ACADEMICS

School enrollment assumes maturity, seriousness of purpose, and self-discipline for meeting the responsibilities associated with the courses for which a student registers.

The primary purpose of Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology® is to prepare individuals for employment. Success in education and employment is dependent upon preparation and regular attendance. Recommendation to employers for job placement will depend on technical and academic preparation and regular attendance.

Employers in the Western Pennsylvania service area continually request that the Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology® stress the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology® also believes that regular attendance and punctuality is a major component of successful employment; therefore, the following attendance policy will be strictly enforced at Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology®:

Students are expected to attend all scheduled classroom lectures and laboratory sessions.  Students who must be absent from class for medical and personal reasons must contact the instructor to obtain the lecture materials and assignments that they will miss during their absence.  It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements with the instructor to make up assignments and examinations missed due to absence from class.  Attendance will be taken and is mandatory for all Programs.

The grading system at Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology® has a range of A = 4.0,

B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0 to F = 0 grouped as follows:

Students will be given a grade at the end of each course.  Students will be graded based on three areas of competence:

• Course examinations (maximum of four)

• Completed and accuracy of in class exercises

• Completed and handed in homework exercises

Individual instructors will determine the percentage each will have in determining an overall course grade.  This information will be given to the student during the first class session.  At the end of the program, all students will receive a final cumulative grade based on their individual course grades. 

All passing students (2.0 or above final cumulative grade) will be given a diploma.  Both the diploma and final cumulative grade will be mailed to the students’ address of record.

All students are expected to complete requirements for graduation by the end of the Program.  It the event that additional work is required to meet the requirements for graduation, it is the student’s responsibility to make such arrangements with the instructor.  All incomplete work must be completed no later than 4 weeks after the official end date of the Program.

Note:  The student does not incur any additional charges for make-up work.

Students needing additional help may request tutorial assistance from the instructor or a designated student.  Please consult with your instructor to make arrangements for tutoring assistance.

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated at Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology®. Academic Dishonesty refers to actions such as cheating, plagiarism, etc., and includes all situations where students make use of the work of others and claims such work as their own.

When an instructor believes that a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty, the instructor will notify the student and the Director of Educational Services, and the student will be reprimanded. Students who believe they have been unjustly charged or sanctioned in such cases should discuss the situation with the instructor. Following this reprimand, students may request a review of their case by the Board of Directors of the School and should contact the Director of Educational Services regarding their request for such a review hearing. If a student commits a second act of academic dishonesty, details of the act will be documented in the student’s permanent academic record and, at the discretion of the Director, may be dismissed from school.

Students dismissed from school shall be notified in writing, which will be sent, by regular mail and certified mail.  The letter will give the student the right to appeal a decision to dismiss by requesting an appeal hearing, in writing, in accordance with the deadlines stated in the Letter of Dismissal.  The director of the school will notify the student of the details of the scheduled appeal hearing.  The student should be prepared to present all supporting information at the time of the hearing.  A written decision of the Appeal Committee will be given to the student.

The school reserves the right in its sole judgment to dismiss a student on any of the following grounds: 

·        Conduct detrimental to the reputation of the school and its students.

·        Poor classroom attendance or participation.

·        Inadequate progress in his/her program of instruction.

·        Drug or alcohol abuse as outlined in the Drug Free Schools and Campuses Act.

·        Disrespect or insubordination towards faculty or staff.

·        Academic dishonesty.

The above stated reasons are examples of behavior, which lead to dismissal and are not intended to be all-inclusive.  The school reserves the right to discipline students through the use of suspension and probation.  A probation period allows time for correction in certain situations at the discretion of the school.

In case of unsatisfactory participation or behavior, the student will be given notice in writing that a failure to correct the situation may result in more serious discipline up to and including termination from school.  This will ensure that the student is fully aware of the problem and consequences of the failure to meet required standards.  However, the school has sole discretion to dismiss without prior warning based on the nature of the behavior.

All courses at the Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology® are measured in clock-hours or credit-hours.  A clock-hour is defined as a 60-minute class or laboratory session.  Each course is assigned a specific number of hours to obtain the educational objective of the program.  Students are entitled to a ten (10) minute break every hour.

The following Pennsylvania Department of Education formula is used to determine the number of credits per subject:

            14 hours of Lecture (Theory) = 1 credit

            28 hours of Laboratory = 1 credit

            42 hours of Internship/Externship (Shop) = 1 credit 

A credit hour is a unit of measure, not necessarily an indicator of transferability of credit.  The receiving institution, rather than the training institution, decides whether to accept credits for transfer.

Graduation from each program leads to the awarding of a DIPLOMA.  Students must meet the following graduation requirements:

1.    Complete all course requirements and meet the satisfactory academic progress standards as defined in this school catalog.

2.    Internships/Externships must be successfully completed within the maximum time frame as defined in this school catalog.

3.    All financial obligations must have been settled prior to receiving a diploma.

All students are required to participate in either an internship or externship as part of their program of study.  The Allegheny Valley Institute of Technology® takes a serious position on the value of these internships/externships and encourages the students to do the same.  The length of the internship/externship varies with the Program as follows:           

In the event that a student needs to be excused from the internship/externship, that student must submit to the Director of Academic Affairs a formal letter explaining why the internship/externship should be excused.  The student will incur additional project assignments if the internship/externship is excused.  Only the Director of Academic Affairs can excuse a student from the internship/externship period.

All schedules are downloadable in Microsoft Word (.doc) format.

• A+ Computer Technology Schedule

• Network + Schedule

• Computer Programming and Web Development Technology Schedule

• MicroComputer Technology Schedule