General Academic Information (all students)

Registration

Students must be properly registered and have their tuition and fees paid for all courses they are attending. No student shall be permitted to attend a class without processing a registration form, regardless of whether that class is being taken for credit, audit or continuing education units (CEU).

Melbourne Campus and Education Centers

Access Florida Tech is the online portal that enables enrolled students at Florida Tech to register for classes, make schedule changes, and access and print their academic and personal information. Students may view and print course descriptions, semester class schedules, address and telephone information, all grades to date and a financial account summary by term, in addition to making payments. Access Florida Tech can be found via the Florida Tech home page at www.fit.edu. Obtaining access to student-specific information online requires a TRACKS account username and password assigned to students by the institution.

Florida Tech Online

Registering before admission allows students to begin classes while gathering all application components. Students are required to complete the online application and submit the required documents including a complete academic history. Students may register for up to two consecutive 8-week terms before being fully admitted.

Registering before admission and pending formal acceptance requires a determination of a high probability of eventual acceptance into the program applied for and that registration before admission is in the best interest of both the academic unit and the student.

Students who register before admission are not eligible to receive federal student financial aid until fully admitted to the university. Such registration requires a preliminary review of written documentation from the degree-granting institution (not necessarily official) showing previous academic courses taken, grades received and degrees awarded. In the event that applicants are denied admission while enrolled, they will be given the option of either withdrawing with full tuition refund or completing the courses underway. If the applicant completes one or more courses before being denied admission or completes a course for any other reason, he or she will not be given the option of withdrawing or receiving a tuition refund after completing the course.

Minimum Degree Requirements

Degree programs at Florida Tech use the semester credit hour unit. All programs offered at the university meet or exceed the minimum accreditation requirement of 60 successfully completed credit hours for the associate degree; 120 successfully completed credit hours for the bachelor’s degree; and 30 successfully completed credit hours for master’s degree programs. Doctoral programs will require a minimum of 42 successfully completed credit hours beyond the master’s degree.

Most programs at Florida Tech exceed the minimum and require students to successfully complete all coursework before being granted a degree. Students should work closely with their academic advisor to ascertain they have met the requirements for their chosen major.

Credit Hour Defined

Florida Tech defines one hour of classroom time as 50 minutes, in accordance with commonly accepted practice in higher education and in a reasonable approximation of the Carnegie unit for contact time.

When courses are developed using new delivery models such as distance, online, hybrid and low residency, they are created by campus faculty or appropriate academically qualified subject matter experts and submitted to the academic unit for review and endorsement. Academic units are responsible for identifying the amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes established for the course.

Student engagement may include online lectures, seminars, threaded discussions, video exercises, web-based laboratories and/or additional structured learning activities and independent work in lieu of class time. Final review and approval is the responsibility of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UGCC) or Graduate Council (GC) to ensure the workload and engagement required of the student are equivalent to standard credit hours. Conformity with the policy is also reinforced in a review of course content by the responsible academic unit.

The following are guidelines for the implementation of Florida Tech’s credit hour policy.

Traditional Lecture Courses: A traditional one lecture credit hour is defined as a 50-minute in-class period for about 15 sessions over an academic semester (about 750 minutes), and a minimum of 100-minute combined out-of-class assignment/preparation period per session (about 1,500 minutes), for a total of 2,250 minutes of engaged learning time.

Hybrid or Online Courses: Credit hours associated with these organizational types of courses should be equivalent to credit hours for courses delivered traditionally. As stated above, academic units proposing these courses are responsible for identifying the amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes established for the course. Equivalency of the workload and engagement required of the student to standard credit hours will be determined by the UGCC or the Graduate Council.

Laboratory: A traditional one laboratory credit hour is defined as a 75- to 150-minute in-laboratory period for at least 12 sessions over an academic semester or 900 to 1,800 minutes.

Fieldwork/Practicum: One credit hour of fieldwork/practicum translates to 200 to 335 minutes for 15 sessions over an academic semester.

Internship: A traditional one internship credit hour is defined as 200 minutes of on-site or site-related activity per week for 15 weeks.

Applied Music/Large Ensembles/Chamber and Specialty Ensembles: One credit hour of ensemble/chamber work is equivalent to approximately three hours of instruction and a minimum of three hours of practice each week, on average, for 15 weeks. One half-hour credit of applied music instruction is defined as approximately one hour of instruction and a minimum of three hours of practice each week, on average, for 14 weeks.

