Going back to school can be one of the most rewarding decisions you ever make. A Continuing Education (CE) certificate or degree can help you move up at work or start an entirely new career. Maybe more important, taking classes again can remind you that you're just as smart and capable as you ever were.
CE programs are never easy, though, and with an international reputation for academic excellence, the program at Columbia is more demanding than most. Courses are tough, and you can expect instructors to hold you to the highest standards.
High standards aren't necessarily a bad thing. You don't want a degree that doesn't mean something and high standards can push you to do your very best work.
There's a fine line, though, between “high” standards and “unreasonable” standards. You're still bright and hard-working, but this time around, college is going to be different. This time around, you have a lot more to worry about than just getting up in the morning and getting to class. You've got a job, a family, and a mortgage to pay, and those can be big distractions when you're trying to study.
The good news is you don't have to take on this challenge all by yourself. The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team is here to help. How can an attorney help with academics? We'll get to that. For now, you just need to know that we're here to make sure you're treated fairly and that nothing stands in the way of earning your CE credit.
Academics
If you run into problems in your CE program, they'll probably be of one of two types: academic or disciplinary. You came to Columbia to study, so let's start with academics. Just what do you have to worry about as a student at Columbia?
Educational Options
First and foremost, if you're going back to school, it's important you make good choices about what to study. The Columbia School of Professional Studies offers a broad range of options, but you want to make the most of your time there, which means being careful and deliberate about signing up for courses.
- Master's Degrees: The School of Professional Studies offers master's degrees in subjects ranging from Actuarial Science to Sports Management. If you're taking courses full-time, you can complete your degree in as little as three semesters. Or study part-time and spread your work out over three years.
- Post-Baccalaureate Studies: Not ready to commit to a graduate degree but want to extend what you know beyond your BA or BS degrees? Columbia allows you to take individual undergraduate and graduate courses in over 100 different areas of study, from Film Studies to Finnish. These are perfect for anyone who needs professional development hours, or you can use these courses to begin preparing for more sustained graduate study.
- Certification Programs: A professional certificate is often the key to moving up at work. Columbia offers programs in Bioethics, Classics, and over a dozen other subjects. Most require 6 to 8 courses, and in some cases, you can complete this work entirely online.
- Executive Education: Columbia also offers programs specifically geared to helping executives develop new leadership skills. Choose between week-long seminars or full semester-long courses.
Educational Requirements
Depending on your particular educational path, you'll face different educational demands. As you might expect, earning a master's degree in Insurance Management is going to require a larger investment than taking a single course in Creative Writing.
Likewise, your specific goals will dictate classroom expectations. If you're working towards a certificate, your only concern may be to pass your courses and earn credit. If, on the other hand, you're studying for a master's degree, you'll need to pay careful attention to the school's Academic Standing policy. This policy requires graduate students to maintain a 3.0-grade point average.
No matter which program you sign up for, you can be sure that your instructors will expect you to perform at your best. That means showing up for classes, participating in discussions, completing all assignments, and doing well on all papers and exams.
Of course, your situation will likely be very different from other students in the course. Their biggest worry may be dealing with a bipolar roommate. You're trying to juggle classes, your job, and shuttling your kids to soccer practice and drama club. Most Columbia faculty are more than willing to work with non-traditional CE students. Occasionally, though, you may come across an instructor who just doesn't understand you need to be absent when your kids are sick or who won't extend a due date when you have a big project due at work. When that happens, remember that the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team is on your side when you need it. They know your rights, and whether you're appealing a single grade or trying to appeal dismissal from the program, they can help you navigate the Columbia bureaucracy.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Financial Aid Policy
If you receive financial aid to pursue your CE certificate or degree, there's another important policy you need to know about: the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy. The federal government requires all colleges and universities to maintain such a policy to prevent financial aid fraud and ensure no student can take undue advantage of the system.
Every school sets its own SAP criteria. Columbia requires that you:
- Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA. That minimum for undergraduates is 2.0. For graduate students, it is 3.0, the same as the school's standing requirements.
- Complete at least two-thirds of all the courses you attempt. Obviously, course failures count against this percentage. So, too, do withdrawals.
- Complete your program in the maximum time frame. For most certificates and degrees, that is two to three years.
You won't be dismissed from Columbia simply for failing to finish on time or withdrawing from too many courses. However, you can lose your financial aid, and many students find it difficult to finish their programs without some form of financial support.
Luckily, Columbia offers an appeals process for students who have lost their aid as a result of extenuating circumstances. This requires filing an appeal with the Office of Student Financial Aid and Planning that details the exact cause of your deficiencies and describes how you will improve moving forward. Successful appeals earn an additional probationary term of aid.
Keep in mind, however, that SAP appeals are extremely time sensitive. Columbia sets a firm deadline for these appeals, and late petitions mean automatic loss of aid. At the very first sign of trouble, then, it's important you contact the Lento Law Firm Team and find out how we can help.
Academic Misconduct
Of course, Columbia expects you to earn your credit hours honestly. This is just as true for students in the SPS as for any other undergraduate or graduate students. The SPS Academic Integrity and Community Standards policy specifically prohibits cheating, plagiarism, bribery, and any other action that might give you an unfair advantage in completing your coursework.
