Learning support center

KIMEP University
Orientation and Advising Program
Fall 2022

STUDENT DAY – August 23, 2022

COLLEGE ORIENTATION DAY – August 24, 2022

LEARNING SUPPORT CENTER EVENTS 2023-2024 AY

Mentoring and Advising Policy

The KIMEP University recognizes academic advising and mentoring to be a critical component of the educational experience and student success. Faculty, administrators, and professional staff promote academic advising as a shared responsibility with students. Academic advising and mentoring serves to develop and enrich students’ educational plans in ways that are consistent with their personal values, goals, and career plans, preparing them for a life of learning in a global society.

KIMEP University is committed to establish a strong program of effective academic advising for all students. This commitment embodies the academic advisement system that provides not only a mere assistance to students with course scheduling, but functions considerably broader rather than that. Thus, KIMEP University aims to establish a multi-level advising system that accumulates academic and administrative advising services, mentoring and assistance of students from the very beginning of their study period up to a successful completion of the degree.

Professional academic advisors (learning support coordinators) provide students with practical information about how to understand the Core Program curriculum and the administrative aspects of class selection and registration. They offer advice about how to navigate the various administrative offices at KIMEP U and the complexities of KIMEP U policies and procedures. Professional academic advisors have current information regarding other programs at KIMEP U, how to prepare for declaring a major, and transition to the degree program in the junior and senior years. They can also provide comprehensive information about university-wide student support services.

The functions of administrative and academic advisors additionally affirm their responsibilities to inform comprehensively each student about new Catalog versions, changes in academic policies and requirements. Advisors notify students in a timely manner of changes either in the university’s curricula or student’s academic standing, in order to help them properly evaluate course options, individual opportunities, and successfully plan the completion of educational goals.

Advisors guide students in developing decision-making skills, refer them to the various academic and student support services/programs on campus and help them in making their best of their educational opportunities.

Advisors also review student academic records and any deficiencies, assess student progress and performance, resolve academic difficulties, provide information on how to prepare for final exams, etc.

The student and the advisors are mutually responsible for establishing and maintaining communication. Newly admitted students are encouraged to communicate with their advisors as soon as possible.

Advisors can help students understand fully all of the options and avoid needless mistakes, but only if students take the initiative to seek their advice. Students’ responsibilities in the advising relationship are:

1. To seek sources of information that assist in making academic/career decisions;
2. To keep advisor informed about changes in academic progress, course selection, and academic/career goals;
3. To be familiar with the requirements of the program they are pursuing, and to schedule courses each semester in accordance with those requirements;
4. To be aware of the prerequisites for each course that student include in a semester schedule and to discuss with adviser how prerequisites will affect the sequencing of the courses;
5. To follow university procedures, including deadlines, for registering courses and for making adjustments to class schedule;
6. To carefully review each course syllabus, noting rules, regulations, and policies for each class;
7. To participate fully in the courses for which they are registered by completing assignments on time and attending class;
8. To understand the information provided by the university, including grades reports, and to know what to do in case student have a missing grade or one that you think may be incorrect;
9. To understand academic performance standards, academic probation, academic dismissal, and to know GPA requirements;
10. To comply with University rules on academic integrity and honesty with respect to any work they submit or examination undertake in satisfaction of course requirements including, but not limited to, University rules against plagiarism;
11. To notify an advisor of new contact information whenever contact details (postal/email addresses and/or telephone numbers) change;
12. To read emails sent by the University regularly and respond to them as required;
13. To inform an adviser immediately whenever a serious problem (medical, financial, personal) disrupts an ability to attend classes or interferes with an ability to focus on education and to perform well.

Students are assigned to advisors based on their major and number of credits earned. Any student may ask for advice of both the KIMEP University Learning Support Center and designated academic units. The University Learning Support Center guides all at risk as well as advanced students.

Prior to enrolling for the first time at the university, all degree-seeking first-year students and transfer students are required to attend special orientation, advising, and registration sessions organized on campus by the KIMEP Learning Support Center. They are also required to meet with a professional advisor. Readmitted students must also meet with a professional advisor prior to reenrolling. The following groups of students are required to meet with an advisor during each tracking semester (fall and spring):
– All students with fewer than 30 credits earned.
– Students identified as at risk.
– Students on Academic Probation.

