Policies & Regulations
Florida International University’s Disability Resource
Center attempts to make every effort to accommodate
students’ disability related academic needs. However,
neither the university nor an individual faculty member
is required to waive essential or fundamental academic
requirements of a course regardless of the nature of a
student’s disability.
Regardless of the adaptation of the course attendance
policy, the student is required to meet all of the academic
course requirements and to complete all assignments
and examinations. It is the student’s responsibility to
obtain the material and notes from missed classes. The
student will be graded according to the criteria stated in
the class syllabus.
Students should note that absences for non-disability
related reasons will not be excused by the DRC and are
only vetted through the professor of the course.
When an attendance accommodation is determined to be
reasonable, a DRC Access Consultant will work with the
faculty to define the parameters of the accommodation.
This does not mean a student may miss class whenever
they like.
If a student finds that he or she is not doing well in the
class due to extended absences, the student is urged to
consider options such as dropping the class, withdrawing
from the class or taking an incomplete.
Training
The DRC and EOP will coordinate the provision of training
to academic advisors and faculty members regarding best
practices in accommodating students with disabilities.
Classroom Accommodation
Upon a student’s written request, DRC will notify
the student’s professors of the need for classroom
accommodation. DRC will assist faculty in identifying
ways of meeting student needs for accommodation.
If a student requests classroom accommodation
directly from the faculty member, the faculty member
should contact the DRC to confirm the need for the
accommodation and to identify accommodations and
services that are required. Dissemination of the Policy.
The University Catalog shall include notification that
disabled applicants and students may apply for
reasonable accommodation in admissions, programs of
study, testing, and course requirements. DRC shall be
listed as the contact point for initiation of such requests.
Each School/College shall display a copy of this policy
in public areas where students typically gather while
waiting for course advisement. Copies of the policy shall
be provided to all FIU Faculty, including adjunct faculty
members.
Student Appeal
Students who disagree with decisions on admissions,
testing, and course substitutions may file a complaint
under the provisions of the Florida Educational Equity
Act, through Equal Opportunity Program and Diversity
Department at FIU.
Contact:
Shirlyon McWhorter
Location(s): PC321, MMC
Phone(s):
305-348-2785
FORGIVENESS POLICY
Students may repeat a limited number of courses to
improve their grade point average (GPA). Only the grade
received on the last repeat is used in the GPA calculation.
Under the University’s Forgiveness Policy, students
must file a Repeated Course Form with the Office of
the Registrar. There is no time limit on the use of the
forgiveness policy for grades; however, the forgiveness
policy cannot be used once a degree is posted. All
courses taken with the grades earned will be recorded
on the student’s transcript. The repeated course form will
not be processed if the first or repeated grade received
is ‘DR’, ‘DP’, ‘IF’, ‘WI’, ‘WP’, ‘AU’, ‘NR’, or ‘EM’. Repeated
courses will be appropriately designated (T: attempted; R:
last Repeat).
Undergraduate students may use the forgiveness policy
a maximum of three times for the purpose of improving
the GPA. The same course may be repeated up to three
times or the student may use the three opportunities to
apply to different courses. Only the final grade for the
three courses repeated under the forgiveness policy will
be counted in computing the student’s GPA. In order for a
course to be considered as repeated and adjusted in the
GPA, the course must be the same and must be repeated
at the University.
Students who have used their three options under the
Forgiveness Policy may still repeat courses; however,
both the original grade and any additional grades
received through repeating a course will be used in
computing the GPA.
A course taken on a letter grade basis must be repeated
on the same letter grade basis. Students will not be
allowed additional credit or quality points for a repeated
course unless the course is specifically designated as
repeatable (independent study, studio courses, etc.)
Students not using the forgiveness policy may still
repeat a course. All attempts will apply to computation
of the GPA but credit for one attempt will apply toward
graduation. Students may check with the appropriate
academic department to determine whether there are
additional restrictions on repeating courses.
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