Rhine Education Center: Administrative Policies

Last updated: July 30, 2014

Administrative Mission

The Rhine Education Center (REC) is dedicated to providing a quality education for students interested in pursuing an academic education from qualified professionals. The REC provides online courses to enable adult students to take courses at times when they are convenient considering the personal, family, and work responsibilities of each student. All administrative policies are designed to take these responsibilities into account when making decisions about admissions, withdrawal, or termination.

Admissions 

All students who attend the courses or programs presented by the Rhine Education Center (REC) will attend the courses at the sole discretion of the Academic Committee.

Applications

All courses, certificates, or programs provided by the REC will require an application from each student. Applications will be reviewed by the Academic Committee and accepted or denied based on the admission policies set by the committee. The Academic Committee will have sole responsibility for accepting or denying applications and the decision of the committee is final and non-negotiable.

Admission to a certificate program will be considered admission to all courses or programs that are part of this program. No further applications will be needed for applicants who are accepted to a certificate program unless they request admission to courses or programs that are not listed in the certificate program. Applications will be required for admission into a different certificate program that is offered by the REC.

Appeals

All applicants have the right to submit a formal written request for an appeal of the admissions decision, and may request a personal or phone interview as a part of the appeals process. The applicant has only one opportunity for an appeal, but may submit a new application one year after the applicant has been informed of the initial decision. The decisions of the Academic Committee will be considered final and non-negotiable.

Application Fees

The REC may require an application fee to cover administrative costs to review the applications. The application fees will be non-negotiable and non-refundable.

Withdrawls

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must send an email to administration@rhineeducationcenter.org that includes their name, the course, and a statement of their intention to withdraw from the class.

For 4 week courses, students must request a withdrawal before the first class has been taught. After the first class has been presented to the students, no withdrawals will be accepted for that course. Students who withdraw from a 4 week course before the first class is presented will receive a full refund of their tuition.

For 8 week courses, students who have been accepted to a course and paid the course fees may withdraw from the course at any time before the fifth week of classes have been completed. The fees for the course will be refunded to the student according to the following schedule:

    • Withdrawal before the course begins: 100% refund of course tuition.
    • Withdrawal after the course has begun but before the second week is completed: 75% refund of course tuition and a grade of ‘W’ indicating the student withdrew from the course.
    • Withdrawal after the second week but before the fourth week is completed: 50% refund of course tuition and a grade of ‘I’ indicating the student did not complete the course.
    • Withdrawal after the fourth week: No tuition refund and a grade of ‘I’ indicating the student did not complete the course.

Withdrawals must be officially requested in writing, and must be submitted to the Academic Committee by sending an email to administration@rhineeducationcenter.org. No reason for withdrawal must be provided for withdrawals before the third week of class has been completed. After the second week, withdrawals will only be accepted for the following reasons:

    • Personal illness or an illness in the student’s immediate family. This may require a doctor’s statement.
    • A change in employment requiring the student to move or change households.
    • A significant change in employment responsibilities which may limit the student’s ability to participate in a course. This may require documentation from the student’s employer.

Applications for withdrawal will be reviewed by the Academic Committee, and a decision will be provided to the applicant within one week. The decision of the Academic Committee will be final and non-negotiable.

Appeals

All applicants have the right to submit a formal written request for an appeal of the withdrawal decision. The applicant has only one opportunity for an appeal, and the decisions of the Academic Committee will be considered final and non-negotiable

The applicant may also appeal a grade of ‘W’ for a withdrawal, or ‘I’ for incomplete and under extreme circumstances the student may receive a grade of ‘NG’ indicating no grade for the course. This appeal must be submitted to the Academic Committee as part of the request for withdrawal from the course, and the decisions of the Academic Committee will be considered final and non-negotiable.