Equal opportunities policy

The KIMEP University is committed to provide fair and inclusive environment for all members of our diverse community and prohibits discrimination and harassment against any individual on the basis of ethnic or national origin, race, gender, age, personal beliefs, socio economic background, sexual orientation, physical or psychological disability unrelated to job or learning requirements.

This policy extends to all privileges, rights, and activities and applies to all recruitment, admission, scholarship, registration, housing, learning support policies and to all employment decisions including hiring, promotion, recruitment, termination, compensation and benefits.

The policy requires, for students, admission to the University and progression within graduate is to be determined only by personal merit and by performance. For staff, entry into employment and progression is to be determined only by personal merit and by the application/evaluation of criteria which are related to the duties and conditions of each particular position.

No student, member of staff, applicant for admission as a student, or applicant for appointment as a member of staff will be treated less favorably than another because of her or his belonging to a protected group.

If any person admitted as a student or appointed as a member of staff considers that he or she is suffering from unlawful discrimination, harassment, or victimization in her or his admission, appointment, or progression through the University because of belonging to any of the above protected groups, he or she may make a complaint, which will be dealt with through the agreed procedures for complaints or grievances or the procedures for dealing with bullying and harassment, as appropriate. The University will take whatever action may be needed to prevent, and if necessary, discipline behavior which violates this Policy.

Special need policy

KIMEP University is committed to providing equal educational opportunity and participation for students with diverse needs. It is the University’s policy that no qualified student with learning differences need be excluded from participating in any University program or activity, denied the benefits of any University program or activity, In this regard, KIMEP University:

• strictly prohibits any form of discrimination on the basis of an individual’s special need
• offers individualized academic placement and reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with special needs.

Definition of an Individual with a Special Need

For purposes of this policy, the term ‘special needs’ refers to a diverse range of needs often caused by a medical, physical, mental or developmental condition or disability. Special needs can include cognitive difficulties, physical or sensory difficulties, emotional and behavioral difficulties, and difficulties with speech and language. A student at KIMEP will need to demonstrate evidence of a record of such impairment.

Eligibility for Services

To be eligible for services, students with special needs must identify themselves and present professional documentation to the Medical Center for verification. Until appropriate documentation is provided, support for the student with a special need may be delayed.
Students may receive services in one or more (but not limited to) of the following areas:

• Mobility, visual, hearing, or speech impairment
• Cognitive impairment
• Acquired brain injury
• Developmental delayed learner
• Various Mental Health Issues
• Other chronic or health-related limitations that adversely affect educational performance
• Other chronic or health-related limitations that adversely affect educational performance

Professional Documentation and Verification

Documentation should be prepared by an appropriate professional who is not a family member. Documentation should be recent (within one year), relevant, comprehensive, and the original. The university has the discretion to require additional documentation.

Records and Privacy

Medical information provided to the University by students as a part of a request for accommodation(s) is treated as confidential medical records under applicable laws and university policies. Such information is provided only to individuals who are privileged to receive it on a need to know basis. Such confidential records shall be separately maintained by the Medical Center.

Priority Registration

Students with documented special needs are eligible for early registration times. Students should submit the list of preferred courses three weeks prior to the registration period to the Learning Support Center. This accommodation will give students more flexibility when planning their schedules and to help arrange adequate time between classes and ensure that classes are scheduled in the easy accessible facilities.

Reasonable academic adjustments and accommodations include but are not limited to:

• Extended time for testing
• Alternative testing sites
• Permission to tape lectures
• Volunteer readers
• Scribes for classroom
• Print materials in alternate format
• Permission to bring food and drink into examination
• Written instructions for those with a hearing impairment.
• Enlarged font papers for those with a visual impairment
• Take-home exam for students in wheelchair or with walking difficulty

Requesting Accommodations

Students are encouraged to speak directly with faculty members regarding any academic adjustments/accommodations they need. Discussing the needs with faculty members helps them better understand the student situation and allows them to get to know him/her personally.
Students should follow the below listed steps to request academic adjustments and/or accommodations:

