"

Chapter 18: Special Populations (Athletes, EOP, International, Veterans, Accommodation Services for Students with Disabilities)

Athletes

Student-athletes need to comply with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) eligibility requirements in order to play sports at MCC. In addition, if they plan to transfer and want to play their sport at the 4-year college, they need to meet transfer eligibility requirements. These can vary depending on what Division level they play (I, II or III). The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) updates these requirements each year. Information can be found on the NCAA student-athletes webpage about transferring.

Some requirements for student-athletes

  • Enrolled in a minimum of 15 credits per semester.
  • Prior to transferring/graduation each student-athlete should:
    • Have a minimum GPA of 2.5.
    • Have completed 6 credits of English.
    • Have completed 3 credits of Math (Credited math…i.e. MTH 150 or higher).
    • Have completed 3 credits of natural science.
    • Have a minimum of 48 transferable credits.

NCAA D1, D2, D3 have slightly different requirements depending on NCAA  initial eligibility from high school and if the student-athlete was a transfer from 4-year to 2-year.  “4-2-4” transfer has detailed nuances that will require guidance.

Student-Athlete Advisors

Due to these requirements, it is very important for student-athletes to discuss their courses with their student athletic advisor. It could be mandatory to work with their assigned “Success Coach.”

Updated February 2023

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)

The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) makes college possible for New York State residents who have the potential to succeed despite adverse struggles that may have impacted their academic growth.  It is available to first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students.

Eligible students receive extensive academic support services to increase their likelihood of college success.  EOP offers tutorial services, counseling, advising, financial support (books, supplies, etc.), and a host of exciting workshops. Other supportive services include:

  • A mandatory Pre-Freshman bridge program (first-time students, up to 4 weeks)
  • Continuous engagement with designated counselor
  • Financial advisement
  • Study skills/orientation classes
  • Academic Excellence Workshops
  • Support in completing federal and state financial aid forms
  • Assistance with transfer to similar opportunity programs such as HEOP, SEEK, and College Discovery within New York State

Priority is given to students who are from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.

To be considered for transfer admission, students must have been previously enrolled in EOP, SEEK/CD or HEOP at his or her previous college.

To be considered for readmission, a student must have been previously enrolled in the Educational Opportunity Program at the College, but have not received a degree.

More information, including eligibility requirements, is available on the MCC website.

Students are required to meet with their EOP counselor on a regular basis. Along with advisement from a pathway advisor, students in the Educational Opportunity Program should confirm their courses with their EOP counselor.

Updated February 2023

International Students

International students are defined as those who are studying in the United States on an F-1 student visa.  While our immigrant/refugee and ESOL students at MCC may also have unique advisement needs, international students on an F-1 visa are required to maintain compliance with immigration regulations as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  From an academic advising perspective, here are a few important guidelines to keep in mind for international students:

  1. In nearly all cases, F-1 students must maintain full-time enrollment (at least 12 credit hours) each fall/spring semester.  Full-time enrollment must be maintained for the full duration of the semester. Summer is typically considered a vacation term when enrollment is optional.
  2. Exceptions to drop below 12 credit hours (including course withdrawals) must receive authorization from International Services first. Exceptions can be for reasons such as medical issues, certain academic difficulties, or to complete the program of study in the current semester.
  3. Only 1 online course (3 credits) may count toward the full-time course load for an international student.  As a general rule, students should enroll in at least 9 credits in-class before enrolling in any online classes. (Post-COVID, this regulation has been more flexible. Students should consult with International Services for the most up-to-date requirements surrounding remote/online learning.)
  4. Students must inform International Services if they are planning to: change their program of study, extend or shorten their graduation date, transfer to another school, or take a leave from their studies.

When advising international students, keep in mind that they are not eligible for state or federal financial aid.  Therefore, they do not need to pay close attention to which courses are (or are not) eligible for financial aid during registration.  This may allow them some additional flexibility when choosing courses.  They are eligible to work on-campus, but are not eligible for federal work study positions.  If students are thinking about pursuing work in the United States (on-campus, off-campus, or internships), they should be directed to International Services for information on proper authorization.

International students are encouraged to seek academic advisement from their faculty advisors, but it is also highly encouraged that they meet with International Services each semester around registration time to ensure immigration compliance is being met.

