The Registrar’s Office encourages all students, faculty members and staff members to understand their role in the Mandatory Participation Verification Policy, which was instituted in 2023.
Financial-aid eligibility is determined based on a student’s academic participation. To comply with Title IV regulations for federal financial aid, Metropolitan State University of Denver must determine whether a student earned and maintained eligibility for their financial-aid funds.
Under the policy, students reported by their faculty member who don’t participate in a course by the census date will be administratively dropped from the class, potentially impacting their financial aid, tuition-and-fee statement, veterans benefits and other educational resources.
All faculty members are required to report students who fail to begin participation in a course by the census date. For fall full-term courses, the 2024 census date is Sept. 4 at noon. For courses outside the 16-week term, the census dates can be found here.
Defining participation
Policy language says “student participation” means engaging in an “academically related activity” as faculty members define in their course syllabi, said Registrar Connie Sanders.
“Knowing that colleges, schools and departments have unique approaches to tracking and evaluating attendance, any inclusion of language about nonparticipation in course syllabi should consider the guidelines of one’s home department, college or school,” Sanders said.
When faculty members report that a student has not participated, the student:
- Will be administratively dropped from the course by the Registrar’s Office.
- Will no longer appear on the roster.
- Will not receive a grade in the course.
Sanders urged faculty members to carefully collect and report participation data, as students who are dropped could face significant consequences. Additionally, it is critical that faculty report non-participation by the deadline for each course to avoid being at risk for being out of compliance.
Faculty resources and checklist
A comprehensive participation-policy website with definitions and FAQs for faculty members and students is now available. If a student is inaccurately reported as nonparticipating and subsequently dropped, a form and process for reenrollment are available. The form must be initiated by the student, approved by the faculty member and then processed by the Registrar’s Office.
To support the success of the participation policy, faculty members should:
- Include the course definition of “participation” in all syllabi.
- Track student participation.
- Report students who did not participate in a course through Banner by noon on the census date.
- Input the last date of attendance for students who receive a failing grade in the course when submitting final grades.
Learn more
- Visit the policy webpage to read the policy in full.
- Faculty members with questions about defining or tracking course participation should contact their department chair.
- For questions regarding the participation-policy process, faculty members can contact the Academic Records Team within the Office of the Registrar at [email protected].