Attendance
Students are expected to be punctual and attend all courses in which they are enrolled. Students may be dropped by the instructor for failure to attend class in the following circumstances:

1) Failure to attend first class meeting.

2) Absence from three consecutive weeks of instruction.

3) At any point when it is concluded that absences have irretrievably affected the student’s progress in their coursework.

Grades should not be used as punishment for absences. However, academic grades may be lowered to the degree that instructors can estimate the loss of cognitive, affective, or skills learning due to student absences.

Equally, students can expect the instructors also to be punctual in their attendance. Instructors have a professional obligation to enforce this institutional policy within the dictates of their particular courses and within the bounds of professional discretion.

If a cancellation notice for that meeting has not been posted and the instructor has not arrived, students are automatically dismissed without penalty 15 minutes after the scheduled course starting time. If a course session started late, the instructor should still dismiss as scheduled.

To protect student rights against instructor error and opportunity and to explain mitigating circumstances, the due process of appeal will follow this order:

1) To the instructor;

2) If necessary, to the instructor and appropriate Dean;

3) In unusual cases, to the instructor, appropriate Dean and the President.

All courses have a final examination appropriate to the type of course.

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Grading
The evaluation in college-level courses is a prime responsibility of the instructor. Such evaluation involves the measurements of achievement against the objectives of the course and the assignment of a grade to denote the student’s degree of success.

The grade, as submitted by the instructor, shall be considered final and permanent. Grades cannot be changed by submitting additional course work or taking examinations after the semester (or term) is completed. Under state law, the instructor’s determination is final unless the grade given was the result of 1) mistake, 2) fraud, 3) bad faith, or 4) incompetency. (Ed Code Secion 76224.)

No grade may be challenged more than one year after the end of the session in which the grade was assigned. For information on the Policy regarding grade challenges, contact the Student Affairs Center, Room 800A, Ext. 199.

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Final Grades
Final grades can be accessed at the end of a term, immediately following instructor grade-entry online.
Students can learn their final grades in two ways:

1. by calling the touch tone phone registration system at (925) 370-9000
2. by visiting the college web site, www.losmedanos.edu. Go into the student menu on WebAdvisor and click on “Grades”.

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Honors Status
Full-time students who achieve a term grade point average of 3.0 or better in 12 or more units of graded courses are recognized with honors status. Notation of this academic achievement is printed on the student’s permanent record.

Alpha Gamma Sigma Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS) is the California Community College Honor Scholarship Society. As a statewide community college organization, it has the purpose of fostering, promoting, maintaining, and recognizing scholastic achievement.

For information on eligibility requirements and benefits available for members in good standing, contact Hope Siino, Chapter Advisor, in Room 236 or extension 345.

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Evaluative Symbols/Grading Scale

Pass/No Pass Grade Option
The purpose of the pass/no pass (P/NP) option is to allow students to take challenging courses while avoiding undue concern for their grade point averages. Students who select this option are, however, expected to complete the course, comply with attendance requirements, and comply with all other requirements of the course.

Selected courses have been labeled with “SC” to indicate student choice for the P/NP option. If students do not choose the P/NP option before the deadline, they will be issued a letter grade for the course. It is often best to discuss this choice with a counselor.

In order to exercise this option, a petition must be filed with the Admissions & Records Office at the time of registration or no later than the end of the fifth week of the semester for a full-semester class. Petitions for summer session and short-term courses must be filed within the first thirty percent of the course. After the deadline has passed, the grading choice may not be reversed.

Important information related to the P/NP option:

• A P grade represents a letter grade of A, B, or C

• A NP grade represents a D or F letter grade

• Units earned on a P/NP basis will not be used to calculate grade point averages

• Units attempted for which NP is recorded will be considered in factoring probation and dismissal status

• Units earned on a P/NP basis will apply to the 60 units required for an associate degree

• Students should be aware that other colleges and universities may or may not limit the number of P units that will be accepted from transfer students.

Los Medanos College offers:

1) Some courses solely for a credit/no credit (P/NP) grade

2) Some courses solely for a standard letter grade

3) Some courses in which the student may choose to complete the course for either a credit/no credit (P/NP) grade OR a standard letter grade (SC).