Supervised Research Experience/Undergraduate Research: Supervised research is designated as one credit or three credits only. A traditional one-credit research experience is defined as 180 to 240 minutes per week of research-related activity. A traditional three-credit experience is defined as 540 to 720 minutes per week of research-related activity, plus an end-of-the-semester project deliverable.

Variable credit courses: Courses available for variable credit must meet Florida Tech’s credit hour policy requirements and must clearly demonstrate the amount of student work for each credit hour assigned.

Thesis/Dissertation: A one-credit thesis/dissertation experience is defined as a minimum of 180 minutes per week of scholarly activity.

Definition of Full Time/Part Time

Melbourne Campus

The following credit hour standards are used to determine a Melbourne campus student’s enrollment status. See “Veterans Accounts and Benefits” under Financial Overview  for credit hour standards used for certification of students receiving veterans education benefits.

Florida Tech Online

The following credit hour standards are used to determine a Florida Tech Online student’s enrollment status. Florida Tech Online undergraduate students are strongly encouraged to limit their enrollment to two courses per 8-week term. See “Veterans Accounts and Benefits” under Financial Overview  for credit hour standards used for certification of students receiving veterans education benefits.

Education Centers

The graduate student policy above under “Melbourne Campus” applies equally to education center students. See “Veterans Accounts and Benefits” under Financial Overview  for credit hour standards used for certification of students receiving veterans education benefits.

English Language Proficiency

All Students/Campuses

English language proficiency is required of all students whose home language is not English and who are taking academic courses at Florida Tech.

See “English and Languages ” under the School of Arts and Communication  for information on acceptable proof of English proficiency, the availability of TOEFL examinations online and on campus, and help with English proficiency provided by Florida Tech to students whose home language is not English.

Demonstrating English Proficiency

English language proficiency is not required for admission, but enrollment in academic courses will be limited for all whose home language is not English until proficiency can be demonstrated. Florida Tech Online students must provide proof of English language proficiency before attending courses. See “English and Languages ” under the School of Arts and Communication  for more information, along with references to the Florida Tech courses available to help establish proficiency.

Student Advising

An advisor in the first- and second-year experience (FSYE) office serves as the primary advisor for all new full-time students who enter the university with less than 60 earned credit hours. A student who enters with 0-29 credit hours works with an FSYE advisor for four consecutive semesters. A student who enters with 30-59 credit hours works with an FSYE advisor for two consecutive semesters. After working with an FSYE advisor, the student transitions to an appointed faculty advisor in the academic department.

New students who enter the university with more than 59 earned credit hours proceed directly to advisement in the academic department where a faculty member serves as the primary advisor. The academic success advisor in the FSYE office serves as the secondary advisor and can address general questions and concerns.

Academic advising is an ongoing process that facilitates the academic, social and preprofessional development of students at Florida Tech. Advisors help students clarify academic, professional and personal goals, and provide support to encourage the realization of these goals. Advisors provide timely and accurate information, referrals and advice regarding a wide range of matters, with the intention of promoting responsible decision-making. Advisors assist students with academic planning, course selection and registration, and monitor students’ progress on an ongoing basis. Advisors also increase students’ awareness of clubs and organizations, extracurricular activities and resources that will contribute to their development and adaptation to college life.

Florida Tech Online students are advised by the online coordinator or academic program chair of their major.

Education center students should contact their program chair or the site director at their location for advising issues.

Transcripts

All courses taken at Florida Tech are indicated in chronological order on the student’s academic transcript. A request for a transcript may be made through the National Student Clearinghouse (www.sutdentclearinghouse.org). Students with holds on their accounts will not be able to order transcripts online.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

A student’s academic standing is expressed by the cumulative GPA, determined by dividing the total number of grade points earned at Florida Tech by the total number of credit hours attempted. The number of grade points for each course is the product of the credit hours for the course, and A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0. Plus and minus grades (e.g., B+) are not used at Florida Tech. The GPA is truncated at three digits. In the case of multiple degrees earned as a graduate student, the transcript reports both an overall GPA for all courses taken and the program GPA based on courses that apply to each degree.

