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GENERAL REGULATIONSAdministrative WithdrawalThe College reserves the right to withdraw a student from class if, in the judgment ofCollege officials, such withdrawal is in the best interest of the student or the student bodyat large.Change of AddressStudents who change their home address or mailing address are expected to notify theCollege of this change immediately using WebAdvisor, or by contacting the campusRegistrar's Office. Documentation may be required.Official CommunicationsA request that a student report to an administrative or faculty office may be made byletter, email or telephone. Failure to comply with such a request may result in disciplinaryaction. Each student is responsible for monitoring his/her MyTCC email account forofficial communications.Communications to the entire student body are considered properly delivered whenthey are placed on official campus bulletin boards, on MyTCC (Blackboard) and/or on theTCC website. Each student is responsible for regularly checking the bulletin boards andwebsites.Religious Holy DaysIn accordance with state law, TCC allows an excused absence to students for theobservance of a "religious holy day," defined as a holy day observed by a religion whoseplaces of worship are exempt from property taxation under section 11.20, Tax Code.Students shall be excused from attending classes or other required activities,including exams, during time needed for travel for the purpose of the observance of areligious holy day. The law mandates that students are required to complete assignmentsor exams missed during the absence within a reasonable time.Student Conduct and DisciplineTarrant County College has established rules and regulations for student conduct andbehavior. These items may be found in the Student Handbook which is available on theTCC website. Failure to abide by all rules and regulations may be grounds for disciplinaryaction.The Vice President for Student Development Services is responsible for enforcingcampus student discipline as outlined in the Student Handbook and makesrecommendations to the President regarding student violations of the College Regulationsand adherence to the District’s disciplinary procedures. These procedures will assureprompt and appropriate action, as well as provide due process in accordance with theguidelines stipulated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.Use of Legal NameStudents are required to provide their full legal name to the College. Students'permanent records, including official transcripts, are required to identify students by theirfull legal name.Tarrant County College 2014-2015 Catalog7

Use of Student NumberA student number is required to identify students' permanent records. The automatedstudent information system assigns a random number, called the Colleague ID, to everystudent. The Colleague ID is used for all internal printed materials and provides additionalprotection to students’ privacy. Students are urged to become familiar with their ColleagueID and to use it when communicating with College offices.Students are requested to provide their Social Security Number to the College formaintenance of their student records. This number allows the College to meet federal andState reporting requirements, enables communication with financial aid providers andservice agencies, allows reporting to IRS regarding eligibility for the AmericanOpportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit, and substantially eases transfer ofinformation between the College and other colleges and universities. Students who do notprovide their Social Security Number risk loss of services and benefits and may encounterdelays when transferring from or to other institutions. The College makes every effort toprotect students' Social Security Numbers from inappropriate disclosure. Questions aboutCollege use of the Social Security Number should be forwarded to the District RecordsOffice or the campus Registrar’s Office.OFFICIAL NOTICESThe College provides the following information in response to federal or statemandates or as a service to the College community. Additional information about theseand other important topics is available through the TCC website.Access to Student RecordsThe Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (PL93-380), commonlyreferred to as FERPA, provides that all records pertaining to a student that are maintainedby the College must be open to inspection by the student and may not be made available toany other person without the written authorization of the student. FERPA gives parentscertain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer tothe student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the highschool level. A "student" is defined as a person who has registered and paid for one ormore Undergraduate (UG) or Continuing Education (CE) courses and who remainsenrolled through the official date of record for that term.The act allows but does not mandate the release of directory information. Undersome circumstances, directory information may be released without the student's writtenpermission. Examples of these circumstances include:1.2.For legitimate educational purposes within TCCTo officials at an institution in which the student seeks to enroll3.To comply with a court order or subpoena4.5.In connection with a health or safety emergency if necessary to protect thestudent and othersTo parents of a student who is a dependent for income tax purposes6.If it is directory information7.To parents of a student younger than 21 years of age if the disclosure concernsdiscipline for violation of the campus drug and alcohol policy.TCC directory information includes name, current address and telephone number,major, dates of attendance, full-time or part-time enrollment status, degrees and awards8Tarrant County College 2014-2015 Catalog

