Academic Policies

Rights and Responsibilities

Student Manifesto

We Nurture Talent

At American Sentinel University, nurturing students’ talent is our primary responsibility. We believe the only true measure of our success is our students’ success in their chosen fields.

To achieve our goals, American Sentinel pledges to our students that we will, to the best of our ability:

• Offer high-quality educational programs.
• Provide a response to student requests within 24 hours.
• Create a variety of innovative courses and programs that equip students with the latest and most desired knowledge in the marketplace.
• Employ the most innovative educational technologies.
• Provide world-class student services and support.
• Operate in a fiscally responsible manner to ensure students receive the best value tuition.
• Provide students annual reports on our progress toward meeting our goals.

Code of Student Conduct

The Code of Student Conduct serves only as a guide of acceptable due process procedures. The administration of American Sentinel University has the authority to modify or change the Code of Student Conduct at any time. The student is responsible for obtaining all published materials and updates to this code from the student website.

The primary concern of American Sentinel University is its students. American Sentinel attempts to provide an environment that is conducive to academic endeavor and social and individual growth. Enrollment at American Sentinel is considered implicit acceptance of the rules, regulations and guidelines governing student behavior. American Sentinel reaffirms each student’s privilege of exercising certain rights, including the right to appropriate due process in any disciplinary matter.

Categories of Misconduct

Misconduct for which students are subject to discipline falls into the following categories:

Acts of dishonesty:

• Academic dishonesty including but not limited to cheating and plagiarism.
  • Cheating includes (1) acquiring information for specifically assigned projects from another student, working with one or more persons on an exam that is to be taken as an individual or observing work from another individual’s exam; (2) providing information to another student for an exam that is meant to be taken individually or copying and giving out the exam or content prior to the exam time.
  • Plagiarism includes (1) failing to credit sources used in a work product in an attempt to pass off the work as one’s own; (2) attempting to receive credit for work performed by another person or student, including papers obtained in whole or in part from individuals or other sources.
  • Falsifying information includes (1) the falsification of the results obtained in research; (2) the written or oral presentation of results of research that have not been performed.
  • Conspiracy to commit an act of academic dishonesty.
• Furnishing false information to any university office or official, faculty member or staff member acting in an official capacity, or giving false testimony or other falsified evidence at any campus disciplinary hearing.
• Forgery, alteration or misuse of any university document, record or instrument of identification.
• Theft, unauthorized access to, or other abuse of computer systems (or computer time relating to college endeavors).
• Conspiring, planning or attempting to achieve any of the above acts.

Failure to meet official obligations to the university:

• Issuance of a check without sufficient funds.
• Failure to fulfill financial obligation(s) to the university.
• Failure to fulfill other legal obligation(s) to the university.
• Failure to comply with reasonable directions of or failure to heed an official summons of college officials, faculty or staff members.
• Failure to comply with the sanction(s) imposed under the Code of Student Conduct or sanctions otherwise imposed by the university.
• Conspiring, planning or attempting to achieve any of the above acts.

Code of Ethics for Nurses

Nursing students are expected to function within the framework of the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses. Students may purchase the Code of Ethics for Nurses by contacting the American Nurses Association Publishing Company or may view the code online.

Student Rights

Every American Sentinel University student has:

• The right to appeal academic matters such as school policies, regulations and processes that affect their academic progress.
• The right to receive academic information in writing at the beginning of a course of instruction and to request further clarification of the following information from the professor/ instructor delivering the course:
  • The course schedule, outline, and objectives.
  • The type of teaching/ learning methods to be employed in the course.
  • The methods of assessment of achievement and evaluation procedures.
  • Expectations of academic conduct from the course professor.
• The right to make, without fear of reprisal, a responsible complaint of unfairness, harassment, or discrimination, and the right to petition the appropriate authority for changes in university policies and procedures.
• The right to appeal academic grades.
• The right to be honestly and fully informed about the reason for institutional policies and procedures and to request change in policies and procedures.
• The right to be graded on academic performance and to be protected by well-defined procedures designed to prevent prejudiced or capricious evaluation by professors.
• The right to the privacy of his or her records and the right to examine of such records. This includes the right to be notified in the event of adverse information being placed in their official student file.
• The right, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act, to protection from release of information concerning any of his or her files to anyone without the student’s prior written consent.

Student Responsibilities

American Sentinel University believes academic integrity is the foundation of the academic community. Every member of the American Sentinel University community is responsible for promoting and maintaining honesty within the institution.

