United States Federal Law requires that all F-1 students attend school on a regular, full-time basis. LCI understands that students sometimes miss class because of short-term illnesses or medical conditions, doctors' appointments or emergency situations. However, students must attend all classes they register for on a regular basis.
Students who are not attending school on a regular basis during a term will be notified of their unsatisfactory attendance and asked to speak with the Registrar.
Students who miss more than 25% of any class will be given a probation warning letter.
Students have the following term to correct their attendance problem(s). First term students who violate the attendance policy and who transfer at the end of their first term will be transferred in terminated status.
F-1 students who continue to have unsatisfactory attendance during a subsequent term will have their attendance record reviewed and be asked to meet with the school's Registrar again to discuss their attendance and the possibility of suspension from school.
A record of overall poor attendance will result in suspension from LCI. Suspension automatically terminates a student's SEVIS record and legal status in the United States. Termination will put the student into an out-of-status situation. Reinstatement or departure from the United States will be required.
Extensions of program and transfer in active status require a student to be in good standing. Students who are not in good standing due to attendance or academic progress issues are ineligible for extension of program or transfer in active status.
Documented evidence of absences due to longer term medical or exceptional emergency circumstances should be provided to the Main Office in order to avoid probation, suspension and/or termination.
WARNING!!
Students are warned not to register for classes which they do not plan to attend on a regular basis. Students who do not attend a class for which they have registered are not pursuing a full course of study and are in violation of status. Suspension from school and termination of their SEVIS record will result.
Students with longer term medical problems may request authorization to be allowed to reduce their class hours or to take no class hours during a term. The student must provide documentation on official letterhead from a licensed medical doctor (M.D.), a doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.), or a clinical psychologist.
The letter must state:
Medical authorization is limited to a total of 12 months per program level and must be granted and documented one term at a time.
F-1 students are eligible to take a vacation break after a minimum of eight months of continuous study. Students who plan to take an authorized vacation need to speak to Tammy Karakas, the Registrar, in the Main Office, to verify their eligibility for an authorized vacation, to confirm their vacation dates, and to complete their vacation authorization form.
All students are expected to make progress in their studies. At the end of each term, each student's progress is reviewed to help determine placement for the upcoming session. Promotion to a higher level or continuation of work at the same level is determined after consideration of:
For F-1 students, the ability to show progress is also a requirement for maintaining a student visa. Students are required to have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher. A probationary warning letter for failure to show progress will be issued to any F-1 student who has a GPA below 2.0 for the term just completed. If the student again receives a GPA below 2.0 in the following term, he/she will be advised that his/her SEVIS record may be terminated for failure to show progress. Students with a terminated SEVIS record must file for reinstatement in order to return legal F-1 status.
Students who are notified of unsatisfactory progress and who wish to dispute the grade(s) given to them have two weeks from the date of notification to contact LCI to request a review meeting. Any dispute(s) pertaining to grades must be resolved within one term after the course was completed.
All LCI students need to maintain an overall 2.0 GPA to be in good academic standing and show progress in their studies. Report cards are issued at the end of each term for all registered students.
Students who fall below an overall 2.0 for 2 consecutive terms will be placed on academic probation. Students on probation must attain a 2.0 or better for all classes taken in subsequent terms of study until their overall GPA reaches 2.0 in order to avoid suspension from the school. Suspension will result in termination of visa status for F-1 students.
Probation will be removed once an overall 2.0 GPA is achieved.
Extension of program cannot be given if a student is on academic probation.
Students transferring out who have an overall GPA of less than 2.0 at the time of transfer will be transferred in terminated status.
See Student Handbook for further details.