Policies & Procedures
Access to Records
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of
1974, as amended, was designated to protect the privacy
of education records, to establish the right of students
to inspect and review their education records, and to provide
guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading
data through informal and formal hearings. Students also
have the right to file complaints with the FERPA Office
about alleged failures by the institution to comply with
the Act. KPC may release, without consent, certain directory
information (name, major, dates of attendance and credentials
awarded). No one outside the institution shall have access
to, nor will the institution disclose any other information
from a student's educational record, without the written
consent of the student, except to personnel within the institution
on a need to know basis, to officials of other institutions
in which a student seeks to enroll, to persons in compliance
with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in
order to protect the health or safety of the student or
other persons, or as otherwise permitted under the act.
Exceptions to the above policy are as follows:
- Names of students receiving awards or
appearing on the KPC Dean's List or UAA Chancellor's List
are released to the media unless a written request not
to do so has been received in the Business Office.
- Names of students and their respective
degree/certificate will appear in the commencement program
and will be released to various media requesting lists
of candidates/graduates unless a written request not to
do so has been received by the Business Office.
Names of scholarship recipients are released to the media
unless the Financial Aid Office so has received a written
request not to do.
- Names of students receiving awards of
the Chancellor's Scholarship and any other honorary scholarships,
i.e. Truman Scholarships and/or appearing in Who's Who
Among Students in American Universities and Colleges are
released to the media unless a written request not to
do so has been received by the Office of Admission and
Student Services.
A complete copy of the UAA Policy on the
application of FERPA is available in the UAA Enrollment
Services, Anchorage. A variety of student records are maintained
by KPC and are available to students upon request. Admission
and academic records are located in the Office of Admissions
and Records, and financial records are located in the Financial
Aid and Business Offices.
Academic Appeals
Students shall have the right to appeal academic actions.
A written request for appeal must be made to the dean/director
of the appropriate school or college not later than fifteen
(15) working days following notification of the action under
review. The request shall set forth clearly and concisely
the action to be reviewed, the reason the student believes
the action was inappropriate, and the corrective action
the student seeks. As a general rule, the dean/director
will not overturn the action of a faculty member or committee
unless it is shown to be arbitrary and capricious, clearly
erroneous, or based on unlawful discrimination. Each student
requesting review of an academic action shall be entitled
to address the dean/director directly if desired before
the decision is rendered by the dean/director. Whenever
possible, the dean/director's decision will be rendered
and conveyed to the student in writing within five (5) days
of receipt of the student's request for review. Until receipt
of the dean/director's decision, the student will be permitted
to attend classes unless such attendance poses a danger
to the student or others. There shall be no further appeal
of academic matters within the University. If a student
wishes to seek judicial review, he/she must file an appeal
with the superior court for the state of Alaska within 30
days of the decision in accordance with Alaska Appellate
Rule 602(a)(2).
Expunging Records
Student records are destroyed when they appear to be of
no potential further use. (Transcripts are permanently maintained.)
Records will be expunged, corrected, or clarified as required
if they are either incorrect or misleading. A record or
portion thereof may be expunged upon legitimate request
of the affected student if the official responsible for
maintaining the record determines that it would be proper
to do so.
Complaint Procedures
The purpose of the local student complaint procedure is
to assist students who have a complaint arising from conditions,
working relationships, practices, decisions, actions, or
inactions of the University of Alaska Anchorage and its
employees. The local procedure is one of administrative
appeal. The procedures are designed to guide students in
resolving a complaint. Students are encouraged to resolve
complaints informally with the employee directly involved
and use the administrative appeal procedures as a last resort.
Should it be necessary, the student should process an appeal
to the employee's supervisor if not resolved at the initial
level.
Name/Address Change
A student's name on official records at KPC must be the
name under which the student applied for admission, unless
a "Change
of Name" form has been processed through the Office
of Admission and Records. Name change requests must be supported
by legal documentation i.e., marriage certificate, dissolution
or divorce decree, or a court order. Currently enrolled
students who have changed their address should notify the
Office of Admission and Records by completing the appropriate
form. Official notification of change of address is necessary
for accurate mailing of correspondence, grade reports, transcripts,
registration instructions, and information about graduation
requirements.
Student Identification Numbers / Social Security Numbers
In response to student requests the University of Alaska has established
the use of assigned student ID numbers and has moved away from the
practice of using social security numbers as default ID numbers. This
practice helps reduce the risk of identity theft and fraud for students.
The University is still required to collect a valid social security number
from each student for tax, employment, and Federal financial aid purposes.
Access your new student ID number when you sign on to UAOnline. Information
regarding the progress of the project, FAQs and further information may be
found at:
www.alaska.edu/its/projects/ssn
Graduation Application
The responsibility for meeting all graduation requirements rests with the
student. A student must apply for graduation prior to the expected date of
his/her graduation. The application deadline for each semester is announced
in the academic calendar. A student should obtain the "Application for
Graduation" form from the Student Services Office. In order to make sure a
planned degree program can be completed, a student should apply for
graduation in the semester prior to the estimated graduation date. This
insures that the student knows exactly what courses will be needed to
complete his/her program before registering for the last semester. A
student cannot apply for admission to any graduation from a degree
program in the same semester.
Graduation with Honors
To be eligible to graduate with honors, an undergraduate
student must earn a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher in
all college work attempted at UAA. Grades and credits earned
from all repeated courses are included in determining eligibility
to graduate with honors. Honors for the commencement exercises
will be determined by the student's grade point average
through the semester prior to graduation. However, a student's
total academic history will be the determinant in including
honors on the diploma and official transcript. KPC issues
diplomas in December and May.
Commencement Exercises
All students who complete degree or certificate requirements
during the academic year are invited to participate in the
annual commencement exercises that follow the spring semester.
