Dear DE Student,

Please take a moment to read the following important information regarding your enrollment in the UMUC-Europe Distance Education Program. You will be held responsible for complying with these policies and procedures.

• Attendance:  Distance Education (DE) is not the same as independent study. Your instructor expects you to "show up" for class, three or more times every week. Your online presence during the first week of class is particularly important. If you know you will be offline for more than a day or two at any time during the course, please give your instructor prior notice that you will be "incommunicado."

• E-mail Contact: You are responsible for keeping your e-mail address in WebTycho current. This is necessary for receiving both your class information and important WebTycho announcements.

  To change your e-mail address - you must first log into WebTycho. Click on the blue button labeled "Options" and select "Account Preferences." WebTycho only permits one e-mail address.

• Course Evaluations:  Toward the end of the class, you will have the opportunity to evaluate the course, your instructor, and the WebTycho instructional medium. An invitation/request to complete an evaluation form will appear on your screen when you login to WebTycho. Until you complete the form, the invitation/request will appear each time you login to WebTycho for two weeks only. If by the end of the two-week window you have not completed the form, you will be blocked from entering your WebTycho class space. You will be permitted to submit just one completed evaluation form for each class.

• Proctored Exams:  All UMUC-Europe undergraduate DE classes require that one exam be administered under proctored conditions. You must make an appointment at your local Education Center to take the exam during the "proctored exam week." Please make your arrangements to take the proctored exam at least two weeks prior to the "proctored exam week." Please review the DE Calendar for "proctored exam week" dates.

  The DE Office will provide a copy the exam to the local education center listed on your Reservation Request form.

  For more information on scheduling exams, see the Proctored Exam Procedures for UMUC-Europe Students.

• Course Load: One traditional face-2-face course, or 3 semester hours (s.h.), is considered a normal course load for a student who is fully employed. This course load will require at least six hours of class time per week and approximately 12 hours per week of additional out-of-class study time. Although there is no "face-2-face" class time with online courses, a student should expect approximately 9 hours per week of study time for a 3 semester hour online course.
  Students should carefully and realistically assess other commitments before registering for more than 6 s.h. a term. In no case may a student register for more than 9 s.h. a term without permission from the UMUC-Europe registrar in Heidelberg. Permission to register for more than 9 s.h. is based on demonstrated academic excellence at UMUC. A minimum grade point average of 3.5 and an enrollment history indicating success in carrying a heavier-than-average course load at UMUC are required.

• DE Calendar: Please review the DE Calendar for this academic year for important dates regarding UMUC-Europe DE courses such as course dates, withdrawal and refund dates, break, and exam weeks.

• UMUC Online Library Resources and Academic Research: Learn more about academic research through UMUC at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/de/defacguide/onlinelibrary-de.html.

     ~  The @ Team: Monika, Brent, Ian, Kenny, and Stacey

last updated: 10 February 2008

The instructor makes the final decision concerning the granting of the Incomplete. When recording the Incomplete on the Final Grade Report, the instructor will state the quality of the student’s work to date, the requirements remaining, and the deadline – not to exceed four months – for completion of the work. If the student does not complete the requirements of the course within four months from the course end date, the student cannot thereafter make up the Incomplete. The mark of I will become terminal and subsequently may not be changed. An Incomplete, not removed after four months, is converted to the grade of F.

It is the responsibility of the student, not of the Education Center nor of UMUC, to arrange with the instructor for the assignment of and subsequent removal of an Incomplete. Students should realize that it is virtually impossible to remove an I after transfer out of the European Division. A student no longer in contact with the instructor who assigned the I should write to the instructor, c/o UMUC, Unit 29216, APO AE 09102, and the mail will be forwarded. An I cannot be removed by an X or W. A student who elects to repeat the course must register, pay the full fees, and repeat the entire course. In such cases, the mark of I for the first attempt is not changed if the course is repeated. For purposes of academic retention, the mark of I is counted as hours attempted. It is not used in determining grade point averages.

For Bowie State University graduate courses, an Incomplete not removed after one year is converted to the grade of F.

Students in online distance education classes which span over two terms cannot withdraw after the Friday before the final week of the class. Additional information for students receiving VA educational benefits and financial aid can be found in the VA and Financial Aid sections of the Catalog. 

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person’s idea or product as one’s own. Examples of plagiarism are: copying verbatim and without attribution all or part of another’s written work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, computer programs, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions or research without citing the source; and using all or part of a literary plot, poem, film, musical score, computer program, or other artistic product without attributing the work to its creator.

Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by carefully following accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased or summarized, and research or critical papers should acknowledge these sources in footnotes or by use of direct quotations.

UMUC provides an interactive Web-based tutorial on plagiarism through its online writing center called “How to Avoid Plagiarism” at http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/ewp_writingcenter/modules/plagiarism/start.html.