Right To Know

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In accordance with federal regulations, you have the right to know certain information about Highland Community College, including a variety of academic information, financial assistance information, institutional information, information on graduation rates, security and crime statistics, athletic program participation rates, and financial support data.

As part of our compliance with this regulation, we present the below information. Should you wish to comment on the content of the information provided, please contact Executive Vice President or Dean of Students. Most of the information can also be located in HCC’s current Academic Catalog and Student Handbook.

Student Resources (Quick links)

Campus Directory and Community Resources                                               

Academic Areas of Study, Degree Sheets, and Course Descriptions


Student Identity Verification Policy

Student Identity Verification Policy Highland Community College has a process in place to ensure that the student registering for a course is the same student who participates in the course or receives course credit, primarily through the use of a secure login and password.

Secure Login and Password

Highland Community College assigns each student a secure network account with a unique username and password. All students registering for a course at Highland Community College are assigned unique identification numbers and corresponding usernames. Before a student can access any information resource on the College’s network (including the Learning Management System), the student must be authenticated by the College’s directory service using his/her username and password. Students are assigned a randomly generated, suitable complex password that meets identified password criteria guidelines when their account is first established. The Highland Community College Office of Information Technology is responsible for maintaining the credential verification procedures.

All users of the College’s learning management system are responsible for maintaining the security of usernames, passwords, and other access credentials as required. An account is assigned to an individual for the exclusive use by that individual. Attempting to discover another user’s password or attempts to gain unauthorized access to another person’s files or mail is prohibited.

Additional Verifications

Faculty teaching courses through distance learning delivery methods have a role in identity verification by being alert and recognizing changes in student behavior, including, but not limited to: sudden shifts in academic performance, changes in style and language used in written work or discussion posts, student time on task, and quiz/exam completion data; which may indicate academic integrity issues. It is recommended that faculty routinely use a variety of assessment instruments and select assignments types that are more difficult to plagiarize.

Highland Community College systems also monitor user LMS logs based on dates, times, and IP addresses for all users.  The HCC system also closes course sections on the LMS within one week of the course end date, blocking students from reentering and retrieving any content from a course once it has ended.

Highland Community College will continue to review and evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of new verification technologies as it becomes available. Responsibility for Policy Implementation The Highland Community College Office of Academic Affairs and Office of Information Technology are jointly responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy and to ensure that administrators, faculty members, program coordinators, and regional directors are informed of any changes to the policy in a timely fashion. 

Network Policy

Academic Integrity Policy

Highland Community College requires academic engagement for a student to remain enrolled in a course. Academic engagement is defined by the Department of Education as “active participation by a student in an instructional activity related to the student’s course of study”. Students who do not attend and engage in an enrolled class by the below definitions will be designated as a “no show” by their instructor and will be dropped from the course by the Registrar’s office.

The Higher Learning Commission defines attendance in an online course by the submission of classwork, therefore, a student must submit gradable coursework to have attended and be engaged. Gradable coursework includes uploading an assignment, posting to a discussion board, or completing a quiz or exam. Logging into an online course, but not submitting coursework, does not qualify as having engaged in the course.

In a face to face classroom, being physically present when the course is in session and led by the instructor is documented as attended and engaged.

Instructors will report “no show” students on the final day of the posted 50% refund period for the enrolled session. See the HCC website for a listing of dates. Students who are dropped for non-attendance and non-engagement will be refunded course tuition and fees. Course material consumable items are non-refundable if not in new, unused condition. Financial aid awards will be adjusted.

A student may appeal to be reinstated into the course, within two business days of being dropped as non-attended, by making written email contact to the HCC Registrar’s office at registrar@highlandcc.edu. 

Highland Community College is authorized to operate by Kansas Board of Regents and is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). HLC offices are located at 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604, (800) 621-7440/(312) 263-0456. Program specific accreditations are available on file at Highland Community College Technical Center, Atchison, KS.

HCC Nursing Programs are approved by the Kansas State Board of Nursing (KSBN). The curriculum for both the Associate Degree of Nursing - ADN (LPN-RN Bridge) Program and the PN Program support the statewide alignment as outlined by the Kansas Post-Secondary Technical Education Authority (TEA) under the auspices of KBOR as approved by KSBN.

The associate degree nursing program at Highland Community College at the Highland Community College Technical Center located in Atchison, KS is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326; (404) 975-5000. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the associate degree nursing program is Initial Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program.

