Everybody’s Guide to
Colorado State University’s PACe Program 

Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement

The University expects students to be spending approximately three hours per week per credit on their courses.  We want students to be utilizing this time making progress in their math minicourse(s).  That is why we have the Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement.  Its purpose: to discourage procrastination and foster success.

Here, in one complicated sentence, is the Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement. In order to preserve their access to the online course materials and the PACe Testing Center and/or qualify for a grade of Incomplete , students must earn one progress credit, at a minimum,  per week, beginning the second week of classes.

Progress credits are earned by engaging in an activity that shows involvement with the minicourse.  The first time a student attempts the User’s,  Review,  Unit, or Final Exam, one progress credit is automatically recorded to their PACe  record.   Students will earn only one progress credit for each exam.  

Students who are completing a minicourse in which a grade of Incomplete was assigned will not receive progress credits for any work in the course in which the Incomplete was assigned.  If the student is also enrolled in another minicourse this semester, the student will not be required to meet the Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement until the week following the Incomplete deadline.  If the student finishes the Incomplete course before the deadline, any progress credits earned by starting the next course will be carried forward to the first week after the Incomplete deadline.

Each Friday at midnight (MST) we count the number of progress credits each student has earned during the that week plus any extra credits earned in previous weeks.  If the number of progress credits a student has earned matches or exceeds the minimum weekly requirement of one, he or she is meeting the Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement.  If on even one Friday, a student has earned less than one progress credit, he or she has failed to meet the Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement for that week.  Any progress credits beyond the required one will be carried forward to the next week.

As you see from the Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement Schedule, students are not required to earn any progress credits during the first few days of the term.  The first few days are a "free" period when students can take care of registration and prerequisites and learn about the PACe Program without being immediately concerned about progress credits.  Students should take the User's Exam during this period. 

Whenever a student accesses the online course materials, the link "My Weekly Progress Report" will shows the number of progress credits the student has earned, the number required to meet the minimum requirement for each week of the semester and the last day the student will be allowed to work on their course(s).   The recommended number of progress credits to complete each week will also be displayed.   This number of recommended credits is computed each week based on how many courses the students is taking, how much of the course material is left to complete this semester and how many weeks the student can still work on the course.

Students who have failed to meet the Minimum Weekly Progress Requirement are assigned a grade of U (unsatisfactory) in all minicourses they do not complete. To qualify for an I (incomplete), a student must have met the minimum weekly progress requirement each week of the semester. Refer to the section on Grading for more details.