Policies And Procedures For Consortia Courses
Central College is a member of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and has access to the CIC Online Course Sharing Consortium (CIC-OCSC), via Acadeum’ s Course Share technology.
There are pre-approved courses available through the consortium for all terms: fall, winter term (our winter break), January term (our winter break), spring & summer.
- During the fall and spring terms students may choose to enroll in a consortial course only if they are currently enrolled as a full-time student in 12 or more on-campus The credits will incur additional fees on top of semester tuition. (see billing information)
- Winter term, January term and summer require no additional campus enrollment. These credits will incur additional fees. (see billing information)
- Reasons for enrolling in a consortial course are varied. There may be a course not otherwise offered at Central; a student may need to repeat a course to replace a low grade; or a student may just want to pick up a few extra credits.
Circumstances may arise in which Central is obligated to provide a consortial option during the fall or spring semester because an equivalent required course is not offered on campus. Such cases will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be initiated by the department chair in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor. If approved, the fees associated with the credits will be covered by semester tuition. Graduating early (prior to 8 completed semesters) or credits to complete a second major/emphasis or minor, will NOT qualify as an eligible circumstance.
To distinguish these courses from our on-campus courses, they will be denoted for student enrollment and transcript purposes with “ACM” suffix (e.g., ECON 112ACM Principles of Microeconomics). Courses with the ACM suffix are not considered transfer courses. They are transcripted as Central courses and counted in the “attempted” and “earned” credit categories for Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations.
All courses listed on the Acadeum platform have been approved through regular curricular process or by program faculty. Please note the following:
- Consortial credits apply toward completion of a Central degree.
- Grades and credit earned in consortial courses are included in the calculation of a student’s Central cumulative or major grade point averages.
- Students must have satisfied the pre-requisites prior to enrolling in a consortial course.
- Students may not use consortial courses to fulfill CIV 110 Civitas or CIV 210 Civitas requirements
- Beginning and ending dates may vary compared to the Central academic calendar.
- Upon completion of each ACM course, the registrar of the teaching institution submits the final grade in the ACM portal. Central’s registrar then posts the final grade on the student’s Central transcript.
- Students may improve their GPA by substituting consortia course grades for D’s, F’s or W’s or continue to make progress toward graduation. Central College’s course repeat policy will apply.
- Central will not intervene in grade dispute cases where a Central student is dissatisfied with the final grade issued by the teaching institution.
- Students are responsible for adhering to course participation and policies of the teaching institution, which includes logging in on the course start date, submitting assignments, securing textbooks and learning materials, and following through on all required action as stated on the syllabus and by the teaching institution.
- Central will not intervene in disputes regarding date of drop or withdrawal, nor regarding refunds in cases in which the student did not correspond with the teaching institutions per the deadlines for each ACM course.
ACM Enrollment Actions
Students must request ACM enrollment actions (add, drop, withdraw) here. The teaching institution will send one of two email communications to the student’s school email address:
- Denied, which requires finding an alternate course for the student.
- Approved, which gives the student key information about the course. Watch your email for a message from support@acadeum.com. This will include a welcome letter and instructions for accessing course information. If you have been approved for registration and you DO NOT get this message prior to the course start date, check your spam/junk folder first, then contact support@acadeum.com or registrar@central.edu.
Billing
Students pay the Central College tuition rate per credit hour for the ACM course. Tuition rates for consortial courses are $300 per credit. Students who exceed full-time enrollment during fall or spring semester due to the addition of an ACM course(s) must seek permission for the overload in advance. Students are responsible for all learning material costs, including textbooks, as determined by the teaching institution.
*Contact Central College Financial Aid to determine if you are eligible to use financial aid for these courses.