Attendance in WTMC classes

WTMC administration and staff reserve the right to evaluate the student's attendance, soft skills credentialing and program participation on an individual, case by case basis. At WTMC attendance is evaluated as part of the student's soft skills. At WTMC absences are considered neither excused nor unexcused; instead we document the reason the student did not attend. A documented absence is not excused. Under the WTMC Attendance Policy we only document absences that fall into one of the three following categories:

Reason	Documents Required	Power School Code
Medical/Health Condition:	Doctors note	H
Family Business:	Funerals/weddings documentation	F
Court Related Business:	Court dates documentation	C

• If a student receives 8 absences fall or winter semesters, or 4 absences spring semester in any individual class the instructor has the option to soft skill de-credential the student.
• If a student receives more than 20 absences, all classes cumulative, fall or winter semester or 10 absences, all classes cumulative, spring semester the student's BASE teacher can in consultation with the student's content instructors soft skill de-credential the student.

If a student receives more than 32 absences, all classes cumulative, fall or winter semester or 16 absences, all classes cumulative, spring semester the student can be removed from the WTMC Program.

Attendance in WCC classes

All students taking WCC classes must prove their attendance in the correct class within the first week of each new semester by obtaining the signature of their instructors on Initial Attendance slips (green). These slips are checked against the student's schedule in the office to determine that the student is [1] in the correct classes and [2] carrying enough credits to be considered a fulltime student.

In both the fall and winter semesters, students with WCC classes must have one more slip signed by their instructors later in the semester (dates are announced). This slip, the State Audit Reporting slip (red), is used to prove that the student was in the class on the State Audit date. This is necessary for the school to receive state funding for tuition, books, etc. Well over ninety percent of our school funding comes from the State of Michigan. Students who fail to get these attendance slips filled out and filed in the office are costing the school money that is used to pay for classes and materials. Students who refuse to provide adequate evidence of their attendance for the student audit can be dropped from the program or charged for classes that are not covered by state funds due to the lack of evidence of attendance. In most cases, students who fail to provide the red slips are actually not attending classes, which should serve as a red flag to parents. Non-attendance may also lead to a conference to reassess the student's educational plan.
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Book Return

Students who have received books for WCC classes must return them books before they can receive new books for the next semester. Book return dates at the end of each semester, are publicized in the events calendar on the web page. Student's who fail to return books from the previous semester during the book return period will purchase them before getting books for the new semester.
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Campus Security

WCC provides on the campus twenty-fours hours a day. Emergency phones on campus connect directly to the Security Office, and may be used by anyone on campus. Any person violating campus rules and regulations may be detained by campus security. Violations of law will be reported to local police agencies and can result in prosecution.
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Credit Allocation Program

Students can attend WTMC for a minimum of 2 years (4 full semesters and 2 half semesters) or a maximum of 3 years (6 full semesters and 3 half semesters). Students must move toward the educational goals on their EDPs at a steady pace while enrolled at WTMC.

Students must earn a minimum of 60 WCC credits and attempt no more than 90 WCC credits.

• WTMC course credits do not count towards the student's CAP
• WCC credits attempted by WTMC students during their first semester at WTMC do not count towards the student's CAP.
• Students can enroll in 16 credits per full semester and 8 credits spring semester. Administrative approval is required to enroll in more credits than is allowed.

With permission, students may pay for additional courses, or courses not included in their EDPs.
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Certification for transition to WCC

Three requirements must be met before a student to moves from a WTMC course to an entry-level course. These are [1] the approval of his/her content teacher, [2] approval of all of the student's WTMC instructors that the student's soft skills are appropriate for college courses, and [3] the student's COMPASS scores qualify him/her for the course. If any one of these three conditions is missing, the student will not transition to college level courses.
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Challenge course (U. of M.)

The U. of M. Challenge course is a series of outdoor, experiential learning exercises that are conducted on a course just north of the WCC campus. New WTMC students are required to participate in the Challenge Course prior to the beginning of the school year each fall. BASE Advisors are at the course to meet new students and welcome them to the school. The course requires some physical activity, cooperative efforts to solve problems, and is an enjoyable way to get to know other new students at the school.
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Closing School

WTMC follows the lead of WCC regarding school closing for inclement weather or any other reason. WCC reports closings and late starts through the local media. If WCC is reported as closed or having a late start, then you can automatically assume that WTMC will be closed or starting late. On rare occasions, WTMC may close its classes. In such cases the closing will be reported on various local media outlets, and the State of Michigan school closing website.
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Clubs and other organizations at WCC

WCC clubs and organizations are open to WTMC students, with the exception of athletics. Athletic eligibility at the college level excludes high school aged students from most sports.
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Educational Development Plan - EDP

The Educational Development Plan describes the student's educational goal and records progress towards that goal. The EDP shows the order in which the student plans to take the classes required to complete a college program. An EDP is particularly important in a college environment since each course is not taught during each semester. Students must plan at least a year in advance. Regular updating of the EDP takes place with the BASE Advisor. Students must have a current and updated EDP ready each time they begin the scheduling process with their BASE Advisor. Scheduling will not occur without an updated EDP.
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Emergencies

