Nicolet is committed to adhere to the College Academic Code of Conduct. Academic misconduct undermines the integrity of the degrees awarded and the education environment and process.
Academic misconduct is an act in which a student:
Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to:
Sanctions can range in severity. Some possibilities are:
A student has the right to appeal decisions regarding academic dishonesty within ten (10) days of the written notice by filing a grievance with the vice president of college services (see Grievance Procedures).
Students are expected to comply with all local, state, and federal laws, and to conduct
themselves in such a manner as not to interfere with the educational process or endanger
the safety or welfare of other persons. These standards of conduct apply to the main
campus, all branch campuses, other sites utilized by the college for educational purposes,
and during off-campus, college-sponsored activities or events. The college believes that
every student has the right to be educated under conditions of respect, dignity, and safety.
Students found in violation of the Student Standards of Conduct may be subject to
disciplinary action.
Misconduct is subject to disciplinary action and includes (but is not limited to) the following:
Serious infractions could result in suspension or expulsion from the college. Sanctions may be imposed for violations of these rules whether or not criminal or civil sanctions are pursued. Apparent or alleged violation of local ordinances, federal or state law on college premises, or at college sponsored or supervised activities will be forwarded to local law
enforcement authorities. Student discipline on campus is the responsibility of the vice
president of college services and the Student Conduct Committee. The student has the right
to appeal all decisions of the student conduct committee to the president. The president’s
decision is final.
Students applying for participation in financial aid programs at Nicolet College are assumed to have the academic qualifications necessary for participation at the time the first application is submitted. Students also must have a declared academic program major to be considered for financial aid. A student will remain academically eligible for participation in financial aid programs at Nicolet College as long as these requirements are fulfilled:
These credits must be completed with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 (C average) in each case. A cumulative GPA of 2.00 is required at the end of the second year. Students enrolled in remedial courses as part of their program must receive a satisfactory grade in all remedial courses. Students must complete their academic program within 150% of the program length. Students enrolling at Nicolet for the first time will be eligible for financial aid to complete one degree or diploma. (Enrollment in two degree/ diploma programs at the same time is exempt.) Upon completion of one degree/diploma students may appeal to the Financial Aid Advisory Committee to request continued funding. Audited and test out courses are not eligible for funding. Students who change a course to audit status or test out of a course will not receive credit for financial aid purposes.
Students who have not met the academic requirements remain eligible on a probationary basis for participation in financial aid programs (except for the student loan program) for one more semester. Students funded on a probation basis must submite their grades to the finanacial aid office prior to the next semester fee deadline date. For students who do not meet the eligibility requirements for a second consecutive semester, participation in financial aid programs will be discontinued for one semester. Regardless of the status of eligibility for participation in financial aid programs students may continue to enroll at Nicolet College.
After a lapse of one semester without enrolling, a student may reapply for financial aid. A student who enrolls while not funded, but maintains satisfactory academic progress, will have the same academic eligibility status as the previous semester of participation in a financial aid program. If the student does not meet academic eligibility requirements during this semester, participation in financial aid programs is discontinued unless there is an appeal approved through the Financial Aid Advisory Committee or the student successfully maintains satisfactory academic progress without financial aid in a following semester. Requests for an appeal should be made to the director of financial aid as soon as grades are received. Decisions made by the Financial Aid Advisory Committee are final.
Students who fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress after appealing to the Advisory Committee for a second time must enroll for a minimum of six credits without financial aid assistance and successfully complete them with a 2.00 GPA as a prerequisite to regaining financial aid eligibility.
A student's grade point average will be determined using the following method of evaluating grades (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0, I=0, and W=0). Eligibility is determined on the basis of courses completed and GPA.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They include the following:
Students should present to the registrar, vice president, or other appropriate official, signed, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The college official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. At the time of viewing, the student will present some form of picture identification, such as a valid driver's license, before being allowed to view the record.
Students may ask the college to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the college official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
If the college decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the college will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to grieve the decision through the College Grievance Process. Information on the grievance process can be obtained at the College Services Office in the University Transfer Center
Exceptions under FERPA:
Directory Information: The use of the term directory information does not imply that the college actually has a document containing student directory information or that the college has any obligation to produce such a document. The term directory information is a legal term applying to that information that the college can release, without student consent, to any third party.
