VLACS Student Policies

  • Pace and Grace Period:
    • A 1.0 credit course is normally completed in 36 weeks; a 0.5 credit course in 18 weeks. You may work faster but must maintain the minimum pace.
    • The first 28 days you are in a VLACS course is the “grace period.” You may contact your instructor to drop the course with “no grade” during that period.
    • If, at the end of the “grace period,” you have not completed the required lessons for the first four weeks, your instructor may remove you from the class.
    • Withdrawing after the 28-day grace period will result in a withdrawal incomplete (WInc) on your transcript. You are expected to stay on pace or you may be dropped from the course if you are not submitting the minimum assignments each week according to Suggested Pacing in the student information system each week.
  • Progress Reports will be issued monthly. Instructors will also make a monthly phone appointment with you and your parents to discuss progress in your course(s).
  • Academic integrity is very important to VLACS; therefore, students agree to submit authentic work, not copied from another student or from another source without citing that source.
  • It is the policy of the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) that its students have an educational experience that is safe, secure, peaceful, and free from student harassment, also known as bullying or cyber bullying. VLACS will not tolerate unlawful harassment of any type. Conduct that constitutes bullying or cyber bullying as defined herein even if it occurs outside of students’ academic interaction with VLACS is prohibited. To read the complete policy click here.
  • All students will be required to master course competencies in order to earn credit from VLACS.

 

Course Policies

  • When sending an email, please include:
    • A specific topic within the subject line
    • Please be sure to include your full name
    • You will receive a response within 24-48 hours
  • You are strongly encouraged to do all your assessments in the order they are presented to you; completing them out of order will make your course more difficult and may give you a false impression of your overall progress in completing your course. Assessments that are not completed will negatively affect your final course grade.
  • To help you stay on pace, you need to develop a pace chart for your course. Your instructor will discuss this with you during your Welcome Call.
  • Parents play an important part in the VLACS online community. We rely on parents to check the pace chart regularly to see that their student is on pace.
  • When you submit assignments, they will be graded and returned to you within your course. If you wish to resubmit an assignment (not an exam/test – see below) to improve your grade, you may do so and it will be re-evaluated for a final grade.
  • Mid-term and final exams allow only one submission.
  • Please be aware that the mid-term and final exams are password protected and must be administered by an approved proctor.

 

Beginning a Course

  • Once registered, your instructor will set up a Welcome Call. Before you begin a Welcome Call or other meeting with your instructor, please be sure to be logged in to your course page and review any content requested by your instructor.
  • After the Welcome Call, an instructor will activate your course and you can log in and begin to work. Courses can be accessed through the student login button on our website. Once logged in, click “Go to Courses” on the left-hand side.

 

Completing Your Coursework

  • Pace Chart:
    • Print out the pace chart located in the Course Info Area.
    • Keep a copy of this readily accessible, such as in a folder on your computer.
  • Course Information Area:
    • Read every link in the Course Information Area as it contains information to help you be successful in your course.
  • Course Lessons:
    • Read every part of every module.
    • Begin with Module 1 and proceed in order.
    • Do NOT begin at Assessments.
  • Course Assessments/Assignments:
    • Look for the assignment by either name or number.
    • Click on the assignment you need to do.
    • Click the “submit all and finish” or “send for marking” button at the bottom to submit.
    • Maintain a regular schedule for working on your course.
    • Don’t hesitate to work ahead of pace, but it is highly recommended that assignments be done in order.
    • Back up and save ALL work submitted for the course. VLACS recommends creating a separate folder for each course on your computer (if possible), or on a USB thumb drive.
  • On many assignments you may receive an initial grade of “0” or a much lower score than you anticipate – that is a temporary score – you must wait for your instructor to fully grade your assignment.
  • Please allow for two business days for work to be graded.

 

How to Get Help

Your instructor will be able to help you with most any issue, however, there may be times when you will need extra assistance.

  • Technical Help Desk – A technician is available to help you with any technical issue related to VLACS courses or software via chat, voice and video through our software communication tool located in your course.
  • Academic Help Desk – Academic Coaches are available to help with your course-related questions via chat, voice and video through our software communication tool located in your course when your “regular” instructor is not available.