Courses offered as “P/NP” or “SC” are identified in the course description section of the catalog.

Non-Evaluative Symbols

I Incomplete: Incompletes will be given only in the event of an unforeseeable emergency and justifiable reasons at the end of a term; student must be passing course to be eligible for incomplete; student cannot re-enroll in the course to complete pending assignments, projects or exams. A final grade is assigned when the work has been completed or after one year, unless a petition for time extension has been approved by the Director of Admissions & Recordsr.

IP In Progress: The course extends beyond the end of the academic term. The grade and credit is assigned on the student’s record for the term in which the course is completed.

RD Report Delayed: A temporary notation to be replaced by a permanent symbol.

W Withdrawal: A withdrawal reported to the Admissions Office during the first four weeks of instruction (or 30 per cent of instruction in summer intersession and short-term classes) is recorded as a “W”’ but is not printed on the student’s official academic record.

A written withdrawal notice filed in the Admissions Office between the end of the fourth week of instruction and the end of the fourteenth week of instruction (or 31-75 per cent of instruction in summer intersession and short-term classes) is noted on the student’s printed academic record as a “W.”

The printed academic record of a student who has not officially withdrawn from a class within the time described above must reflect an authorized symbol other than a “W.” A student with extenuating circumstances may petition for a “W” after the deadline for withdrawal. Extenuating circumstances are verified cases of accident, illness, or other circumstances beyond the control of the student.

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Withdrawal and Drop Policy
Upon entering Los Medanos College students assume the responsibility of completing each course in which they are enrolled.

Students are advised that adding or withdrawing from a course is their responsibility to process through the Admissions Office.

Withdrawal is not an automatic process. Students who do not attend classes should not assume the instructor has dropped them from a class. Students who do not drop, or are not dropped by the instructor within the first 75% of the course are subject to an ‘F’ grade.

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Probation and Dismissal
Definition of Terms

Units Attempted: A, B, C, D, and F (for calculation of GPA).

Units Enrolled: A, B, C, D, F, W, I, P/CR, and NP/NC (for calculation of progress).

Consecutive Semester: The order shown on academic record including summer session.

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Academic

Academic Probation: Cumulative GPA under 2.0 with 12 cumulative units attempted.

Removal from Academic Probation: Cumulative GPA 2.0 or better.

Academic Dismissal: Three consecutive semesters of Academic Probation unless most recent semester GPA is 2.25 or higher.

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Progress

Progress Probation: With 9 cumulative “units enrolled,” 50 per cent or more are W, I, and/or NP/NC.

Removal from Progress Probation: W, I, and/or NP/NC units are less than 50 per cent of cumulative “units enrolled.”

Progress Dismissal: Three consecutive semesters of Progress Probation unless most recent semester W’s, I’s, and/or NP/NC’s are under 50 per cent of “units enrolled.”

Notification of Probation and Dismissal
Students on probation or dismissal are notified as soon as possible but not later than the end of the following term.

All students receiving a probationary notice will be required to appear for special counseling and advisement before being allowed to register for the semester after receipt of the probationary notice.

Reinstatement for Academic or Progress Dismissal
A student may appeal his/her dismissal status by making an appointment to see a counselor prior to the deadline date that is stated in the letter of notification. The Director of Enrollment Management will review all appeals for possible reinstatement. If reinstated, a student is subject to continued probation or dismissal policies.

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Credit Accepted at Los Medanos College

Other College

Lower-division credit from any educational institution accredited by the United States Regional Accrediting Association, as listed in the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Publication may be accepted.

Military Experience

1) Applicable lower-division credit for verified completion of special military schools, as recommended by Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services, published by American Council on Education.

2) Six units of elective credit toward the associate degree for honorably discharged veterans, upon verification of completion of a basic or recruit training program with the U.S. Armed Forces.

Credit by Examination
Credit by examination may be granted to eligible students, as authorized by California Administrative Code, Title V, Sections 55750 and 55752, and Board Policy 4001. The credit by examination process provides an alternate means of receiving credit for designated courses offered at Los Medanos College (LMC).

