Student Bill of Rights

Northcentral Technical College students have the right to:

• Be free of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion or
  any other applicable legislated category.
• Be safe on NTC’s property.
• Have the occupational skills, technology, equipment and resources available to
  ensure success upon graduation.
• Have access to counselors.
• Have adequate access to properly equipped labs.
• Have privacy regarding personal information.
• Evaluate college facilities and services provided by faculty and staff.
• Have learning activities and objectives begin and end at scheduled times unless a
  mutually agreed upon alternative is established.
• Hold faculty to the standards or policies to which they hold students, including
  attendance and office hours.
• Have inclement weather considered in regard to attendance, testing, labs or
  other class related issues.

Privacy and Access to Student Records

The Family Education Right and Privacy Act of 1974 states that the following information may be released to the public:

Student's name, address(es), telephone number(s), date and place of birth, program, activities, sports participation, date enrolled, dates and times of attendance, degrees, awards or honors received and most recent prior school.

If you do not want some or all of this information released, you may annually request to have the college withhold this information. Contact Student Services for more information about the Family Education Right and Privacy Act.

Auditing a Course

Students auditing a course do not take the tests or write the papers required of students who take the course for credit. Students must still pay full tuition and class fees to audit a class. Forms for auditing a class are available at the Student Services Office. Audits may only be made on a space available basis.

Academic Advisors

Students are assigned an academic advisor who is a counselor or one of the instructors in his or her career program. The advisor can help students plan their future course schedules.

Attendance

During the first session of each class, students will receive written attendance guidelines from his or her instructor. These guidelines explain the instructor's requirements for attendance and opportunities, if any, to make up assignments and tests.

Changing Career Programs

Students who wish to change their career program should see a counselor in Student Services. This change must be requested in writing.

When changing career programs, some credits may transfer to the new program. The Records Office, in Student Services, will send a list of the courses and credits that have been transferred to the new career program. Students have six weeks to react to the Records Office's decision. After that time, the transfer of credits is official.

Academic Retake Policy

The number of times a student can enroll in the same course is two (first time plus one retake).
Policy Revision:
Academic Retake Policy: Students retaking a course more than twice must have approval from their program advisor or academic counselor prior to enrolling in the same course for a third time.

If a student appeals or asks for a variance of this retake policy, that appeal or variance will be acted on by a special schoolwide board containing at least one member from the occupational area containing the program the student is enrolled in.

A student must notify the Records Office when retaking a course. Both grades will show on the transcript, but only the second attempt will be figured into the cumulative grade point.

In certain courses, instructors may allow the student to restudy and retest information. The final grade may reflect multiple attempts to retest.

Academic Probation Policy

The following academic probation policy will apply to all students with 12 or more cumulative academic credits. A student will be placed on probation when their overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) is less than 2.00. If a student changes programs, courses transferred from the previous major will count in "new" CGPA calculations. If a student is on probation prior to changing programs, they will remain on probation.

While on probation, a student will be allowed to enroll for no more than 14 credits in a semester. The maximum number of consecutive semesters a student can be on probation without being suspended will be two not including summer school. The first suspension will be a suspension from the program, but the student will be allowed to enroll for courses in another program during this time. The length of the first suspension is one semester. The second (and any subsequent suspensions) will be a suspension from school. The length of the second suspension (and any subsequent suspensions) is one semester.

Academic Appeal Procedure

"Students who receive a grade that the student deems unjust or who are sanctioned for academic misconduct have the right to appeal these decisions"

Level 1: Instructor Meeting. If a student believes that an inaccurate or unjust grade has been received for a class, or if they disagree with a sanction for academic misconduct, the student is to discuss the matter with the instructor who issued the grade or sanction. An instructor/student meeting must be requested by the student within seven school days after receiving the grade or sanction. During this meeting, the instructor and the student will try to resolve the dispute. Most, if not all, academic problems will be resolved in this manner.