received and dates granted, previous educational institution(s) attended, and eligibility andparticipation in officially recognized activities and sports. It should be noted that currentaddress and telephone number are considered restricted directory information. These itemsare released only if a legitimate educational interest is established. NOTE: Email addressesare not considered directory information.Non-directory information is never released without the student’s officialauthorization. These items include but are not limited to:1.2.Enrollment verificationGrade point average (GPA)3.Academic standing4.Grades or transcripts.A student may request that all items of directory information be kept confidential bycontacting the campus Registrar's Office or District Records Office. A written request isrequired. The request may be canceled only upon receipt of the student's writtenauthorization.Questions concerning FERPA may be directed to the campus Registrar’s Office, theDistrict Records Office, or online through the TCC website.The American Opportunity CreditStudents may be eligible to claim an American Opportunity Credit (AOC) againsttheir federal income taxes. The AOC may be claimed for the qualified tuition and relatedexpenses of students enrolled at least half time for the first four years postsecondaryeducation when enrolled in a program leading to a degree, certificate or other recognizededucational credential. Eligible tuition and fees are determined by the IRS and will beoffset by any grants, scholarships or refunds received. More information is available atwww.irs.gov.Lifetime Learning CreditStudents may be eligible to claim a Lifetime Learning Credit against their federalincome taxes. The Lifetime Learning Credit may be claimed for the qualified tuition andrelated expenses of students enrolled in eligible educational institutions.If a student is claiming an American Opportunity Credit, none of that student'sexpenses for that year may be applied toward the Lifetime Learning Credit. Moreinformation is available at www.irs.gov.Selective ServiceAlmost all males 18 through 25 years of age living in the United States must registerwith the Selective Service. Almost all non-citizens also are required to register, includingillegal aliens, legal permanent residents, and refugees. If a male non-citizen takes upresidence in the United States prior to his 26th birthday, he must register. Additionalinformation can be found on the TCC website.Solomon AmendmentThe Solomon Amendment allows military recruiters to request certain recruitinginformation from institutions about students. Most of the recruiting information data isconsidered directory information under FERPA or data that would normally be collectedby the institution. The 1995/1996 National Defense Authorization Act and the 1997Tarrant County College 2014-2015 Catalog9

Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act gave branches of the military access to studentinformation including student's name, address, telephone number, age or date of birth,class, and major. The Solomon Amendment requires institutions to cooperate and complywith requests from military recruiters for student information.Student Right to Know - Crime StatisticsThe Campus Annual Security Report can be viewed on the TCC website. A printedcopy of this report is available on request from any campus Police Department.Student Right to Know - Graduation StatisticsFederal law requires that all institutions of higher education disclose graduation ratesto students, applicants and potential students. Graduation rates for TCC can be providedupon request to the District Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness.Students Subject to Additional Tuition and FeesTarrant County College does not at this time require additional charges for thefollowing categories of excess hours but is required by law to inform students that chargesmay be instituted by TCC and/or may be incurred when attending other Texas colleges anduniversities. At this time, TCC only charges additional fees for repeated courses.Additional Charges for Students with Excessive Semester Credit HoursTexas legislation allows state colleges and universities to charge additional tuitionand/or fees for students who enter a Texas public higher education institution beginning infall 1999 and who exceed by more than 45 hours the semester credit hours required for thedegree. For undergraduate students initially enrolling fall 2006 or later, the limit is30 semester credit hours above the number of hours required for the degree. Thelegislation exempts technical and workforce education courses. At this time, TCC is notcharging additional tuition for excessive hours.Additional Charges for Students Who Exceed 27 Developmental Semester CreditHoursTexas legislation allows state colleges and universities to charge additional tuitionand/or fees for students who exceed 27 semester credit hours in developmental courses. Itdoes not include any courses in study or thinking skills. At this time, TCC is not chargingadditional tuition for excess developmental hours.Additional Charges for Repeated CoursesThe Texas Legislature eliminated funding to higher education for courses that areattempted three or more times. An attempted course is defined as any course in which agrade is earned on the transcript, including repeated courses and courses dropped with agrade of “W”. State regulation allows an institution of higher education to charge a highertuition rate to a student whose hours can no longer be submitted for state funding.Therefore, in order to compensate for this loss of state funding, students attempting acourse for the third or more time will be charged a fee of 60 per credit hour for eachrepeated course. The fee is subject to change each year upon action of the Texas HigherEducation Coordinating Board.Effective with the Fall 2013 term, TCC will charge a higher tuition rate for thefollowing repeated courses: Same or substantially similar cou

6 Tarrant County College 2014-2015 Catalog I. Support student learning and success through excellence in teaching and learning, support services, flexible instructional delivery systems, student engagement, learning outcomes assessment, and dynamic curricula.