1. Apply for services as soon as possible and provide documentation of conditions that may warrant academic accommodations
2. Provide all of the information regarding the type of expected accommodation to the LSC coordinator
3. Explain the needs, and discuss possible accommodations with the instructor. If a student feels uncomfortable discussing his/her need with a faculty, the LSC coordinator will serve as a liaison between him/her and a faculty member
4. Remind an instructor of the need for the accommodation, for extended time and/or quiet room accommodations for testing, before each test

Instructor’s responsibilities

• Instructors should not compromise the academic integrity of a course by giving passing grades to students who have failed to demonstrate the required level of understanding or performance. Once instructors have provided accommodations, they should grade the work of students with special need as they would grade the work of any other students.
• An instructor who has difficulty providing the accommodations or who disagrees with the accommodations should contact the LSC coordinator or the AVP of Student Affairs.
• If the instructor and LSC are not able to come to agreement about an accommodation, they may contact VPAA who can assist in resolving the issue.
• Instructors should not provide academic accommodations without notification from the Learning Support Center.
• Instructors should ensure that all classroom materials, such as presentations, readers, handouts, media, and websites, are fully accessible.
• Instructors will maintain student confidentiality.

Housing Services

Housing Services can assist students with special needs in securing priority for housing. In order to qualify for priority housing and receive the appropriate accommodations, student request has to be confirmed by the LSC.

Behavioral Concerns

The special need status does not excuse the inappropriate behavior of students.

• An institution may discipline, with discretion and according to needs, a special need student for engaging in misconduct if it would impose the same discipline on a student with regular status.
• Misconduct due to not following medical and/or therapeutic treatment protocols does not have to be accommodated.

Internal Grievance/Appeals Procedures

Students who have concerns about a granted service, accommodation, modification of a University practice or requirement, are encouraged to bring those concerns or complaints to the attention of the appropriate campus personnel, e.g., faculty, dean, student affairs for immediate resolution. Complaints or appeals related specifically to services for students with special needs provided by Learning Support Services should be immediately brought to the attention of the AVP of Student Affairs. He/she will review the matter and attempt to informally resolve the
situation. In the event that the matter cannot be resolved, students have the right to appeal to the Provost and General Deputy to the President. All grievances or appeals must be in writing. The complaint should include the student name and ID and describe the alleged complaint or concern.

Freshmen and First Year Students

Freshmen with ‘at Risk’ Status

Learning Support Program (LSP)

Peer Tutoring Program

Students with “At Risk of Academic Failure” Status

According to Fridlander (1980) at-risk students are “Those students who because of poor academic preparation, language handicaps, or low motivation may have difficulty to succeed”

Early warning indicators

1. Freshmen are flagged for early intervention if:

Admission stage:

1. Overall UNT score is below 60;
2. UNT mathematics score (for BCB, BPMA and BAE programs only) is below 10;
3. KEPT score is below 50 (Undergraduate English Foundation courses Level C and B).

or/and:

1. fails to attend the Fall Orientation Program;
2. fails to attend Orientation Workshops/Webinars.

First semester:

Students are flagged for early intervention if:

1. have more than 2(Undergraduate English Foundation) or 3 (Academic English or/and Kazakh language) unexcused absences, demonstrate poor performance or/and skills deficiency during the first two weeks of classes;
2. identified as “at risk” by faculty based on attendance, performance and/or skills deficiency two weeks before the midterm break;
3. earn less than 50% of the first and second assessment scores.
4. have one F and/or one W by the result of the first semester

First Year Students (less than 30 credits earned)are flagged for early intervention if:

1. do not pass Foundation A course during the first year after admission;
2. took less than 24 credits and have GPA bellow 2.10;
3. have one F and/or one W by the result of the first semester
4. identified as at risk by faculty two weeks before the first assessment.

III. Senior Students (over 30 credits earned) are flagged for early intervention if:

1. GPA is below 2.10 at the end of the term;
2. identified as at risk by faculty two weeks before the first assessment (midterm);
3. have more than one F and/or more than one W in one semester.