Level 2: Dean Meeting. If the student and the instructor cannot resolve the disagreement during the meeting at Level 1, the student may request a meeting with the program dean. The student must complete the Academic Appeal Process Form, available in Student Services, and submit it to the dean no later than seven school days after the instructor/student meeting. The program dean will issue a written decision and rationale concerning the dispute within five school days after the Level 2 meeting.

Level 3: Board of Review Meeting. If the student is dissatisfied with the decision at Level 2 and can provide additional information for consideration, progression to Level 3 can occur. Within five school days after receiving the decision made at Level 2, the student may submit a request to the Vice President of Student Services for a meeting with the Board of Review. Additional information should be submitted with the written request.

Academic Appeal Form (pdf)

Student Code of Conduct

Northcentral Technical College believes in creating an environment conducive to the academic and personal development of our students and expects that students will conduct themselves appropriately at all times at school sponsored activities, both on and off campus.

Students may be disciplined for violating federal, state, county, and municipal laws, regulations and policies, as well as the rules of the college, which shall include, but are not limited to, the following categories:

1. Providing false or misleading information to the college or district;

2. Forgery, alterations, or misuse of College documents, records, or identification;

3. Obstruction or disruption of teaching, administration, disciplinary procedures, College activities, or other authorized activities on College premises;

4. Physical or verbal abuse of any person or conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any such person;

5. Theft of or damage to property of the College or of a member of the College community or campus visitor;

6. Willful or persistent smoking in any area on College property where smoking has been prohibited by law or by regulation of the NTC Board of Trustees;

7. Unauthorized entry into College facilities, or unauthorized use of College supplies or equipment;

8. Use, possession, sale or distribution of controlled substances, illicit drugs, or alcohol by any student, employee, or vendor on College property or at any college-sponsored student activity is strictly prohibited. Further policies in this area include:

1. For off-campus, college sponsored, student activities, alcohol use is prohibited during the time en-route to and from the activity and during the time of the college-sponsored activity as defined by the advisor;

2. No student or employee shall be under the influence of alcohol and/or illegal substances or in possession of drug paraphernalia on college premises or at any college-sponsored activity.

3. Drugs and paraphernalia, as defined by Wisconsin statutes, may be used in training demonstrations in law enforcement programs;

4. The use of any beverage containing alcohol on NTC premises is prohibited with the exception of providing beverages by NTC Foodservice at functions authorized by the President of the College, and controlled use in law enforcement training. No alcohol will be provided by the College at any other college-sponsored activity;

9. Disorderly, lewd, indecent, or obscene conduct on College owned or controlled property or at College sponsored or supervised functions;

10. Continued disruptive behavior, failure to comply with directions of College officials acting in performance of their duties, continued willful disobedience, habitual profanity or vulgarity, open and persistent defiance of authority or persistent abuse of College personnel requiring inordinate drains on staff time, resources, or supervision;

11. Possession and use of any deadly weapon, threatening persons on College property or at College sponsored event;

12. Assault, battery, or any threat of force or violence upon a student or College personnel, either physical or sexual in nature;

13. Persistent, serious misconduct where other means of corrections have failed to bring about proper conduct;

14. Failure to observe precautions which the College deem necessary to insure the safety of the student or others;

15. Engaging in harassing or discriminatory behavior based on race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or any other protected status.

16. Violation of the college’s computer use policies including unauthorized downloads, viewing obscene or pornographic material on NTC computers and/or installing programs or files on NTC computing equipment without express authorization of an NTC instructor or staff member.

Consequences for violating these policies may include, but are not limited to:

• loss of privileges

• temporary or permanent removal from a class or program

• suspension, or permanent expulsion from Northcentral Technical College.

Students at Northcentral Technical College facing disciplinary action are entitled to the following due process rights:

• A presumption of innocence, unless responsibility can be established by preponderance of evidence;

• Notification of any charges;

• A meeting with The Director of Student Relations or his/her designee upon request and prior to sanction;

• The ability to review the written report that describes allegations of the policy violation;

• The ability to present evidence and witnesses

• To be notified of the decision resulting from the behavior meeting, including any potential sanctions;

• To request an appeal

How The Behavior Process Works

In an emergency situation, all staff and students are encouraged to call 911 for assistance.

