2017-2018 Task Force Charges

Rationale: The Academic Amnesty policy is designed to support students who attended MCC, were unsuccessful in their academic coursework, and subsequently left the College for an extended period of time. As a result of their work experience, maturity, or new interests, these students may now be in a better position to successfully pursue a program of study. The policy should assist these students in returning (by eliminating the failing grades they earned before they were serious, mature, goal-oriented students) and help them to complete as quickly as possible (by allowing them to retain some or all of the courses in which they were successful).

Current Policy:
Academic Amnesty Appeal
A student who had exhibited poor academic performance prior to an extended period of absence from the College, may, following a successful return to the College, appeal to have the previously earned grades disregarded in calculating the GPA.
The following terms and conditions apply:

1. The GPA prior to the period of absence from the College must have been below 2.0.
2. A minimum of three years without Middlesex County College enrollment in credit and credit equivalent courses must have elapsed prior to re-enrollment.
3. A student must complete 18 credits following re-enrollment, with a minimum GPA of 2.0, prior to submitting the appeal.
4. No credits or grades earned prior to the period of absence will be counted in the calculation of the new GPA or credits toward graduation.
5. All courses and grades will continue to appear on the transcript.
6. An Academic Amnesty Appeal may be approved only once for any individual student and is irrevocable.

Note that a student receiving benefits from the Veterans’ Administration will not be reimbursed for repeating courses which had already been passed. Note also that a student transferring to another college will be bound by the incoming college’s terms and conditions for accepting transfer credits.

Proposed Policy Change:

Academic Amnesty Appeal

A student who had exhibited poor academic performance prior to an extended period of absence from the College, may, following a successful return to the College, appeal to have the previously earned grades disregarded in calculating the GPA.

The following terms and conditions apply:

1. The GPA prior to the period of absence from the College must have been below 2.0.
2. A minimum of three years without Middlesex County College enrollment in credit and credit equivalent courses must have elapsed prior to re-enrollment.
3. A student must complete 18 credits following re-enrollment, with a minimum GPA of 2.0, prior to submitting the appeal.
4. All courses and grades will continue to appear on the transcript but courses taken prior to the period of absence from the College are no longer counted in the student’s GPA. [Possible addition: A suitable message on the transcript will designate the point at which the Academic Amnesty became effective.]
5. Two possibilities for the ASC to consider:
   • All courses taken prior to the absence in which a grade of “C” or better was earned may be used to meet graduation requirements and included in the GPA. [Precedent: Raritan Valley Community College] OR
   • Up to four courses in which credit was earned with a grade of “C” or better prior to the absence may be counted toward graduation requirements and included in the GPA. [Precedent: Mercer County Community College]
6. An Academic Amnesty Appeal may be approved only once for any individual student and is irrevocable.

Note that a student receiving benefits from the Veterans’ Administration will not be reimbursed for repeating courses which had already been passed. Note also that a student transferring to another college will be bound by the incoming college’s terms and conditions for accepting transfer credits.

Rationale: A handicapped student related her experience having a class in the basement of Raritan Hall, while the closest handicap equipped rest room is on the top floor.

Rationale: Some academic programs have skill requirements or technical standards that are essential to participate in that program, generally connected to licensing requirements of the profession. Students with disabilities need to know the essential requirements of a major and need to be advised if these requirements can be accommodated through the disability accommodation process.

Rationale: Faculty teaching online courses need guidelines in order to provide an accessible environment for online classes. Currently, there aren’t any published guidelines that speak to course accessibility issues.

Rationale: Many of the buildings on campus do not have Braille on any of the rooms, which prohibits visually impaired students from locating rooms independently.

Rationale: A handicapped student noticed that some cross walks on campus have a raised curb where it should be flat, forcing that student at times to use the street until finding an appropriate opening.

Rationale: Those who utilize the handicap accommodations are particularly vulnerable to snow and ice, and therefore there should be a procedure to take special care with those areas.

Rationale: For instance, a handicapped person may need assistance in icy or snowy conditions to travel from their vehicle to their destination.

Rationale: It has occurred recently that the College Assembly was not able to convene its scheduled meeting for lack of quorum.

Rationale: The Transfer Advisor is functionally responsible for maintaining expertise in the ever-changing requirements that community college students must meet in order to effect a smooth transfer. Ensuring that the expertise is part of every curriculum proposal review is prudent and adds important knowledge to revisions/additions brought to the Task Force.

Rationale: In order to accomplish some activities that have arisen as a result of charges to the Task Force, expertise in the area of Human Resources has become an important asset. For this reason, the addition of a permanent delegate from Human Resources would serve to enhance and expedite discussions and debates within the task force’s proceedings.

Rationale: Due to the restructuring of several positions, current lists in Appendices E and F no longer align with actual current job titles.

Rationale: Some departments, such as Library Services, may be under represented.

Rationale: In light of recent retirements and hiring trends over the past 10 years, it seems the representation of minorities amongst full-time, tenure-track faculty is decreasing.

Rationale:

Rationale:

Rationale: To clarify the location of Departments, Chairperson’s and Administrative offices. Having this additional information on the outside of the building would certainly facilitate both students and visitors on campus by recognizing what is housed within each building.

Rationale: The impact of climate change and the degradation of natural resources are consistently in the news. Responding to our collective responsibility to mitigate the negative human impact on the planet, many colleges have robust sustainability programs or committees. They are charged with investigating, advising or recommending policies, procedures and practices that lessen the college’s carbon footprint and improve the environment.

Middlesex County College has made some sustainability efforts, i.e. LEEDS buildings, energy efficient indoor lighting, some recycling, but MCC has no sustainability office, committee or web presence that highlights these efforts, nor any group that helps promote additional efforts. Ideally the College Assembly could investigate how other colleges handle sustainability issues and make recommendations on what and how to implement them on this campus.

Rationale: For example, a current student in the charge maker’s class, at 6’7” and a large build, could only utilize a seat normally allocated for wheelchairs.

Rationale: Given the changing student needs and technology, it is important to ensure that the current services offered by the Testing Center are meeting the current needs of faculty and students.