WLU Academic Policies, Procedures, and Support Resources
Instructors may set attendance policy in each course as long as the policy is consistent with the current WLU Policy 229 including recognition of religious obligations as follows: “Every effort will be made to accommodate students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments, or other required attendance, provided they notify the instructor well in advance of the scheduled conflict. Whenever possible, such notification should be made in writing at least two weeks in advance of any conflict.”
The WLU Academic Honesty Policy, located online under Academic Policies and Procedures in the WLU Student Handbook is as follows:
Academic Dishonesty, in whatever form, belies the stated philosophy of West Liberty University “to promote the development of the intellectual, cultural, social, physical, emotional, moral, and vocational capacities of all persons within its sphere of influence.” Individuals who commit acts of academic dishonesty violate the principles, which support the search for knowledge and truth. The academic community has established appropriate penalties and disciplinary action for such behavior. For full information on types of academic dishonesty, penalties, appeals, and procedures related to academic dishonesty, please refer to the University Catalog.
Types of Academic Dishonesty
- Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information in any academic exercise. Examples: Using or attempting to use “cheat sheets” to gain credit on quizzes or tests; having a substitute take a test; having another complete a research or writing assignment; and/or using the service of a term paper company.
- Fabrication: Falsifying/inventing any information/evidence or neglecting to follow established guidelines of research and documentation. Examples: Distortion of evidence to prove some experiment; and/or creation of false sources/fictitious evidence.
- Collaboration: Assisting others in engaging in scholarly wrongdoing. Examples: Stealing and distributing tests, etc.; permitting another to use a research paper/design; and/or permitting another to copy from his/her paper during an exam.
- Destruction of Reference Sources and/or denying others access to learning materials. Example: Destruction of journal articles in the library’s collection; stealing of books and other materials from the library or other sources.
- Plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own. Examples: Not footnoting direct quotations; not acknowledging a paraphrase.
- Misrepresentation of statistics
Penalties
A student who violates the academic honesty policy may be subject to one or more of the following penalties:
- A faculty member may award a failing grade on an assignment; lower a course grade or award a failing course grade, including a WF should the student withdraw from the class prior to the 2/3s withdrawal deadline.
- The University may place the student on probation.
- The University may suspend the student.
- The University may expel a student from a program or the University.
Excerpt from the University Catalog:
Policy Regarding Appeals of Academic Suspension, Probation, or Dismissal:
- Responsibilities: Students are expected to adhere to institutional academic standards and acceptable standards of behavior and responsibility in all academic settings, classrooms, laboratories, clinics, and other activities which are part of academic requirements.
- Sanctions: Infractions of institutional academic standards, rules and regulations, as stated in the University catalog or student handbook, may result in academic sanctions such as suspension, probation, and/or dismissal from the Institution or from an academic Program.
Criteria of Appeal:
- A student, who believes that his/her suspension, probation, or dismissal either from the Institution or from an Academic Program was based on inadequate evidence or prejudicial judgment, may appeal this action in writing to the Department Chair/Program Director within ten (10) working days of the receipt of such notification. Undeclared students will appeal directly to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. b. The Department Chair/Program Director may establish a meeting with the student and other faculty members with whom the Chair needs to consult to discuss the appeal. The Department Chair/Program Director will make a recommendation to the College Dean.
- The College Dean will deliver a decision within five (5) working days by certified mail to the student with copies to the Registrar, the student’s advisor, the Department Chair/Program Director, and the Provost.
- If the decision is not satisfactory, the student may request, in writing, a hearing before the Appeals Committee. This written request is to be sent to the Provost within five (5) working days of receipt of the College Dean’s decision.
- The Provost will convene the Appeals Committee, which will be composed of three (3) faculty members and two (2) students, none of whom may be from the Department or College involved.
West Liberty University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. To learn more about the university’s accreditation, click HERE.
Please Note: Accreditation standards vary between academic programs. Therefore, it is important for students to review the student handbooks for their particular academic program. If you need clarification about policies that appear to conflict, please consult your program director.
A student who officially withdraws from a course by the end of the school day marking the two-thirds point of the semester or summer term shall receive a grade of “W.” A grade of “WP” is given if a student officially withdraws from a course any time after the two-thirds point and before the last scheduled class meeting, providing he or she is passing the course at the time of withdrawal. A “WF” will be given if a student officially withdraws any time after the two-thirds point and before the last scheduled class meeting if he or she is failing the course at the time of withdrawal. A student who does not officially withdraw from a course shall receive a grade of “FI,” indicating failure because of improper withdrawal. Grades of “WF” and “FI” are computed as “F” for grade point average. The last date to drop a course is listed on the academic calendar.