Many instances of disruptive behavior can be managed by an instructor or staff member, and no reporting is necessary. Many programs have specific protocols for dealing with student behavior.

In the circumstance that a student violates the Student Code of Conduct, a written report will be submitted to the Director of Student Relations, who will review the report and make one of the following determinations:

1. A meeting is deemed necessary to discuss an incident: If a meeting is deemed necessary, the student will be sent a letter via their NTC e-mail, outlining the procedures for scheduling a meeting to discuss the matter. Students will need to make the appointment within a given time, or a decision will be made regarding student responsibility without the benefit of student input.

2. A meeting is not deemed necessary: If a meeting is not deemed necessary a letter will be sent to the student’s NTC e-mail, explaining general information about the incident and the behavior process, including any policy clarification necessary. As a matter of due process, students have the right to discuss an incident at any time with the Director of Student Relations, and are encouraged to do so, if they have questions or concerns.

During a behavior meeting, students will have the opportunity to:

• Hear the specific allegations and read the Incident Report;

• Present their view of the incident in question and supply additional information;

• Ask questions relevant to the behavior process

Based on the meeting, the Director of Student Relations, or their designee, will make a determination of the student’s level of responsibility in the incident based on the Incident Report, relevant information from the behavior meeting, and, if needed, the outcome of any further investigation. The student will then be notified via letter to their NTC e-mail, containing:

• The specific policy/policies from the Student Code of Conduct that were violated;

• Any behavior sanctions issued in response to the violation(s) of the Student Code of Conduct;

• Instructions regarding how to appeal any sanctions and the deadline for filing such an appeal.

The Appeals Process

Students have the right to appeal a decision made within the Behavior Process to a Board of Review if there are concerns that:

• There was not substantial evidence to support the conclusions reached;

• A substantial error in due process was made where the student did not receive adequate notice of the behavior meeting or standard College procedures were not followed;

• The sanctions imposed were too severe or not appropriate for the violation;

• There is new evidence of a substantive nature that came to light after the original behavior meeting;

• The student did not violate the Student Code of Conduct.

A student requests an appeal by writing a letter to the Vice President of Learning outlining their reason(s) for the appeal, based on the above criteria. Written requests must be received by the Vice President of Learning within seven (7) calendar days of the sanction being issued. The Board of Review may decide to uphold the original decision, change the original decision to a less severe sanction, or overturn the original decision.

The appeal hearing is the student's opportunity to present their perspective, based on the reason(s) outlined in their appeal. Students are not able to bring legal counsel. Only persons directly involved in the situation in question are allowed at this meeting. If a student wishes to bring a staff member for support, they are able to do so, though unless directly involved, the staff member may not actively participate.

Students will have the opportunity to present evidence, including the testimony of other involved parties and to hear any evidence presented by the staff of NTC. The student has the burden of proof in this proceeding.

Based on this meeting, the Board may render a decsion or may request additional information before issuing a decision. The decison of the Board of Review is final.

Policy 241 Tobacco Use on District Premises - Effective October 1, 2007

It is the policy of the Northcentral Technical College District that smoking or use of tobacco products by employees, students and visitors is prohibited on all District premises, with the exception of three designated smoking enclosures on the Central Campus in Wausau. Regional campuses do not have smoking enclosures; they have designated smoking areas. This applies to campus property and parking lots.

At the Wausau Campus, smoking and/or the use of smokeless tobacco is restricted to the smoking enclosures located in the Courtyard, on the northwest corner of the Center for Health Sciences and adjacent to the rear entrance of the H Building.

Failure to comply with this policy may lead to disciplinary action up to, and including, termination or expulsion.
 

