Procedure Details
Procedure Title: Course Substitutions and Waivers, and Student Academic Appeals – Institution-Level
Procedure #: AA.001
Revision #: 006
Unit Responsible: Academic Affairs
Individual Responsible: Academic Affairs Project Manager
Effective Date: 04/25/2025
Initial Approval Date: 08/23/2019
Last Review/Update Date: 04/25/2025
Next Review Date: 04/01/2028
*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 3.020-Academic Due Process; 3.180-Student Complaints
Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page
*Does this procedure support HLC criteria and/or Assumed Practices? Yes
If yes, identify: 2A, 3A, 3B, 4A
HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria
HCL Assumed Practices can be found at: HLC Assumed Practices
*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A
*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.
Course Substitutions and Waivers, and Student Academic Appeals, BP 3.020, BP 3.180
1. Purpose
To ensure that all institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, will be reviewed and decided upon consistently across the various Divisions of the College and to facilitate continuous improvement.
2. Scope
Applies to all institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals.
3. Prerequisites
Institution-level student course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, generally are those pertaining to College catalog rules rather than the requirements of particular program pathways. Examples include institution-wide requirements for graduation, such as general education, minimum grade point average, minimum credit total, minimum credits in attendance, maximum pass/fail credits, expiry of program pathways, etc.
Institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, also include those pertaining to the program pathways for which Academic Affairs is directly responsible: the General Associate Degree, the Certificate of Achievement in Transfer Studies, the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science in Transfer Studies, and the Electives category of all Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees.
Denials of curricular and other appeals from Divisions other than Academic Affairs that then are appealed to the Provost’s Office via RO.007 - Course Substitutions and Waivers - Program Level, RO.010 - Final Grade Appeals, or other procedures fall under the institution-level purview as well. Such appeals must be submitted within 30 calendar days after the student is notified of the original denial by the other Division.
The final decision for granting institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, rests with the Academic Affairs Office.
4. Responsibilities
- Academic Affairs Project Manager (AAPM), as designee for the Provost – Responsible for overseeing this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
- Degree and Academic Record Coordinator – Responsible for applying approved institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals.
- Transcript and Academic Records Coordinator (TARC) – Responsible for awarding approved transfer credit.
5. Procedure
- The request for an institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, begins with the student, advisor, or program area.
- Upon receipt of any institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, the AAPM will check for completeness. If necessary, the AAPM will contact the student to clear up any issue that is incomplete or unclear in the course substitutions and waivers, or appeal.
- The AAPM will evaluate course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, pursuant to catalog and/or curricular rules, Higher Learning Commission Assumed Practices, student academic history, advising notes, etc. Depending on these, the course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, may be amended for clarification or to add options that student, advisor, or program area might not have noted, and/or the AAPM may work with the TARC to transfer in other appropriate credit.
- The AAPM will approve, deny, or note as unneeded any course substitutions and waivers, as well as any student academic appeal.
- Within 10 business days after receipt of the fully completed appeal, the AAPM will notify the student, the Degree and Academic Record Coordinator, and, if applicable, advisor that the course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, is approved, denied, or not needed. Student notification will be via LCC email or US Mail, depending on the student preference selected, while notification within the College will be via LCC email.
- The AAPM will record the decision in the advising notes of the student’s educational record in the College student information system.
- The AAPM will retain any applicable emails in the Academic Affairs email account; will save to the Academic Affairs electronic workspace a copy of any finalized form plus email(s) and/or, if applicable, letter; and will retain this documentation for a period of 5 years.
- The AAPM will update the Academic Affairs appeals tracking document housed in the Academic Affairs electronic workspace, to include not only the result of approved, denied, or not needed but also the reason(s) for the decision, along with data on gender and ethnicity for equity evaluation.
- After the end of each academic year, the AAPM, along with the Director of Academic Operations and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer, will review the appeals tracking document to assess possible areas of improvement in institution-level and/or curricular rules.
- At the end of each academic year, the AAPM will provide the Provost and the Deans of each Division an audit of all institution-level student course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, processed during that academic year, to include data on gender and ethnicity.
- The Provost and the Deans of each Division will review the annual audit of institution-level course substitutions and waivers, as well as student academic appeals, to ensure quality and equity, and to identify and address any areas for improvement
6. Reference
For grade appeals, see RO.010 - Final Grade Appeals.
7. Definitions
N/A