Students withdraw from an online class (100%) via email. The student should use their WLU email account to send an email to the online course instructor with a copy to the Registrar’s office at registrar@westliberty.edu. The email MUST include your full name, your WLU ID, course department, number, and the section as well as a statement you wish to drop the course. The instructor should respond to you, via email with a copy to the registrar@westliberty.edu, with confirmation including the date of your last attendance (participation) in the online course.
Withdrawing students receiving financial aid may be required to repay a portion of their financial aid in some cases.
For information about withdrawing from the university entirely, please see the appropriate catalog (undergraduate or graduate).
eLearning Policies, Procedures, and Support Resources
WLU is authorized to enroll out-of-state students into online courses and programs via our participation in NC-SARA. For more information about NC-SARA and to determine if your state is included, review the webpage, SARA for Students.
If the state where you intend to practice a particular occupation requires licensure (examples: nursing, CPA, social work, and clinical psychology), please determine prior to enrollment if our online courses/program satify this state’s educational requirements for licensure.
Course materials may be protected by copyright. United States copyright law and West Liberty University policy prohibit unauthorized use, duplication, or retransmission of course materials. See http://www.copyright.gov/title17. By accessing course sites within Sakai, instructors and students agree to abide by copyright laws and the West Liberty University Acceptable Computer Use Policy. This material is only for the use of students enrolled in the specific course(s). Protected materials on this site may not be retained on the user’s computer or other electronic storage devices for longer than the duration of the specific class for which they are assigned, nor further disseminated by the user to any other persons.
Students
Schedule changes are processed by Sakai twice daily, Noon and 8 PM. Therefore, you will not have instantaneous access to new courses. Please wait 24 hours before inquiring about missing courses.
Faculty
Schedule changes must be completed by the Provost’s office in Banner before they can occur in Sakai. Changes are processed by Sakai twice daily, Noon and 8 PM. Therefore, you will not have instantaneous access to new courses in the LMS.
You may drop an online course by doing the following:
- Please send an email to the instructor via his/her WLU email and cc: the Registrar’s office at registrar@westliberty.edu. If you can’t find the instructor’s email address in the course syllabus, you should be able to locate it in the WLU directory.
- In the body of the email, state that you wish to drop the ONLINE course effective today. Be sure to include your full name, WLU ID number, specific course number (ex. ENG-123-01-S22), and course reference number that you see on your schedule in WINS, if available.
- The Registrar’s office will process the drop but the faculty member MUST be included/notified.
The basic premise of netiquette is that the communication behavior expected of students in the online environment is the same as that expected in a classroom. Following these simple netiquette rules when communicating online will contribute to your success:
- Common courtesy and good manners, along with proper use of grammar, sentence structure, and correct spelling, are all part of proper netiquette (from the University of Oklahoma) when taking an online class.
- Adhere to the same standards as you would for written language, including always capitalizing the pronoun, “I”.
- Remember who your audience is when posting to discussion boards, sending emails, or participating in a chat room discussion. You should behave as if you were sitting in a traditional classroom.
- Remember that the online classroom setting is more formal than public forums or personal chat groups you may have used.
- Be clear and concise. Explain your ideas entirely but get to the point.
- Using all capitals is the equivalent of SHOUTING and is considered RUDE.
- Avoid “flaming” or attacking someone for their point of view. Remember that it will be read by many readers, including the instructor.
- Remember classmates come from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and situations. What may be polite in your mind might be offensive to others.
- Read over what you are going to send at least once, just as you would proofread a paper you submit in a face-to-face course. Remember, once you submit your work, discussion, or email, generally you cannot change what you have written.
- It is not acceptable for you to present the work or ideas of others as your own. If you quote from a source, use quotation marks and provide the original author’s name and the work from which the quotation is taken. Use your own understanding of the work, instead of direct quotes if possible, and give credit to the original author by citing the name and source of the idea.
You can review the rules, regulations, and procedures concerning student conduct code at Student Handbook.
The Sakai User Guide is a great resource for students, faculty members, and staff to learn more about Sakai. It provides step by step instructions with screenshots for many routine tasks such as submitting an assignment and creating an assessment in Tests and Quizzes. Please make sure to select the user guide for our version of Sakai which is always listed at the top of Sakai’s home page.