Termination

A student may be terminated from a course or a program by the Academic Committee due to a violation of the Academic Policies. Termination from a course will result in the loss of all privileges to attend further class sessions or post in the course forums. A termination due to the violation of academic policies will not give the student any rights to a tuition refund, and all tuition and fees that have been paid will be forfeited by the student. After a termination decision has been rendered by the Academic Committee, the student cannot make a request for withdrawal from the course. Termination may occur at any time during a course including but not limited to the first three weeks of the course.

A student who is terminated from a course will receive a failing grade for the course. This grade is non-negotiable regardless of the student’s standing or academic performance in the course, the number of courses which have been taken, or the student’s personal, professional, or academic needs.

Appeals

All students have the right to submit a formal written request for an appeal of a termination decision. The student has only one opportunity for an appeal, and the decisions of the Academic Committee will be considered final and non-negotiable. A student cannot appeal a failing grade for a course if the student has been terminated from a course.

Applying for readmission

If a student is terminated from a program, the student may apply for further courses or programs after a period of one year has passed from the initial termination decision. A student who reapplies after termination will be required to apply as a new student and will be required to pay all application fees and tuition appropriate to a new student. None of the tuition money that was previously paid and forfeited can be used for new courses.

Certificate Program Eligibility

Courses offered by the Rhine Education Center are offered for educational purposes. Some of the courses are only available as general adult education courses, but many of the courses may be considered as part of a certificate program from the Rhine Education Center. In order to credit a course towards a certificate program, a student must take the course for a grade.

The certificates offered from the Rhine Education Center are listed in the Certificate Programs area of the website. The certificate programs are subject to change at any time, but students who take classes towards a certificate program will be eligible to complete the certificate within a reasonable amount of time based on the availability of the courses offered by the Rhine Education Center.

A student must apply to receive a certificate from the Rhine Education Center. A student must apply by sending an email to administration@rhineeducationcenter.org. The email should include the student’s name, the name of the certificate program, and a statement indicating that an interest in completing the program. Some certificate programs may require a fee, and that fee will be listed in the Certificate Program area of the website.

Grading

Students who apply for a course that can be applied to a certificate program from the Rhine Education Center may request that their work is graded.

Students who do not request a grade in the course will not be eligible to apply that course to a certificate program, and they will not receive a grade for the course. If a student does not request a grade for a course, the student will receive the full benefit of participating in the course including viewing classes, contributing to forums, and discussing topics with the instructors, but the student will not receive a grade in the course. There is no penalty for taking a course without a grade.

Grades will be provided for each student who requests a grade in eligible courses. All grades will be provided at the discretion of the instructor based on the academic standards provided for the course in the course description or syllabus.

Grades will be provided as follows based on academic performance:

    • A – Excellent
    • B – Above average
    • C – Average
    • D – Below average
    • F – Failing
    • P – Pass (Only applicable for students auditing a course or taking a course on a pass/fail basis.)
    • W – Withdrawal
    • I – Incomplete
    • NG – No grade for the course (only provided by the Academic Committee in extreme circumstances)

Grade Appeals

At the instructor’s discretion, grades may be appealed within the context of a course. Appeals must be requested in writing from the instructor and repeated appeals may be denied by the instructor. The appeals policies for a course and the decisions of the instructor are final and non-negotiable.

Grades may not be appealed outside of the context of a course, and the decision of the instructor is final and non-negotiable.

Student Records

Student grades, certificates, academic records, and personal information will be retained in a centralized, secure location. Information within these records will be protected as legally appropriate, and no information will be released without a formal written request from a student.

Updates and edits

30 July, 2014: Updates to grading policy, withdrawl policy, and the addition of information about certificate programs.  Grades are now only provided when student request grades, and grades must be requested for courses that will be included as part of a certificate program.

30 May, 2014:  Seminar courses added to this document.  Changes were made to the grading and withdrawl sections to include the policies for seminar courses.

All information contained on this page is the sole property of the Rhine Education Center and the Rhine Research Center. This information cannot be reproduced or reused without the expressed written permission of the Rhine Research Center.