Student Advisement Center
The Advisement Center at Northern New Mexico College provides a full range of advising for students, including academic planning, course scheduling, and accessing resources. The First-Year Academic Advisors are committed to providing personal academic support and helping students navigate the college experience. All first-year students are required to meet with an advisor prior to registering for classes. This way we work together to ensure that students are on track with their degree plans and academic goals. We encourage students to meet with us several times over the course of the semester. Once students reach 30 credits, they will transition to their faculty advisor who will work closely with them to set goals and complete their program. Northern offers a variety of advising resources such as Accessibility Resource Center (ARC), Veteran’s Resource Center Advisor, and Faculty Advising. Please contact the Advisement Center through our main email at advisement@nnmc.edu or the main phone line, 505 747 2150.
Placement Procedures
NNMC strives to place first year and entering students in the appropriate level Math and English classes to ensure preparation and skill attainment for success in college level courses. The College utilizes a Multiple Measure approach and considers the following factors in determining placement: Achievement in previous coursework through the examination of high school transcripts and consideration of GPA; Test scores when available, including Accuplacer, ACT, SAT, HiSET, or other approved exams; When necessary, performance on placement instruments developed by the NNMC Math and English departments. The First-Year Advisors will determine placement based on criteria set by the Math and English Academic Departments. If a student elects to appeal the placement, they will be referred to the chair of the appropriate department for consultation and potentially additional assessment. The full criteria and Test Score Charts are published on the Advisement Center web page and the Advising Procedure Manual.
- Transfer students: NNMC will use your previous college transcripts to determine placement when equivalent courses are indicated.
- High school transcripts will be used for placement, if graduated within 3 years (7th semester or official transcripts).
- Re-testing: If you are not satisfied with your Accuplacer scores, you may retest, but you will need to wait a minimum of one day and will be charged 12.00 to re-take the exam.
Registration
Registration for Summer and Fall begins in the middle of April; for Spring, in the middle of November. We encourage you to register as early as you can-and to do so online. Dates for registration activity appear in each session’s Schedule of Classes. First-time-any-college students must attend New Student Orientation in order to register. All registration holds (academic advisement, financial, incomplete admissions) must be addressed by the student and cleared by the appropriate NNMC office before a student can register.
If you wish to register for short courses, you must do so by midnight of the first week of classes.
Deadlines for course enrollment and changes in enrollment (i.e., dropping and withdrawing) vary based on the length of an individual course’s Part of Term (POT). Detailed information on each different POT appears in each term’s Schedule of Classes. It is important to review this information before you attempt to enroll. You must meet the deadlines.
Unit of Credit Policy
The assignment of semester credit is initially based on requirements set by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and corresponds to Carnegie Unit Guide lines and the federal definition of a credit hour1.
NNMC faculty determine credit hour values based on the number and type of tasks that enable the achievement of learning objectives and the estimated time needed by students to achieve the learning objectives.
In recognition of the dynamic nature of the online classroom and that classroom instruction may happen at any time, no distinction is made between classroom or faculty instruction and “out-of-class” student work. Time estimates for assigning credit hours are defined as the total time spent by students in fulfillment of course requirements, which may occur inside or outside the classroom or learning management system.
There are three types of credit:
Theory (T): Students should expect to spend approximately three (3) hours per week per credit hour engaged in coursework. In the case of synchronous (real-time) instruction, the three hours corresponds to 50 minutes of delivery of instructional content and the remaining time dedicated to study or work. For purposes of calculating the total time equivalent to credits, a standard semester is defined as 16 weeks with 48 expected hours of work for the entire semester. Specific activities composing the total time spent vary for each course.
Studio (S): Students should expect to spend at least three (3) hours per week per credit hour engaged in coursework. In the case of synchronous (real-time) instruction, the three hours corresponds to 100 minutes of delivery of instructional content and the remaining time dedicated to study or work. For purposes of calculating the total time equivalent to credits, a standard semester is defined as 16 weeks with 48 expected hours of work for the entire semester. Specific activities composing the total time spent vary for each course.
Lab (L): Students should expect to spend at least four (4) hours per week per credit hour engaged in coursework. In the case of synchronous (real-time) instruction, the three hours corresponds to 150 minutes of experiential learning and the remaining time dedicated to study or work. For purposes of calculating the total time equivalent to credits, a standard semester is defined as 16 weeks with 48 expected hours of work for the entire semester. Specific activities composing the total time spent vary for each course.