Any questions and student referrals should be sent to:

Coordinator of International Services, Global Education & International Services (GEIS)
Building 11, Room 211
585-292-3170

Updated February 2023

Veterans

The issue of self-identification: Helpful hints using Degree Works

Students may not self-identify they are using VA education benefits. One helpful indication is checking Degree Works. One of the last data points in the Student information block will be “Last Veteran Term.” It will pop right after listed Advisor. This data point indicates the last time they were certified. Allowing you to not only identify that they need you to follow the below guidelines, but it can also help you identify that they need to be reminded to contact the Veteran Office for certification of classes after your advisement with them.

General Advising for Post 9/11 GI Bill® Veterans

Students must be registered full-time to receive the full amount of basic allowance for housing (BAH) entitlement.

Full-time is based on the rate of pursuit (how many credits a student is taking in relation to how long the course runs.)

This is especially important when dealing with non-standard terms like summer and intersession.

Students must have one “on campus” course in order to be eligible to receive the Full BAH. (Remote classes do not count, Hybrid classes do)

All classes must be a part of their academic program except if a student has applied for graduation.

Rounding Out: Veteran Administration (VA) rule, coincides with MCC’s graduation last term exception

The VA defines an academic term as such: The beginning and end dates of the class as per the college catalog. (standard terms, varied length terms, late start classes). So if one class has different start and end date as the others on a student’s schedule, that class will be seen as different term.

Example 1: Fall Student Schedule

Ideal: 12 credits

  • MTH 104/4 credits/ September 4 to December 20
  • BIO 142/4 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • PHY 100/4 credit/September 4 to December 20

The BAH for this student would be full-time because he is taking 12 credits and all his classes begin and end at the same time.

Ideal

  • SLN MTH 104/4 credits/ September 4 to December 20
  • BIO 142/4 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • SLN GEO 101/4 credits/September 4 to December 20

Ideal

  • ENG 101/3 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • PEC 148/2 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • BIO 142/4 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • HED 115/3 credits/September 4 to December 20

Ideal

  • TRS 094/5 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • CRC 101/3 credits/September 4 to October 22
  • TRS 200/5 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • COS 101/1 credit/October 20 to December 20
  • PEC 194/2 credits/October 23 to December 20

Not Ideal

  • PEC 194/2 credits/October 3 to December 20
  • MTH 104/4 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • EMS 110/6 credits/August 25 to November 15

The BAH for this student would translate as follows: from September to October he would be getting around ¾ BAH. From October to November is the only time he would be getting Full BAH. Then no BAH for December (because students need to have at 7 credits in order to get any BAH). The reason for this is because all these classes are going to be entered into the VA as separate fall terms; it is only when they overlap and make 12 credits together that he gets full BAH.

Not Ideal

  • REMOTE MTH 104/4 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • SLN PEC 253/3 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • SLN GEO 101/4 credits/September 4 to December 20
  • SLN CRC 110/1 credit/September 4 to October 20
  • SLN CRC 112/1 credit/October 14 to December 20

The BAH for this student would only equal ½ time. The reason is that, despite the student being 12 credits, all his classes are online. A student must have at least one class on campus in order to receive full BAH.

Not Ideal

  • SLN MTH 098/4 credits/September 4-December 20
  • BIO 142/4 credits/September 4-December 20
  • SLN GEO 101/4 credits/September 4-December 20

The BAH for this student would only equal ½ time. The reason is, despite the being 12 credits and having one class on campus, the remedial course is online. The VA pays for remedial courses, but will not pay for them if they are online. (We talk about this below)

Example 2: Summer Student Schedule

Ideal: 4 credits per summer term (5-6 weeks)

  • MTH 104/4 credits/May 29 to June 30
  • BIO 142/4 credits/July 9 to August 18

Ideal

  • ENG 101/3 credits/May 29 to June 30
  • HED 115/3 credits/May 29 to July 7
  • PEC 148/2 credits/ July 9 to August 18
  • ACC 110/2 credits/July 9 to August 11

The BAH for this student would translate as follows: from May to the end of June the student would be receiving full BAH. The first week in July he would receive 75% of his BAH, but then the rest of July all the way to the August 11, he would be receiving full BAH. The last week of his last class he would be lucky to receive only 50%.

