Academic Catalog 2020-2021

instructor, unexcused absences can result in severe academic penalties including, but not limited to, academic withdrawal, reductions in course final grades, out-of-class reading assignments with in-class oral reports, and out-of-class meetings with the course instructor. All such penalties are included in course syllabi. Students should notify the course instructor in advance about any planned absence so homework assignments can be made. When missing a class, students should ask a fellow student to take class notes and collect any course handouts. FINAL EXAMINATIONS Final examinations are scheduled for the last four days of each semester. Examination periods are two hours with breaks of at least 60 minutes between each exam period. Every class meets during its scheduled examination time and attendance is required with the exception of Laboratory examinations that are administered during the last week of the semester, just preceding examination week. Students are expected to take final examinations as scheduled. A student who has more than two examinations during one day of the examination period may petition the relevant faculty for a makeup examination on a different day provided that proof of three final exams on the same day is documented. Students sharing rides must delay departure from the campus until all riders have completed final exams. The detailed examination schedule is located on MyBC. GRADE APPEAL PROCEDURE A student has the right to contest the grade given in any Bluefield College course. The following procedure will be followed. 1. The student must first attempt to resolve the situation directly with the instructor by explaining his or her view and allowing the faculty member ample opportunity to respond. It is expected that most complaints will be resolved at this level. (If the instructor is no longer employed by the college, the student should take the complaint directly to the instructor’s Department chair who will attempt to contact the instruc- tor’s college dean and resolve the situation as described in #2.) 2. If the complaint is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction by conversation with the instructor, the student may appeal to the department chair. Such appeals must be made in writing by the end of the fourth week of the next regular semester (fall or spring) following the completion of the course. The department chair shall notify the instructor, who will present his or her view in writing. The department chair shall meet with both student and instructor to hear both sides of the complaint and attempt to reach a settlement. The department chair shall keep a written record of all proceed- ings, including the recommended solution. (If the complaint is against a department chair, the Dean of the respective College or School shall hear the complaint.) A copy of the solution will be provided to the student and the instructor. 3. The student may further appeal the case to an ad hoc committee composed of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and four faculty members selected by the VPAA. The desire to appeal must be expressed by the student in writing to the VPAA within two weeks after receipt of the department chair’s recommendation. The VPAA is respon- sible for gathering and providing copies of all material previously submitted, any additional materials the student or instructor wishes to submit, and a summary of the chair’s findings to the committee. Both parties will be given time, upon request, to present their argument to the committee. The student and/or faculty member may be

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