Student Services

Attendance, Substantive Interaction and Participation

CIAM emphasizes the need for all students to attend classes on a regular and consistent basis. Students are expected to maintain attendance in all courses as it is reflected in their grade and the quality of their collaboration and participation with their student teams. Students are required to report absences by e-mail to the instructor.

After a student accumulates three (3) or more nonconsecutive absences (in class or/and online combined), an instructor may assign the student a final failing “F” grade in the course. If a student is absent for three (3) consecutive classes without pre-approval by the instructor or Dean, the student is deemed to have withdrawn as of the last class attended and will be assigned a “W” grade. In the event a student anticipates a prolonged period of absence then, the student must contact the respective instructor(s) prior to the first missed class. The instructor may set up an alternate attendance plan with the student or assign a paper to compensate for the work missed because of the absence. This will be accomplished with the consent of the Dean to waive the withdrawal and/or the grade penalty. It should be noted that failure to make this contact and follow through with the decisions made at this time could result in the student receiving a grade of “F” or “W” in the class and would require reinstatement. If the student is achieving a grade of “B” or better in the class and has to take a third absence because of extenuating circumstances (on-ground or online), the student will be assigned an Incomplete “I” (please see policy on Incomplete Grades). The student is expected to pay the tuition when retaking the class with “F” or “W”.

CIAM requires students to engage in the attainment of the required course outcomes and objectives by requiring them to maintain attendance and substantively interact with faculty and fellow students through the submission of assignments and threaded discussions. Attendance for online classes is required and should be accomplished by the completion and participation in the required assignments: Discussion Board, writing assignments, experiential learning exercises and presentation videos. Students must complete at least one of the assignments on time, to be marked “present”. All assignments must be posted by the student through the Moodle learning platform by the posted deadline. Instructors will respond and grade assignments within the evaluation response time schedule. Under extenuating circumstances, the student must contact the instructor to make alternate arrangements for assignment submission. This agreement must support the student’s ability to master the learning objectives and to complete all work within the course timeframe. All students are expected to complete the course within the timeframe specified by the school.

The student must log in and complete the assignments for each week including threaded discussions. Online class participation starts with one (1) student answering the question posted by the instructor. Other students then enter into the discussion to answer the main question and interact with each other. The instructor is expected to enter into the discussion at any time and students can continue to comment based on the instructor’s new comment. Since students will be graded on the basis of the quality of their contribution to the discussion, as well as the sum total of their participation in the discussion (substantive interaction).

Students must progress through each course at a steady pace to ensure course completion with the time period required.  Students must submit assignments on schedule for review and interactive feedback by the instructor as required in the course syllabus. Students are expected to submit their assignment by the deadlines posted in Moodle. This allows students the opportunity to benefit from faculty feedback.