Undergraduate and graduate GPAs are never combined. An undergraduate student who takes a graduate course and wishes it to be included on his or her undergraduate transcript must submit a written request to the registrar’s office. Once the graduate course has been included on the undergraduate transcript it cannot be used toward fulfillment of the requirements of any graduate degree, except in the case of students participating in an accelerated master’s program. Accelerated or fast track programs are not available in all majors or colleges.

Notification of Grades

At the end of each semester (or 8-week term for Florida Tech Online students), the registrar’s office notifies enrolled students of grades earned by posting them to their online student record. These grades become a part of the official student permanent record and are not subject to change, except on authorization from the instructor, academic unit head and respective dean, and then only when an incomplete (I) grade was received and the required work completed, or there is tangible evidence the grade was erroneously recorded.

Students have the first four weeks of the following academic term to request an error in grading be corrected. Completing academic work after the course has ended is only permissible if the student received an incomplete (I) grade and cannot be used to change any other grade assigned. Grades cannot be changed once a student has graduated. See the Incomplete Work policy below for more information.

Melbourne Campus

During the ninth week of classes, Melbourne campus students not making satisfactory progress in 1000- and 2000-level courses are notified of their status.

Florida Tech Online

The learning management systems (LMS) makes weekly notifications to students when they have not shown satisfactory progress in an assignment.

Incomplete Work

An I is given when a course cannot be completed because of circumstances beyond the student’s control. The I indicates the coursework is qualitatively satisfactory and there is a reasonable expectancy that completion of the remaining work would result in a passing grade. The instructor must provide a statement of the work to be completed to the head of the academic unit. The student must complete the work at the earliest possible time but before the beginning of the seventh week of the following semester (the fourth week for Florida Tech Online), unless an earlier deadline is established at the time the I is recorded and the student is notified of this fact. Incomplete grades from the spring semester automatically become an F after the sixth week of the following fall semester.

A waiver of the six-week time limitation requires the written permission of the cognizant dean. The I will automatically become an F in the seventh week (fifth week for Florida Tech Online) unless an approved waiver with a satisfactory completion date has been received by the registrar’s office.

College of Aeronautics flight courses (AVF) are exempt from the six-week time limit. Flight courses still carrying an I after one calendar year will automatically become an F unless a waiver stating a satisfactory completion date signed by the director of FIT Aviation and approved by the dean of the college has been received by the registrar’s office.

Petition to Graduate

Melbourne Campus and Education Center Students

A student planning to receive any degree must petition to graduate no later than the date shown in the academic calendar appropriate to their admission status (Melbourne campus or education center students). Students petitioning after the due date are subject to a late fee and may not be able to graduate as planned because of insufficient time to verify completion of requirements.

Florida Tech Online Students

An online student planning to receive any degree must petition to graduate no later than Friday of the 5th week of the term prior to the intended graduation term, which may be the term classes are completed. It is possible to petition late with the payment of a late fee. Late petitions will not be accepted within three days of commencement exercises. The student may forego the late fee by petitioning for the following term.

Drop/Withdrawal Policy

Students are responsible for maintaining written evidence of all drops/withdrawals. Telephone and email drops/withdrawals will not be accepted. Failure to attend classes or verbal notification to instructors does not constitute an official drop or withdrawal. Students who drop or withdraw without filing the proper form will receive a failing grade of F.

Melbourne Campus and Education Center Students

To add or drop a course, or withdraw from the university, a student must complete a Change in Registration Status form. Melbourne campus students withdrawing from the university are asked to complete a withdrawal survey in the Registration Center. Education center students are asked to complete the survey in the student’s site office.

Failure to attend classes or verbal notification to instructors does not constitute an official drop or withdrawal. Students who drop or withdraw without filing the proper form will receive a failing grade of F. When a Melbourne campus or education center student drops a course during the first two weeks of class (except in a summer term) the course will not appear on the permanent academic record.

After this date, a W will appear on the permanent record for each dropped course. The W is not used in the computation of the semester and cumulative grade point average. The last day to drop a course without receiving a failing grade is published in the academic calendar.

Florida Tech Online Students

Students must withdraw through Access Florida Tech. Students can drop a course through the end of the first week of classes without receiving a grade of W. From the end of the first week through the end of the sixth week, a grade of W will be assigned. That grade will be reflected on their transcript, but not calculated into a grade point average. After week six, students will receive the grade earned in the class. To initiate a withdrawal from an online class, students must log into Access Florida Tech.

