Call to Active Duty

Upon notification of an upcoming deployment, contact the Office of the Registrar &Veteran Services of CCSJ immediately. If you need to withdraw from classes, bring a copy of your orders to the Office of the Registrar & Veteran Services to complete a military withdrawal from some or all courses.  The Veteran Services web page has the official university policy regarding students that are called to active duty.

If you notify the Office of the Registrar &Veteran Services that you are withdrawing due to military orders, or if we process a military withdrawal on your behalf, we will notify Veterans Affairs that there are mitigating circumstances surrounding the reduction or termination of your benefits. Their policy is to stop payment effective the date of your drop or withdrawal, but they do not typically require repayment of benefits already disbursed for that semester. Veterans Affairs usually restores any entitlement charged for the semester you are unable to complete due to military duty.

Some students elect to take courses while deployed. CCSJ recommends you check with your Academic Advisor in advance to determine whether your degree program will accept independent study courses.

Your options for completing any remaining coursework vary greatly depending on your individual situation, timing, and remaining requirements. Some students are able to negotiate the completion of all course requirements with their instructors despite their absence. Others may be offered incompletes that must be finished within one calendar year of the end of the term of enrollment. In other cases, it may be in your best interest to withdraw from the course. Your first step should always be to discuss your situation with your faculty instructor, followed by a visit to Academic Advising and the Office of the Registrar &Veteran Services for further assistance.

Return from Deployment

Procedures for reinstating your student status will vary. Students should contact the Registrar’s Office. After registering for classes, contact the Registrar’s Office to request your enrollment be reported to Veterans Services for benefits.

You will need to forward a copy of any new DD 214 discharge documents to Veteran Services for evaluation. This may change which program you are eligible for or your tier of benefits. We can assist you with this process.

CCSJ is pleased to hold a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Defense (DOD), which allows our institution the opportunity to further our commitment to excellence in educating military students. By following the guidance of the DOD MOU, we are able to ensure that all military members have access to what they need to make informed decisions about where to attend school and about how their Tuition Assistance (TA) benefits will interact with their chosen educational programs.

Marketing, Recruiting, & Advertising

CCSJ maintains policies that reflect program integrity requirements consistent with regulations issued by the Department of Education (34 C.F.R 668.71-668.75 and 668.14) related to restrictions on misrepresentation, recruitment, and payment of incentive compensation. This applies to CCSJ itself and its agents, including third-party lead generators, marketing firms, or companies that own or operate the educational institution. As part of efforts to eliminate unfair, deceptive, and abusive marketing aimed at Service members, CCSJ will:

1. Ban inducements, including any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, transportation, lodging, meals, or other item having a monetary value of more than a de minimis [defined as “an insignificant amount”] to any individual or entity, or its agents including third-party lead generators or marketing firms other than salaries paid to employees or fees paid to contractors in conformity with all applicable laws for the purpose of securing enrollments of Service members or obtaining access to TA funds. Educational institution sponsored scholarships or grants and tuition reductions available to military students are permissible;
2. Refrain from providing any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on securing enrollments or federal financial aid (including TA funds) to any persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting, admission activities, or making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance;
3. Refrain from high-pressure recruitment tactics such as making multiple unsolicited contacts (3 or more), including contacts by phone, email, or in-person, and engaging in same-day recruitment and registration for the purpose of securing Service member enrollments.

Financial Aid & Loans

Before offering, recommending, arranging, signing-up, dispersing, or enrolling Service members for private student loans, Service members may work with a counselor in the Office of Financial Aid at CCSJ; this financial aid advisor will be able to offer individual loan counseling, including, but not limited to:

1. Providing a clear and complete explanation of available financial aid, including Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
2. Describing the differences between private and federal student loans to include terms, conditions, repayment and forgiveness options.
3. Disclosing the institution’s student loan Cohort Default Rate (CDR), the percentage of its students who borrow, and how its CDR compares to the national average. If the educational institution’s CDR is greater than the national average CDR, it must disclose that information and provide the student with loan repayment data. Students may review this information at College Navigator, a government site where schools report student financial data.
4. Explaining that students have the ability to refuse all or borrow less than the maximum student loan amount allowed.

For more information about student loan counseling at CCSJ, contact Financial Aid, (219) 473-4296 or  E-mail: finaid@ccsj.edu.

Accreditation and Credentialing Requirements

Calumet College of St. Joseph is accredited to offer master’s, baccalaureate, and associate degrees; certificates; and diplomas by the Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association, 230 S. LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604 (hlcommission.org).

The College has been approved by the National Council Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE). The Education Department holds membership in a number of state, regional, and national educational and professional associations, including the Indiana Conference of Higher Education, and the National Catholic Educational Association.

Transfer Credit

Any undergraduate student transferring to CCSJ may use up to 94 semester hours of external academic credit toward their CCSJ degree. These credits must be from regionally accredited institutions attended. Of those 94 hours, no more than 66 semester hours can be accepted from two-year institutions.

For military students, credits earned for military training and experience are accepted for transfer and are counted as upper-level, four-year institution credits toward the 94-hour limit. You will need to provide your Joint Services Transcript (JST) to the university for evaluation of your credit (or CCAF transcript if Air Force) and copy of DD 214 form.

Evaluation of credits earned from non-military sources (including other colleges and universities and testing programs such as AP, CLEP, and IB) follow the same process used for other undergraduate students. You will need to submit an official transcript or report from each source directly to CCSJ. When we receive those, your credits will be evaluated for acceptability. The Registrar will add your credits to your CCSJ record while observing the 66-hour/94-hour limits. If you have credits beyond those totals, the Registrar will select those credits that seem most suitable to your academic program. You can work with your academic advisor later if you believe some used credits need to be swapped out for unused credits that would be more beneficial for you.

CCSJ is currently developing a database of uniform course equivalents for military credits to be used at CCSJ. The development of this project is expected to change how credits are worked with at CCSJ. Additional details on this project will be posted to this website as they are finalized.