Under the policy, instructors have the power to determine whether or not you've committed a violation and to assign classroom sanctions. These can include
- Warnings
- Makeup assignments or rewrites
- Educational assignments on the nature of academic integrity
- Lowered grades on assignments, up to a zero
- Lowered course grades up to an F
Faculty must also report any academic misconduct to the Associate Vice President of the Center for Success and Intervention. This office has the authority to assign additional sanctions for serious and repeat offenses. These sanctions can include
- Probation
- Suspension
- Dismissal
Sanctions take effect if you fail to respond to an allegation. However, you have the right to appeal your instructor's findings and any sanctions the AVP might impose. These appeals involve making your case at a university hearing. You are allowed to present evidence, to call witnesses, and to raise questions of any witnesses against you. However, rules and procedures can be complex. As a result, you don't want to try and defend yourself. Attorneys at the Lento Law Firm Team have the background and experience to help you prepare a defense strategy, collect evidence, and develop questions for witnesses. In addition, Columbia allows you to bring an attorney with you to all meetings and proceedings, and though they cannot speak for you, they can sit beside you and offer important advice.
Academics: What Could Go Wrong?
It's a common question: what exactly is a lawyer supposed to do to help get me through college? A lawyer can't take your classes for you or help you study for an exam.
Here's what an attorney at the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can do:
- Draft misconduct appeals
- Coach you in negotiating with the faculty
- Find out who you need to talk to
- Work with you to craft a strong defense
- Help you gather evidence
- Ensure your rights are protected
The fact is, college can be as much about navigating bureaucracy as it is about writing papers and acing exams. No one understands bureaucracy better than attorneys. And no attorneys are more well-versed in dealing with education bureaucracy than the team at the Lento Law Firm.
Disciplinary Misconduct
In the beginning, we noted that there are two kinds of problems CE students typically face. Academics is one. Disciplinary misconduct is the other.
CE students don't always think of themselves as “college students.” After all, your life is quite different from that of the typical undergraduate. You might be surprised, then, to find that you're under the same set of campus rules as any other Columbia student. The Student Code of Conduct contains dozens of prohibitions, and to be sure, many of them won't apply to you. For instance, you probably don't need to worry about the ban on underage drinking. Misbehavior such as trespassing, vandalism, and fraud, though, can earn you serious sanctions, up to and including dismissal from your program.
Of particular concern for Continuing Ed students are Columbia's rules against violating local, state, and federal law. Those rules mean that a criminal conviction of any type can put your education at risk. Even relatively minor crimes such as DUI, domestic battery, or drug possession are enough to get you dismissed. And it doesn't matter whether the crime occurs on campus, off-campus, or in an entirely other state.
In addition, you are subject to Title IX, a federal law that outlaws all forms of sexual discrimination and harassment on college campuses. Anything from simple verbal harassment to stalking, sexual assault, and rape can result in an investigation, a hearing, and possible dismissal.
Finally, many CE students don't realize that online actions aren't subject to the same regulations as in-person offenses. Often, CE students take the bulk of their courses online, and it is true that you're unlikely to be charged with trespassing if you never actually set foot on campus. Even so, rule violations, such as misuse of computer resources or Title IX sexual harassment, are just as enforceable online as in a brick-and-mortar classroom. In fact, you might want to brush up on your online etiquette before you enroll. That includes
- Acting professionally
- Treating others with respect
- Avoiding profanity and other types of socially-offensive language
- Dressing appropriately if others can see you
- Avoiding video chat in inappropriate surroundings.
If you should find yourself charged with misconduct of any type, Columbia University gives you the right to defend yourself. You can expect the school to conduct a thorough investigation and to provide you with the opportunity to prove your innocence at a formal hearing. Further, you have a number of important due process rights, including the right to a presumption of innocence, the right to examine all evidence against you, and the right to call witnesses to testify on your behalf.
By far, the most important of these rights is the right to select an advisor, someone to help you prepare your case and to accompany you to all meetings and proceedings. In fact, this advisor can be an attorney. That means someone from the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help guide you through any judicial processes from the moment you are charged until your last appeal is exhausted.
Lento Law Firm Education Law Team
If you've been out of school for a few years, you need to know that things have changed in education.
- Cheating is on the rise, so professors are more hyper-vigilant.
- Academic expectations grow higher every year.
- In today's political climate, no school can afford to be seen as soft on discipline, and every school conducts rigorous investigations and doles out stiff penalties.
It's worth recognizing, though, that you've changed too. Sure, you care about passing your courses and getting your degree, but that's not the highest priority in your life anymore. You've got a partner, a mortgage, and kids to worry about. Satisfying your boss's demands is probably far more important to you than pleasing your professor.
Most continuing education faculty understand the particular kinds of stresses you're under, and most are willing to work with you to make your educational experience rewarding. If you should run into issues, though, it's important you know that there's help available.
The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team has helped hundreds of students just like you deal with school-based issues. We know the law as it applies to education, and we're practiced in dealing with faculty and administrators. Whatever problem you might be facing, from issues with technology to accusations of sexual misconduct, don't wait to see what will happen. If you're in trouble, contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-555-3686, or use our automated online form.