Withdrawals during week one are considered drops. A grade of W is not added to the transcript. Florida Tech Online students can drop a course through the end of the first week of classes without receiving a grade of W.

If a Florida Tech Online undergraduate student withdraws from ASC 1006 Mastering eLearning , a graded degree requirement for all Florida Tech Online undergraduate degree programs, they will be required to register for it the next term they take courses. After three course withdrawals, a student will be placed in the lowest level mathematics and communication courses, usually determined by the diagnostic assessments from ASC 1006.

Readmission Policy

A student must apply for readmission if he or she has been away from the university for two years, or four or more consecutive full-length semesters (12 or more 8-week terms for Florida Tech Online students and excluding Melbourne campus and education center summer terms) or who has attended another institution during an absence from the university. If readmission is approved, the degree requirements in place at the time of readmission, or later with academic approval, must be met. A student is not considered absent from the university during a period of study at another institution if a Request to Study at Another Institution form was submitted and approved before enrollment for the other institution’s courses. A student who has been away from the campus for less than four semesters (12 8-week terms for Florida Tech Online students) and who has not attended any other college or university may register without filing an application for readmission.

A student who leaves the university for military service will be readmitted with the same academic status he or she had when last in attendance at Florida Tech. This rule is binding as long as the student’s length of absence from the institution has not exceeded five years.

For students attending under the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC), breaks-in-attendance of two years or fewer will not invalidate the Student Agreement, nor will the student’s activity be defined by taking courses exclusively at the home college.

Appeal procedures for students who have been academically dismissed and seek reinstatement are described under “Probation and Dismissal” in this section.

Course Numbers Defined

A Florida Tech course number consists of three subject code letters followed by a four-digit number. Numbers beginning with 0 are developmental in nature and do not count toward a degree. Numbers beginning with 1, 2, 3 and 4 indicate undergraduate courses, and those beginning with 5 and 6 indicate graduate courses. Graduate students may take 3000- and 4000-level courses, subject to limitations and restrictions delineated in the graduate policy. 5000- and 6000-level courses are intended for master’s and doctoral students.

Courses listed under more than one prefix or listed as interchangeable (i.e., MAR 2332 Primer for Biomath  and MTH 2332 Primer for Biomath ; MTH 1001 Calculus 1  and MTH 1010 Honors Calculus 1  ) may not be repeated for credit under the alternate prefix or interchangeable course name/number.

Course Cancellation/Schedule Changes

The university reserves the right to cancel classes for which there is insufficient enrollment, to close a class when the enrollment limit in that class is reached and to make schedule changes as necessary, including changes in time, days, credit or instructor. The university takes the needs of students into account and schedule changes are made only when unavoidable.

Course Loads

All Students/Melbourne Campus

Students may register for a maximum of 21 semester credit hours for any fall or spring semester and 13 semester credit hours for any summer term. Registration in excess of that described above requires the prior written permission of the dean of the appropriate college.

Course Substitution

Course substitutions must have the written approval of the student’s academic program chair or academic advisor and academic unit head and must meet the following conditions:

• A course used as substitution should be within one level (higher or lower) of the course to be substituted.
• The substitution should have similar content to the course being replaced.
• Substitutions should be submitted as early as possible to facilitate accurate graduation audits.
• Departments offering the course to be substituted should be consulted as appropriate.
• Courses used as substitutions do not have to carry the same number of semester credit hours as the course they are replacing nor do they affect the total credit hours needed for the student’s degree program.
• Substitutions must be generated by the appropriate advisor or student coordinator.

Substitutions are recorded on the student’s program plan and used to audit degree requirements. A copy of the approved course substitution is maintained in the student’s file.

Continuing Education

A continuing education (CE) student is defined as one who is not seeking a degree from Florida Tech. CE students will customarily enroll for courses on the basis of receiving continuing education units (CEUs), rather than graduate or undergraduate credit. The CEU is a nationally recognized unit that indicates successful participation in a qualified program of continuing education. It is defined as 10 contact hours of participation in an organized educational experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction and qualified instruction.

Students enrolled for CEUs in courses that are being offered for academic credit are required to do all homework, outside reading assignments, term papers or special assignments and to attend at least 90 percent of the class sessions, but they are not required to take midterm or final examinations.