Students shall submit written or other work that is the product of their own efforts and was not accomplished dishonestly. Academic dishonesty includes the following:

• Copying from another student’s paper.
• Using material not authorized by the course instructor to complete an assignment or examination (for example, referring to the book on a non-open-book exam.
• Collaborating with another student during an examination without permission.
• Plagiarism.
• Collusion by obtaining or giving another student unauthorized assistance in course work.
• Falsification of any examination, paper, record, assignment or report.
• Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing or soliciting contents of an examination, paper, record, assignment or report.
• Representing oneself as another student for the purpose of taking an examination or allowing oneself to be represented by another for the same reason.
• Cheating of any kind.
• Furnishing false or misleading information to school officials or on official records.
• Forging, altering or misusing the school name, the name of any school employee, documents, records, or identification.
• Using any technology to infringe upon the rights of others.
• Using technology (or verbally threatening to do so) to take any action that endangers or impairs the safety, health, life or freedom of any person affiliated with American Sentinel University.
• Students not conducting themselves in a professional and courteous manner in the classroom environment.
• Students who violate any policy of American Sentinel University. Violators may also be in breach of student responsibilities and subject to action up to and including dismissal from the university.

Student Code of Conduct Violations

All alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct shall be investigated in a prompt and reasonable matter. The investigation shall gather relevant evidence including, but not limited to, pertinent documents and statements from witnesses.

A student who is charged with a violation of the Student Code of Conduct will be notified of the specific charges in writing by the president and shall be given 10 days to submit a written response. Failure of a student to respond to charges shall result in suspension from the university.

After a student responds to the letter, a committee of at least three impartial individuals will be appointed by the president to review the charges and the student’s response. Students are given the opportunity to address the committee and make a statement in their defense. This may be done via teleconference. Students are not entitled to representation by an attorney or any other third party at any point in the process. The meeting may not be recorded or taped.

After the meeting, the committee will make a recommendation to the president, who has the ultimate authority to accept, reject or modify the recommendations of the committee. The president will render a decision and inform the student.

Penalties for violation of institutional policies, rules and regulations may be administered regardless of whether the actions of the student are civil or criminal violations. Whenever disciplinary actions lead to a student leaving American Sentinel University, grades will be assigned in accordance with university’s grade policy and dates set forth in the academic calendar. One or more of the following misconduct penalties may be imposed by American Sentinel upon individuals, groups or organizations.

• Admonition: This consists of a verbal or written warning. Verbal admonitions do not become a part of the student’s confidential record held in the registrar’s office.
• Loss of privileges or imposition of certain tasks: Under some circumstances of misconduct, the university may deem it appropriate to take away certain privileges. The following penalties may be imposed:
  • Withholding of an official transcript or degree,
  • Blocking from enrollment for a specified period of time.
  • Failing or changing a test, course, assignment or other grade
  • Suspending library and internet access.
    The student may also be required to perform certain tasks, such as making restitution—whether monetary or by specific duties—attending counseling sessions, performing additional academic work not required of other students in a specific course, complying with a behavioral contract, or paying special fees, fines or service charges.

• Probation: Probation is levied for a specified time, the duration of which will be determined by the seriousness of the misconduct. Probation carries with it a warning that any further violations of university regulations may result in more serious consequences, including suspension or expulsion.

  The two types of probation related to the Student Code of Conduct are:

  • Conduct probation – A sanction that will be removed from the student’s confidential record at the end of the period of probation.
  • Disciplinary probation – A sanction that may or may not remain a permanent part of the student’s record.
• Suspension: Continued and/or flagrant violations of the probation terms (or serious-offense cases) may result in suspension from American Sentinel for a specified period. The student is blocked from re-enrollment until he/she applies for readmission to the university and is cleared by appropriate officials. Suspension becomes a part of the student’s permanent record in the registrar’s office.
• Withdrawal: Withdrawal is administrative removal of a student from a class or from the university and may be imposed in instances of unmet financial obligations to the university, for reasons of health or pending the outcome of competent medical evaluation. The withdrawn student may also be barred from re-enrollment until specific conditions are met.
• Expulsion: Expulsion is permanent severance from American Sentinel University.
• Revocation of degrees: The revocation of degrees may occur for misconduct of prior students. Allegations of misconduct that may result in a revocation of a degree will be considered by the appropriate academic process.