Credit hours may be earned in short sessions (summer sessions, 8-week sessions, etc.) proportionately to those earned for the same activity during a regular term. This policy is applicable to all credit-bearing courses offered by NNMC, regardless of course level (undergraduate/certificate) and mode of delivery (e.g., face-to-face, online, hybrid).Courses will be periodically evaluated to ensure appropriate credit hours are achieved.
Enrollment Limitations
Graduating in a Reasonable Time
In order to complete a program within the norm (2 years for an associate degree or 4 years for a bachelor degree), you need to enroll for 16-18 credits per semester (not including summer sessions and not including any remediation courses which may be required). If a student needs to take more than 18 credits per semester, the student will require approval from the Department Chair that offers the program (or the Advisement Center) for non-degree seeking students.
Changes in Enrollment
Once you have registered for classes you may find it necessary or desirable to change your schedule. Northern permits such changes if they take place within the time frame specified in the published catalog and/or schedule of classes; i.e., the first week of a regular semester or the first two days of a summer session. This activity usually involves dropping from one class and enrolling in another; however, you may wish to drop only one class or drop all classes.
You should always discuss dropping or withdrawing from a course with your academic advisor as well as your financial aid advisor. To drop your last class for the semester you must see your academic advisor; check with financial aid and complete the withdrawal with the Office of the Registrar.
A special time limit for moving from one level of English, math, or foreign language is described in the section entitled “Vertical Transfer.”
Vertical Transfer
Northern recognizes that no diagnostic test (such as its ACCUPLACER, ACT, etc.) is foolproof in making a decision about which level of English or math is appropriate for any given student. For that reason, if you or your instructor find that you are in the wrong level of English, Math, or Spanish during the first two weeks of a fall or spring semester, you may request movement to the next higher or lower level. This movement must take place by the end of the second week of instruction, and the gaining instructor must be willing to accept you into the new class.
Note also that this policy does not allow you to move, for example, from an English course to a history course, only vertically within the same academic discipline. Vertical transfer during a summer session must take place by the end of the first week of the session. Contact the Registrar’s Office for assistance with vertical transfer.
Enrollment Verification
Northern New Mexico College has authorized the National Student Clearinghouse to provide enrollment verifications. The National Student Clearinghouse can be contacted on the web at www.enrollmentverify.org, and by mail: National Student Clearinghouse 2300 Dulles Station Boulevard, Suite 300, Herndon, Virginia 20171
Note that it is possible to verify only what you have done or are now doing, not what you intend to do. In other words, you may register in May or July for Fall courses; however, you cannot certify your enrollment for courses before the first day of class in any given term.
Attendance
You are expected to attend all meetings of courses in which you have enrolled. The opportunity to make up class work or examinations missed through absences is at the discretion of the instructor. Each instructor establishes attendance requirements for the course and informs students in writing at the beginning of the course by providing them with a copy of the course syllabus.
If you know that you will miss several class meetings because of unforeseen circumstances, you should inform the instructor (of each course) as soon as possible.
If you are funded through any outside agency, you may be subject to additional attendance requirements or reporting.
Attendance is very relevant also for online courses. There is a definition later in the catalog under the Center for Distance Education section that discusses the expectations for attendance in online courses (see Undergraduate General Curriculum Requirements & Academic Policies ).
Important: Certain departments (e.g., Nursing, Engineering) and certain courses have special policies on attendance which can be found in the handbooks for those departments and in their course syllabi.
Administrative Withdrawals
Although the College recognizes that students must exercise their responsibility to attend and satisfactorily complete courses, it also recognizes that sometimes circumstances come into play that prevent the proper exercise of that responsibility. When it is evident that such circumstances exist, the College will exercise its authority to administratively withdraw the student from courses. Some circumstances which would warrant this action on the part of the College might include a death or sudden serious illness in the immediate family, incarceration, or military activation. In such circumstances, the Registrar will exercise the responsibility for the student as soon as the situation becomes known.
Northern’s policy concerning military activation and deployment permits the Registrar, upon receipt of a copy of the student’s orders, to drop the student from all courses or, if requested by the student, arrange for Incomplete grades to be entered to the record (if appropriate). Our policy is to protect the GPA of such individuals who have been called to active military duty. This same policy covers firefighters activated in the exercise of their profession.
The College also recognizes other situations in which it must exercise its own authority to withdraw students from the College. Examples of such situations might include the failure by a student to complete the payment process, the falsification of admission documents, the failure to reveal previous attendance at other colleges/universities, or a serious violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
1Federal Credit Hour Definition: A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than: (1) one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) at least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other activities as established by an institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading toward to the award of credit hours. 34CFR 600.2 (11/1/2010).
