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All persons must submit an application for admission to the College. Those seeking admission to a degree or certificate program must furnish;

• Final official high school transcripts from an accredited institution either by its own State Department of Education or by a regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Office of Education, or
• GED issued from the State Department of Education, and/or
• Official college transcripts from an accredited institution

The transcripts must be mailed or electronically submitted through a digital credential service directly to the Admissions Office from the institution(s) previously attended. Applicants will be placed into college level or developmental courses based on several factors.  These factors may include, but are not limited to, high school GPA, grades in specific high school courses, SAT, ACT, and ACM placement scores.

Students are admitted who have graduated from a high school accredited either by its own state department of education or by a regional accrediting association recognized by the United States Office of Education, or who have received a high school equivalence certification or high school equivalency diploma issued by the State Department of Education.

Please note, that according to its Safety Risk Policy, ACM reserves the right to refuse admission or re-enrollment or to place conditions on admission or re-enrollment of applicants and former students who ACM determines represent a safety risk to students, faculty, or staff.

In compliance with Part V, Department of Education, 34-CFR, Part 668-Student Assistant General Provisions: Allegany College of Maryland will make available to all prospective students data regarding completion or graduation rates for the College through the College Admissions Office. Completion or graduation rates of students receiving athletically related student aid data are available to all potential student athletes, their parents, high school coaches and guidance counselors through the Athletic Department. The Campus Security Act information is published annually through the student newsletter and is mailed to students.

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A person may be admitted as a non-degree student to take courses to fit his/her individual needs or interests. In such cases, pre-requisites and co-requisites must be met for course enrollment. A non-degree student is not a candidate for either a degree or certificate.

A non-degree student may change degree status at any time by following the procedures established under, “Admission to an Associate Degree Curriculum or Certificate Program.” All credits earned, as a non-degree student will be included in the graduation evaluation if the student changed his/her status to that of a degree or certificate candidate.

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Transient applicants with college credits earned elsewhere and plan to take courses at Allegany College of Maryland for credit toward a degree at another college. Written authorization for the home institution is recommended to ensure transferability of credits.

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Applicants with college credits completed at other accredited institutions recognized by the American Council on Education will be accepted for transfer if the course content is equivalent to that offered at Allegany College of Maryland. College-level work completed at an accredited educational agency such as the Armed Services, or recognition of prior learning through nationally recognized tests, with minimum allowable scores consistent with state minimum requirements will be evaluated if appropriately documented and certified.

Transfer credits from accredited institutions will be accepted subject to the following guidelines:

• The College will give general education credits to a transferring student who has taken any part of the general education credits described in Regulation F1a of the Academic Regulations for any general education courses successfully completed at the sending institution and so identified by ARTSYS.
• Credit earned of a non-general education nature is transferable to the College if cumulative GPA transferred average 2.0 or higher and if acceptance of the credit is consistent with the policies of the program.
• In all cases, only the course credit is transferred, not the hours attempted or the quality points earned. Transfer students enter Allegany College of Maryland without a grade point average. However, allied health programs may use grades and quality points as part of the selective admissions criteria.

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Freshman: A student admitted to a degree program who has earned less than 28 semester credits is a freshman.

Sophomore: A student admitted to a degree program who has earned 28 or more semester credits is a sophomore.

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Full-time: Students taking 12 or more credit hours (or non-credit equivalence) per semester are full-time students.

Part-time: Students taking 11 or fewer credit hours (or non-credit equivalence) per semester are part-time students.

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An Early College applicant is a student interested in enrolling in college courses while attending high school/homeschool. Applicants under the age of 16 must complete appropriate approval forms and meet the College admissions criteria.

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An applicant for admission who has been suspended once from any college may be admitted on academic probation with the approval of the Admissions Committee.

A student who has been suspended twice from any college or colleges, regardless of whether attendance has been interrupted or not, normally shall not be eligible for admission to Allegany College of Maryland. However, admission of these students may be considered on an individual basis through the Admission Committee.

