Academic Policies & Procedures
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Student Records
The Registrar’s Office maintains a permanent file for each graduate student. Faculty advisors will maintain a file of advising records, grade information and other correspondence pertaining to each graduate student’s academic progress. For more information on student records, contact the Registrar’s Office.
Enrollment Status
Full and part-time credit loads for graduate students are defined as follows for federal aid:
· Full-time: 9 or more credits
· 3/4 time: 7 - 8 credits
· Half-time: 5 - 6 credits
Oregon Tech undergraduate seniors may enroll in 500-level graduate courses for graduate credit with the approval of the student’s undergraduate advisor and the graduate program director.
Students who are not yet admitted to Oregon Tech may take up to one third of the graduate program credits as a non-admit student and apply them toward the graduate degree upon formal admission to the graduate program.
Oregon Tech offers some courses which are dual-listed at the 400- and 500-level. The 400-level courses apply only to an undergraduate degree, while 500-level courses apply to both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Students enrolled in a dual-listed 500-level course will be required to complete additional work to obtain graduate credit.
Continuous Enrollment for All Graduate Students
All graduate degree-seeking students must be continuously enrolled. Continuous enrollment is defined as completing, with grades assigned, a minimum of 1 hour of graduate credit every quarter.
Academic Prerequisite Deficiencies
Students who have prerequisite deficiencies for graduate studies may be required to take additional course work prior to completing their graduate studies, as determined by the graduate program director. If there are deficiencies, the director will recommend substitute courses, and these are entered on the Graduate Program Form. When students pass these courses with a B or better, they become fully qualified graduate students. Prior to completion of the listed courses, the graduate student is considered “provisionally admitted.”
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Students are responsible for knowing and understanding Oregon Institute of Technology’s requirements relating to registration, academic standards, student activities and student organizations as well as adhering to the Student Code of Conduct found on the website. Students are encouraged to meet regularly with their departmental advisors and to contact the Registrar’s Office with questions about academic procedures, policies or regulations. More information can be found here.
Student Records and Right to Privacy
In compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), state law and Oregon Tech policy, students have certain rights with respect to their education records. They are:
The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the university receives a request for access. Students should submit written requests to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The university official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the university official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom a request should be addressed.
The right to request the amendment of the student’s education record that the student believes is inaccurate or misleading. Students should write the university official responsible for the record; clearly identify the part of the record they want changed; and specify why the record is inaccurate or misleading. If the university decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the university will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
The right to consent to disclosures of the personally identifiable information contained in the student’s educational record, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including health staff and members of the university’s law enforcement department); a person or company with whom the university has contracted; a person or company acting as consultant or volunteer for the university; a person serving on the university’s Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee. A university official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill their professional responsibility.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Oregon Institute of Technology to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5920
1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327)
Website: https://www.ed.gov/category/keyword/family-policy-compliance-office-fpco
The information provided here is for informational purposes only. For more FERPA resources please see the Office of Registrar FERPA webpage.
Oregon Tech Directory Information:
Student’s full legal name
Current mailing address
Current phone number
Hometown
Dates of attendance by term
Degree program/major field of study
Honor roll (President’s & Dean’s List)
Date of graduation
Full time, half-time, or less than half-time enrollment status
Most recent/previous school attended
Particpation in sports/activities
Age, height, and weight or athletic team members
A student may request to have all of the above directory information kept confidential. To do so, please reach out to the Registrar’r Office at registrar@oit.edu.
Release of Student Information to Military Recruiters (Solomon Amendment)
Oregon Tech provides information about students that is requested by military recruiters under requirements of the Solomon Amendment (As of Oct. 23, 1998 [63 Fed. Reg. 56819] and the Interim Rule published Jan. 13, 2000 [65 Fed. Reg. 2056] by Department of Defense). Under this federal law, military recruiters may request the following information: Name, current mailing address (as provided by the student), current telephone number (as provided by the student), age, class level (e.g., freshman, sophomore, etc.), and academic major. The information may be requested for the immediately previous term, current term, or future term for all students age 17 and older who are or were registered at OIT for at least 1 credit in the requested term. Recruiters may request this information each term. Recruiters may not obtain any information that is not in the above list of student recruiting information. For example, they may not request any of the following: Social Security Number or ID Number, place of birth, race/ethnicity/nationality, grades and GPA, grades of low-performing students, religious affiliation, names of students with loans in default, veteran status, or names of students no longer enrolled at OIT. Institutions that do not comply with the Solomon Amendment risk losing federal funding from the departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Transportation. Institutions do not risk losing student-aid funding such as Perkins Loans, Federal SEOG or Work-Study funds.
Use of Social Security Number (SSN)
You are requested to provide voluntarily your Social Security Number to assist OIT (and organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of OIT) in developing, validating, or administering predictive tests and assessments; administering student aid programs; improving instructions; internal identification of students and alumni; collection of student debts; or comparing student educational experiences with subsequent workforce experiences. When conducting studies, OIT will disclose your Social Security Number only in a manner that does not permit personal identification of you by individuals other than representatives of OIT (or the organization conducting the study for OIT) and only if the information is destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes for which the study was conducted. By providing your Social Security Number, you are consenting to the use identified above. This request is made pursuant to ORS 352.004, ORS 352.107, and ORS 352.146. Provision of your Social Security Number and consent to its use is not required and if you choose not to do so you will not be denied any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law. You may revoke your consent to the use of your Social Security Number at any time by contacting the Registrar’s Office at registrar@oit.edu.
All access and use at Oregon Tech of the Social Security Number is prohibited except for meeting federal or state requirements, compliance, and reporting.