Ideal

  • SLN ACC 110/2 credits/May 29 to August 11
  • ENG 101/3 credits/May 29 to June 30
  • HED 115/3 credits/July 9 to August 11

Not Ideal

  • ENG 101/3 3 credits/May 29 to July 7
  • BIO 142/4 credits. July 9 to August 18

The BAH for this student translates as follows: from May 29 to July7 he actually only getting paid at ¾ time. The reason is because he is only taking a 6-week course. If his class ended on June 30th he would be getting almost 90% of his BAH. His July to August class is receiving full BAH the whole time because the class is 4 credits.

Not Ideal

  • SLN HED 115/3 credits/May 29 to August 18
  • ENG 101/3 credits/July 9 to August 11

The BAH for this student translates as follows: from May to July 9 he would receive little more than ¼ of any BAH because they class is not full-time and it’s online (warranting half the allocated BAH. The only time he would receive anything is from July 9 to August 11.

General Advising Rules for Other GI Bill® Chapters

For the other chapters for the most part, with exception of Chapter 31, it does not matter if they are taking just on-line classes or not (with the exception of remedial classes–those must be taken on campus no matter what chapter). But, ideally, they need to be full-time in order to have the full BAH stipend sent to them.

  1. Chapter 30 standard term
    • Example: whether he is taking 12 credits online or on campus he is full-time
  2. Chapter 30 summer term
    • Example: 4 credits for a 5- to 6-week course will get him a full stipend no matter if it is online or not. But you still have to aware of the start and end date of the classes to calculate whether he is full-time during the separate terms.

Transfer Credit for All Chapters

All transfer credit (whether it is military or collegiate) should be viewed as “hard” or successfully completed credit. The VA will not pay for classes that are not required for graduation (the exemptions to this rule are, of course, being the last term exemption*).

Remedial Courses

Remedial classes are paid for by the VA, however as we saw above, the class must be a resident course. The VA will not pay for a remedial course that is on-line. COS courses are not seen as remedial/prerequisite courses, it must fit in the program in order to receive funding.

Repeating Courses

The VA pays for repeating a course if the class is required for the program and requires a certain grade to pass.

  • Example 1: A student is a Physics Major. He currently is taking Pre-Calculus and gets a D+. Technically it is passing, but he needs to take Calculus I to complete the program and the only way to meet the Calculus I prerequisite is have a C or higher in Pre-Calculus. He would be able to retake this class and have the VA pay for it.
  • Example 2: A student is a Liberal Arts Major. He currently is taking TRS 092 and fails it. The VA will pay for him to retake the course because he needs to get to at least MTH 150 before graduating.
  • Example 3: A student is a Health Studies Major. He took BIO 142 and got a D+. He is transferring over to U of R, which is requiring a C. In this case the VA would NOT pay for the student to retake the class because he passed in regards to the MCC degree he is receiving here.

Adding

Adding is not normally an issue with students’ BAH. The only thing you need to be aware of is that it fits into their program. (Much like financial aid rules, any classes added above the original 12 credits do not necessarily have to be in program but are still covered)

Regular Drops and Withdrawals

When a student withdraws from a course after school has already started, the VA may reduce or stop the student’s benefits on the date of reduction or withdrawal. It may also require the student to repay their educational benefits received for the course including: tuition payments, their monthly housing, and some of their book stipend. Most of the withdrawals result in a student debt to the VA. A student debt owed to the VA, known as an overpayment, is typically caused when the student falls below full-time, drop courses after they start, and/or fail to inform MCC Veteran Services in a timely manner of the reduction. The student is then paid at a higher rate, which they will then owe back once the reduction has been documented to the VA.  Before withdrawing, please have them speak to Veteran Services to ensure the student understands monetary repercussions of doing so.

Incompletes

When considering working with a student regarding an incomplete, please follow academic procedures (have them sign an agreement, have it okayed by the department chair, etc.). The VA will pay the students benefits for the class up till the original end date of the class.

Ex) A student is in your ENG 101 course, but has fallen behind on his final project. The end of term is December 20th. You enter into an agreement with the student that he must hand in his project by January 25th or he will receive a grade D or F.  The student will only receive his VA benefits up till December 20th.

Failures

When a student receives a punitive grade (F), the student does not necessarily have to pay back the BAH and tuition for the class. This is only for certain Military Tuition Assistance agreements.  It all depends on whether the teacher of the student assigns a last date of attendance. If a student receives a punitive grade with a last date of attendance, the student may owe some of their tuition and BAH back based on the last date of attendance.