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Students having interrupted enrollment for more than one semester excluding summer session at the College for any reason, or students who have chosen not to attend the College after having been accepted, must file an application for readmission with the Office of Admissions. Readmission will not be permitted until all outstanding financial obligations have been met. Students cannot register if the application for readmission is not on file. Students seeking readmission after a suspension may be admitted “on probation” and permitted to take, repeat, or audit appropriate courses. The final decision in these cases of readmission will rest with the Admissions Committee.

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Allegany College of Maryland offers several selective admission health programs*. Students typically begin the program by completing one or more semesters taking preparatory courses to become eligible for admission to the “clinical phase” of the program of their choice. Preparatory courses include general education courses, developmental courses, and other courses recommended to prepare students for the “clinical phase” of their program.

Students who are not admitted to the “clinical phase” are considered in a pre-phase of the designated program. Students in a pre-phase who meet the minimum requirements for the “clinical phase” of the program of their choice are admitted, as space is available. Students are not guaranteed a space in any “clinical phase” merely on the basis of having achieved minimum eligibility requirements. Students that are in a pre-phase will follow the General Studies program requirements.

*Dental Hygiene, Human Service Associate, Massage Therapy, Medical Assistant, Medical Laboratory Technology, Nursing, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapist Assistant, Practical Nursing, and Respiratory Therapist.

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“Residency” is a legal designation that dictates the tuition that shall be charged to an individual credit student. Residency shall be designated for each full time, part time, and dually enrolled student. Each Allegany College of Maryland student shall have one residency classification. Allegany College of Maryland shall classify each incoming student as in-county, out-of-county, or out-of state for tuition purposes and shall create a process whereby the student may request a change in residency classification or appeal a current classification. This classification and process shall fully comply with the Annotated Code of Maryland and COMAR (including terms and definitions where applicable). Students who are under the age of eighteen years or who are financially dependent upon another person shall be classified in accordance with the residency of the parent, legal guardian, or person upon whom he/she is financially dependent. This policy applies to all Allegany College of Maryland students regardless of either campus or instruction site the student primarily attends.

A student’s residency shall be classified upon enrollment at Allegany College of Maryland by the Office of Admission and Registration; this classification shall be determined using information provided by the student on his/her admissions application. This classification upon enrollment creates a rebuttable presumption, and the classification remains in effect as long as the student remains enrolled at the College unless/until the student’s domicile changes. If the student disagrees with the classification or if the student’s domicile changes, the student may petition for a change in residency and has the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that the classification is inaccurate. Petitions to change the residency classification shall be made to the Office of Student and Legal Affairs and must be submitted before the end of the semester for which the change is requested; the student shall be required to submit the necessary documentation with the petition to change residency.

To be eligible for a change in residency, the student must satisfy the following criteria:

1. That the student’s domicile or the domicile of the person upon whom the student is financially dependent is located in the locality being claimed; and
2. That the student or the person upon whom the student is financially dependent has maintained this domicile for three months prior to the start of the semester for which the change is requested; unless
3. The student or the person upon whom the student is financially dependent qualifies for an exception or special provision.

After reviewing all the information and any documents provided by the student, the Dean of Student and Legal Affairs shall determine whether the residency criteria being requested has been met; the decision shall be made in writing and communicated to the student in person, in writing, or electronically. Any student who wishes to appeal this decision may petition the Student Services Appeal Committee via existing committee procedures; the committee’s decision is final.

Any student who provides incomplete, false, and/or misleading information related to residency may have his/her residency classification reverted to its original classification and may be subject to disciplinary action pursuant to the Code of Student Conduct. If a reduced tuition rate was obtained as a result of the incomplete, false, and/or misleading information provided, the College reserves the right to retroactively adjust the correct tuition rate for each semester affected.

The Offices of Admissions and Registration and Student and Legal Affairs shall create procedures to implement this policy as it applies to their specific responsibilities. The procedures must be consistent, and all residency determinations must be documented and stored for no less than five years.

