Rules of Operation

PORTNOV

General rules

Classes begin promptly at a scheduled time. A break will be taken at a scheduled time determined by the Instructor.

Courses are on a clock hour basis. An academic hour is 50 minutes.

Smoking is not permitted in any area of the building and within 25 feet from the building.

No eating or drinking in the classrooms! There are the designated areas in the School for eating or drinking.

The telephones in the office areas of the School are not for students use. Only in case of emergency these telephones may be used by students (both for calling and receiving messages).

The students have to remember that the School is located in the office building and other occupants of the building are not to be disturbed by the School students.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all sessions of each course. The students will be notified in writing of unsatisfactory attendance, if accumulated unexcused hours of absences exceed twenty percent of the total number of course hours. A copy of the notification will be placed in the student’s file. If accumulated unexcused hours of absences exceed thirty percent of the total number of course hours, the student will be advised in writing to withdraw from the course. A copy of the notification will be placed in the student’s file.

Tardiness

Tardiness disrupts the learning environment and is therefore discouraged. Tardiness without legitimate reason on any three occasions during the course is considered as one unexcused absence. A student is considered tardy if he/she is not in the classroom within ten minutes of the class start time. It is the responsibility of the Instructor to make notes of students’ tardiness in the Attendance sheet.

Leave-of-absence

A written request for leave-of-absence should be submitted to the Director of Education for approval. Only one leave-of-absence may be granted during any one course. When a student returns from the approved leave-of-absence, he/she will be allowed to additionally attend the other group sessions to make up a deficiency caused by the absence. In case of long-lasting leave-of-absence, a student may be offered to transfer completely to other group. All educational charges by the School are suspended during the approved leave-of-absence period.

If a student fails to return from a leave-of-absence, the School reserves the right to dismiss the student from the School.

Assessment and grading

During any course a student has to submit Home Projects and to take several quizzes. The number of quizzes and projects is left to the Instructor’ s discretion.

All quizzes and projects must be submitted at scheduled times. Late papers are accepted only in cases of excused absences or approved leave-of-absences. The policy concerning make-up works is left to the Instructor’s discretion.

The quality of students work and attendance is measured during the course of study by percentage grades. Upon completion, the average percentage grade for the entire course can be converted to a letter grade.

Satisfactory academic progress

A student’s academic progress on a course will be considered satisfactory if his/her average percentage grade for quizzes and Home Projects does not fall below 70% at all times.

Students will be notified in writing of unsatisfactory academic progress, if it occurs, and a copy of the notification will be placed in the student’s file. If the average percentage grade is still below 70% by the time of the next grading period, the student will be advised in writing to withdraw from the course.

A student will be awarded the Certificate of Completion for the course if his/her average percentage grade by the end of the course is 70% or higher (the grade of C or better). The Certificate will state that the course is successfully completed. If the average percentage grade by the end of the course is below 70%, the student will be awarded the Certificate of Attendance provided his/her attendance is above 50%; otherwise no Certificate will be awarded.

Only those students with satisfactory academic progress on the course Software Quality Assurance will be assisted with resume writing and other services associated with the completion of the course (see Student Services section of the Catalog.)

Students rights and responsibilities. Conduct policy.

Students have not only the right to an education, but to the rights of citizenship as well; therefore, no student shall be deprived of equal treatment and equal access to educational programs, due process, presumption of innocence prior to proof otherwise, free expression, or privacy of thought.

Attendant upon the right guaranteed to each student are certain responsibilities, which are respect to the rights of others, acceptance of properly constituted authority, and compliance with the policies, regulations and procedures of the School.

Each student bears full responsibility for his or her actions.

The following types of misconduct will not be tolerated at all times at the School:

Disruptive behavior, willful disobedience, habitual profanity or vulgarity, or the open and persistent defiance or abuse of School personnel.
Assault, battery, or any threat of force or violence upon students or School personnel.
Theft of, or damage to, the property of the School, its employees, students or visitors.
Interference with the normal operations of the School (e.g., obstruction or disruption of teaching or other School activities).
Cheating, plagiarism or knowingly furnishing false information in the classroom or to a School personnel.
Forgery, alteration, or other misuse of School documents and records.
Failure to return borrowed property when reasonable attempts have been made to retrieve it.
Disorderly, lewd, indecent, or obscene conduct or expression.
Physical or verbal abuse of any person or group, or conduct which intimidates, threatens, or endangers the health or safety of any person or group.
Acts of physical, verbal, or sexual harassment.
The unlawful possession, use, or distribution of alcohol or illicit drugs at School premises.
Gambling in any form.
Failure to comply with lawful directions of School officials, faculty, and staff.

Transferability of Units Earned at our School

Units you earn in our Software Quality Assurance career training in most cases probably will not be transferable to any other college or university in the future even though you earned units here at our School. In addition, if you earn a certificate in our Software Quality Assurance career training, in most cases it probably will not serve as a basis for obtaining a degree at a college or university.

Record retention

If a student is in default on the tuition contract, the School may deny the student request for the confirmation letter concerning the enrollment, attendance, grades, etc.

If the student has made partial payment of his or her tuition obligation and is still in default, the School may only withhold that portion of grades that corresponds on a pro rata basis to the amount of tuition the student has not paid. The School may withhold the grades and Certificates until the tuition is paid in full.

Student complaint procedure

It is the preference of the School to resolve grievances at the informal level whenever possible. The informal resolution stage involves the student who has a complaint and the staff member or specific group who is the other party in the grievance. The student must notify the staff person or representative of a group the he/she wishes to have an informal meeting to review an action within 5 days of its occurrence. This informal meeting must then take place within 5 days of the notification of the desire to meet. In the absence of the instructor or staff person and after a good faith effort to make contact, the grievant may contact the Director of Education. If the outcome of this informal meeting does not result in the satisfaction of the grievant, he or she may file in writing a formal complaint with the Director of the School The student has to provide in his/her written complaint the following:

Exact nature of the grievance;
The specific details of the grievance, e.g. chronology of events, copies of any information that may be helpful, etc.;
A description of the informal meeting and the attempted resolution;
The desired remedy.

The meeting with the Director must take place within five working days of the filing the appeal. A written decision must be rendered within two working days. If the School does not resolve the problem, a student may file a complaint with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. 1027 Tenth Street, Fourth Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814