The college has defined directory information as the following:
Note: According to federal law, the college must release to the U.S. Armed Forces student name, address, phone number, date of birth, and field of study. The college will release this additional directory information to the U.S. Armed Forces unless a restriction to disclose has been placed on the student's record (note information below).
Students have the right to restrict the disclosure of directory information. To restrict the disclosure of directory information, a student may file a written request with the Registrar's Office or College Services Office. This request to restrict disclosure of directory information will be honored until such time as the student notifies the Registrar's Office or College Services, in writing, to the contrary.
Any and all information not listed above that any area of the college may have concerning a student is non-directory information. As such, none of this information can be released to any third party without the written permission of the student.
Authorized personnel can release directory information over the telephone, as long as the student does not have a privacy flag on his/her record.
For release of other non-directory information to parents, the parent must submit a copy of their most recent Federal Income Tax Form demonstrating that the student in question is a dependent of the parent requesting information. The college reserves the right, however, to deny access to the student's record by parents if deemed appropriate.
Authorized Federal, State, and Local Authorities: Student authorization is not required for disclosure to an authorized representative of the following individuals or entities:
Other Institutions: Information can be released to other schools to which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
Emergency Situations: Information can be released to law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, and college officials in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons.
Legitimate Educational Interest: Officials of the college who are determined by the college to have a legitimate educational interest may have access to student records without obtaining consent from the student. Officials of the college are defined as follows:
An official has a legitimate educational interest if they need to do one of the following:
Judicial Order: Information must be released to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. However, the college will make a reasonable effort to notify the student (or parent) of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance, so that the student (or parent) may seek protective action.However, if the court (or issuing agency) has ordered that the existence or the contents of the subpoena or judicial order not be disclosed, the college will comply and notification to the student (or parent when appropriate) will be withheld.
Disciplinary Hearing: The results of a disciplinary hearing may be released to an alleged victim of a crime of violence without the permission of the accused.Personnel employed by the college who have consent in the form of a written release of information, signed by the student, may disclose student information to appropriate outside agencies or persons.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures of the college to comply with the requirements of FERPA:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605
In 1997, the State of Wisconsin enacted the Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification law. The law was created to monitor and track people convicted of sex crimes and to provide access to this information for police, victims, and the general public.
Information on registered sex offenders since 1995 in this state can be obtained on the WEB at http://offender.doc.state.wi.us/public/home.jsp . Or you may call (608) 240-5830 between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Social security numbers are used for identifying student records for internal accounting only. A student's failure to furnish this number may delay processing.
Under federally-mandated Student Right-To-Know legislation, Nicolet College makes available to all current and prospective students information on graduation statistics by program. Those graduation statistics are available from the Evaluation and Placement Office, 365-4448.
As stated in this publication, Nicolet meets all requirements of Federal and State Discrimination laws. Nicolet College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, or other applicable legislative categories in its services, employment programs, and/or its educational programs and activities, including but not limited to admissions, treatment, and access. Inquiries and/or complaints regarding discrimination matters should be addressed to:
Daniel Groleau
Director of Human Resources
Room 216 University Transfer Center
Nicolet Area Technical College
P.O. Box 518
Rhinelander, WI 54501
(715) 365-4449
A grievance procedure is available to students with complaints that a Nicolet policy or practice is improper or unfair, results in an unsatisfactory learning environment, has not been followed, or has been misinterpreted or misapplied. The grievance procedure is used when regular communication channels and approaches have failed. Copies of the grievance procedure are available in the College Services Office, 365-4413.
Students must keep in mind that all complaints must be presented using the forms provided by the College Services Office, and the complaint must be filed within 20 school days of the date of the action causing the complaint. Complaints shall be filed with the vice president of college services, University Transfer Center, Room 102.
Records and registration are withheld for students who fail to meet financial obligations that are levied by recognized college offices. Conflicting opinions concerning outstanding indebtedness will be handled through the grievance procedure.
