Requirements for Admission
The following steps are required for admission consideration:
- Submission of an application for admission.
- Payment of an application fee of $20 for non-degree-seeking students and an additional program development fee of $65 for degree-seeking students.
- Submission of the official high school transcript or proof of GED.
- Receipt of transcripts from all schools attended since high school graduation (including trade or technical schools). All transcripts must be mailed directly.
Every applicant is considered equally, without reference to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or marital status.
All transcripts must be received prior to the end of the student’s first term of enrollment. Until all transcripts are received, a student remains in “non-degree-seeking” status. Once the items listed above have been received and reviewed, the student will receive a letter indicating admission status.
If an applicant is currently on academic suspension from another college or university, the applicant must inform the academic advisor of his/her suspension status at the previously attended institution(s). The applicant may then apply for admission as a non-degree-seeking student on probation. If an applicant is not on academic suspension, but the cumulative grade point average for the last 15 credits of the transfer work is below 2.00, the applicant’s full academic record is reviewed to determine admission status or additional requirements needed for admission.
As a probationary student, he/she must complete a minimum of 12 semester credits within a minimum of four consecutive terms, beginning with the first available term. One of these 12 credits must be IDS 104 - Reorientation to Higher Education (1) , and nine of these credits must be graded. These credits may be completed through Doane or any appropriately accredited college or university. The courses completed to earn these credits must be approved by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. After completion of the 12 credits, the applicant’s record will be reviewed to determine admission status. Upon full admission, all credits successfully completed during the probationary period may be applied to degree requirements. A student is ineligible to receive financial aid as a non-degree-seeking student or as a probationary student. Financial aid is not available for the credits taken prior to full admission as a degree-seeking student.
Incomplete or false information is grounds for denial of admission or subsequent dismissal from the college.
Reorientation
Any student admitted to the School of Graduate and Professional Studies undergraduate program as a degree-seeking student is required to complete IDS 104 - Reorientation to Higher Education (1) during the first 12 credits of enrollment. This one-credit course is designed to help students understand the meaning of a liberal arts education and the organization and structure of college degree requirements. It also serves to build confidence in the student’s ability to study and learn in a formal academic setting, and to diagnose current individual skill levels in the areas of writing, reading, and mathematics. Students continue to develop skills for note-taking, textbook analysis, time management, test-taking, and listening, and to understand college-level writing requirements. Upon meeting with an advisor, this requirement may be waived. Instances when this requirement may be waived include:
- The student transfers 66 or more credits from other institutions.
- The student has been enrolled in a community college, junior college, college, or university within the last five years.
- The GPA for the most recently completed 66 semester credits is 2.50 or better on a 4.00 scale.
Veterans
Doane College courses are approved by the Nebraska State Department of Education for veterans and other persons eligible for Veterans Administration benefits. Doane also participates in the Yellow Ribbon program.
Doane submits enrollment verification each term, after census, to the Veterans’ administration. After this submission benefits can be received. Any change in enrollment (dropping or adding hours) must be reported to the VA. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Doane VA representative of any change in enrollment. Repeated courses that are used to improve the student’s GPA cannot be included in the credit hours reported to the VA. A required class that is failed can be repeated one time for purposes of VA assistance.
Advising
Throughout the entire admission and reorientation process, a student is involved in intensive advising with a member of the professional advising staff. Before a student makes a decision to enroll, she/he has an initial meeting with an adviser. During that meeting, the adviser reviews transfer credit, discusses with the applicant his/her work and life experience, explores career possibilities, explains the program, and makes a “map” of coursework that will lead to degree completion. The advising staff makes every effort to build personal relationships with students and encourages them to seek help at any time. Time for advising is flexible and meets the scheduling needs of students.
Transfer of Prior Learning
A student who has been admitted as a degree-seeking student may transfer credits to Doane for inclusion on the Doane College transcript. College credit may be transferred from a previously attended institution or from nontraditional forms such as training in healthcare, business, industry, and the military. Credit is also awarded for life and work experiences and credit by examination. Only courses in which a grade of “C-” or better was earned will be considered for transfer. A student may earn a total of 36 credits through any one or combination of the following: credit by examination, learning portfolio, and correspondence credit. Students who transfer to Doane may use courses from a previously attended institution to meet requirements for a major at Doane College. If all major requirements are met using transferred coursework, the transfer student must enroll in a three- or four-credit senior level course in the major. This course must not be a duplication of any previous coursework and the student must earn at least a grade of “C.” Final determination of all transfer credit is made by the Registrar with the advice and consent of instructors in the appropriate academic disciplines.
