Student Handbook – Course Substitution
Academic Affairs Policy and Procedures
IV. Course Substitution
A Petition for Course Substitution must be filed with the Office of Academic Guidance whenever a student wishes to substitute a course from Ball State University, Burris Laboratory School, or a college level correspondence or summer course for an Academy required course. These forms are available in the Office of Academic Guidance and must be completed within the first ten (10) school days of the semester.
A. University Courses
It is anticipated (expected) that students will complete their graduation requirements through Academy courses. However, students may substitute university/college courses in completion of the prescribed graduation requirements if approved by the Assistant Director of Academic Advising and Guidance and appropriate division chair upon recommendation of the student’s academic advisor. Disapproval of the request for substitution may be appealed to the Director of Academic Affairs. At Ball State, the Chairperson of the University Department offering the course or the professor offering the course must also approve enrollment in University courses.
Students enrolling in University courses have two credit options. First, they may enroll with “audit” status. When auditing a University course, students may receive Indiana Academy credit, but not University credit. Registration and audit fees are the responsibility of the individual student. The audit fee is waived only when the University class fills a course requirement not offered by the Academy or Burris Laboratory School or when enrollment in the University course is needed due to a schedule conflict. In the second option, students may enroll for college level credit. Students may receive credit toward college graduation, as well as Indiana Academy graduation. Registration and tuition fees are the responsibility for the individual student who enrolls in the University courses for college level credit. Note: students enrolled in Ball State courses that total seven or more credit hours will be charged additional health and technology fees by the University.
Academy credit will be granted as follows:
| University Credit Hours | Academy Credits |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.50 |
| 2 | 0.75 |
| 3 (3 days/week) | 1.00 |
| 3 (4 days/week) | 1.25 |
| 4 | 1.25 |
| 5 | 1.50 |
B. Burris Courses
Students may earn academic credit toward graduation in courses offered by Burris Laboratory School in any of the following areas: Health/Physical Education, Fine Arts, Practical Arts, or others approved by the Assistant Director of Academic Advising and Guidance.
Credit is transferred as direct equivalence and there are no fees. Approval to substitute courses from the Burris Laboratory School must be granted by the Assistant Director of Academic Advising and Guidance upon the recommendation of the student’s academic advisor. Enrollment in courses at Burris Laboratory School is on a space available basis.
C. Other Substitutions
A student may be authorized by the Office of Academic Guidance to enroll in a correspondence, high-school, or college-level course during the summer and substitute that course for an Academy requirement. Only two (2) credits per year received at other institutions (not including Ball State University Spring and Fall terms) may be counted toward Academy credit. The exception to this is courses taken for Health or P.E. credit. All courses must be approved by the Assistant Director for Academic Guidance.
V. Advanced Placement & University Credit
The Indiana Academy offers specific courses that prepare students for Advanced Placement Examinations in English, calculus, statistics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, and environmental science. Many courses, however, prepare students for the Advanced Placement Examination but are not designated as an Advanced Placement course (history and the world languages). Students need to notify their instructor in these classes if they are interested in taking an Advanced Placement Examination. Students who are successful on Advanced Placement Examinations may receive college credit or advanced standing at the university they attend.
The state of Indiana currently pays the examination fee for all students who take an Advanced Placement course and examination in calculus, statistics, physics, chemistry, biology, and environmental science. Students who take an Advanced Placement Examination in another academic discipline must pay the examination fee.
VI. Scheduling
Students generally attend classes for fifty-minute periods three days a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or for seventy-five minute periods two days a week on Tuesday and Thursday. Exceptions to this schedule are science lab classes, world language classes and two advanced placement classes. Most science lab classes meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for fifty minutes and either on Tuesday or Thursday for a two or three hour laboratory class. World language classes, Advanced Placement Calculus BC and Advanced Placement Statistics meet four days a week for period of fifty minutes each. Classes begin meeting at 8:00 a.m. and continue through the evening.
A. Schedule Requirements
Students must be enrolled in the following to meet the credit hours required by the Academy for graduation:
It is recommended that students enroll in courses that earn 13 credits per year. In addition to the core courses students must be enrolled in:
- 0.5 credit Colloquia during one semester each of their two years at the Academy.
- 0.5 credit May Term class or apprenticeship each year.
Students must enroll minimally in core courses that equal five and one-half credits (core courses are listed in the course catalog). If a student wishes to enroll in more than 7.5 total core credits in one semester, they must have approval from their academic advisor, parent/guardian, and the Assistant Director of Academic Advising and Guidance.
B. The Drop/Add Procedure
Students may request to change their schedules during the first 5 school days of each semester. Students must request changes through their academic advisor. The Office of Academic Guidance will process all schedule changes. Schedules will not be changed to obtain a specific instructor unless approved by the advisor and Assistant Director of Academic Advising and Guidance.
To change their schedule after the first week of classes, the student must see their academic advisor and complete a Drop/Add slip. The instructor of each class being dropped must sign the slip. The student must turn in the completed slip to the Database Coordinator. The last day to drop classes without it showing on your transcript is the week before midterms. Classes dropped after the deadline will be noted on the transcript as “WP” (withdrawn passing) or “WD*” (withdrawn failing).
WD (Withdrawn from class with unsatisfactory grade) is assigned administratively after consultation with the instructor when a student withdraws from a course after the designated mid-semester date. This allows students to drop courses but not during the last four weeks of the semester or when a student is required to drop a course due to excessive absences.
W (Withdrawn from class after drop deadline) is automatically assigned when a student chooses to drop a class in which they previously were enrolled and passing.
Students not properly following the drop and add procedure may receive an unexcused absence in classes where the instructor was not notified. The student will then be subject to the attendance policies for unexcused absences.
Ball State follows a different drop/add calendar which students must adhere to when adding or dropping a Ball State course. If a student wishes to drop a Ball State course after the Ball State drop deadline, the student will in most cases be responsible for the appropriate fee.