Nicolet is committed to providing a drug free campus in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited on any property controlled by Nicolet College. In addition to being prosecuted by the appropriate civil authorities, students found in violation of the Drug Free Campus policy will be treated as having violated the Nicolet Student Standards of Conduct and will be subject to disciplinary action up to, and including, expulsion. The Student Development Center continues to provide counseling and awareness programs on substance abuse for students in need of such services. Phone 365-4477 for further information.
Nicolet College provides parking free of charge to students, staff, and visitors. Students are expected to become familiar with and honor all campus parking regulations. Parking in no parking or inappropriate areas on campus will not be tolerated, and persons parking in those non-designated areas will be ticketed. No cars are to be left parked overnight in the campus lots, unless prior arrangements have been made with the Facilities Department. Offenders who do not pay their parking tickets within three weeks will have a Hold for Indebtedness placed on their records and will not be allowed to register for future classes unless the Hold is cleared up.
Handicapped Parking: Handicapped parking is clearly marked and reserved for individuals with a state disability permit from the College Services Office, University Transfer Center, Room 102.
Smoking and use of smokeless tobacco products will be permitted only in outside designated smoking areas and in personal vehicles. This policy applies to all indoor air space, including individual faculty and administrative offices, all restrooms, and all college-owned vehicles.
In order to preserve the integrity of the educational environment, students may not bring their children to classes, labs, or shops except when the children are part of the instructional activities. Children are defined as persons under the age of 18 not enrolled in Nicolet classes or programs. Individual instructors may make exceptions for emergencies with the consent of all students in the class.
Nicolet Area Technical College supports a safe and positive educational environment. Therefore, it is the policy of Nicolet that children under the age of 16 shall not be left unattended in any of Nicolet's facilities (including parking lots and the immediate surrounding areas). Parents need to make adequate arrangements for the care of their children. Exceptions to this policy may be made for children who are here for legitimate purposes and who are not being disruptive.Nicolet staff members are responsible for enforcement of this policy. Staff members who are unsuccessful in dealing with a problem, should contact their supervisors. A vice president will be called to deal with enforcement when ongoing or serious problems occur.
The Campus Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 requires an institution to collect certain information regarding crime on campus. The safety of Nicolet students is of utmost importance. Any student who is the victim of a crime, or who witnesses a crime, should report it to the vice president of college services immediately. Statistics concerning campus crime are available at the Office of Campus Security Statistics Website OPE Campus Security Statistics Website
It is the philosophy of Nicolet Area Technical College that we would much rather prevent crimes than to react to them after the fact. The primary vehicle for accomplishing this goal is the College's Crime Prevention Program. This program is based upon the dual concepts of eliminating or minimizing criminal opportunities whenever possible, and encouraging students and employees to be responsible for their own security and the security of others. The following is a list of campus crime prevention tactics that may reduce a student's risk to becoming a victim.
The Nicolet College Board recognizes the need to reasonably accommodate a student's sincerely held religious beliefs for class absence during exams and other academic requirements. It is the responsibility of all Nicolet employees to accommodate the religious beliefs of students.
Students may notify instructors of a potential conflict between a scheduled exam or other academic requirement and a religious observance by providing a confidential letter outlining the potential conflict five working days prior to the anticipated absence. Instructors who receive such information regarding potential conflicts shall permit a student to make up an exam and/or other academic requirement at a different time or by alternate means, in a timely manner, without any detremental effect upon the student.
The vice president of instructional services will receive any complaints alleging violations of this policy. A procedure/appeal process is in place for handling these complaints. Students who wish more information about this procedure or this policy should contact the Office of Instruction at 365-4416.
Inclement or anticipated inclement weather conditions will be assessed and a decision to close the campus will be made by 6:15 a.m. The following radio and TV stations will be notified of campus closure no later than 6:30 a.m.
Radio Stations
TV Stations
The college recognizes students as adults receiving an education leading to employment in the world of work. As employees, they may often be called to report to work during inclement weather. As adults, the college also recognized students are the best judge of their own safety when deciding whether or not to commute to campus. Therefore, it is the policy of Nicolet College to remain open as long as it is reasonably possible to conduct work.
If inclement weather occurs after the college is open, a decision to cancel afternoon classes will be made by 10 a.m. A decision to cancel evening classes will be made by 2 p.m. If a decision is made to close, staff in each building will be notified, and the above radio and TV stations will be notified of any closings.