Senior Students

We have an obligation to provide every student with the opportunity to get the maximum benefits possible from their KIMEP learning experience. A key objective of the LSC is to make continuous improvements in the quality of the KIMEP student learning experience. To achieve this ambition, our students need to be:
– challenged to achieve at their highest possible academic level; and
– supported if they fall behind, or are at risk of academic failure.

Student Learning Support and mentoring is a crucial determinant of the success of our students. We need to understand how best to provide this support. Learning Support Center gives guidance to students:
– who consider themselves to be in need of advice or/and tutoring;
– who wish to withdraw from, and transfer to another program;
– who are at risk of academic failure;
– who have special needs (such as physical disabilities or learning disorders); and
– who are high academic achievers.

If you have any questions concerning your studies, don’t hesitate to contact us.
E-mail:

advising@kimep.kz
salta@kimep.kz
marzhank@kimep.kz
a.umbetbayeva@kimep.kz
+7 727 270 42 68
+7 727 270 43 10
+7 701 309 17 47
+7 701 309 16 24

Working hours from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., from Monday to Friday.

Academic Standing

Academic standing is a measure of the student’s academic achievement relative to his/her degree requirements, and determines his/her eligibility to precede in his/her academic plan and to qualify for graduation.

A student’s academic standing is determined in part by the Cumulative Overall Average (GPA). The GPA is calculated by dividing the number of grade points earned in courses that assign letter grades by the number of units attempted. Courses in which grades of I, W, and IP are assigned are not used in GPA calculation. Should we add more here?

Undergraduate Academic Standing
The four categories of undergraduate academic status are listed below:

1. Satisfactory Standing
Students are in satisfactory standing at the conclusion of any matriculated term in which they have both a cumulative total GPA and a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher.

2. At-Risk of Academic Failure
According to Fridlander (1980) at-risk students are “Those students who because of poor academic preparation, language handicaps, or low motivation may have difficulty to succeed”

Peer Tutoring Program

Program Description

 KIMEP U Tutoring Program is a program designed for students who are seeking additional assistance to improve their academic performance. Tutors are available for most of the courses. The Peer Tutoring Program primary targeting students on Academic Probation and those at risk of academic failure by offering carefully scheduled tutorial sessions for both introductory level courses and the most challenging upper-level courses. However, any KIMEP U student may register for the peer tutoring program.

• Tutors are students who have been selected by SLSC and approved by faculty and completed a tutor training program conducted by the SLS. Tutors are trained to help students to understand the fundamental concepts, acquire problem solving, critical thinking, and research skills. However, the student is expected to put the effort to learn the course materials on their own, attend lectures, and make home assignments by deadline.
• A tutor will not directly help students with course assignments, as this would violate the academic integrity.
• Small group and drop-in by appointments tutoring are available at no additional cost to students. Some of the high demand and repeating courses may automatically be open to small groups.
• Sessions are process-oriented, learner-centered, and require the active involvement of each student
• In order to join the program, students should be currently registered for a course
• Peer tutoring begins on the second week of classes and ends the last day of classes.

 Program Objectives

• Teach students to help themselves, or to guide them to the point at which they can become successful and independent learners. A tutor is not responsible for teaching course material or completing course assignments. SLS tutors work with students on a continual basis, meeting weekly to review and reinforce course material.
• Create synergy among students, faculty, and tutors in a collaborative academic environment where the student’s personal and academic growth and development is a priority. The Peer Tutoring Program is committed to working closely with the faculty in the academic departments in order to firmly ground tutoring as an extension of the classroom experience.

 Program Outcomes

Students learn how to process course material, sharpen their reasoning and questioning skills, and utilize available resources to become interdependent learners..

 Faculty Involvement

The Peer Tutoring Program works closely with faculty to ensure that tutoring meets academic standards and faculty expectations.

Memo for Parents for 2023-24 AY

1. Academic Year

2. Credit System

3. Foundation – Intensive English Course

4. Academic Load

5. Tuition

6. Payment Options

7. GPA – Grade Point Average

8. Grading System

9. Withdraw / Drop from the course

10. Retakes

11. Program Transfer

12. Exchange Program

13. KIMEP Medical Center

14. Students with Special Needs

15. Military Department

16. Contacts

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS