Testing and Classroom Procedures

The academic year is divided into two semesters of sixteen weeks each. Mid-term exams are administered each term to track student progress. Students not performing satisfactorily should schedule a conference with the assigned Academic Advisor/Retention Specialist. This step aids students in improving their performance. Final examinations are administered at the end of each semester.

Each of the fall and spring semesters is divided into two intensive terms. These classes meet twice the usual time each week.

Class Attendance

All students are expected to attend class. If circumstances require an absence, then students should note that all absences are either excused or unexcused. Excused absences are those incurred when students miss class due to personal illness, immediate family illness, death in family, inclement weather, officially representing the college, serving on jury duty, participating in military activities, or fulfilling approved legal requirements. All excused absences are subject to verification and students should submit proper documentation. Up to 20% of classroom work may be made up within a reasonable time frame for excused absences. Absences for reasons other than those defined above shall be considered unexcused.

Students who have registered for EMCC classes and determine they will not be able to attend school that semester BEFORE class start, should contact their advisor or send an email to advising@eastms.edu requesting their classes to be removed. Students who do this before classes begin, will not be charged for the classes; however, if the Registrar’s Office is notified after classes begin, student will be responsible for the fees involved with the courses.

Students who enter a class meeting late during the first 10 minutes will be counted as tardy. Three tardies constitute an unexcused absence. Students who enter a class meeting later than 10 minutes will be assigned an unexcused absence. Likewise, students who leave a class meeting early without the approval of the instructor will be assigned an unexcused absence.

A student will be administratively withdrawn with the instructor notifying the appropriate Office when the total number of unexcused absences per week exceed two for a class that meets once per week or for an intensive class, four for a class that meets twice per week, six for a class that meets three times per week, eight for a class that meets four times per week, ten for a class that meets five times per week, and as prescribed by the nature of other courses not covered above. Students enrolled in Career & Technical Education programs should be aware that most of these programs have additional attendance requirements that are outlined in the respective program guidelines or syllabi. A student who is administratively withdrawn due to excessive unexcused absences prior to the posted withdrawal date on the academic calendar will be assigned a grade of “W.” A student who wishes to appeal an administrative withdrawal due to excessive unexcused absences must do so in writing to the appropriate dean within one week of the withdrawal date.

Some career and technical programs must adhere to strict attendance standards required by the state of Mississippi for certification. Additionally, some Manufacturing programs adhere to a uniform policy. For these attendance policies, please see the program or departmental handbooks or syllabi.

Programs With Special Attendance Policies

Cosmetology Attendance Policy

In the Cosmetology program, students are required to have a minimum of 1,500 clock hours of attendance in order to take the Mississippi licensure examination. Due to this requirement, please see the program/departmental handbook for additional information.

Emergency Medical Services Attendance Policy

In the Emergency Medical Services program, EMT Basic, students are required to meet the clock hours as deemed by the curriculum in order to take the National Registry examination. Due to this requirement, please see the program/departmental handbook for additional information.

Practical Nursing Attendance Policy

In the Practical Nursing program, students are required to meet the required clock hours as deemed by the state curriculum in order to take the Mississippi licensure examination. Due to this requirement, please see the program/departmental handbook

Associate Degree Nursing Attendance Policy

In the Associate Degree Nursing program, students are required to meet the clock hours as deemed by the curriculum in order to take the Mississippi licensure examination. Due to this requirement, please see the program/departmental handbook for additional information.

Surgical Technology Attendance Policy

In the Surgical Technology program, students are required to meet the required clock hours as deemed by the state curriculum in order to take the Mississippi Licensure examination. Due to this requirement, please see the program/departmental handbook for additional information.

