Transferring to Brandman University
Prior to admission, students will meet with their academic coach to discuss, among other items, articulation/transferability of prior coursework. Transfer courses will be evaluated for clearance of competencies through the following methodology:
1. Prior coursework, with a minimum of B- or better from regionally accredited institutions, will first be evaluated against Brandman University’s credit hour-based courses.
2. Once prior credit has been determined to be equivalent to Brandman’s credit hour-based program, the university will then determine whether or not the student will receive transfer credit for any of the competencies in the competency-based program.
3. Transfer credit for competencies will not be granted for prior coursework where the content addresses some, but not all, of the content for a particular competency or block of competencies.
Transferring from Brandman University
The purpose of the Brandman University competency-based BBA is to prepare students for career opportunities and advancement in a dynamic, global business environment. This purpose does not include preparing students for transfer to another institution for further college study. Since the competency-based BBA is based upon direct assessment of competencies rather than credit hours, the competency units completed during a billing period may not equate to a credit-bearing course for transfer purposes. Students should be aware that transfer of credit is always the responsibility of the receiving institution. Any student interested in transferring credit hours should check with the receiving institution directly to determine to what extent, if any, competency units can be transferred. Brandman University students who may be interested in transferring to another institution—either before or after completing their studies at Brandman University—should keep in mind the following points:
1. All institutions reserve the right to determine their own transfer policies, and not all academic work completed at one institution may transfer to another.
2. Students should check the transfer policies at the institution or institutions they are considering by consulting with the admissions or registrar office at those institution(s).
3. Students who transfer should request that the Brandman University registrar send an official transcript of their Brandman University academic work to the institution(s) where they are applying for admission.
4. The Brandman University transcript will be a straight line listing of competencies completed with the corresponding “M” grade for Mastery. Competencies not completed, or those that were not successfully completed, will not be reflected on the transcript. Upon request, a corresponding conversion record (credit hour transcript) reflecting courses and credits will be developed.
Transferring within Brandman University
Students wishing to transfer from the Brandman University competency-based BBA program to another program within Brandman University should consult with their Academic Coach and One Stop Student Services. Since the competency-based BBA is based upon direct assessment of competencies rather than credit hours, the competency units completed during a billing period may not equate to a credit-bearing course for intra-transfer purposes.
Attendance Policy
Competency based programs are self-paced. Students decide the amount they will learn and how often.
Specifically, the federal government has distinct policies for federal financial aid recipients and for students who are receiving federal student loan deferments. The federal government rescinds loan deferments of students who do not engage in substantive educationally related activity for 14 consecutive days. Beginning on the 15th day, these student loan borrowers will go into repayment status retroactive to their last day of engagement.
Financial aid recipients also have attendance requirements as outlined in the sections titled
“Registration and Satisfactory Academic Progress” and “Academic Activity Verification”. It is of
paramount importance that financial aid recipients engage in a substantive educationally related activity at least once each week.
Exceptions to these participation policies are possible in some circumstances. If a student is temporarily unable to engage in substantive educationally related activity, the student can request a Leave of Absence (LOA) prior to ceasing attendance. See MyBrandman website for additional information.
Add Policy
Students may accelerate their studies by adding additional competencies once they have successfully completed the initial group of competencies. Students who desire to add additional competencies must seek the advice and approval of their Academic Coach.
Drop Policy
Given the integrated nature of the competency-based BBA curriculum, students may not drop competency units during a billing period.
Administrative Withdrawals
Regular engagement with the learning materials is integral to students successfully completing the degree requirements. To ensure student success, Brandman requires that students maintain close contact with their academic coach. If a student is not connecting with competency course material for seven days, the academic coach immediately sends an email to the student requesting to schedule an appointment. Students who do not respond to this email or other phone outreach within the next seven days will be deemed inactive, reported to the coaching team manager, and the "Return to Title IV"
process will begin. The coaching team manager and academic coach will contact inactive students via telephone and email during the next seven days and warn the students that continued inactivity will result in an administrative withdrawal.
Inactive students who fail to re-establish contact with the academic coach and the competency course material for 28 consecutive days will be administratively (unofficially) withdrawn from Brandman University on the next business day. The “Return to Title IV” process will begin after fourteen consecutive days without educational activity.
