learning and to earn credit for that knowledge. Five Towns College allows matriculated, high-achieving students, to use the CLEP Program to move past introductory-level coursework and to move onto more advanced and challenging courses.