Student Policies
Grading Policy
Maintaining standards is paramount important at AC/C TECH; mainly because it will assure that our students can do the work expected by the employer. In other words, we will not lower training expectations to accommodate students; instead, we will determine why the student is not meeting expectations and then work towards eliminating the cause(s).
AC/C TECH assigns percentage grades to individual assignments and courses, and percentage grades are reflected on the students’ transcript. AC/C TECH does not assign letter grades. Percentage grades are assigned as follows:
Performance Indicator
100 - 95% Superior
94 - 88% Good
87 - 80% Average
79 - 70% Passing
Students can also earn a “W” grade for withdrawal or a “WF” grade for withdrawal-failure. See Withdrawal policy for more information.
The student’s performance will be determined by completing lectures, labs, quizzes, a final examination, and OJT evaluations. As the minimum passing standard, students are required to demonstrate proficiency in all course activities by earning at least 70% of the available points for each assignment. That includes earning a 70% or higher score on the Final Examination, OJT Evaluation, and Final Score.
| Grading Criteria |
| Labs |
100 pts. 25% |
| Quizzes |
100 pts. 25% |
| Final Examination |
100 pts. 25% |
| OJT or Externship Evaluation |
100 pts. 25% |
|
-------------------- |
| Total |
400 pts. 100% |
AC/C TECH aligns its passing standards with industry standards. Mainly because [1] a 70% passing standard is required to earn a license in trades related to plumbing, electrical, and HVAC; [2] a 70% passing standard is required to earn an EPA Technician Certification; and [3] a 70% passing standard is required to achieve auditor training as administered by the IHCDA (Indiana Housing Community Development Authority).
Lab Policy
Students will have an option of repeating lab assignments 5 times to improve scores. The Employer will evaluate the student’s lab performance and report outcomes to our institution. The assignments and evaluations must be submitted before the course ends. If an evaluation is not submitted, the student will be given a zero score for that particular lesson.
Testing Policy
A 10 question quiz must be assigned at the end of each lecture. Also, students will have an option of repeating quizzes twice to improve scores. A 100 question final examination must be assigned at the end of all training lessons. Final examinations can be repeated, but just once. All tests must be completed before the course ends; otherwise, the student will be given a zero score for each test not completed. In addition, students can achieve test requirements on-line by using GoToMeeting software. The student is not required to have a subscription to GoToMeeting, but they must have access to a web camera. They can use a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, or mobile phone.
On-Job Training (OJT) Evaluation Policy
Students are required to submit 10 hours of OJT documentation for each course, the OJT must align with the course lessons, and the OJT documentation must be submitted to AC/C TECH within 30 days after the course ends. More specifically, the Employer will evaluate the student’s OJT performance and report outcomes to our institution. Again, the OJT assignments must parallel the lessons, for example, while a student is learning about electric furnace maintenance, he/she can assist in repairing or cleaning a furnace. While a student is learning about interior building maintenance, he/she can assist in prepping a unit for leasing.
OJT represents 25% of the training/learning experience, and therefore, it represents a meaningful balance among the evaluation process. The OJT evaluation process may stem from any of these areas:
- Work Orders - Students may be evaluated on how effectively they completed assignments; e.g.: did the student understand and respond to the work order correctly? Did the student demonstrate good diagnostic and repair techniques? Did the student adjust the equipment for optimum efficiency after making the repair? Was the work completed in a timely manner?
- Technical Skills - Students may be evaluated on following diagnostic and repair procedures, how much time was needed to correctly make the repair, understanding the equipment's sequence of operation, applying a systematic approach towards isolating electro-mechanical problems, use of reference materials, and proving his/her diagnosis.
- Special Projects - Students may be evaluated on how well they completed a special project.
- Safety Skills - Students may be evaluated on safety procedures such as; use of tools and testing devices, maintaining a clean and safe environment, or protecting the resident and/or property. A student will be stopped and receive a zero score if he/she makes a Gross Safety Violation. A Gross Safety Violation is anything that the student does or fails to do that significantly jeopardizes his/her safety or the resident’s safety.
- Customer Relation Skills - Students may be evaluated on professionalism. For example, how an introduction was made? Did the student interact with the resident? Was customer satisfaction achieved at the end of the service call?
- Documentation Skills - Students may be evaluated on how thorough, accurate, and legible work- orders are completed. Specifically, the work-order must include what was observed, diagnosed, repaired, and reflect what the resident was told?
