Absence for Religious Reasons

Students who, due to religious beliefs, are unable to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study or work requirements on a particular day, shall be excused from any such examination or study or requirement, and shall be provided with an opportunity to make up such examination, study, or work requirement which they may have missed because of such absence on any particular day, provided, however, that such makeup examination or work shall not create an unreasonable burden upon the school. No fees of any kind shall be charged by the institution for making available to said students such opportunity. No adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to students for availing themselves of the provisions for an absence for religious reasons in accordance with Chapter 375, General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Academic Ethics and Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a very serious violation of academic ethics and the NECC Student Code of Conduct. The college expects all students to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity.

Plagiarism is defined by the College to be the use of any other person’s research, images, words or ideas as though they were your own, without giving appropriate credit to the original source. If a student uses another person’s research, images, words or ideas he/she must give credit to the original source through proper citation (consult the instructor about this requirement), regardless of whether the use is a direct quote, or it is incorporated into his/her own work.

Instructors are required to provide students with a clearly written definition of plagiarism applicable in their discipline as part of the course syllabus that they provide during the first two weeks of each course.

Plagiarism may range in severity from unintentional omission of credit, to intentional, dishonest representation of borrowed work as one’s own. In most cases, plagiarism will be dealt with by the faculty member in charge of the course, and students will be sanctioned according to the severity of the offense.

Students’ academic offenses, as outlined in the Regulations Governing Student Conduct (see Student Code of Conduct at www.necc.mass.edu/collegepolicies), are usually handled by faculty members and/or their supervisors, with the procedural protections mentioned in the Regulations Governing Student Conduct.

Students are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is in each of their classes. The college’s definition and that of their instructor will be used as a criterion against which all plagiarism allegations will be judged. Instances of plagiarism will be addressed first by the instructor who discovers, or is made aware of, the incident. Instructors must discuss the evidence of plagiarism with the student prior to taking action. Instructors who take action as a result of a plagiarism incident may report such action to the vice president of academic affairs. There shall be a range of penalties at the discretion of the instructor which may extend to a recommendation to the vice president of academic affairs for expulsion from the College. The vice president of academic affairs may take disciplinary action against students who are reported for plagiarism.

Students have a right to file a grievance if they feel that the action taken in the alleged plagiarism case discriminated or abrogated their individual or student rights. Students may contact the vice president of enrollment management and student services office for detailed information regarding the Board of Higher Education’s Student Grievance Procedures.

Attendance and Participation
(NP Policy)

For classroom, laboratory, videoconference, and clinical courses, students are expected to attend each meeting of each class in which they are enrolled. For online courses, students are expected to participate at a level acceptable to the instructor. In every case, the class instructor has full and final authority to decide whether a student is permitted to make up work missed through absence or lack of participation, and on what terms. Attendance and participation policies are noted on each course syllabus.

Faculty have the academic authority to remove students from their class for nonattendance or non-participation. A non-participating (NP) student is one who has excessive absences, has missed quizzes, tests or papers, or otherwise has failed to meet the participation standard clearly delineated in the course instructor’s syllabus.

An NW grade is assigned when non-participating students are removed from a class. Although the NW grade is not included in students’ grade point average, it may have other adverse consequences.

A student may be removed from a course for inappropriate classroom behavior that is in clear violation of the student code of conduct published in the Student Code of Conduct and NECC Policies & Procedures (see www.necc. mass.edu/collegepolicies). Faculty must follow notification procedures as prescribed in the code and should not use the NP Policy for this purpose.

Home Schooling Policy

All home school students, without a high school diploma or GED, are eligible to apply for admission to a degree or certificate program provided they have successfully completed an approved home school program in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws or the laws of their home state.

To determine whether a student has participated in an approved home school program, the student shall submit, with the application for admission, evidence that the home school program was approved by the student’s school district’s superintendent or school committee. Additionally, if the home schooled student is under the age of compulsory attendance, which is sixteen (16) years old in Massachusetts, a letter from the student’s school district’s superintendent or school committee is required stating that the student is not considered truant and would not be required to attend further schooling or continue to be home-schooled if the student has completed his/her home school program before the age of sixteen (16).

The College reserves the right to limit or deny enrollment of any student under the age of sixteen (16) in a course of program based on a case-by-case consideration of a variety of factors, including but not limited to: the student’s maturity, life experience, placement test scores, prior education, course content, instructional methodology, and potential risks associated with participation in a particular course or program.

Mandatory Assessment and Planned Course Placement

Academic Assessment at NECC is defined as a test of a student’s abilities in reading, writing, math, and English as a Second Language (ESL).

The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education mandates that all students entering state colleges must complete an assessment in order to determine basic skills levels for course placement. Based on assessment results, a student may be required to initially enroll in one or more developmental or ESL courses in order to prepare for college level course work.

Assessment and planned course placement are required for students who meet one or more of the following criteria:

•Students enrolling in a degree or certificate program (matriculated students).

•Students enrolling in the following courses: English Composition I; college level math; developmental reading, writing, and math; ESL; all courses with numbers beginning with zero; and all other courses with entrance level skills requirements.  Please refer to the course description to determine if an assessment is required for a particular course.

Expiration of Assessment results: All math, developmental reading and writing, and ESL course placements are valid for one year from the date of assessment.

College level placements in reading and writing are valid for three years from the date of assessment.

Assessment Waivers: Students with prior college credits or SAT scores may be eligible for a partial or full waiver of the Assessment.

Waivers are granted based on review of college transcripts, CLEP and Advanced Placement Transcripts. Contact Enrollment Services at 978-556-3700 or stop in one of the Career Planning and Advising Centers to inquire about the waiver process.

Assessment Methods: Reading, writing and math assessments are administered with the state-mandated Accuplacer test, a web-based assessment system. Students who apply for enrollment in English Language courses will be assessed with the Accuplacer LOEP reading test and specialized grammar, writing and communication assessments.

Special Accommodations for Assessments: Students with documented disabilities should contact the Learning Accommodations Center to arrange for special accommodations well in advance of their assessment date.

** Courses are limited and must be selected from an approved list. The list is updated on a regular basis and is available in the Career Planning and Advising Center or at this link:

http://facstaff.necc.mass.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/aa-dsr.pdf