Updated February 2023

Accommodation Services for Students with Disabilities

Since accessibility in an important component of every course, we want to highlight a couple of resources as you create your courses. Below you will find accessibility resources from the Counseling Center and Disability Services office, Virtual Campus, Testing Services and the Library.

View instructions on how to access the Faculty Resource Guide.

Disability Services

Students who are requesting accommodations can contact Disability Services (disabilityservices@monroecc.edu) or call 585-292-2140 to request accommodations. Students can request accommodations with the office at any point in the semester, but accommodations are not retroactive.

Once students are registered with the office, students will be able to access their Accommodation Letter electrically. The purpose of an Accommodation Letter is to notify faculty of the student’s approved accommodations. Students are responsible for the distribution of their Accommodation Letters to their instructors each semester.  When reviewing accommodations, it is essential that both student and instructor connect to identify the specific accommodations the student will be utilizing for that particular course.  This creates a common understanding between the instructor and student. All student accommodations are approved on a case-by-case basis. If students have specific questions about their accommodations, please encourage students to contact our office.

For approved students, refer them to the assistive technology webpage for specific downloading information. Approved students may use text-to-speech software, speech-to-text software, screen magnifiers, screen readers and/or writing programs to ensure equal access. Students are strongly encouraged to connect with each instructor to determine how these programs will interface with their exams. To ensure all students can access all course materials, please keep accessibility in mind when you are creating your course.

If you or students have any questions, please reach out to Disability Services (disabilityservices@monroecc.edu) directly.

Virtual Campus

The Virtual Campus supports faculty with their course design needs for remote, web-enhanced, hybrid, hyflex, and online/asynchronous courses. Our goal is to create high quality courses for all MCC students. Online students have access to an online concierge (Virtual Campus (vcconcierge@monroecc.edu)) who can help connect them to college resources and supports.

MCC uses the Brightspace system as its digital learning environment developed by Desire 2 Learn (D2L). Our Brightspace system is managed by the SUNY System and on MCC’s campus by the Virtual Campus team. Students can access Brightspace directly (mylearning.monroecc.edu) or through the myMCC portal. Students have access to training materials in the MCC Online Student Orientation and faculty have access to Brightspace training modules.

It is essential for faculty to keep in mind the accessibility of course materials when setting up a course, and that includes any third-party tools from vendors such as Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Cengage to name a few. We encourage you to reach out to your vendor to make sure the tools are accessible. We recommended applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concepts within your course design, since accessibility is an important consideration in online course design.  Course design is one of the key factors in online student success. We use the Open SUNY Course Quality Rubric (OSCQR) to guide online course development which provides 50 different measures that are based on current research of course design.  When we offer an online course, we are assuring that all courses comply with the basic tenants of Universal Design, which means that any student, regardless of ability, can take an online course.

The Ally tool is available in Brightspace to check the accessibility of documents. In Brightspace, you can also check the accessibility of text with the built-in accessibility tools of Brightspace. For more information about accessibility for all learners, visit the SUNY Accessibility website.

You can contact the Virtual Campus office (vcconcierge@monroecc.edu) for more support with your accessible course design.

Testing Services

The Testing Services department serves students who have approved accommodations. We offer in-person testing in room 11-204 by appointment only.  First, the student must first fill out the Accommodated Testing Acknowledgement Form. The, the student can make an appointment either in person or by emailing Testing Services (testing@monroecc.edu).  Once an appointment time is provided, the student will communicate the appointment time to the professor. The professor should provide Testing Services with the exam and exam instructions via RegisterBlast unless other arrangements have been made.

Library

Housed within Library Services, MCC’s OER Initiative provides support to faculty developing and using Open Educational Resources (OER) in their courses. OER provide alternatives for students who can benefit from different teaching and learning material options.

Physical versions of digital materials can be placed on reserve and a scanner is available for faculty and students to create versions of a text with Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The library can also provide limited scans of text (adhering to copyright restrictions) for anyone unable to visit the library in person. Library staff is able to help students within the library space who need help when using assistive technology, such as screen reader software.

Visit the Accessibility Resources in the Library Guide for further information or email MCC Libraries (libraries@monroecc.edu).

Updated February 2023

________________________

Keywords: Athletes, EOP, International, Veterans, Accommodation Services for Students With Disabilities

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

MCC Advisor Handbook Copyright © by Rebecca Mack is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.