Academic Progress Policy
In order to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, students must meet the following requirements:
- Students must earn at least 70% in each course. Students who fail to earn at least 70% in a course may continue to other courses and repeat the failed course during the summer, when standard courses are not scheduled, in order to continue to progress toward timely program completion.
- Students must also maintain a Completion Rate of at least 67% of all courses attempted. Courses attempted include all courses for which students enroll and withdraw after completing at least one lesson, or courses where a final grade is earned. Courses completed include all courses where a final grade of at least a 70% cumulative grade is earned. For example: A student who takes three courses during the regular course of the year, successfully passes two and fails one, then successfully retakes the failed course in the summer has a 75% completion rate (three course completions divided by four course attempts).
Students who fail to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements above are subject to the following academic discipline:
Academic Probation and Suspension
If students fail a course for the first time, they are allowed to retake it. If students fail the course a second time, or if they fail two or more different within a specified period, they are subject to the following academic disciplinary measures:
- Students who fail the same course twice are placed on academic probation.
- Students who fail the same course three times are suspended from the program for a period of not less than one year.
- Students who fail any two different courses within a nine-month period are placed on academic probation.
- Students who fail any three different courses within a 12-month period are suspended from the program for a period of not less than one year.
Academic Probation serves as a formal warning that the student will be subject to suspension if they fail again. This notice is removed from students’ transcripts if they remain in good academic standing for the next nine months after probation is applied.
Suspension Reinstatement Policy
After getting suspended, reinstatement is not automatic; the student must apply in writing and his/her documentation shall include a plan to correct all deficiencies. The President of AC/C TECH will establish a Committee to review the student’s plan. If the plan is considered genuine, the committee will make a recommendation for reinstatement. The President will review the recommendation(s) and make a final ruling. As additional information, the committee will consist of five individuals: one student, one Graduate, one AC/C TECH Administrator, and two Advisory Committee Members from the Apartment Industry.
Permanent Suspension Policy
Should a student get reinstated, and subsequently violate another policy that leads to a second 1-year suspension, he/she will be permanently removed from all AC/C TECH programs.
Academic Breaks Policy
Students are responsible for meeting all academic obligations prior to leaving for a scheduled break; e.g.: holidays, winter and spring breaks, etc. So again, you are required to complete all lessons, examinations, labs, and OJT commitments, FOR WHICH YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE.
In addition, students are responsible for meeting all academic obligations when classes resume. Be sure to make your travel plans in accordance with the institutional schedule and final examinations. You will not be excused or have an examination extended because of ill advised planning.
Course Extension Policy
Students are encouraged to complete all coursework pursuant to the schedule; however, course extensions may be granted due to extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances may include family or medical emergencies, work related accidents, building system failures*, job relocations, employment terminations, military deployments, natural disasters, universal precautions, or hazardous substances and cleanup.
* Building System Failures mean significant damage to the electrical power, gas supply, water distribution, sewer system, or building structure that requires maintenance work from numerous technicians until repaired. This definition does not include failures that one individual can repair.
Students who meet these criteria may submit a request to have his/her course extended. Documentation is required to support such claim. More importantly, students are required to set realistic goals and timelines to complete outstanding assignments. Requests stemming from routine maintenance operations will not be considered.
For students who are part of a participating employer partnership, if the request is denied, that decision can be appealed by obtaining approval from the student’s management team: specifically from [1] the Maintenance Director or Maintenance Committee, [2] Property Manager, and [3] Regional Property Manager. Their approval must be unanimous; otherwise, approval from the Company CEO is required.
Course Withdrawal Policy
Students may drop courses up to the 10th day of the term. Courses dropped will not appear on the student's transcript and will be considered a course attempt for Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations. Withdrawal between the 11th and 20th day of the term will be reflected on the students’ transcript as a “W” grade and be considered an attempted course for Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations. Withdrawal after the 20th day of the term will be reflected on the students’ transcript as a “WF” grade and be considered an attempted course and zero score for Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations.
Institutional approval of withdrawals are not required. However, it is recommended that students consult the AC/C TECH staff prior to withdrawing from a course, in order to review possible consequences of reducing their course load as withdrawal may affect Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and receipt of eligible benefits.
Students will be administratively withdrawn if no course activity has been completed by the end of the 20th day of their first course.
Student Code of Conduct
All candidates must commit to the AC/C TECH Honor Code. The Honor Code defines the ethical spirit in which students must work. This policy was implemented because maintenance technicians are required to complete assignments in occupied units while the resident is away. This will assure that all residents and their property are respected and that all work-orders are completed in a professional manner.