Center for Teaching-Learning & Distance Education
Northern New Mexico College offers online courses as an alternative to the traditional campus experience. Individuals who have scheduling problems, work full-time, or live at a distance from campus may want to consider taking an online class. Online or hybrid courses are taught on a semester basis for college credit, and follow the regular Northern course schedule. All Northern admissions and registration deadlines, policies, tuition and procedures apply. Consult the College’s course catalog to determine what format best suits your learning style. The Center for Teaching-Learning & Distance Education help students understand and overcome any learning barrier experienced either in online or in-person classes. The Center provides resources, workshops, and professional development sessions for students to experience effective learning in every modality.
How to Become a Successful Online College Student
First Day of the Semester
Log into the NNMC Blackboard© web site on the first day of class making sure you have an Eagles Email Address, Eagle ID and required password plus purchase or rent any course related materials such as a textbook or E-Book. Please note: access to online courses will not be available until the first day of the semester.
Blackboard Orientation
It is recommended that all online students who need Blackboard assistance can find it by clicking on the Bb Student Guide located in the NNMC Student Help course menu in Bb. This brief tutorial provides an overview of Blackboard by topic another resource is Youtube where you will find an extensive collection of short “how to” videos.
Student Commitment
NNMC students taking online courses are expected to spend two hours of study per credit hour enrolled. They are also expected to participate in class, keep up with coursework, keep track of assignments and due dates, connect with instructors, and interact with classmates. Self-direction, time management, and a dedicated study space are highly recommended.
Student Attendance
Attendance in an online course is determined by students meeting deadlines and participating in a range of assigned and expected course activities stated by their instructor.
Examples of “attendance” in an online class include:
- posting to discussion boards, blogs, and wikis
- participating in group work
- logging in and participating in a synchronous class meeting
- submission of a quiz, exam, assignment or other assigned course work
Again, logging in to an online course does not meet the criteria for having good attendance.
Failure to “attend” an online class for two consecutive weeks without communicating with the instructor may, at the discretion of the instructor, be grounds for an Instructor Initiated Withdrawal from the course.
Student Participation
Active interaction with your fellow online students and instructor is very important especially when you have questions. Make sure you have your instructors contact information and most important download a copy of the course syllabus so you know the expectations for each of your NNMC college instructors.
What does a student need to know to take an online course?
- Working knowledge of Windows or Mac OS
- Experience with copying and saving computer files and understanding how to upload completed assignments to Blackboard using either a Windows or MAC OS laptop, tablet, or campus computer.
- A computer with all current software updates for running web browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari with the ability to stream video and audio.
- Any required hardware, such as a headset with a microphone for use with Zoom videoconferencing.
- Any other course-specific computer requirements found in the syllabus for your Blackboard course site.
Internet Access
Online courses perform best on a high-speed Internet connection. NNMC’s Ben Lujan Library offers an excellent study venue for completing online assignments with its array of computers, wireless Internet access, private study rooms and flexible hours of operation.
The Center for Distance Ed provides technical/training assistance for students using Blackboard. Please email distanceed@nnmc.edu, or phone our Distance Ed Support Line 505.747.2224 to set up an appointment, or visit the Center for Distance Ed at www.nnmc.edu for additional information.
The Center for Teaching Learning & Distance Education provides technical/training assistance for students using Blackboard. Please email ctl@nnmc.edu, distanceed@nnmc.edu, or phone our Distance Education Support Line 505.747-2221 to set up an appointment. You may also visit the Center for Distance Education at www.nnmc.edu for additional information.
Minimum Technology Requirements for Blackboard Learn
In order to have a successful course experience using blackboard learn, it is imperative to consider the technology needed. Below is a list of the minimum technology requirements for your system to run Blackboard and its core features.
Operating System Requirements:
- Operating System: Windows 10 or newer; Mac OS 10.14 Mojave or newer
- Processor:1GHz or faster
- RAM: 4GB or higher
- 20 GB of available hard-drive space
- Screen resolution: 1280x1024 or higher
- Internet connection: Download speed of at least 1.5 Mbps, 750 kbps upload
- Webcam, microphone and speakers
- Recommended Browsers
For best performance, use Google or Mozilla Firefox. It is not recommended to use Apple Safari or Microsoft Edge. Microsoft Internet Explorer is no longer a supported browser.
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