General Appeal Process

NTC welcomes students to question the fairness of all policies and procedures. Students may address their concerns to Doug Jensen, VP for Learning, 1000 W. Campus Drive, Wausau, WI 54401; e-mail: jensen@ntc.edu

1. No fees are charged if the student notifies NTC of their intent to drop the class prior to the start of class. (100% refund if course has been paid)
2. Student will be charged 20% of the total course fees if the student notifies NTC of their intent to drop the class before or at the time 10% of the course’s total hours of instruction have been completed. If payment has already been made, the student will receive an 80% refund.
3. Student will be charged 40% of the total course fees if the student notifies NTC of their intent to drop the class after 10% but before more than 20% of the course’s potential hours of instruction have been completed. If payment has already been made, the student will receive a 60% refund.
4. Student will be charged 100% of course fees after 20% of the course’s total potential hours of instruction have been completed. No refund is granted if fees have already been paid.

To notify NTC of intent to drop:

• Log on to my>NTC
• Visit the registration desk at your nearest campus
• Call Registration at 715.675.3331, Ext. 5861
• Email registration –registrationserviceswc@ntc.edu – being sure to include your student ID number, name, class number and catalog number of the course you wish to drop)

Once a student notifies NTC of their intent to drop a class, the student’s account will automatically be adjusted in according to the Payment/Refund policy.

Refund requests must be in writing and directed to Records & Registration Office, Attn: Registrar, NTC, 1000 West Campus Drive, Wausau, WI 54401.

NTC has developed an appeals process for students or parents who feel that individual circumstances warrant exceptions from published policy. All concerns regarding charges and refunds should be addressed in writing to the Records and Registration office at the address listed above.

More Refund Info >

Parking

Students are welcome to park in any NTC parking lot. The Family Practice Center lot is reserved for employees and patients of the Family Practice Center. Student parking in this lot is prohibited. Parking on roads, drives, walks, service areas, and any unpaved area is prohibited. In addition, there is motorcycle and bicycle parking available. A $10 Wausau Police Department fine is issued for parking on roads, driveways, posted areas and yellow curbs. Parking in handicapped lots requires a special Department of Transportation permit. A $30 fine is assessed for persons improperly parking in handicapped lots.

Equal Opportunity Education and Employment Policy

Procedure for Resolving Discrimination and Harassment Complaints

Safety and Security Policies - Cleary Act

In compliance with the Jeanne Cleary Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, Northcentral Technical College provides campus crime and security information on an annual basis.

For a detailed account of any and all incidents reported on campus, visit
http://ope.ed.gov/security/search.asp and search for Northcentral Technical College.

Sexual Offender Registration: The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act
(section 1601 of Public Law 106-386) is a federal law enacted in 2000 that provides for the tracking of convicted sex offenders enrolled at or employed by institutions of higher education. Sex offender
information in the State of Wisconsin is compiled by the Department of Corrections (DOC). To learn the identity of registered sex offenders on or near campus, or anywhere in Wisconsin, visit http://www.offender.doc.state.wi.us/public

Emergency School/Class Closing Procedures

WAUSAU CAMPUS:

Decision and Procedures for Cancellation of Day Classes Prior to the Start of Class

The responsibility for the decision on campus closing shall rest collectively with the President and the Director of Physical Plant (or their designees).

The decision on campus closing will be made by 5:30 a.m. in an attempt to have messages aired on radio and select TV stations by 6:00 a.m.

By 6:00 a.m., the announcement will be changed on NTC’s phone system and on the NTC web site to reflect whether NTC is open or closed.

If classes are cancelled at the Wausau campus, ALL ITV courses will be cancelled at ALL campuses and ITV locations. The ITV Scheduler Team Leader is responsible for executing the ITV closing procedure.

Decision and Procedures for Early Dismissal of Day Classes and Cancellation of Evening Classes

If worsening road conditions develop during the day, the President and/or Director of Physical Plant will be responsible for the decision to dismiss day classes early.

The decision to cancel evening classes will be made by 1:00 p.m. in an attempt to have messages aired on radio and select TV stations by 2:00 p.m.

Decision and Procedures for Early Dismissal of Evening Classes

If worsening road conditions develop after evening classes begin, the Evening Facilitator will receive direction from the President and/or Director of Physical Plant on the decision to close.