HCC’s Auto Technology Program is ASE Education Foundation (formerly NATEF - National Automotive Technician Education Foundation) certified.

We are authorized by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the Title IV, HEA programs listed in our Program Participation Agreement available on file in the Financial Aid Office at Highland Community College, 606 W Main, Highland, KS 66035.

NC-SARA - General Disclosures of HCC Programs and Professional Licensure Educational Requirements in the United States and the U.S. Territories. (as of 2020).

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Transfer Students (Transferring In)

A transfer student must meet all the regular student admissions requirements. HCC reserves the right to determine which transfer courses will fulfill graduation or departmental program requirements. A maximum of forty-seven (47) credit hours may be transferred to HCC and applied toward a degree, including hours transferred from other institutions as well as qualifying CLEP test credits. Prior to registration, students transferring to HCC are required to submit official transcripts of all credits earned at other institutions. The Registrar will evaluate successfully completed coursework from accredited institutions. If accepted as satisfying degree requirements, these transfer hours will be counted toward graduation and will be counted in the calculation of the GPA. A transfer student must complete sixteen (16) credit hours at Highland Community College to be eligible for graduation.
Additional information on Credit for Prior Learning, CLEP or AP credit, repeated transfer coursework, and all other policies can be found in our Academic Catalog Introduction and Policies.

Transfer Information (Transferring Out)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (FERPA) is a U.S. federal law protecting student education records, granting parents and students (over 18 or in college) rights to access, review, request corrections, and control the release of personally identifiable information (PII) from these records, applying to most schools receiving federal funds. Essentially, it mandates confidentiality for student records and requires written consent for sharing, with specific exceptions, transferring rights from parents to the student at age 18 or college enrollment.

Permission To Release Info Form

Directory Information  

Highland Community College designates the following student information as public or “Directory Information.”:

  • Name  
  • Address (local & permanent)  
  • Telephone number (local & permanent)  
  • Date and place of birth  
  • Major field of study  
  • Full or part-time enrollment status  
  • E-mail address  
  • Photographs  
  • Classification (freshman, sophomore)  
  • Dates of attendance  
  • Degrees  
  • Awards received  
  • Previous institutions attended  
  • Sports - height, weight, and picture  
  • Participation in recognized activities  

Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of this information to institutional persons or organizations. To withhold disclosure, written notification must be received in the Office of the Registrar by the end of the first week of each semester. This also will keep you out of the Campus Directory which is published each semester and is available to anyone on request. 

Notification of Rights Under FERPA

Highland Community College Code of Conduct:

Students at Highland Community College are dedicated to growing both academically and personally. The HCC Community has defined six “Shared Performance Expectations” that are essential for all members of the community to exhibit in order to grow personally and academically.  

HCC Shared Performance Expectations

  1. Be Competent at your Work: Know your area of work or study; consistently perform to expectations; use constructive feedback to improve.
  2. Communicate Effectively: Demonstrate the ability to create and understand messages-in written, oral, or visual form.
  3. Respect Others: Show respect for other people and the environment; be open to perspectives different from your own; treat people and the environment with courtesy.
  4. Make Good Decisions: Apply critical thinking processes-examine assumptions, gather relevant and reliable data and information; make decisions based on evidence.
  5. Act Responsibly: Within your role or roles at HCC, meet your commitments and be accountable for your own behavior and performance.
  6. Work Effectively in Teams: Contribute productively-as a leader or member of a team.

The College reserves the right to sanction students for conduct that violates the Shared Performance Expectations. The following types of acts are examples of such violations and could result in serious disciplinary sanctions to include suspension or expulsion from Highland Community College.  

  1. Threatening the life or physical safety of others.
  2. Conduct that violates the right of others to an educational atmosphere or interferes with the operations of the College.
  3. Vandalism, theft, or willful destruction of property.
  4. Violation of College policies or regulations.
  5. Violation of federal, state, or local laws.
  6. Insubordination to College authorities.

Equal Opportunity, Harassment and Nondiscrimination HCC’s full Equity Grievance Policy and processes associated with Equal Opportunity, Harassment, and Nondiscrimination may be found in the Student Handbook.  

Student Handbook

Student Discipline Adjudication: The purpose of this Student Discipline Adjudication Procedure is to document the College’s due process for responding to Student Code of Conduct violations including gender discrimination and sexual misconduct under Title IX.  

Official Communication & Policies
Email received at a student’s Highland CC email address is the official mode of communication at HCC for all matters.