Acadeum Course Policy

Policies and Procedures for Consortial Courses

Eastern Mennonite University is a member of the Council of Independent Colleges collegiate consortia through which cross institutional enrollment in online courses is permitted up to four (4) semester credit hours in the fall or spring semester, or full-time status in the summer term with the approval of the student’s academic advisor.  These courses are labeled “Acadeum Consortium” on the student transcript. Acadeum enrollments should be reserved for cases where students do not otherwise have available EMU courses needed to graduate on time. Students will therefore be expected to register for standard EMU classes as their default option. Each course requires approval from the appropriate program director for courses counting toward a major or minor or for courses that meet Core or general education requirements.

Upon completion of each Acadeum course, the registrar of the teaching institution submits the final grade in the portal. The University Registrar then posts the final grade on the student’s EMU transcript. This practice makes it possible for: (1) EMU to apply financial aid to cover the cost of the courses; (2) Students to improve GPAs by substituting consortial course grades for Ds, Fs, or Ws; and (3) Full-time students to count the courses towards degree progression.

Previously posted final grades will remain on the EMU transcript; however, the Acadeum grades will be counted in the EMU GPA and the credit hours will also be counted in the “attempted” and “earned” categories for Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations. Acadeum courses are not considered transient or transfer courses. EMU will not intervene in grade disputes in cases where an EMU student is dissatisfied with the final grade issued by the teaching institution. Additionally, students are responsible for adhering to course participation and other policies of the teaching institution, which includes logging in on the course start date, submitting assignments, securing textbooks and learning materials, and following through on all required actions as stated on the syllabus and by the teaching institution. Course drop dates are determined by the teaching institution and EMU students must adhere to these dates accordingly. EMU will not intervene in disputes regarding course drops, withdrawals, and/or refunds in cases where the student did not correspond with the teaching institution per the deadlines for each Acadeum course.

Consortial Course Enrollment Eligibility

Students must:

1. Be enrolled full-time at EMU during the fall or spring academic term in which they are seeking to take an Acadeum course (EMU courses will be included in determination of full-time status);

2. Be in good academic standing or be encouraged to take Acadeum courses as part of the academic plan. 

3. Be financially cleared at EMU in the academic term in which the student seeks to enroll in Acadeum courses.

4. Consortial courses will not count towards the academic residency requirement that a minimum of 30 credits be taken in residence at EMU.  

Acadeum Enrollment Actions

Students must request Acadeum enrollment actions (add, drop, withdraw) through the EMU Acadeum platform administrator or through their academic program director.

Communication to Students about Course Requests

After a Acadeum course request is submitted on behalf of the student, the Teaching Institution will send one of two e-mail communications to the student’s school email address:

1. Denied, which requires the staff to find another course for the student

2. Approved, which gives the student key information about the course start date etc.

Billing Students

Students pay their Home Institution’s tuition rate for the Acadeum course.  Financial aid may be applied to cover fall and spring Acadeum course costs if a student is enrolled full time (12-18 credits), and it may be applied to cover summer Acadeum courses if a student is enrolled at least half-time (6 or more credits). Students who exceed full-time enrollment due to the addition of Acadeum courses will be charged overload tuition and fee rates per the published EMU tuition and fee schedule.

Students are responsible for payment of any course fees associated with Acadeum courses.  For enrollment in courses that meet during the fall or spring academic terms, any Acadeum course fee is passed on to the student.  For enrollment in courses that meet during the summer term, the student is charged EMU standard tuition on a per credit hour basis and the course fee is not passed on to the student. 

Students are responsible for all learning material costs, including textbooks, as determined by the teaching institution. Textbooks for Acadeum courses are not included in the EMU tuition and fees.

Transcribing Courses

EMU will use a Acadeum section designation and a course number that is the same as the equivalent EMU course (e.g., CTS 1328—Introduction to Software Engineering taken at a different institution will be transcribed on the EMU transcript as CS 145 – Introduction to Programming, with an Acadeum designation).