All candidates must commit to:
- Personal responsibility
- Academic honesty and integrity of work
- Moral respect for everyone and their property
- Ethical concern for the good of AC/C TECH and the good for our students.
Academic Honor Code
The following items are considered examples of academic violations of the Honor Code.
- Dishonest preparation of course work. In the preparation of assignments, intellectual honesty demands that a student not copy from another student’s work.
- Papers borrowed or purchased. It shall be considered an act of dishonesty for a student to submit any document that has been borrowed or purchased from any source whatsoever.
- Dishonest examination behavior. The unauthorized giving or receiving information during testing is prohibited. This applies to all types, such as quizzes and final examinations, written or oral or online tests, and lab or take-home tests. Unauthorized use of books, notes, papers, etc. is not acceptable.
- Excessive help. It shall be considered an act of dishonesty for a student to receive excessive help when performing lab assignments. Such help shall not exceed the general discussion of ideas. In short, excessive help is that in which the supervisor/technician diagnoses the problems and/or does most of the work. The instructor will define the parameters of legitimate help.
- Plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of stealing another person’s ideas or even his/her very words are borrowed without acknowledgement or credit being given. Plagiarism may be all the way from directly copying an entire paper from a single source to a merging together of quotations from many sources; it exists when these sources are not properly identified and when quoted material is not put in quotation marks or indented. Even when the student paraphrases the ideas of another writer, he/she is obligated to credit that writer.
- Dishonest OJT Documentation. Falsifying or submitting inaccurate OJT documentation will not be tolerated and such action is considered fraudulent.
- Aiding and Abetting. Aiding and abetting, related to cheating in any way, is considered academic dishonesty and shall be treated with the same consequences.
- Unauthorized Collaboration. Unauthorized collaboration is the use of another student or outside source on a test or assignment that was given with the intention that it was to be completed without assistance.
The above items are not the only violations to consider. AC/C TECH maintains that any violation in the spirit of the Honor Code is viewed as disobedience. If a student has doubt, he/she should consult the Director of Education before engaging in the practice.
Academic Discipline and Dismissal Policy
Faculty members of AC/C TECH are responsible for determining if a situation has risen to the level of academic dishonesty (cheating) and for the discipline of students whom they believe to be guilty. Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, will result in the loss of credit for that assignment and/or course. Second chances are given if the circumstances warrant such treatment.
The consequences depend on whether the incident is a single infraction, or involves multiple infractions. The result of a single violation may lead to a “0” score for the assignment, with no possibility of redoing the work. Multiple violations may lead to a “0” score for the course and subsequent dismissal from the program.
Non-Academic Dismissal Policy
Non-Academic Suspensions can stem from non-compliance with the Code of Conduct, absenteeism, poor behavior, or drug or theft related problems (or any violation of this publication). At the time of enrollment, students are required to review the Code of Conduct. A violation of these policies will result in disciplinary action that could range from counseling to suspension depending on the severity of the offense, the number of offenses involved, whether this is the first violation of the honor code, and the impact of the offense(s) on the rest of the AC/C TECH community. When an incident occurs, AC/C TECH will document the situation and warn the student that if it reoccurs, he/she will be suspended from the program for a period of not less than one year. The evaluation of the offense will be at the discretion of the Administrators with input coming from the instructors on a case-by-case basis.
Students who violate the Honor Code are subject to a grievance being filed against them. Such grievances will be reviewed by a Program Advisory Committee. Students found guilty of violating the Honor Code twice are subject to automatic suspension.
Any student who has had sanctions imposed by a faculty member and/or the Director of Education may appeal their case before a Student Complaint Resolution Committee. This committee will consist of five individuals: one active student, one graduate, one AC/C TECH Faculty Member, one AC/C TECH Administrator, and one Advisory Committee Member from the Apartment Industry.
Student Identity Verification
During the admission process, all candidates are required to submit identification (ID). Acceptable forms of ID include a valid driver’s license, governmental identification card, passport, or military identification.
appropriate intervals, instructors will verify the identity of students to assure that they are indeed the person who completed the online training. The student must present a photo ID which may include a valid driver’s license, governmental identification card, passport, or military identification. The instructor cross references the student’s photo ID with their appearance during the verification session. In addition, the instructors will verify if the student developed the skills necessary to complete work assignments expected of a maintenance technician. The instructor may ask questions related to diagnostic procedures, adjusting equipment for optimum efficiency, annual maintenance activities, etc.
Non-Discrimination Policy
AC/C TECH will not discriminate against individuals based on race, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, genetic information, age, disability, or national origin.