A transfer student who is earning an associate degree must
complete a minimum of 15 resident credits with academic
letter grades and a UAA cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher
to be eligible to graduate with honors. A transfer student
who is earning a baccalaureate degree must complete a minimum
of 30 resident credits with academic letter grades and a
cumulative UAA GPA of 3.50 or higher to be eligible to graduate
with honors. All transfer students must have a cumulative
GPA of 3.50 or higher in all college work attempted at UAA
and at other institutions in order to graduate with honors.
Honors will be awarded to associate and baccalaureate degree
students with cumulative GPA's as follows: Cum Laude (3.50
to 3.79), Magna Cum Laude (3.80 to 3.99), Summa Cum Laude
(4.00).
Dishonesty
Academic integrity is a basic principle that requires that
students take credit only for ideas and efforts that are
their own. Cheating is defined as the submission of materials
in assignments, exams, or other academic work that is based
on sources forbidden by the faculty member. Cheating shall
include but is not limited to situations in which the student:
- Refers during an academic evaluation
to material sources not authorized by the faculty member.
- Utilizes devices during an academic evaluation
that are not authorized by the faculty member.
- Provides assistance to another student
or receives assistance from another student during an
academic evaluation in a manner not authorized by the
faculty member.
- Presents as one's own, the ideas or words
of another person without customary and proper acknowledgment
of sources.
- Knowingly permits one's words to be submitted
by another person without the faculty member's permission.
- Acts as a substitute or utilizes a substitute
in any academic evaluation.
- Fabricates data in support of laboratory
or fieldwork.
- Possesses, buys, sells, obtains or uses
a copy of any materials intended to be used as an instrument
of academic evaluation in advance of its administration.
- Alters grade records of his/her own or
another student's work in a course or a component of a
course.
Penalties for Dishonesty
In addition to any adverse academic action that may result
from engaging in academically dishonest behavior, the University
specifically reserves the right to address and sanction
the conduct involved through the student disciplinary procedure
contained in this bulletin. Academic actions may be reviewed
under the Academic Appeals Policy.
Sex Offenses on Campus
It is the policy of KPC that the sexual assault of one member
of the academic community by another will not be tolerated.
This policy applies to all members of the campus community:
students, faculty and staff. The term sexual assault, as
used by KPC encompasses the legal definitions of sexual
assault contained in Alaska state statutes. It includes,
but is not limited to: rape, acquaintance or date rape,
as well as rape by a stranger. Sexual assault is against
the law and is defined as sexual misconduct that is forced
or coerced against the will of the victim. The same definition
applies regardless of whether the assailant is a stranger
or an acquaintance (date, friend, or someone known casually.)
This type of threat may involve physical violence, coercion,
or the threat of harm. A person who has been the victim
of sexual assault should report the crime to the Director's
Office or the local police. Student Services may provide
initial support services for students on the KPC campus.
Staff will serve in an advocacy role and help refer individuals
for appropriate medical, police, judicial, and counseling
services. In the event an accused person is found in violation
of this policy, the entire range of sanctions outlined in
the Student Code of Conduct may be considered including,
but not limited to, disciplinary probation, suspension,
or expulsion from the College. Should the alleged sexual
assault involve an employee, sanctions will be determined
under applicable employment contracts and agreements. In
an effort to educate the campus community about sexual assault,
acquaintance rape, and other sex offenses, campus sponsored
prevention programs are offered on an on-going basis throughout
the year. Additional information about the above policy,
and programs offered can be obtained from Student Services.
Sexual assault may also be considered a violation of the
University of Alaska's policy against sexual harassment.
According to the UA Board of Regents' policy (4.08.02),
sexual harassment involves unwelcome sexual advances or
requests for sexual favors by a member of the campus community
when the assailant uses, threatens to use, or implies that
submission to, or rejection of such conduct will have an
impact on employment or academic decisions affecting the
victim. Sexual harassment includes other verbal or physical
conduct related to sex when such conduct has the purpose
or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's
performance at work or study by creating an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive environment in which to work, live,
or learn. The Director's office or Student Services can
provide information and referral on issues of sexual harassment.
Smoke Free Environment
The college endorses the Alaska "No Smoking Law"
and asks all concerned to respect the individual rights
to health and personal privileges of others. Alaska State
statute prohibits smoking in public buildings and classrooms.
Alcohol Policy
The mission of the University and Student Services is to
promote the education of the whole student. The University
is concerned about ways in which alcohol use and abuse may
affect the primary academic mission of the institution,
its overall atmosphere and the personal well being of the
University community. The laws of the state shall be observed
in all private and public events conducted on the property
of the University of Alaska Anchorage. Whether or not a
person drinks alcoholic beverages is a personal decision,
but individuals are held personally accountable for their
actions. The primary objectives of the University's policy
and procedures on alcoholic beverages are to: 1) promote
responsible behavior and attitudes among all members of
the University community, 2) to educate the university community
concerning the use and effects of alcoholic beverages in
order to promote responsible decision-making, 3) To help
individuals experiencing difficulties associated with the
use of alcohol. No University activity or function shall
include the service of alcoholic beverages to participants
without the advance written approval of the Chancellor or
the designee of the Chancellor. Approval to serve alcoholic
beverages will be granted only for the designated premises
and approximate time of private University events and upon
the condition that only persons of legal age with positive
identification will be served. Personal consumption, possession,
or display of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages is
prohibited in University public places. The possession of
kegs and other large quantities of alcoholic beverages will
only be allowed by special permission of the Chancellor.
Any person who exhibits offensive behavior, misconduct,
excessive noise, or creates a public disturbance on property
owned or supervised by the University will be subject to
disciplinary and /or legal action.
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