Academic Policies

LFGSM Policies

A brief summary of some of LFGSM's academic policies are provided below. Full, official policies on these and other topics can be found in the LFGSM Academic Catalog and Student Handbook. Policies excerpted here are for informational purposes only, and do not supersede those published in the Academic Catalog. LFGSM reserves the right to change the policies at any time.

General questions about any LFGSM academic policies can be directed to the Registrar's Office, registrar@lfgsm.edu, 847-574-5208.

Resources

Table of Contents

LFGSM Leadership Model

The LFGSM Leadership Model grounds our curriculum and approach to teaching. For over 70 years, LFGSM has been empowering working professionals with the tools to make a difference in their organizations and communities. We believe a leader is someone who inspires others, changes lives, and propels businesses forward. The LFGSM Leadership Model is the core of our degree programs and drives our curriculum and approach to teaching. In the business environment, professionals must be ready not only to adapt to change, but also to lead change.

A detailed description of the LFGSM Leadership Model and further information can be found here.

 

Attendance and Coursework Policy

Academic Policies and Procedures

LFGSM Class Delivery
 
LFGSM classes are virtual and synchronous; students and their instructor will meet in real time, once per week via videoconference. Occasionally, faculty members may also offer a class session in person, but students are not required to attend in person. Class assignments may be accessed and submitted via Canvas, the school’s Learning Management System.
All LFGSM courses provide a minimum of 37.5 hours (2,250 minutes) of instructional time and require a minimum of 75 hours (4,500 minutes) of homework per 3-credit hour class.
LFGSM classes are 3 credit hours per term. Credit bearing courses offered for special student populations by special arrangement will meet regular academic credit hour standards.
 
Attendance and Coursework Policy
 
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management regards class attendance as vital to academic success. All students are expected to actively participate each week in scheduled classes. Responsibility for class attendance, completion of coursework and active participation rests with the student.
It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor as soon as possible regarding any planned or unplanned absence. Students must still complete any required work for the class and are urged to attend an equivalent class at another time (if available) to maintain attendance. Missing more than two classes will result in the student being withdrawn from the course. Withdrawn students will be charged tuition according to the published Cancellation/Refund Policy. Please refer to the Tuition and Financial Aid sections for more information on the financial aid impact of non-attendance.
 
Class Session Make-Up Work
 
If the student misses a class session, the instructor will determine appropriate make-up work. The make-up work shall require the student to demonstrate the same level of knowledge or competence expected of a student who attended the scheduled class session.
 

Grading Scale

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management uses a letter grading system for core and elective graduate degree courses. Academic performance is evaluated using the full range of grades A through F. Plus and minus modifiers are used at the instructor’s discretion; however, grades of A+, F+, and F– are not used. Students receive the grades they earn, without regard to tuition reimbursement or other grade point average minimum requirements.

Letter Grade

Equivalent

Numeric Range
A 100% – 96%
A- 95.9% – 93%
B+ 92.9% – 90%
B 89.9% – 87%
B- 86.9% – 84%
C+ 83.9% – 81%
C 80.9% – 78%
C- 77.9% – 75%
D+ 74.9% – 72%
D 71.9% – 69%
D- 68.9% – 66%
F

65.9% - 0%

 

 

Changing Degree Programs

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Academic Honesty / Plagiarism Policy

Honesty and integrity are the foundation upon which any academic enterprise is based. Students must submit their own original work to be graded and commented on by instructors.
 
Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of words or ideas from an existing source as if it were the student’s work. A student must not adopt nor reproduce the ideas, words, or statements of another person or group without appropriate citation.
 
Accordingly, to avoid plagiarism, LFGSM requires the proper citing of sources for all work submitted by students using American Psychological Association (APA) citation guidelines. All work must correctly identify the source of language and ideas and embody the spirit of intellectual integrity valued by the school.
 
For example, while generative AI tools can be very helpful for producing ideas, identifying sources, synthesizing text, and starting to understand what is essential about a topic, the student must guide, verify and craft the work product; students may not simply cut and paste artificial intelligence outputs and submit them as though the work were their own. LFGSM students are permitted to use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools such as ChatGPT on assignments unless their instructor has specifically prohibited it. When using these tools, proper citations are required. For example, text generated using
 
ChatGPT-4 should include a citation such as: “Chat-GPT-4. (YYYY, Month DD of query). “Text of the query.”
Because AI tools are not completely reliable, students should critically evaluate anything generated by them. Students will be held responsible for any errors or omissions, regardless of their origin.
 
LFGSM considers submission of work done partially or entirely by another person or student group to be academic dishonesty. LFGSM further considers the resubmission of work produced for one course in a subsequent course without the permission of the subsequent course’s instructor to be academic dishonesty.
 
To help ensure that students follow this policy, LFGSM has integrated the Turnitin tool into all Canvas courses. Students may be required to submit their work via Turnitin, which checks the submission for potential plagiarism and creates a report for the instructor.
 
It is the student’s responsibility to seek clarification from the course instructor about how much help he or she may receive to complete an assignment, exam, or project, and what sources may be used. The instructor must notify the student and the Dean of Faculty and Degree Programs when plagiarism or academic dishonesty is suspected. Appropriate steps will be taken to determine whether plagiarism or academic dishonesty has occurred. Students found guilty of plagiarism or academic dishonesty shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the school.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy

LFGSM complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act in making reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Documentation of the student’s disability and its effect on his/her course participation must be submitted to the Director of Student Services. Any student with special needs or difficulties in learning and/or in completing course requirements should notify the instructor immediately so that available and reasonable accommodations can be arranged. It is the student’s responsibility to disclose his/her accommodation request with the instructor and discuss the necessary arrangements. Assistance with these arrangements can be facilitated with the help of Student Services upon request.

Contact Student Services:
Currie Gasche, Director of Student Services
847-574-5158, cgasche@lfgsm.edu

Title IX Non-Discrimination Policy

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (LFGSM) is committed to providing a non-discriminatory and harassment-free educational and working environment for all members of the LFGSM community, including students, faculty, administrators, staff, and visitors. In compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, LFGSM prohibits all forms of sexual or gender-based harassment, discrimination or misconduct, including sexual violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Misconduct of this nature is contrary to LFGSM’s institutional values and prohibited by state and federal law.

LFGSM encourages the prompt reporting of any incident of sexual or gender-based misconduct to local law enforcement and to LFGSM’s Title IX Coordinator using the complaint procedure described in our policy. This means that anyone that is either a victim or a witness of sexual or gender-based misconduct must report the incident. The full institutional policy on Title IX can be found at https://business.lfgsm.edu/title-ix/.

Persons with inquiries concerning the application of Title IX, or persons wishing to report a Title IX incident or complaint may contact LFGSM’s Title IX Coordinator:

Currie Augustine
Title IX Coordinator
(847) 574-5158
1905 W. Field Ct.
Lake Forest, IL 60045
caugustine@lfgsm.edu 
Anonymous report: titleixcomplaints@lfgsm.edu

Additional resources can be found at https://my.lfgsm.edu/ics/Help/Policies/TitleIX/

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Annual FERPA Policy All information provided to LFGSM is kept confidential in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 (Public Law 93-380). Except as required by law, no information regarding attendance, grades or any other aspect of students’ academic standing will be released to any third party without written student consent. The records are maintained for five years after graduation or at least six years after a student’s last day of attendance.

Students have the right to file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office, Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-5920, concerning any alleged failure by the College to comply with FERPA.