REGIONAL CAMPUSES:

Decision and Procedures Used for Cancellation and/or Early Dismissal

The Regional Campus Directors have the responsibility for cancellation and/or early dismissal of classes due to inclement weather. They will also notify radio stations in their area. After the decision is made, he/she will contact the President, Director of Facilities, Director of Marketing & Public Relations and the Chief Information Officer. A plan for notification of students and ITV personnel will be established at each campus by the regional dean.

Student Printing Procedure at NTC

The Student Governing Board has asked that we institute a system to control printing abuse and improve service.  In response to this request a new print control system will be introduced August 18, 2008.  This new system is intended to allocate printing resources to students to ensure fair access to printing, address print job turnaround, and control waste and abuse.  Similar systems introduced in other schools experienced an immediate drop in printing volume, elimination of abuse and waste, and, most importantly, significant improvement in satisfaction with printing services.  Attached is the new printing procedure.  Questions may be directed to the Student Help Desk at 715-803-1660.

Students at NTC have enjoyed free and unrestricted printing at campus computing locations, libraries and instructional class labs.  During the past 10 years printing costs have risen steadily.  Many factors have led to the huge volume of printing.  The largest contributing factors are the availability of digital documents from sources such as Library full text journals and the entirety of the web.  Unlike the forecasts of the “paperless” office promulgated in the early 90’s, NTC’s printing costs have continued to rise at an alarming rate.

NTC’s experience is not unique.  Many colleges and universities have experienced similar printing overload and cost increases.  We studied printing models at several schools. The solution at most schools was to implement a printing control system to prevent abuse and, thereby, meet expectations for most reasonable printing.

Student Printing Procedure
Each student will be allocated a one time $25.00 printing allowance, which equates to 500 black and white pages.  When a print job is sent to a printer at any of NTC’s printing facilities the cost of the print job will be subtracted from the user's allocation.  If the user’s allocation is exhausted, it will be easy to purchase additional pages at a nominal cost of $.05 for black and white pages, and $.25 for color printing.  These costs fairly represent the actual cost per page for printing services at NTC, and are considerably lower than typical page rates at commercial printing services.  Accounts can be replenished in the Library, Bookstore, Student Life, Cashiering Office, and Regional Campuses.  Money remaining on the account will not be refunded.

Student Expulsion and Re-admission Procedure

Students who violate academic and/or code of conduct (behavior) policies of the college may be issued a sanction for their behavior as specified in the academic or behavior code of conduct policies of the college.  In certain situations the academic or behavior sanction issued may include an expulsion from the college.  Expulsions may include expulsions from an individual course, a program or the entire college. 

At the time he/she is expelled the student will be provided with the following in writing.

• Reasons for the expulsion
• Length and type of expulsion.  Including:
• Whether the expulsion is specific to a course or program or college-wide. 
• Whether the expulsion permanent, temporary (automatically reinstated after a time period) or conditional
• The process the student must follow to appeal an expulsion decision as defined in the academic or code of conduct procedures

Conditional Expulsions  A conditional expulsion will identify the steps the student must follow to be considered for reinstatement to the college, program and/or course.  The identified steps will include:

• who the student must contact for reinstatement
• required documentation (if any)  to be provided by the student
• actions required by the student to be reconsidered
• date at which the student is eligible to apply for reinstatement

Reinstatement conditions will be designed to remediate the situations which led to the expulsion and to demonstrate to the college that the student is prepared for a successful return from expulsion.

Students who request reinstatement following a conditional expulsion must apply for reinstatement to one of the following:
Vice President of Student Services – for academic expulsions
Vice President of Learning – for behavior expulsions

The appropriate Vice President will convene a committee of staff and faculty to consider the petition for reinstatement.   The committee will consider the written and verbal statements of the student and the Academic Dean or Director of Student Relations in making its decision.  The committee may request the college and/or student to provide additional information before making a decision.  The committee will either accept the appeal and reinstate the student or deny the reinstatement request.  If the request is denied the committee will inform the student of the next possible date at which the student is eligible to reapply for reinstatement and the rationale for denying reinstatement.  The decisions of the committee are final.