Students are required to notify the College of any address change.

The definitions noted below apply to this policy.

Definitions

DOMICILE is a student’s permanent place of abode, where physical presence and possessions are maintained with the intention of remaining indefinitely, or the permanent place of abode of any person or persons contributing more than 1⁄2 of the students financial support during the most recently completed year. (This definition is derived from COMAR.)

Requirements for domicile to be established:

1. The student* has made the new place of abode his/her permanent home;
2. The student* has abandoned his/her former home state/county;
3. The student* intends to reside in the new place of abode indefinitely; and
4. The student* intends to reside in the new place of abode for a purpose other than attending Allegany College of Maryland.

*or the person or persons contributing more than 1⁄2 of the students financial support during the most recently completed calendar year.

FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT means another person provided 51% or more of the student’s financial support and/or claimed the student on the most recent year’s tax return.

COUNTY means a political subdivision of the State that supports a community college and the total of all counties that support a regional community college under Annotated Code of Maryland Education Article 16-302. (This definition is derived from COMAR.) (Allegany College of Maryland is not a designated regional community college.)

COUNTY RESIDENT means a student who has maintained a domicile in the county or region served by the college for at least 3 months before the date of enrollment at a college. (This definition is derived from COMAR.)

MARYLAND RESIDENT means a student who has maintained a domicile in Maryland for at least 3 months before the date of enrollment at a college. (This definition is derived from COMAR.) Special Provisions to qualify for Maryland residency unless the designation is changed by law or state regulation:

• Active duty military personnel and their dependents where the active duty member is stationed in Maryland, resides in Maryland, or is domiciled in Maryland;
• A dependent of an active military member who remains continuously enrolled after the active duty member no longer qualifies;
• Honorably discharged military veterans and their dependents within four years of the veteran’s discharge and where the veteran can document (1) evidence of attending a public or private secondary school in Maryland for the last three years and graduated from a public or private secondary school in Maryland or received a high school equivalence diploma in Maryland and (2) resides or is domiciled in Maryland;
• National Guard member who is a member of the Maryland National Guard and who serves to provide a Critical Military Occupational Skill or is a member of the Air Force Critical Specialty Code;
• Military veterans in accordance with federal law and regulations;
• Individuals receiving veteran benefits in accordance with federal law and regulations;
• A student enrolled in a program designated by the Maryland Commission on Higher Education as a health manpower shortage or statewide designated program;
• A student from outside the State who enrolls as part of  a reciprocity agreement negotiated between Maryland and another state;
• A student from outside the State who enrolls in an education program leading to licensure in nursing and who furnishes a surety bond or guaranteed promissory note in accordance with COMAR rules;
• A student who resides in Maryland but does not otherwise meet in-state residency requirements and is a full-time public school teacher employed by Allegany County Board of Education for less than one year and the course/program is required by the state or Allegany County to maintain the teacher’s position with the Board of Education;
• A student who has moved to Maryland as an employee or family member of an employee as part of Base Realignment and Closure process;
• A student who is qualified under the Maryland Dream Act; and
• Any other designation pursuant to federal or Maryland law or regulation.
   

ENROLLMENT means a student has processed the registration forms and the [course] schedule is either provided to the student or made available to him/her online. (This definition is derived from the College’s FERPA policy; however, the Office of Admissions & Registration may classify an applicant’s residency upon receipt of the admissions application, and this classification becomes the formal designation when a course schedule is received.)

OUT-OF-STATE RESIDENTS shall be any other person for residency purposes. Students whose domicile is located anywhere except Maryland shall have their residency dictated by the laws of their respective state or commonwealth unless a special provision for Maryland residency applies.

REQUIRED TERM OF RESIDENCY: three (3) consecutive months immediately prior to enrollment.

BURDEN OF PROOF: the student has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he/she satisfies the requirements for the requested residency change.