In some situations, the CE student may want or need to receive credit rather than CEUs, and this alternative is allowable. Students enrolled for credit, whether degree-seeking or not, must take all examinations in addition to completing all course assignments. Students may switch from CEU to credit or vice versa, any time before the end of the first week of classes.

A CE student may not enroll in any course, either for credit or for CEUs, without the approval of the Academic Support Center and head of the academic unit offering the course. This approval will be based on a review of the student’s previous preparation and qualifications, an assessment that the student is capable of completing all course assignments (homework, reading, term papers, etc.) and may also take into consideration the effect of enrollment of CE students on the course and/or academic program. Such approval will be sought and given on a course-by-course basis and may be withheld at the academic unit head’s discretion.

A CE student may seek admission to a degree program through the normal admission process. If a CE student subsequently decides to pursue either an undergraduate or graduate degree at Florida Tech and is accepted into that degree program, a maximum of 12 semester credit hours earned as a CE student may be applied toward the degree, provided the coursework is academically appropriate.

Directed Study

Melbourne Campus or Education Centers

Directed study is a means of allowing a student to register for a course during a semester when it is not included in the online or printed Schedule of Classes. To enroll in a directed study course, a Request for Directed Study Course form should be initiated and approved according to form instructions. Approval is at the discretion of the academic unit head or program chair responsible for the course, and normally requires evidence of a compelling need by the student. The student should submit the approved form to the Registration Center during normal registration hours. The tuition rate for a directed-study course is the standard undergraduate or graduate rate, plus an additional directed-study fee.

Auditing Classes

Melbourne Campus

A student may audit a course with the permission of his or her academic advisor and payment of an audit fee. The audit fee is waived for full-time undergraduate students. An auditor does not receive a grade; an AU is recorded on the transcript in place of the grade if the auditor has, in general, maintained a satisfactory course attendance (usually 75 percent class attendance) and completed the appropriate assignments. If the student does not meet requirements, a final grade of F may be awarded. No changes in registration from credit to audit or from audit to credit will be permitted after the second week of classes. Students must register for audit at the Registration Center.

Auditing classes is not available to Florida Tech Online students due to the fully-interactive nature of the online degree programs.

Senior Citizen Program

The senior citizen program allows individuals age 65 and over to enroll in courses for credit or audit without charge. Participation in this program is restricted to individuals who are seriously committed to learning and to courses taught on the Melbourne campus in Florida.

A prospective student wishing to enroll in the senior citizen program must apply for admission as a nondegree-seeking student and be admitted. All records of any prior postsecondary coursework must accompany the application. Copies of transcripts are acceptable in lieu of official transcripts. If no previous postsecondary coursework was completed, proof of high school graduation is required.

A brief statement of “Qualifications through Life Experience” may be submitted with the application. A statement of educational goals and a determination by the appropriate admission office (undergraduate or graduate) that the applicant’s educational and life experience history supports a reasonable expectation of successful accomplishment of those goals are necessary.

Enrollment is permitted based on space availability, following the last day of class in the preceding semester or summer term.

Annual Notification of Student Rights (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) as Amended established a set of regulations governing access to and the release of personal and academic information contained in student education records. FERPA applies to the education records of persons who are or have been in attendance in postsecondary institutions, including students in cooperative or correspondence study programs. FERPA does not apply to records of applicants for admission who have been denied acceptance or, if accepted, do not attend an institution.

Education records are all records that contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency or institution, or a party acting for the institution. Exceptions to education records include sole possession records, law enforcement unit records, employment records, health records and alumni records. Rights under FERPA are not given to students enrolled in one component of an institution who seek to be admitted to another component of the institution. It is in violation of FERPA to use a social security number provided by a third party to verify or match data in student records and provide that data to the third party without the student’s written consent.

Under FERPA, the rights accorded to parents transfer to students who have reached the age of 18 or who attend a postsecondary institution. These rights are:

1. The right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of the day the university receives a request for access. Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic unit or another appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The university official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the university official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be made.
    
2. The right to request amendment of the student’s education records the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. A student should write the university official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want to be changed and why it is felt to be inaccurate or misleading.
   
   FERPA was not intended to provide a process to be used to question substantive judgments that are correctly recorded. The rights of challenge are not intended to allow students to contest, for example, a grade in a course because they felt a higher grade should have been assigned.
   
