Policies

HIGH SCHOOL

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) educational institution staff and instructors are legally and ethically required to protect the confidentiality of the information in students' records. FERPA prohibits an educational agency or institution from sharing student records, or personally identifiable information in these records, without the written consent of a parent. A “parent” is defined as a natural or adoptive parent, a legal guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of the parent or guardian. When students reach the age of 18, or attend a postsecondary institution at any age, all of the rights transfer from the parents to the students. FERPA allows the disclosure of student data without parental consent to school officials with a legitimate educational interest in the information.

In order to enact FERPA, we require students to provide us with a list of two parents or guardians on their registration form. They must claim you as a dependent for federal tax purposes, and they are the only people to whom instructors and staff may provide information. In addition, when you call for information about your child, the Independent Study staff and instructors will make sure that you are on the parent/guardian list and will ask you to verify your identity through a series of questions. This protects your child from having confidential information inadvertently given to an unauthorized person.

FERPA authorizes us to provide information to authorized personnel at your child's school. In addition, you or your child will have signed an authorization statement on the registration form. Therefore, if your child's school counselor calls our office, we will provide the requested information without notifying you or requesting permission. This is also true after your child turns 18.

Authorized Parents/Guardians: This information is used to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regarding the privacy of student information. Information about a student can be given to a parent or guardian of a minor child who claims the minor as a dependent for federal tax purposes. Indicate the full name, relationship, and day-time phone number for each qualified adult. This information will be provided to the student’s instructor.

High School: Time Limits/Extensions
Independent Study offers you an alternative for earning high school credit and meeting graduation requirements. When you enroll in Independent Study courses, you work with Oregon-certified teachers via the internet or mail to complete coursework within two to 12 months per semester course, with a six month extension available (effective July 1, 2008, the six month extension will no longer be available). You can start an online semester course any day of the year, except for holidays.

Independent Study courses are self-paced non-term-based correspondence courses available as either online course guides, or in a hard copy format.  There are no classroom sessions. NOTE: Allow an additional three weeks for exam and grade processing after you submit all of your required work (assignments and exams) before your grade will be reported to your school.

COLLEGE:

FERPA Forms (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act) For additional information, go to the Department of Education’s website As a brief explanation, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a post-secondary institution (beyond high school, e.g., community college or college).

One-Time Release of Information Form:
A one-time release form is available for:

• a student who is 18 or older and is enrolled in any Independent Study course (high school or college) and who wants to allow specific information about their academic record to be released to a specific person or agency.
• a student who is under 18 years old and is enrolled in a college course and who wants to allow specific information about their academic record to be released to a specific person or agency.

You can fill out the form and mail it, save it as a .pdf and email it as an attachment, or fax it in to Independent Study.

College: Time Limits/Extensions
Most people can complete Independent Study college courses in three or four months. You have 12 months to complete your course from the date you registered. After 12 months, you may extend your completion date by six months for a fee of $30 (effective July 1, 2008, the six month extension will no longer be available). If you are considering completing your college course in less than one month, you must make arrangements with your instructor. The course instructor makes the final decision about whether you may complete the course on a shortened schedule. NOTE: Allow an additional three weeks for exam and grade processing after you submit all of your required work (assignments and exams) before your grade will be reported on your Portland State University transcript.

Credit-By-Exam Courses (WR 121B and WR 323B)
Certain college courses are available as credit-by-exam (CBE).  Currently, we offer WR 121B and WR 323B as CBE courses.  There is no contact with instructors.  Students taking CBE courses have a maximum of six months from the registration date to take the exam. 

Drop Deadlines
Independent Study courses may be dropped within the first 60 days of the initial date of registration and will not appear on the PSU transcript. There will be no record of enrollment.

Students may formally withdraw from a course starting on the 61st day after the date of initial registration.

The withdrawal period ends on the 269th day after initial registration. Withdrawing during this time period results in a grade of “W” being recorded on the PSU transcript.  A grade of “W” carries no credits, nor does it affect the grade point average.
Beginning on the 270th day after the initial date of registration, students may not withdraw, and the grade, as assigned by the instructor, is recorded on the PSU transcript.

0 to 60 days	Courses may be dropped within the first 60 days of the initial date of registration and will not appear on the PSU transcript
61 to 269 days	Students may withdraw from a course beginning on the 61st day after the date of initial registration. Withdrawal results in a "W" being recorded on the PSU transcript. This will carry no credits, nor will it affect the grade point average.
270 days or more	After 269 days, students may not withdraw. The grade will be recorded on the PSU transcript as assigned by the instructor.

Effect of Independent Study Courses on the PSU Transcript
Grades and credits earned in PSU Independent Study courses are recorded on the PSU official transcript once they are completed. The grades and credits count in the PSU cumulative credit totals and PSU cumulative grade point average (GPA). When students are also enrolled in other PSU regular term courses, Independent Study credits and grades are included in the assessment of regular end-of-term academic standing status and dean’s/president’s list honors, as well as graduation eligibility and graduation honors.

HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE:

Course Withdrawal
If you have not submitted any work and you formally withdraw within 30 days after you register, you will get a full refund. If you formally withdraw after 31-60 days, we will refund 75% of your tuition. A $20 fee for each lesson or examination sent to the instructor will be deducted from all refunds. We will not refund tuition 61 or more days after the initial registration date. Refunds take four to six weeks to process. The $25 registration fee is non-refundable.

Course Completion Deadlines
We cannot guarantee that you can complete a course in the minimum time allowed. At certain times of the year, instructors may not be available for rapid grading of assignments and exams. This is particularly true during winter holidays, near the end of terms, and in summer months.

It is your responsibility to complete a given course within the constraints indicated here. If you are facing a personal deadline, before you enroll, make certain that the instructor’s schedule permits him or her to grade your work quickly enough for you to meet your deadline.

Academic Honesty
When you submit the registration form, you promise to follow the Academic Honesty policy of Portland State University. Academic honesty is a cornerstone of any meaningful education and a reflection of each student's maturity and integrity. The Student Conduct Code, which applies to all students, prohibits all forms of academic cheating, fraud, and dishonesty. These acts include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, buying and selling of course assignments and research papers, performing academic assignments (including tests and examinations) for other persons, unauthorized disclosure and receipt of academic information, and other practices commonly understood to be academically dishonest. Acts of academic dishonesty may result in one or more of the following sanctions: a failing grade on the exam or assignment for which the dishonesty occurred, a formal disciplinary reprimand, disciplinary probation, and/or loss of privileges.

Appeals
Students who wish to appeal any Independent Study policy may do so in writing and must include the following:

• Student’s name, address, phone number and email (if applicable)
• The course number and course title
• The extenuating circumstances (unexpected, outside of student’s control, exceptional; not ordinary, non-academic) for appeal with supporting documents (letter from doctor, letter from counselor).  Supporting documents cannot be from family and friends.

Address your appeal to:

Portland State University Independent Study Program P.O. Box 1491 Portland, OR 97207-1491

Accreditation
College-level programs of the Oregon State System of Higher Education are administered on the quarter system and college credit is measured in quarter hours. Independent Study is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Portland State University supports equal opportunity in admissions, education, employment, and the use of facilities by prohibiting discrimination in those areas based on race, color, creed or religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status.  This policy implements state and federal law (including Title IX).  Inquiries should be directed to the Office of Affirmative Action, 122 Cramer Hall, 503-725-4417; TTY: 503-725-6503.