No Show Policy

A student who fails to attend a particular class within the term’s LATE REGISTRATION period or DROP/ADD period shall be listed as a “no show.” A student who is “no showed” will be permanently removed from the course and cannot be reinstated. The “No Show” policy is not subject to the rules related to class attendance. Students are strongly encouraged to withdraw from any class in which they have no plans to attend. Students who have registered for classes at EMCC and decide that they will not be able to attend classes before the start of the semester should contact their advisor to have their classes removed. Students who decide they will not attend school during the DROP/ADD period should contact the office of the Registrar to have classes remove from the system. After the DROP/ADD period, students will have to submit a request to withdraw from the institution. Students who do this before classes begin, will not be charged for the classes they were registered for. Students that become “no showed” from classes will be billed $10.00 per class.

Change in Class Schedule

Students may add or drop courses, as approved by an advisor/counselor, only during the official “drop-add” period. A fee of $10.00 is automatically assessed for each “add” and for each “drop” in a completed schedule after late registration and during the term’s drop/add period.

Withdrawal From A Class

Before considering withdrawal from a course, a student should be aware of the following information:

1. Students should always check with their advisors first to see if it is in their best interest to withdraw from a class and to discuss the ramifications of a withdrawal.
2. Students receiving Financial Aid, Veteran Benefits, Scholarships, or Loans should note that dropping or withdrawing a course(s) may lower benefits or cause repayment to be due immediately.
3. Students must maintain full-time enrollment (12 semester hours on-ground or more) to live in a residence hall.

Students must initiate withdrawals from each/all courses. The required fee for withdrawing from a course is $10.00 per course. The fee is automatically charged to the student’s account when processed. Students must obtain a Student Initiated Withdrawal Form from the Advising Center, advising@eastms.edu or Office of the Registrar. The student completes the form and obtains the signature from his/her advisor/counselor for approval of change. The student then returns the completed form to advising@eastms.edu or the office of the Registrar. Student must submit form before the last day of withdrawal (noted on the calendar for each term offered by EMCC). The student will be issued a grade of “W” for any/all courses withdrawn. It is the responsibility of the student to return completed withdrawal form to officially withdraw from a course.

Student - Faculty Conference

All full-time instructors will schedule office hours for the purposes of advising and class preparation. The hours should be posted outside instructors’ offices and in course syllabi. All students, but especially those who encounter special difficulties or who are doing unsatisfactory work, should schedule conferences with instructors during these scheduled times. Each instructor is expected to give students aid as needed. Part-time instructors will be available for conferences with students by appointment.

Classroom Complaints

Any student who wishes to make a complaint regarding any aspect of instruction should take the following steps:

1. Discuss the problem with the faculty member, staff member or administrator involved. Direct communication between the parties usually resolves most conflicts.
2. If informal efforts to resolve the problem are not productive, the complainant should then contact the appropriate administrator to assist in resolving the issue.
3. If the complainant wishes to file a formal complaint, she/he should express the specific nature of the complaint in writing to the appropriate administrator. The administrator will refer it to the proper authority at the College for disposition; the College grievance policy will be followed in all cases in which a formal complaint has been lodged.

Grading System

Grades are based upon proficiency attained by the student demonstrated primarily by the quality of work done in the classroom. Letter grades used and their meaning are as follows:

Some Career/Technical programs have higher grading scales as deemed necessary by their curriculum.

Course Audit must be approved at the time that the student registers for the course. All costs/fees associated with audited courses, remain the same as traditional graded courses.

Quality Points

Quality points are assigned for grades earned according to the following schedule:

Any challenge of a final grade must be initiated by mid-semester of the next term after the grade was recorded. For purposes of this procedure, the summer is considered a usual term.

Students may repeat courses at East Mississippi Community College to improve their GPAs. All grades earned in attempted courses will appear on the student transcript. However, only the best grade earned in a course will be the official grade used for calculating an overall GPA. This policy does not affect Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as calculated by the Financial Aid Office at EMCC. Likewise, students should be aware that senior institutions may have differing policies on repeat courses and the calculation of a student’s transfer GPA.

A student may not register for any course(s) more than once per term without the approval of the Vice President for Instruction. That is, a student may not simultaneously register for the same class two or more times in a single term.