Eligibility:

1) The student must be currently enrolled at LMC.

2) The student must have completed a minimum of six units in good standing (overall 2.0 GPA) at LMC.

3) The student may make only one attempt of credit by examination, per course.

4) The student may be approved for no more than 30 units of credit by examination.

5) Credit by examination may not be attempted for a course lower in a sequence of courses than what has already been completed by the student.

6) Courses that may be challenged will only be those that are on the approved credit by examination list, available in the Admissions Office.

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Course Repetition

Courses are not repeatable unless noted within the course descriptions listed in the catalog. Students may repeat a non-repeatable course only to alleviate a substandard grade of D, F or NC/NP. If a student has three substandard grades in the same course, he/she may not repeat the course unless there has been a significant lapse of time or extenuating circumstances (petition required).

When a course is repeated to alleviate a substandard grade, the highest grade and its units will be used in computing the student’s grade point average. The substandard grade will remain on the student’s transcript with a notation that the course has been repeated.

Courses that are repeatable are noted in the college catalog with the number of repeats allowed. Students may repeat a course beyond the maximum repeats to alleviate substandard grades. Only two substandard grades may be alleviated.

Course repetition cannot be used to make up an incomplete ‘I’ grade.

Withdrawals

• Students who have documented extenuating circumstances such as accidents, illness or other circumstances beyond the control of the student, may apply for a withdrawal after the 75 percent of the term.
• A student who has received 3 ‘W’s will be required to submit a petition to repeat the course an additional time and will be required to see a counselor.
• A ‘W’ shall not be assigned if the student withdraws due to the impact of fire, flood or other extraordinary conditions.
• In the case of discriminatory treatment or retaliation for discriminatory treatment a ‘W’ shall not be assigned.
• Active or reserve military students who receive orders compelling a withdrawal from courses will receive a military withdrawal which shall not be counted in in the limit of withdrawals or progress probation.

Repeat of Biology Courses

Students who have received two substandard grades or ‘W’s or any combination in the same Biology 40, 45 or 50 course will be blocked from future enrollment in that course.  Students may appeal the policy using the Petition for Course Repetition form.

Academic Renewal Without Course Repetition

Substandard grades may be disregarded if they are not reflective of a student’s demonstrated academic ability. In order to request Academic Renewal the student must fill out this form and follow the directions below. If Academic Renewal is approved, the student’s permanent record will be noted with Academic Renewal comments and the units will be removed. The renewed course(s) will not be removed from the record, as the district is required to show the student’s complete and accurate academic record.

• You may only utilize Academic Renewal one time
• Only substandard grades will be renewed
• You must have completed 20 units of satisfactory work that has been completed within the Contra Costa Community College District or any other accredited college or university, since receiving the last substandard grade (the unit count begins the semester after the substandard grade is received.)
• You must not have received any D’s, F’s or NP/NC since the substandard work (minimum 2.0 since substandard work)
• Courses that have already been removed from GPA by course repetition will not be renewed
• There is no minimum or maximum time limit (no waiting period since the substandard work)
• Up to 24 units may be renewed; district courses can be combined up to the maximum of 24 units, however each college will adjust their own work – one form per college

Procedure to petition for Academic Renewal:

• Fill out and sign the district form (located at A&R or Counseling)
• Obtain college counselor approval
• Complete a form for each college that you have attended.  Turn the completed form(s) into any college within the District (one form per college). If you are using non-district courses to qualify for the 20 units (see item #3 above). Official transcripts must be on file in Admissions & Records prior to submitting Academic Renewal.

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Rights of Instructors
Los Medanos College instructors have the following rights:

1) The right to drop students who fail to attend the first meeting of any course.

2) The right to deny permission to use a tape recorder in class.

3) The right to send a withdrawal notice when students are absent during three consecutive weeks of instruction or when students are tardy to the degree that classes and learning opportunities are disrupted.

4) The right to send a withdrawal notice at any point that the instructor concludes that absences have irretrievably affected a student’s progress in a course.

5) The right to remove a student from a single course session and one following for conduct disturbing to the class or the instructor.

6) The right to recommend suspension of a student.

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