Policy: Under limited and extraordinary circumstances, a student may request permission to receive instruction via the means of an Independent Study class. In general, there are two conditions which must exist for a student to request an Independent Study. They are as follows:
- a specific course is required in a student’s degree plan for that student to graduate;
- no other course is available during that term as an appropriate substitute for the required course.
Procedure: A request for an Independent Study class must be initiated by a student, not an instructor. In addition, the student must request the Independent Study in writing from a specific instructor citing the specific justification for the Independent Study. The instructor must make the request with written justification to the appropriate Department Chair. That request must then be approved by the Department Chair, the Dean of Instruction, and the President. If approved, the President will transmit approval to the Dean of Students office who will create the Independent Study section.
Following approval of the Independent Study course by the President, but before instruction begins, the instructor will provide the Department Chair and the Dean of Instruction with a course syllabus and a Plan of Instruction citing how and when course content will be delivered to the student. Upon successful completion of the course by the student, the instructor will timely provide the Department Chair and the Dean of Instruction with a summary report of all course activities and all evaluation instruments.