If a student does not return from a Leave of Absence (LOA) by the end of the date of the LOA, the student will be considered to have withdrawn from the University as of the student’s last day of engagement in a substantive educationally related activity. Some of the student’s financial aid award will likely have to be repaid by the student to the government and/or University. The student’s loans may go into immediate repayment or shortly, thereafter, depending on the loan and length of the LOA.
Student Withdrawals
In addition to Administrative Withdrawal as noted above, students may formally request to be withdrawn from the competency-based program. The preferred means of notifying Student Services are:
1) Via the Brandman student portal
2) In person, by visiting the Student Services office 3) By U.S. mail
4) By email from the student’s official Brandman email address 5) By facsimile.
If a student withdraws completely from the University, some of the student’s financial aid award will likely have to be repaid by the student to the government and/or University. The student’s loans may go into immediate repayment or shortly, thereafter, depending on the loan.
Students will be contacted by the Academic Coach to discuss if a credit-hour program (e.g., blended or online) may be a better fit. If a student is moves to a credit-hour program, financial aid will need to be revised and re-packaged.
The Competency-Based BBA Grading System
Students are introduced to the grading system during their introductory Competency Intro Module.
Brandman University defines competency as the ability to perform a job/role to defined, established standards in the real world. In other words, a graduate who possesses the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to be successful on the first day at work is deemed competent. Thus, competent graduates are those who are conversant with the content of the domains of knowledge, skills and abilities of their particular degree program and are ready to succeed in the working world.
There are two types of assessments within each competency:
1. Formative assessments (also called Checks for Understanding or CFUs) are quick self-assessments per objective/topic carried out during the experience in order for students to gauge their learning. Regardless of the level, these are auto-graded. Like learning activities, CFUs will be tied to either objectives or topics depending on the depth of the objectives. The scores for formative assessments do not contribute to the student’s grade for the competency.
2. A summative assessment (also called a final assessment) is provided at the end of the competency to determine mastery. In a Level I Competency, these are auto-graded. In a Level II Competency, these are manually graded by Assessment Graders. When a student successfully completes the summative assessment, the student has mastered the competency and may continue work in the program. The scores for summative assessments do contribute to the student’s grade for the competency.
Transcripts
Transcripts include the following notations:
• Mastery: The Mastery grade certifies successful completion of a competency. The student has demonstrated successful completion by passing the final assessment with at least 80% of the items answered correctly (indicated on the transcript legend).
• Transfer: Signifies that the student has completed transfer equivalencies that comply with Brandman University transfer credit/competency policies. Transfer work is indicated as summary units for each transfer institution.
• Withdrawn: Represents that the student was withdrawn from the university.
The University does not calculate a grade point average (GPA). Grades are transcripted upon completion of a course of study.
Assessment Approval and Retake Policy Assessments
Given that not all assessment activities are of the same type, nor do they cover similar content or assess similar levels/types of learning, the rules referring to retakes will vary from one assessment to another as follows. Three types of assessments are used in the Competency-Based BBA. Checks for Understanding occur as multiple opportunities for students to practice what that have learned for topics within objectives. A Level I final assessment is a single, multiple-choice objective test that ensure student understanding of foundational topics. A Level II final assessment is a performance-based project that allows students the opportunity to demonstrate that they can actually do the skills and activities for that competency.
Checks for Understanding (CFUs) Level I
Students are required to successfully complete the checks for understanding for each competency. In Level I competencies, the adaptive learning engine measures students’ confidence and accuracy for each item presented. A student must correctly and confidently answer each item presented in each CFU and will not be allowed to proceed to the next CFU until they have done so. They will have unlimited attempts to complete the Level I CFUs.
Checks for Understanding (CFUs) Level II
Students should also successfully complete the checks for understanding for each Level II competency.
However, Level II competencies do not use the adaptive learning engine. These CFUs will appear more like traditional quizzes with 10 – 30 items in a multiple choice format. Students must complete these CFUs prior to the submission of the final assessment. They will have unlimited attempts to complete the Level II CFUs.