ACES Quick Facts

Eight (8) events required per semester.
Pass/Fail grading begins with first semester enrolled and continues until successful completion of the ACES requirement.
Required ACES credits must be acquired in consecutive semesters beginning with the first semester of enrollment at BVU.
ACES is a graduation requirement for all full-time students on BVU's Storm Lake campus.

Earning ACES Credit

A student earns .5 credits in a semester by attending eight (8) ACES events with the following event distribution:

2 Cultural Events
3 Academic Events sponsored by three different schools
3 Elective Events (Cultural or Academic)

Cultural events include professional performance groups visiting Buena Vista University. Events are free, but do require a ticket for admittance. Tickets are available several days prior to an event at the information desk in the Harold Walter Siebens Forum.

Academic Events are lectures, demonstrations, or participatory events on specific topics or themes.

BVU has five (5) schools within the university: Business, Education, Science, Social Science, and Communication and Arts. Each Academic ACES will be sponsored by a school. An event will at least be sponsored by at least one school. A student must make sure that they are attending a variety of school sponsored events by attending events that are not all sponsored by one school.

Credit Requirements

Freshman students: A minimum of 2.0 credits must be earned in the first four semesters of attendance.

Credit Calculations for Transfer Students: The amount of credit required to graduate depends on transferred credit hours accepted by the Registrar's office based on the chart below. Transfer students must earn ACES credits in consecutive semesters beginning with the first semester.

Transfer Hours		Credit Required
0-24		2.0
25-56		1.5
57-86		1.0
87-more		0.5

Attendance Guidelines

Doors are closed at the scheduled starting times. Late arrivals or early departures will not be given attendance credit.
Should the location room fill to capacity, the doors will be closed. Be prepared and come early if you must attend a certain event.
Credit for ACES events is subject to appropriate, respectful behavior during events.
Laptops are prohibited.
All Tobacco products are prohibited.
Food is prohibited. Beverages are prohibited in Anderson Auditorium and Schaller Chapel.
Students should consider their attire prior to attending an ACES event.
Specifically, at an Academic event, if dressed appropriately, one might have an opportunity to pursue a future internship or employment opportunity with the help of a guest lecturer.
At Cultural events, the standard is dressy casual. We strongly suggest students "make a night of it" and get dressed up.
We do not allow baseball caps or other casual headgear, nor do we allow any type of work-out attire.

Attendance Records

Attendance is taken by scanning your Student ID when you enter the facility and when you exit the facility.
One ID card per person will be scanned each time.
Scanning someone else's card is academic dishonesty and will follow BVU procedures.
Students must bring their IDs to each event.
Credit will not be given if there is a start or end time missing.
It is highly recommended that each student attend 9-10 events to overcome any miscalculations in attendance that may occur.
Students are responsible to track their ACES attendance by checking their ACES report. Notify the ACES Director if you see any differences.

Grading System

ACES is taken as Pass/Fail.
A student must pass a full 2.0 ACES credit to graduate from BVU.
While a failed semester grade for ACES does not affect a students GPA, failure to complete ACES requirements under the required schedule will result as a permanent "F" on a student's college transcript. "F" grades are not removed for any semester a failing grade is given.
ACES credits MUST be completed to graduate from Buena Vista University.
Midterm grading for ACES is a P/F. A passing grade will be given to students who have attended four (4) or more events prior to the end of midterm week. Subsequently, a failing grade will be given to students who have less than four (4) events at the end of midterm week.

Change of Grade Contract

If a student has been recorded in attendance for at least six (6) events in a given semester, but fails to attend the required 8 (with correct distribution), he/she may file for Change of Grade. This must be done through the ACES instructor prior to a designated deadline toward the end of the semester and requires approval. This status requires a student do the following:

Earn .5 ACES credit for the immediate semester following the incomplete semester by meeting the quantity and distribution requirements.
Attend extra events to complete the previous semester's incomplete distribution requirement.

Example: A student with an approved incomplete for a fall semester would do the required 8 events for the next spring semester (meeting distribution requirements) AND then do up to 2 events as required making the previous fall semester complete.

The student will receive an "F" for the semester that the Change of Grade contract is for. After completing the above and approval of the ACES Director, the "F" will be changed to a passing grade.

ACES Appeals Board

ACES is monitored by an ACES appeals board composed of staff, faculty and students. Any circumstances that warrant special attention or approval must be taken to the ACES appeals board. The board meets on an as-needed basis. All appeals should be made in writing and submitted to the Associate Dean of Faculty, Dr. Mary Gill.