Student Handbook – Education/Research Activities
Academic Affairs Policy and Procedures
XI. Education and Research Activities Release
Because the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities is an academic unit within Teachers College of Ball State University, it is called upon to assist in the educational training and/or practicum experiences required of University students in their respective courses of study. Research is also used by Academy personnel to measure the success of its students, curriculum, programs, and activities. Students are encouraged to participate in Academy approved research. Prior to an Academy student’s enrollment, a parent or guardian must authorize the student’s participation in the teacher education activities listed below:
A. Activities
- Approved and supervised research projects conducted by Indiana Academy faculty or Ball State University faculty or students;
- Approved and supervised student observation and/or participation experiences conducted as part of various teacher education programs of the university;
- Class sessions of school activities for which photographs or videotapes are taken (photographs and videotapes may be used by the Indiana Academy to illustrate educational practices in a variety of professional settings, including the Academy, Burris Laboratory School and Ball State University publications);
- Approved and supervised counseling with Ball State University students;
- Individual testing conducted by Ball State University students (results of testing and reports thereof will be used only for the education and training of the Ball State students and will not be used to evaluate the student tested).
The purpose of the teacher education activities listed above is to assist in the development of research in the field of education and to provide training experiences in teacher education for Ball State University students. Personal information on a pupil, other than directory information collected as a result of activities listed above, will not be released to other persons or agencies outside Ball State University without prior permission of the parent or guardian (or of a student aged 18 or older).
Ball State University carefully restricts and regulates all research involving human subjects. Any research project which involves the participation of students attending the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities must first receive approval from the Institutional Review Board of Ball State University and the Research Committee of the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities to ensure that research projects meet governmental guidelines and professional standards for research involving human subjects. Participation in any research project is voluntary. Refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which the student is otherwise entitled, and the student may discontinue participation at anytime without penalty or loss of benefits. Students or parents/guardians may contact the Director of Academic Affairs at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities for answers to pertinent questions about the research or subjects’ rights.
XII. Transfer Credit
All high school credit earned prior to admission to the Indiana Academy will count toward the student’s high school diploma at the Indiana Academy.
After a student becomes enrolled at the Academy, credit will transfer from other institutions only if a Petition for Course Substitution form is completed, approved, and filed with the Office of Academic Guidance within the first ten school days of the semester.
XIII. Policy on Placement for Courses with Differentiated Levels
Placement in courses with different levels is determined by a placement test given prior to the beginning of the school year. The student’s schedule is constructed on the basis of the professional recommendation made by that division chair. If after initial placement, a student feels that the current teacher has inappropriately placed them, they may ask for a review of placement. The current teacher, the division chair, and the teacher of the suggested new course, the Assistant Director of Academic Guidance and the Director of Academic Affairs will then make a decision. Schedule alterations necessitated by changes in placement should be made within the first four (4) weeks of the academic semester. Upon approval of the change, the Office of Academic Guidance will make the appropriate changes in the student’s schedule.