Academic expulsions:   Plagiarism, providing false academic information to the college for course assignments, consideration for admissions and/or transfer credit and cheating are examples of academic violations that may result in an expulsion.  A first time academic expulsion will be a maximum of one year.  Subsequent expulsions for academic reasons may result in permanent expulsion.

Behavior expulsions:  The NTC Student Code of Conduct defines the behavior violations that may result in an expulsion.  There is no maximum length for a first time behavior expulsion.  The length of time and the conditions for reinstatement will vary, depending upon the nature and severity of the incidents that led to the expulsion.  Normally any behavior expulsion will be college-wide.

Religious Accommodations for Students
Policy 234

Northcentral Technical College serves a diverse student population reflecting a variety of religious beliefs. The district recognizes the need to provide reasonable accommodation of students’ sincerely held religious beliefs relative to the scheduling of examinations and other academic requirements.  The district has adopted rules and procedures specifying the means by which students can, with confidence, notify an instructor of potential conflicts and a means by which students are permitted to make up examinations or other academic requirements at another time or by alternative means without prejudicial effect. The rules further delineate a procedure for handling and resolving student complaints related to the accommodation of their religious beliefs.

Procedures: Students who have a religious belief and/or practice that requires exemption from participation in specific classroom activities, examinations or other academic requirements, or an absence, will be subject to the following procedures:

Student Responsibilities:
1. Students are responsible to meet with their instructors to discuss, in confidence, their potential absence or conflicts with academic requirements based on sincerely held religious beliefs after course competencies, curriculum and expectations have been discussed with the class.

2 A student whose religious observation conflicts with an academic requirement is responsible to notify the instructor, one week in advance of the planned absence, requesting assignments and/or other instructions.

3. A student whose religious beliefs preclude participation in a specific instructional activity is responsible to discuss the potential conflict with the instructor and to arrange an alternative, acceptable activity in lieu of the activity originally planned.

Instructor Responsibilities: The instructor is expected to treat information conveyed by a student regarding his/her religious beliefs as confidential. The instructor also has a responsibility to facilitate reasonable accommodations based on student request and to schedule make-up work in a timely manner to avoid prejudicial effect to the student.

Complaint Procedures: Any student who feels that an instructor did not make a reasonable accommodation, or who disagrees with an instructor’s decision regarding accommodation of his/her religious beliefs, can submit a written complaint directly to the Affirmative Action Officer. (However, it is recommended that students and faculty follow District-prescribed procedures for solving academic problems as identified in numbers one through three following.)

1. A student who disagrees with an instructor’s decision regarding accommodation of his/her religious beliefs based on material, instruction or other matters related to instruction should attempt to resolve the conflict or disagreement through discussion with the instructor.

2. If the conflict is not resolved, the student is advised to contact the appropriate academic dean who will evaluate the student’s viewpoint and arrange a meeting to discuss the matter with the student and the instructor.

3. If the situation is not resolved to the satisfaction of the student through discussion with the academic dean, the student should file a written complaint with the Affirmative Action Officer.

4. Upon receipt of a written complaint, the Affirmative Action Officer will schedule a conference with the student and the instructor. The student and the instructor will each be given an opportunity to present their respective positions. The Affirmative Action Officer will issue a written decision within 30 business days after a written complaint is submitted by a student.

Appeals Procedure: A student adversely affected by the President’s determination under the complaint procedure may appeal that decision in writing to the District Board of Northcentral Technical College within thirty (30) business days of issuance of the decision. The District Board shall issue a written decision within forty-five (45) business days of receipt of the appeal.

The decisions of the District Board shall be subject to further appeal according to provisions of Chapter TCS 4 and Chapter 227, Wis. Stats.

Publication of Rules and Complaint Procedures: NTC religious accommodation policy will be published in the student handbook.

 

Revised Policy:  September 9, 2009