General Information for Online Courses
1. Technical Requirements
Students should satisfy the technical proficiencies required for the online course.
If the online course has a required real-time interactive component, students must have access to a computer and the internet at the time(s) required and must participate in real-time interactions at the time(s) indicated in the syllabus.
Students must have access to personal computers other than those owned by the University. These personal computers must have a web cam which is necessary for video proctoring.
Registered students are given a BMCU email account which stays active as long as a student is enrolled at the institution. Online students and professors are required to use their BMCU email accounts throughout coursework, not personal accounts. All correspondence regarding online courses will be emailed to the student’s BMCU email account.
2. Registration and Enrollment of New Students
Students not previously enrolled at the University should consult the online course schedule for application registration deadlines.
All students must be registered at the University in order to participate in a class and receive credit.
3. Registration and Enrollment of Traditional, On-ground Students
Policies concerning course registration, withdrawal, satisfactory progress, grading and other academic matters apply to online courses.
Traditional, on-ground students must obtain approval from their academic advisor before registering for an online course. Traditional, on-ground students may take no more than one three credit hour online course per semester unless approved by the Department Chair and the Provost/Vice President and then only under extenuating circumstances.
Registration for an online course by currently enrolled students is the same as for classroom-based courses.
4. Registration and Enrollment of Students in an Online Program
Policies concerning course registration, withdrawal, satisfactory progress, grading and other academic matters apply to online programs.
Students enrolled in online programs must obtain approval from their academic advisor and the director of the online program before registering for an online course.
5. Student Agreement Required
Students enrolled in online courses and programs must agree to abide by the Procedures to Policy 2.22: Acceptable Use of Technology.
6. Financial Aid
Financial assistance is available for degree-seeking, eligible students enrolled in online courses. Students must meet federal eligibility requirements and be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours. For more information, students should contact the Office of Financial Aid.
7. Tuition and Fees for Online Courses
- Tuition and Fees for Students Enrolled in Online-only Courses
Online-only students including those enrolled in online programs will be assessed a combined charge of tuition and registration fee per semester hour. In addition, all students in online courses will be charged a course fee for video proctoring of the final examination. (Click on Tuition and Fees for prices.)
- Tuition and Fees for Students Enrolled in both Classroom-based and Online Courses
Tuition and fees for students enrolled in both classroom-based and online courses will be the same. Tuition rates and registration fees are posted at Online Undergraduate Pricing and Tuition and Fees on the BMCU website.
Additional Projected Student Charges for Identity Verification. All students who enroll in distance learning courses are required to have a web cam and to pay for video proctoring of exams. A faculty member must require a video proctored final exam. If the student’s computer is not already equipped with a web cam, one can be purchased for less than $10. Students will be charged a course fee (which will be added to the student’s account) for video proctoring of the final examination.
8. Dropping Online Courses by Traditional, On-ground Students
Students should consult the Procedures to Policy 2.13: Change of Class Schedule for deadlines for dropping online courses. In addition, this information is on the current Academic Calendar which is posted on the University Website.
9. Withdrawal from Online Programs
Students should consult the Procedures to Policy 2.13: Change of Class Schedule for deadlines for withdrawal deadlines. In addition, this information is on the current Academic Calendar which is posted on the University Website.
10. Online Class Attendance
Blue Mountain Christian University requires class attendance for online courses. According to Policy 2.10, students who miss 12.5% of the time will receive an automatic “F” in the course. Each online professor will include an attendance requirement in the syllabus. Since each of the online courses meets eight weeks, one week of non-attendance, which is 12.5% of the time in the course, will result in an automatic “F.” Seventy-five percent of the assignments for the week must be completed within the week to receive full attendance.
11. Verification of The Identity of Students Enrolled in Distance Education
Blue Mountain Christian University verifies the identity of the student enrolled in distance education courses or programs by one or more of the following means:
Secure login and pass code
Video Proctored examinations
12. Transfer of Credit for Non-BMCU Students.
If a student intends to transfer credit from the online course to another institution, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain approval from the institution (if the institution to which the credit is to be transferred requires prior approval) and to request transfer of the credit after the course has been completed.
13. Protection of Student Privacy. The University protects the privacy of students enrolled in distance education courses and programs in the following ways:
- The learning management system (Canvas) stores limited personal information and access is limited to the individual student by a unique user name and password.
- The student information system (CAMS) which contains information such as grades, ledger, transcript, demographic information, class schedules, and other similar information can only be accessed through a student portal via a secure login and unique password. The portal is managed by Information Technology Services. Students may choose to change their passwords at any time.
- Access to student information is protected from unauthorized external access by a firewall between the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the University network.