4.3

The institution makes available to students and the public current academic calendars, grading policies, and refund policies. (Publication of policies)

Compliance Judgment

X      In compliance     Partially compliant     Non-compliant

Narrative

Francis Marion University provides numerous documents to students and the public to keep all constituents aware of crucial schedules and policies, such as academic calendars, grading policies, and refund policies. These policies are published variously in the catalog, student handbook, and course schedules, which are all accessible through the Francis Marion website for the convenience of traditional, distance, and online students.

Academic Calendars

Francis Marion makes academic calendars available to students and the public through calendars that are distributed throughout the university and published in the catalog [1]. The catalog also has a tentative long-range calendar [2]. A long-range calendar is also available in the student handbook [3]. Each semester, course schedules are published in booklets that include the calendar as well [4]. Current calendars are also displayed on Francis Marion’s website [5]. The calendar online can be refined by “all events,” “academics,” “fine arts,” “planetarium and observatory,” “special events,” “sports,” and “student life.”

The accuracy of the calendar is assured through multiple reviews by various parties. The calendar originates from the calendar committee that convenes each January.  The committee is composed of the vice presidents of divisions, the Faculty Chair, and the Registrar.  From this meeting, the Provost’s Office compiles a provisional calendar, which is put together normally one full year in advance and addresses noteworthy events for each area of the university. Drafts are sent to each department for review. The calendar is then sent to University Communications for final proofreading and publication.

Grading Policies

Francis Marion makes grading policies available to students and the public in the catalog for both undergraduate studies [6] and graduate studies [7]. The grading policy is the result of a multilayered faculty governance process. The accuracy of its publication in the catalog is assured by multiple levels of review by academic departments, the Provost’s Office, and University Communications.

Refund Policies

Francis Marion publishes refund policies in the Catalog 2016-2017 [8]. The refund policies are also located in the Spring 2017 Course Schedule [9]. The accuracy in the catalog is ensured by multiple levels of review by the Office of Business Affairs, the Provost’s Office, and University Communications.

All academic calendars, grading policies, and refund polices go through a multi-step review process to ensure they are accurate and consistent with the university mission. This process is illustrated in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Review Process for the Academic Calendar, and Grading and Refund Policies

Documentation

  1. Catalog 2016-2017, Calendar 2016-2017, p. 5-6
  2. Catalog 2016-2017, Projected Two-Year Calendar, p. 7
  3. Student Handbook 2016-2017, University Calendar, p. 7-8
  4. Spring 2017 Course Schedule, Spring 2017 Calendar, p. 4
  5. FMU Website, Calendar
  6. Catalog 2016-2017, Grading Policies, p. 56-57
  7. Catalog 2016-2017, Academic Information, p. 173-174
  8. Catalog 2016-2017, Refunds, p. 27-28
  9. Spring 2017 Course Schedule, Refunds, p. 3-4