Academic Progress and Participation Policy
Degree Progress
Students must progress through the courses required for their degree in a prescribed order. The goal of this requirement is to ensure continued success and to confirm that students have an adequate foundation of knowledge to continue on in their program as the courses build.
Course Progress
Assessment of student progress in a course is based on the timeliness of the student’s recognized participation in academic or academically related activities. If a student fails to demonstrate recognized academic participation within the first 7 consecutive days of a course, they will be administratively withdrawn from the course. If a student fails to demonstrate recognized academic participation for 14 consecutive days, they will be administratively withdrawn from the course. Students are subject to this policy throughout the entire course, including any officially approved course extensions.
Recognized participation at Aspen University is only recorded and verified via the D2L Classroom through posting in the discussion forum, submitting a journal entry or quiz, or submitting an assignment to the classroom dropbox in a given week.
Academic or Academically Related Activities
Students must participate in academic or academically-related activities throughout their class. At Aspen University, academic or academically-related activities include:
- Submitting an academic assignment;
- Taking a quiz or proctored assessment;
- Submitting a journal entry; and
- Making a quality contribution to an online discussion board within the classroom.
Academic Participation Schedule
The student should maintain the following academic participation schedule to avoid the risk of being Administratively Withdrawn from a class for failure to demonstrate adequate course participation and progress.
8-Week Course Schedule
All Aspen University courses, except for dissertation courses, are 8 weeks in length. In 8-week courses, modules start on Tuesday and cover the next 7 days of the course. Below are the deadlines for the required academic submissions.
| For Courses with One Discussion Question |
| Day of the Week |
Academic Activity |
| Tuesday |
Academic week begins and the weekly module becomes available |
| Thursday |
Initial discussion post is due |
| Sunday |
Discussion replies are due |
| Monday |
Assignment is due (if Module contains a quiz, this is also due on Monday) |
| For Courses with Two Discussion Questions |
| Day of the Week |
Academic Activity |
| Tuesday |
Academic week begins and the weekly module becomes available |
| Thursday |
Initial discussion post is due |
| Sunday |
Discussion replies for discussion 1 and the initial post for discussion 2 are due |
| Monday |
Assignment is due (if Module contains a quiz, this is also due on Monday) |
| For Courses with One Journal Question |
| Day of the Week |
Academic Activity |
| Tuesday |
Academic week begins and the weekly module becomes available |
| Thursday |
Journal response is due |
| Monday |
Assignment is due |
Note: Students are required to post assignments during the Module in which it is due or the assignment may not receive full points.
16-Week Course Schedule
In 16-week dissertation courses, modules start on Tuesday and cover the next 14 days of the course. Below are the weekly deadlines for required academic submissions. The cycle repeats for every 2-week Module.
| Day of the Week |
Academic Activity |
| Week 1, Tuesday |
First discussion post is due |
| Week 1, Sunday |
Replies to first discussion post are due |
| Week 2, Thursday |
Second discussion post is due |
| Week 2, Sunday |
Replies to second discussion post are due |
| Week 2, Monday |
Assignment is due |