Parents are responsible for providing up to date emergency information in case of an emergency involving your student. Medical emergencies will be referred to a campus Emergency Medical Team. In most cases the student will be transported to the nearest hospital. The school cannot approve medical services for your son/daughter. The hospital will require direct contact with you.
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Federal Privacy Act (FERPA)

Normally student records are under the control of the student's parents/guardians until the student reaches age 18. A clause in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act passes this control to the student if he/she is taking postsecondary classes. All WTMC students will be taking postsecondary classes. In order for the school to receive grades and other materials from WCC, we must have permission under FERPA from the student authorizing WCC to release the information. This permission also allows WTMC instructors and administrators to communicate information regarding the student to school personnel.
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Grading

Grades at WTMC exhibit the following:

• A = Excellent, outstanding work
• B = Good work
• C = Average, acceptable work
• Lcr = the student has done less than acceptable work, but has done enough work to receive credit for the course.
• Lnc = the student doing less than acceptable work and not enough work to receive credit for the course.

A student getting an A in a WTMC class is not necessarily automatically certified to transition to a WCC class. Transition is dependent upon the demonstration of both academic and Soft Skills.
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Identification Card

Each student on campus must have a student identification card with a picture. Student identification cards can be obtained in the copy center on the first floor of the Student Center. WTMC students receive identification cards that show they are middle college students. Replacement of lost identification cards costs $10.00.
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Illegal or controlled drugs or substances

Students in possession of, using or dealing in illegal drugs or controlled substances will be immediately suspended from WTMC and a recommendation for their expulsion will be put before the Board of Directors. Additionally, any information regarding the situation or evidence obtained as a result of an investigation will be turned over to Campus Security or a police agency for possible prosecution.
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Smoking

State school law does not allow public high school students to possess tobacco products or use tobacco products in their school building or on school property. All of the buildings and the entire campus of WCC are considered school property for WTMC students. This law applies to students who are over 18 years of age and is in effect 24 hours a day as well as at all school-sponsored activities and events.

All WCC buildings and grounds are a non-smoking area, by WCC Board policy.
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Soft Skills

Soft skills are those skills that a student must have to be successful in an academic or work situation. Items such as time management, attendance, accepting responsibility, proper methods of communication, etc. are the skills that are taught in every WTMC class for the first five weeks of the first semester. They are reinforced during the second five weeks. They are evaluated during the final five weeks. Students must receive soft skill credentials from all of their WTMC instructors in order to transition to WCC classes. Students failing to demonstrate adequate soft skills in college classes, which results in a failing grade, may be returned to WTMC classes.
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Student Council

WTMC has a Student Council in which any student may participate. The council sets up its own rules of operation and plans student activities for the year. Any student wishing to be a member of the council should watch for notices indicating meeting time and location.
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Suspension

Suspension, as opposed to expulsion, is a short-term removal from school. Suspended students cannot be on campus during their suspension. Suspensions can range from one to ten days depending upon the severity of the act that caused the suspension in the first place. Suspension days count toward a student's absent days total.
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Tardiness

WTMC defines tardiness as being less than ten minutes late to class. If over ten minutes late, the student will be marked absent. After four tardies in a class, each additional tardy will be marked as an absence.
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Transcripts

Students submit their high school transcripts to prove their eligibility to enroll in Washtenaw Technical Middle College. WTMC requests an official copy of a student's transcript before the student begins at WTMC. Students are advised to obtain their own official copy of their previous transcript. If the student applies to another educational institution or program that requires a high school transcript, the student will need to request that his or her previous school send an official transcript.

High school courses from a student's previous high school will not be posted to WTMC's middle college transcript. WTMC will post WTMC courses and WCC courses to the Middle College transcript. These are the courses that will determine if the student qualifies for graduation from WTMC. If the student applies to another educational institution or program that requires a high school transcript, WTMC will provide a middle college transcript that contains both middle college and WCC courses on it. The student is advised to request an official high school transcript from the original high school, to show high school courses taken at the previous school. If the completion of college credits is an issue with the next educational institution, the student is advised to request an official WCC transcript, which will show college courses, but no middle college courses.
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Visitors

You are welcome to have guests visit the school under the following guidelines:

• Your guest must be of high school age
• Your guest must be able to show that his/her school is not in attendance on the day of the visit or that he/she has the permission of his/her principal
• You must make arrangements for a visit 48 hours in advance of the visit
• Visits are not allowed on days when we are not in a normal school schedule (activities going on, finals day, etc.)
• You are responsible for the actions of your guest

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Weapons

Use or possession of a weapon or an object that is intended for use as a weapon is not allowed. Students who violate the weapons rule will be immediately expelled from WTMC. Minimum expulsion time is one full school year. Mitigating circumstances or requests for a return to school must be referred to the Board of Directors.
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