Academic Policies

For a complete listing of academic policies, please see the Course Catalog Link. The following are highlighted academic policies.

Class Attendance

The Word of God is alive, and the study of God’s Word brings life. Classes at HCC are designed to spark discussion, kindle ideas, expand horizons, and become an extension of our lives together as the Body of Christ. Because of this, HCC students are required to attend all class sessions except in cases of illness or pre-approved absence.

A student who is ill must contact the Academic Dean or HCC Office before class time to report illness, except in a case of an actual emergency. A student who must miss class due to a schedule conflict (doctor appointment, dentist, ministry trip, etc.) must full out an Absence Form available through the HCC Office. This should be done as far ahead of the date of absence as possible. Reported illness-related and pre-approved absences are excused absences. Students are responsible for obtaining missed work, assignments, etc.

Any absence that has not been approved through the Academic Dean’s office is considered unexcused. While missed work is expected to be turned in, no grade is accepted or recorded for unexcused absences. Each unexcused absence results in three points taken off the student’s final course grade.

Any student who misses more than 1/3 of a course for any reason (excused or unexcused) must withdraw from the course and repeat the course at a future date. No refund is given for such courses.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words, thoughts, or organization as your own. It is an illegal act, and Heartland Christian College makes every effort to educate its students to avoid any appearance of plagiarism. A student who, in the learning process, appears to have inadvertently plagiarized receives ramifications such as rewriting a paper, receiving a lowered grade, or failure of assignment. The Instructor and Academic Dean make decisions on the appropriate ramification.

In a case of plagiarism in which it appears that the student willfully deceives the instructor about sources of words or ideas, or where the writer tried to avoid doing all the necessary work, the result will be automatic failure of the paper. The instructor may require a re-written paper for 0 credit. All incidents of such plagiarism are filed with the Academic Dean. If a student plagiarizes repeatedly, in any combination of courses, the student meets with the Academic Dean and may be subject to failure of a course or courses.

Copying another person’s homework and presenting it as your own is also considered plagiarism. A student who engages in such activity receives a “0” credit and the student is withdrawn from the class.

In cases where a student defiantly, repeatedly plagiarizes in paper-writing, the student meets with the Executive Council and could be subject to dismissal from HCC.

Course Late Assignments

Course assignments are designed to help the student engage with course concepts for a deeper understanding and greater application. For the benefit of both student and instructor, course assignments should be submitted by their due date. If a student finds that he/she cannot meet the due date for some reason, the following policies are in place:

• In the case of an excused absence due to illness, a Course Instructor may accept work turned in to the Instructor’s office or LMS the day following the excused absence with no effect to the grade
• In the case of a series of course meetings missed due to a pre-approved ministry trip, all work due on paper during the absence should be turned in prior to leaving for the ministry trip; LMS assignments should be turned in electronically by the due date. Course Instructors may allow tests/quizzes to be made up on return from the trip with no effect to the grade
• An assignment that is up to 1 week late not due to an excused absence of some type receives 10% off the final grade
• An assignment that is 8 days – 2 weeks late receives 20% off the final grade
• An assignment that is more than 2 weeks late or that is submitted after the final date of a class is not accepted for a grade
• Individual courses may have additional submission restrictions for specific assignments

In the case of an emergency situation, the Academic Dean should be notified as soon as possible regarding the emergency and he/she makes a decision regarding the timely submission of course work