   If the university decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the university will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
    
3. The right to consent to the disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s educational records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position, including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff; and a person or a company with whom the university has contracted, such as attorney, auditor or collection agent (includes consultants, volunteers and other non-employees performing institutional services and functions).
   
   Disclosure is defined as permitting access to or the release, transfer or other communication of the educational records of a student or the personally identifiable information contained therein to any party orally, in writing, by electronic means or by any other means. Disclosure of confidential information to a school official having a legitimate educational interest does not constitute authorization to share that information with a third party without the student’s written permission.
   
   FERPA allows release of the following directory information to the public without student consent: student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field(s) of study, email address, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of athletic team members, dates of attendance, part-time or full-time status, degrees and awards/ honors received and the most recent educational institution attended other than Florida Tech.
   
   Students may prevent the release of directory information by completing a Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information form available online and from the Office of the Registrar. By law, however, a student cannot prevent the release of directory information to the U.S. military for recruiting purposes. Student consent is required for the release of personally identifiable information such as semester grades, academic record, current academic standing, class schedules and Social Security/student number.
   
   Student consent is not legally required for disclosure of this information to certain government agencies/ officials, sponsoring agencies and to selected university personnel determined to have a legitimate educational interest in such records. Reports of alcohol or drug policy violations by students under the age of 21 may also be released to those entities. The university may exercise discretion in releasing personally identifiable information.
   
   Students may consent to release personally identifiable information to others by completing the Authorization for Release of Student Information form available online and from the registrar’s office.
   
   Information about the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended, and the full text of the law may be obtained from the registrar’s office.
    
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Florida Tech to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is Family Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave., SW Washington, DC 20202-4605.

The Solomon Amendment established guidelines for the release of directory information to the United States military for recruiting purposes. This Congressional act allows release of the following directory information without student consent to military recruiters for present and previously enrolled students at least 17 years of age: student name, address, date and place of birth, telephone number, level of education, major field(s) of study, degrees received and the educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled.

Student Right to Know

Florida Institute of Technology is in compliance with both the Student Right to Know Act of 1990 and the Campus Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990.

The Office of Security and Safety keeps statistics on compliance with the act. These statistics are updated annually and can be found at www.fit.edu/security/crime_stats.php. They are also available upon request to other interested parties.

Information on Florida Tech’s six-year graduation rate can be found at https://www.fit.edu/institutional-research/core-values–student-success/full-time-ftic-retention-and-graduation-rates/.

Campus Standards, Behavior and University Discipline

A comprehensive system of rules, regulations and campus code of conduct is published online by the Office of the Dean of Students. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with these policies and to adhere to them.

Students who violate the university code of conduct, student housing rules and regulations, or any other university regulation are subject to disciplinary action by the university.

Students who are found to be responsible for serious violations of university policy are subject to dismissal.

Disciplinary matters are the responsibility of the dean of students.

Academic Integrity

Florida Tech views acts of cheating, plagiarism and academic dishonesty very seriously. The penalties for any type of dishonesty are at the instructor’s discretion in conjunction with the student’s college dean. Depending on the severity of the infraction, the penalties for acts that seem intentional range from a failing grade of F (0 points) on the assignment to a failing grade of F for the course. Severe acts that seem intentional will be forwarded to the dean of students with a recommendation for formal disciplinary action. Any act of dishonesty will be documented for future reference in the student’s academic file.

Faculty have access to www.turnitin.com. This online tool is used to determine if plagiarism has occurred and may be used at the discretion of the faculty member for any assignments, required coursework and tests.

Academic honesty is highly valued in all Florida Tech’s courses, whether in the classroom or online. The student must always submit work that represents original words or ideas. If any words or ideas are used that do not represent those original words or ideas, the student must cite all relevant sources and provide a clear definition of the extent to which such sources were used.

Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source.

In a Florida Tech online course, all submissions to any public meeting (bulletin board or private mailbox) fall within the scope of words and ideas that require citations if used by someone other than the original author.

Academic dishonesty could involve:

• Having a tutor or friend complete a portion of the student’s assignments.
• Having a reviewer make extensive revisions to an assignment.
• Copying work submitted by another student to another public class meeting.
• Using information from online information services without proper citation.

Any of these practices could result in charges of academic dishonesty. The complete student conduct policies may be found in their respective areas online.