Honors Program

The East Mississippi Community College Honors Program is a community of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to the pursuit of academic excellence. The mission of our program is to inspire students’ achievement through intellectual challenge. We impart critical thinking skills through both innovative and traditional pedagogies. Furthermore, our community instills a commitment to public service and strives to create true global citizens.

Honors Program Eligibility:

Criteria for Entering Freshmen

• ACT composite score of 24 or higher

Criteria for students with previous college work

• CT composite score of 24 or higher;
• 3.5 cumulative GPA with a minimum of 15 hours of transfer-level work; or
• Recommendations from two faculty members

Honors Program Requirements:

• Participants must maintain a minimum GPA of a 3.3 with no grade lower than a C
• Any student who drops below a 3.3 but above a 3.0 will be placed on probation for one semester to allow the student to regain the 3.3. Only one probationary semester is allowed.
• Participants must take at least two honors courses each semester (not including the forum courses)

Contract Courses:

Any regular course can serve as an Honors course if the instructor and student enter into an Honors contract that outlines enrichment activities. The contract must be approved by the Honors Program Directors for the Honors designation to be added to the transcript.

Honors And Distinctions

Full-time academic, career, and technical students having a quality point average of 3.2-3.5 for a semester Dean’s List.

Full-time academic, career, and technical students having a quality point average of above 3.5 for a semester will be honored by having their names placed on the President’s List for that semester.

Academic/career/technical Probation And Suspension

Students will be placed on Academic Probation when a regular semester GPA falls below the following criteria:

Students will be placed on Academic Suspension when a regular semester GPA fails to meet the above criteria while on Academic Probation. A regular semester is defined as a fall or spring semester.

Students on Academic Suspension can appeal one-time to continue enrollment or sit out one semester. The Summer semester can be counted for this purpose.

The Academic Suspension appeal must be completed before registering for the term. The appeal should include what strategies will be used to improve academic performance, what lessons learned from this experience, and what has changed in the circumstances. The appeal will be written as an email and sent to advising@eastms.edu. Please include the Student ID and contact information. The Appeals Committee will render a decision within 24 hours of receiving the appeal, excluding weekends and holidays. If the appeal is approved, the decision will be emailed. The student will complete a Student Success contract with a Retention Specialist and register for classes.

After registration, the Retention Specialist will contact the student via phone, online, and email in the first six weeks, after mid-terms, and the last six weeks of the semester to provide support and coaching. It is the student’s responsibility to check their eligibility for financial aid. If financial aid is not approved for the student, they will have to self-pay for classes.

If the appeal is not approved, the student is required to sit out one semester. If a student is placed on academic suspension at EMCC, they cannot take courses at another college/university during the suspension period to transfer them back to EMCC.

Academic Suspension (Transfer or Transient Students)

Students who are on academic suspension must have a letter from the Provost or Registrar’s office stating the student may attend another institution.

Honesty Policy

A hallmark of any profession is integrity and honesty. Academic honesty is expected of all students; therefore, students are expected to accomplish their own individual work. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, deceptive acts such as the following:

1. Plagiarizing from any source
2. Cheating in any manner on tests, papers, reports, etc.
3. Turning in work as their own when, in fact, it was not their work
4. Improperly using technology
5. Stealing, buying, or selling course materials
6. Either impersonating another student during a test or having another person assume one’s identity during a test
7. Deliberately conveying false or misleading information
8. Reusing some or all of a paper written for previous or other courses (self-plagiarizing)

Continuing Education Units

Non-credit activities organized to provide unified and systematic instruction, measured in duration, subject to performance evaluation of the participant and meeting categorical requirements will be measured in continuing education units (CEU). One CEU is defined as “ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education adult or extension experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction and qualified instruction.” The CEU will serve as a unit of measure to give recognition for an individual’s participation in non-credit activities which meet appropriate criteria and will serve as an accounting unit for the institution’s non-credit courses. CEUs are maintained through the Office of Workforce Services.

Military Courses (ROTC)

EMCC partners with Mississippi State University and the United States Army and Air Force to provide military course experiences (ROTC) for students who enroll at East Mississippi Community College.