If you are unable to locate your course AFTER COURSE SITES OPEN…
To place your course sites on the left-hand side of the screen on your favorites bar:
- Click on the Sites icon (three boxes by three boxes to the left of your name at the top right of the screen).
- Locate your Fall 2024 courses.
- Hover over the course, a pushpin icon will appear. Click on it to make it black.
- A blue bar will appear at the top of box, click reload.
- Close the Sites window by clicking the X at the top right of the window.
If you have followed these instructions and are still having difficulty, please open a Sakai Help Ticket.
Many courses use Respondus Lockdown Browser for online testing. Please be aware that this product is not compatible with mobile devices— phones, iPads, tablets. It is also not compatible with Chromebooks. Although you may have used Respondus with your Chromebook in K-12, the company does not support its use in colleges and universities.
Respondus Lockdown Browser requires a reliable internet connection. Poor connectivity can result in the locked-down browser freezing. When clicking to save or submit, students must click once and wait for the action to be completed. Over clicking will result in a data discrepancy error. Both of these issues can be resolved by a hard restart of your computer, however, this will cost test time. While your computer restarts, the timer on your test continues to count down, so it is important that students have both a reliable internet connection and patience when clicking.
To use this product:
- Students should download the product once by attempting to access a test using it.
- Once the download is complete, there will be a Respondus Lockdown Browser icon placed on the desktop (PC) or in the Applications folder (Mac) of your computer.
- Every time you want to access a test that requires Respondus Lockdown Browser, you will do so by clicking on the desktop icon on PCs; launch from the Application folder on Mac. This will take you to Sakai using the locked-down browser. You can then log into Sakai, locate your course, then access the test you wish to take from the Tests & Quizzes tool. The test MUST be selected from the Test & Quizzes tool. Attempting to access the test from any link other than those in the Tests & Quizzes tool (on the left menu) will not provide access.
To learn more about the tool, visit its website.
WLU students should use this form to report issues with online courses. Please contact the office of eLearning at (304) 336-8432 if you haven’t received a response within 3 business days.
- Go to https://westliberty.edu/go-wlu/
- Click the WLU – Single Sign-On button. This button will redirect you to the university’s Single Sign-On (SSO) portal.
- Select AD – campus.westliberty.edu
- Login using your active directory (AD) credentials. Your AD credentials are provided to you by the IT department.
- Once logged in to the SSO portal, from the list of available applications, select Sakai. A new browser window will open with Sakai.
- If you experience login issues, please submit an IT Help Ticket.
Password Help If you forget your password or decide you want to change it, you will use WLU’s Self Service Reset Password Management (SSRPM) System. You must register for this system using the SSRPM link inside the WLU – Single Sign-On portal. For detailed instructions on this task, visit https://westliberty.edu/it/helloid-sso-guide/.
If you need further password assistance, please submit an IT Help Ticket.
The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Online Education at West Liberty University supports the design, development, and delivery of rigorous, engaging eLearning for students who need or want to learn without the barriers of time or place. This is achieved through the use of current, supported technology, professional development for faculty and staff, and online learning preparation for students.
If you need assistance with Sakai or have general questions about the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Online Education, please open a Sakai Help Ticket.
IT Policies, Procedures, and Support Resources
- suspension or revocation of computing privileges
- reimbursement to WLU for resources consumed;
- other legal action including action to recover damages;
- referral to law enforcement authorities;
- computer users will be referred to as follows:
- Faculty… To College Dean then to Provost
- Staff… To Human Resources Administrator
- Students… To Instructor (or College Dean)
For courses, you will need to work with a variety of files. The links below provide access to free resources you may need or want to use:
- Word processor (Open Office is a free productivity suite available for download that’s similar to Microsoft Office. You can also request a free Microsoft Office 365 account through WLU by contacting IT Services at helpdesk@westliberty.edu)
- Google Apps including Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides (free productivity tools that can be accessed through your WLU email account)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader (Adobe Acrobat Reader is used to open .pdf files.)
IT Services supports university email (Gmail), Microsoft 365, Zoom, etc. To learn more about their services, click HERE.
For assistance, please submit an IT Help Ticket.
Accessibility Information
As required by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Reasonable accommodations are provided to ensure equal opportunity for students with verified disabilities. If you have a disability that requires accommodations, contact the ADA Coordinator in the student Success Center.
If you are receiving academic accommodations, with a letter of Accommodation (LOA) from the ADA Coordinator, it will be sent directly to your instructor. Please reach out to the instructor to ensure appropriate accommodations are planned and implemented. If you believe you are eligible for accommodations and are not receiving them, please contact the Student Success Center to begin the process for consideration.
The Student Success Center is committed to motivating students to be successful, providing avenues for academic and cultural support, and developing opportunities for connecting students to the West Liberty University community. In this developmental process, students are encouraged to engage in programs and services that will help them realize their potential. The Student Success Center blends the following offices and services to address student’s needs and assist in a positive college experience: Accessibility Services, Career Services, CLEP Testing, First Year Programs & Services, Undeclared Advising, and Tutoring Services.
WLU Sakai Accessibility Statement
West Liberty University’s Learning Management System is powered by Sakai CLE. The Sakai Community strives to provide persons with disabilities with equivalent access to content and features. Sakai utilizes a three-part process to evaluate accessibility, including review with a checker (a compliance tool from the University of Toronto), the Firefox Accessibility Extension (from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign), and JAWS (screen reader). The Sakai community’s quality assurance and accessibility working group evaluate new and substantially revised tools when new versions of Sakai are introduced (approximately every 12 months). Tools are evaluated against ADA Section 508 and WCAG 1.0 recommendations. Learn more about Sakai’s ADA Section 508 and WCAG compliance at the Sakai community accessibility working group’s wiki: https://sakaiproject.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/2ACC/overview.
WLU Sakai ADA Compliance
Users needing additional accommodation for the learning management system should contact the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Online Education by submitting a Sakai Help Ticket to discuss their needs.
Below are links to the Accessibility Statements for the tools and technologies that may be used within courses at WLU:
- Adobe – http://www.adobe.com/accessibility.html
- Cengage – http://www.cengage.com/accessibility/
- Cisco WebEx – https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/accessibility.html#~A
- Google – https://www.google.com/accessibility/
- Hypothes.is – https://web.hypothes.is/accessibility/
- LiveText – https://www.watermarkinsights.com/accessibility/
- McGraw-Hill – https://www.mheducation.com/about/accessibility.html
- Microsoft Office – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/office
- W.W. Norton – https://wwnorton.com/accessibility
- Pearson – https://www.pearson.com/us/accessibility.html
- ProctorU – https://www.proctoru.com/accessibility-statement/
- Respondus – http://www.respondus.com/products/accessibility-lockdown.shtml
- Sakai – https://www.sakaiproject.org/accessibility
- TurnItIn – http://turnitin.com/en_us/about-us/accessibility
- YouTube – https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/189278?hl=e
Privacy Information
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is a Federal law that states (a) that a written institutional policy must be established and (b) that a statement of adopted procedures covering the privacy rights of students be made available. The law provides that the institution will maintain the confidentiality of student education records.
West Liberty University accords all the rights under the law to students who are declared independent. No one outside the institution shall have access to nor will the institution disclose any information from students’ education records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, to persons or organizations providing students financial aid, to accredited agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. All these exceptions are permitted under the Act.
West Liberty University is the owner and operator of westliberty.edu, subdomains, various social media properties (to the extent these properties allow our control), and other sites, including but not limited to hilltoppersports.com. All such web properties are referred to herein as Web Presence. The privacy policy below reflects the policy of both our Web Presence and our normal operating procedures for our operational practices. We recognize the importance of your privacy. It’s understandable that you may be concerned with the information you provide to us or that is collected by us and how we use it. With these concerns in mind, we’ve developed the Privacy Policy outlined here.
Steps students can take to protect their own information and data:
- Do not share credentials for any tools or services.
- Change your passwords frequently.
- Do not reuse passwords.
- Never save a password on a device you do not own.
Save and store your own academic work. Do not count on being able to download work you have submitted via the LMS after submission.
Below are links to the Privacy Policies for tools and technologies that may be used within courses at WLU:
- Adobe – http://www.adobe.com/privacy/policy.html
- Cengage – https://www.cengage.com/privacy
- Cisco WebEx – https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/legal/privacy.html
- Google – https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/
- Hypothes.is – https://web.hypothes.is/privacy/
- LiveText – https://www1.taskstream.com/privacy-policy/
- McGraw-Hill – https://www.mheducation.com/privacy.html
- Microsoft – https://www.microsoft.com/online/legal/v2/?docid=43
- W.W. Norton – https://wwnorton.com/privacy-policy
- Pearson – https://www.pearson.com/us/privacy-statement.html
- ProctorU – https://www.proctoru.com/privacy-policy/
- Respondus – https://www.respondus.com/about/privacy.shtml
- TurnItIn – http://turnitin.com/en_us/about-us/privacy
- Youtube – https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en