Sample Internal Policies and Procedures

Policies and Procedures

Consortial Courses

“Consortial” courses are transcribed on the student’s Home Institution transcript, which makes it possible for:

• Home Institutions to apply financial aid to the courses
• Students to improve GPAs by substituting consortial course grades for D’s, F’s, or Ws
• Students to count the courses towards part- or full-time status and residency requirements

Approving Courses

The provost, deans and the registrar collaborate to approve a list of consortial courses to make available to students. In choosing courses, they review course syllabi, faculty credentials, and additional assessment of learning outcomes data. [Learn more about best practices for establishing a course approval process here.]

 

Students Requesting Courses

Students can request courses in two ways:

• Through the Acadeum Course Share (ACS) Student Application (request needs to be approved)

• Through an advisor or the registrar, who then finds a course through the Acadeum Course Share (ACS) Admin Application and enrolls the student.

Approving Student Request

Institutions approve requests by reviewing the student’s request submitted through the ACS Student Application* (e.g., does the student need the course? Is the student on a financial hold? etc.) and either approving or denying it. [Learn more about approving and denying enrollments here.]

Communication to Students about Requests

After a student submits a course registration request, and the Registrar approves or denies it in the system, the student will receive an email notification of the final decisions. Registrars should also send one of two e-mail communications as follow-up:

1. Denied: explaining why the course request was denied and indicating next steps

2. Approved: which gives the student key information and directs them to make a tuition payment 

Billing Students

Students pay their Home Institution’s tuition rate per credit hour for the Acadeum network course. Many institutions require full payment before a student can start an Acadeum network course.

 

Transcribing Courses

Institutions transcribe consortial courses differently, but here are the most common practices:

• Use a “C” (or other recognizable) designation and a course number that is the same or similar to the equivalent Home Institution course (e.g., C MT1301 College Algebra).

• Course numbers may vary from the strict Home Institution equivalent, but in all cases they correspond to the academic level (e.g., freshman, etc).

Some institutions also use an Advising Requirement Code for each “C” course to differentiate courses and to ensure equivalencies are recognized.

Finally, some institutions record full details for each course (e.g., equivalency, etc.) in the “section master course text" section or its equivalent in the Student Information System, so that all can understand what course has been transcribed and its relation to the Home Institution’s equivalent.

 

*Please note: If you are unsure about your school’s use of the Acadeum Course Share Student Application, contact your Acadeum Account Representative.