Title: 02.01.015-Census Status

Policy Number: 02.01.015

Policy Title: Census Status

Status: Active

Policy:

Census status is determined by a student’s state of admission, enrollment, and activity in a particular academic program. Census status is used to determine whether a student’s efforts will result in the issuance of a permanent academic record. Census status is also used as one of several factors to determine a student's Tuition Refund Status if they are removed from the program for any reason.

Provisional Status:

Provisional status is granted to new students as they enter a program, and students remain in provisional status until the latter of midnight of the fifth full day after the student signs an Enrollment Agreement or midnight of the fifth day after the student makes an initial payment. Individuals in Provisional Status are NOT issued a permanent academic record.

Provisional status is intended to provide a consumer protection mechanism to certain students regardless of their level of participation in pre-program, program, or course activities.

Pre-Census Status:

Students who have remained in the program beyond the five-day consumer protection period but have not achieved Census Status are considered Pre-Census Status students. Students in Pre-Census Status are NOT issued a permanent academic record.

Census Status:

Students who have remained in the program beyond the five-day consumer protection period, have met all compliance requirements (Enrollment Status = Full), and have completed more than ten percent of the Total Didactic Equivalent are considered Census Status students. Students in Census Status ARE issued a permanent academic record.

Definitions:

Census Status
Census Status has three states. Students may be considered Provisional, Pre-Census, or Census (Post-Census).

Census Enforcement Date
The Census Enforcement Date is the date for each program upon which the institution will evaluate a student’s progress to determine if they have exceeded the ten percent (10%) effort threshold. The Census Enforcement Date is roughly equivalent to ten percent (10%) of the maximum program duration.

Didactic Assignments
Didactic Assignments are assignments or activities included in the Learning Management System (Canvas). Didactic Assignments do not include labs, clinical experiences, field experiences, tutoring, standardized testing, etc.; however, these additional activities are included in the calculation of Didactic Equivalency, which is intended to be an overall representation of mandatory student effort.

Didactic Equivalency is a calculation of the estimated proportion of an entire program that has been completed by a student based solely on the number of didactic assignments the student has completed. For example, if a program has a Total Didactic Equivalent (TDE) of 600 assignments, and the student has completed 60 of those assignments, the student’s Didactic Equivalency would be approximately ten percent (10%).

The calculation is intended to provide a standardized method for determining if a student has achieved Census Status and a method for calculating a withdrawing student’s refund eligibility. The use of a Didactic Equivalency allows the institution to offer a more generous refund policy.
While the calculation is based solely on the number of didactic assignments a student has completed, it takes into consideration the effort surrounding all activities included in a program, and assigns a didactic value to activities such as Skills Labs, Clinical Experiences, Field Experiences, test preparation, standardized exams, optional lectures, etc.

Total Didactic Equivalent
The Total Didactic Equivalent is the total number of assignments in a program. It is a numeric representation of the estimated total amount of effort or engagement required of a student in all course activities. For example, a program may be said to have a Total Didactic Equivalent of 698 assignments even though there may only be 422 Didactic Assignments. The difference would be made up of labs, field experiences, standardized tests, etc. and expressed numerically as a Didactic Equivalent.

Course Completion Percentage
Course Completion Percentage is calculated by dividing the number of didactic assignments a student has completed by the Didactic Equivalent of all anticipated assignments. The Course Completion Percentage is used to inform refund calculations.

Census Status Commentary:

There are several reasons why the institution calculates census status using this student-centric and generous approach.

While the institution’s programs are not self-paced and include specific schedules, students are intentionally offered no-fault mechanisms for extending program timelines and due dates. As a result, all students do not follow an identical timeline, meaning that a simple time-based census status is not appropriate.

Admission and the interdependent financial commitment of the student is granted for programs rather than courses. The criteria for the determination of census status are therefore program oriented rather than course oriented.

Most programs offer a Free Start component, which allows students to begin completing course work without making a final commitment to enroll. A generous census status policy supports a student’s ability to experience course elements without having to make a swift final commitment.

Most programs also offer multiple (often monthly) start dates. This fact combined with the Free Start component means that a student may begin completing assignments without knowing what the official start date for their eventual program might be. A generous census calculation protects the student’s interests while serving the needs of other stakeholders.