Previous Coursework
Previous coursework at the college level may be transferred into the Doane program. Official transcripts must be sent directly to Doane from all colleges attended. Doane accepts a maximum of 102 credits completed at other accredited colleges and/or universities. If an applicant has completed an associate’s degree, diploma, or professional certificate at an accredited two-year college or at an accredited and approved proprietary school, the credits earned are accepted for transfer. A maximum of 66 semester credits may be accepted for transfer from a two-year college. Credit from institutions on the quarter system are accepted at the rate of two-thirds of a semester hour per quarter hour.
If a student did not complete a professional competency (i.e., associate’s degree, diploma, or professional certificate), courses which appear on the transcript are evaluated individually. In this evaluation, a maximum of six credits is accepted in transfer for courses not normally offered at a four-year accredited college or university.
Credits transferred from another institution are entered on the Doane College transcript at no additional cost. The grade given is “P” (Passed). The credits count toward the total number of hours earned, but are not included in the GPA calculation.
Military Training and Educational Programs
These programs have been reviewed and evaluated by the American Council on Education for the award of credit. Upon documentation of training, credit is awarded according to the recommendations in the American Council on Education’s Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services or its guide to Non-Collegiate Sponsored Education. Doane accepts the ACE recommendations listed under the following headings: 1) lower-division baccalaureate/associate degree, 2) upper-division baccalaureate, and 3) graduate degree. Six semester credits are the maximum awarded for any credit recommendations listed under the heading, “Vocational Certificate.” The credit is entered on the Doane College transcript at no additional charge. The grade given is “P” (Passed). This grade does not figure into the grade point average and is considered ungraded credit.
Learning Portfolio
The School of Graduate and Professional Studies offers a special learning portfolio program for individuals who have prior learning from work/life experience which cannot be documented through traditional methods. Depending on the assessed quality and quantity of learning from a student’s experience, as many as 36 credits may be documented through the portfolio process to apply toward a chosen degree program. The process includes the following steps:
- Students complete EDU 280 - Higher Education for Adult Learners (2) for two semester credits. In this course, students focus on what they have learned in their lives to this point, how they have learned it, and how that learning can now fit into a structured program of formal education. They then receive all necessary instruction for developing a portfolio of learning.
- The portfolio is submitted for review and evaluation for award of credit.
- Following evaluation, students are eligible to receive any or all portfolio credits which have been approved at a cost of half the tuition rate at the time of payment. If credit is awarded, paid for, and recorded, the grade given is “P” (Passed). This grade does not figure into the grade point average and is considered ungraded credit. The credits count toward the total credits required for graduation, after the tuition is paid.
Computer Competency Test-Outs
Students with work experience using computers may choose to test out of select computer courses. Students, with guidance from their advisor, can select to test out for competency or credit, depending on whether the student needs the credit hours to reach the 132 minimum for graduation. After successful completion of a test, the course is entered on the Doane College transcript. If credit is awarded, the grade given is a “P” (Passed) and the student is billed at one-half the current tuition rate for the course. The credits count toward the total number of hours earned, but are not included in the GPA calculation.
Dantes Subject Standardized Tests (DSSTs)
Students who are qualified military personnel may establish credit through successful completion of selected subject examinations administered through the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support. Students who plan to take a DSST must receive written approval from the Dean of Undergraduate Studies prior to taking the test. Only tests which are designated as Baccalaureate/Associate Level (B) or Baccalaureate Upper Division (BU) are approved. Tests which are designated as Technical Credit Level/Baccalaureate Level (T/B) are not approved.
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
College credits may be earned through successful completion of the subject CLEP examinations and supplemental essay section. Credit is not awarded for the general examinations. These tests are administered at a regional CLEP testing center or by the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Educational Support (DANTES) for qualified military personnel. Students who plan to take a CLEP exam must receive written approval from the Dean of Undergraduate Studies prior to taking the exam.
ACT PEP
Doane students have the opportunity to establish credit through successful completion of tests in the areas of arts and sciences, and business. Tests are administered at a regional test center or through the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Educational Support (DANTES) for qualified military personnel. Credit for ACT PEP tests is awarded according to the recommendations of the American Council on Education (ACE).
Testing Policies
Doane will not award test credit if the course has been failed in the past at Doane. A student who receives credit for a course by examination and repeats that course at Doane will have the examination credit removed. Also, students are not eligible to receive credit by examination for a lower-level course after they have completed or begun a course for which the other is a prerequisite.
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