EPME Procedural Guidance

By the end of DOE 3, you are required to have read and acknowledged your understanding of all applicable policies and procedures, the NCO Academy Syllabus, and all other relevant operating instructions, local conditions, and safety information pertaining to your status as an NCO Academy student. Failure to complete the reading and acknowledgement by this time or violation of policies could lead to administrative corrective action and possible release.  

Professional Behavior:  

Students and faculty, to include DoD civilians and applicable contractor personnel, are expected to be professional both inside and outside the classroom. Students and faculty will not engage in behaviors that violate articles outlined in the UCMJ, AFIs, MAJCOM Supplements, DoD Instruction, or other local guidance. Any violation of such policy will be dealt with appropriately, including the possibility of being released from the school. Students and faculty members must exercise sound judgment in recognizing and avoiding unprofessional relationships at all times. This includes student/faculty and student/student relationships.

Additionally, in order to maintain professional behavior, students and faculty will avoid prohibited activities outlined in AFI 36-2909, AETC Supplement, Air Force Professional Relationships and Conduct.

Students and faculty will not engage in personal social communications of any kind. Social communication includes but is not limited to, contact via e-mail, texting, telephone, Facebook, Twitter, and other communication platforms. 

Previously acquainted students and faculty in the same course must suspend all social non-official Air Force-related communications as outlined within this guidance until after graduation of the EPME course. Additionally, the faculty member must notify the respective school commandant of the relationship. The commandant will ensure that the student is not assigned to the faculty member during their time in the EPME course.

Professional Relationships: 

As specified in AFI 36-2909, Air Force Professional Relationships and Conduct, para 2.1, professional relationships are "those interpersonal relationships that reflect the Air Force standards of conduct and the Air Force core values. Effective professional relationships enhance morale, unit cohesion, good order and discipline and improve the operational environment while, at the same time, preserve proper respect for the authority and focus on the mission. The Air Force encourages personnel to communicate freely with their superiors regarding their careers, performance, duties and missions. Participation by members of all grades in organizational activities, unit-sponsored events, intramural sports, chapel activities, community welfare projects, youth programs and the like can enhance morale and contribute to unit cohesion."

Unprofessional Relationships:  

As specified in AFI 36-2909, Air Force Professional Relationships and Conduct, para 2.2, whether pursued on- or off-duty, "relationships are unprofessional when they detract from the authority of superiors or results in, or reasonably create the appearance of favoritism, misuse of office or position, or the abandonment of organizational goals for personal interests. Unprofessional relationships can exist between officers, between enlisted members, between officers and enlisted members, and between military personnel and civilian employees or contractor personnel. Fraternization is one form of unprofessional relationship and is a recognized offense under Article 134 of the UCMJ."

Academic Freedom:

Air University allows the privilege of debate with discretion on any subject related to EPME curricula. It encourages visiting lecturers, faculty, and students to express their opinions and support subject matter while pursuing knowledge, understanding, and improvement of the military profession.

Students may engage in responsible classroom discussion of controversial issues; however, this policy does not authorize the use of offensive remarks, irresponsible statements (e.g., sexist comments, ethnic slurs, etc.) or profanity. Temper academic freedom with good judgment; do not make or tolerate offensive or disparaging remarks or engage in behavior that violates the standards of professional relationships or the UCMJ. Inappropriate or offensive remarks or behavior and UCMJ violations require immediate action to ensure academic freedom (e.g. counseling, documentation, disciplinary action, chain of command involvement, etc). 

Non-attribution: 

Statements, disagreements, and other comments made by individuals or groups in the educational forum are protected through the practice of non-attribution. Communication among students and faculty is privileged information. Safeguard statements and other comments made by guest speakers, instructors, or students. Faculty may say “a previous speaker” or “in our flight we discussed,” but will not identify the speaker by name. Permission must be obtained from speakers and the school before releasing or discussing remarks outside the academic forum. This includes references and comments made in communication skills or performance assignments.

Academic Integrity: 

Air University identifies academic integrity as "uncompromising adherence to a code of ethics, morality, conduct, scholarship, academic standards, and other values related to academic activity. Violations of academic integrity are inconsistent with Air Force Core Values and will not be tolerated." Consequences of violating academic integrity standards may include adverse administrative action such as disenrollment and expulsion from the course, and/or prosecution under Article 92 of the UCMJ. Academic integrity violations involve the act of intentionally providing and/or receiving
improper assistance on academic assignments, examinations, or research efforts. Instructors, staff, trainees, cadets, and students shall not engage in, attempt to engage in, or assist others to engage in any act constituting an academic integrity violation, such as:

Note: While peer reviewing and editing is encouraged, all completed assignments must reflect each students’ individual effort.

Students are not authorized to use products or language on internet websites as their own work for communication skills assignments or individual projects. Some examples of such sites include but are not limited to: airforcewriter.com, afwriting.com, afmentor.com, militarywriter.com, etc. Downloading, copying and pasting, copying and modifying, using the content from such sites as a template, or any other use of the content on such websites without proper citation constitutes a disciplinary issue that may result in disciplinary action up to and including disciplinary release.

Students are not authorized to use products or language from Air Force or other military or civilian organizations as their own work for communication skills assignments or individual projects unless explicitly authorized. This includes using products developed in the student’s home unit or any other military or civilian organization as a template, copying and pasting content from such sources, copying and modifying, or any other use without proper citation. Using material from these sources without proper citation constitutes a disciplinary issue that may result in disciplinary action up to and including disciplinary release.

Students are authorized to use only those study aids developed by either themselves or with member of their current class. All assigned course objectives and assignments must be completed in a manner that reflects each student’s individual effort. Study aids include but are not limited to: study notes, flashcards, and quick reference sheets. Unless explicitly authorized for use as foundational course knowledge, distance learning (DL) course materials are prohibited. Using prohibited study aids from former students or from Internet websites constitutes a disciplinary issue that may result in disciplinary action up to and including disciplinary release.

Students may not provide copies of any course materials to future students or commercial entities, nor upload in whole or in part instructional materials to Internet websites. All course materials provided to students, including but not limited to student study guides, handouts, and any versions of completed student assignments are intended for the exclusive use by the student while attending the course and may be retained by the student as personal reference material. 

Use of Electronic Devices:

Use of electronic devices during academic instruction for any type of recording, taking photos or video, games, internet browsing, shopping, social media, text messaging, email, or any other use not directly related to the lesson constitutes a disciplinary issue that may result in disciplinary action up to and including disciplinary release. Cell phones are NOT allowed in classrooms, auditoriums, or any space designated for senior leader engagements, lectures, briefings, wargaming, training, education, learning or other activity as specified by the respective host school. The only exception is for field training where communication is a life safety issue and then the device will remain in the control of the instructor cadre. This policy applies to both in-resident and virtual environments.

Use of the Learning Management System (LMS):

Communications among students and faculty in a distributed learning environment are an extension of the academic EPME classroom, considered privileged (protected), and academic freedom and non-attribution policies apply. Care should be taken to ensure that text conversations from discussion boards are not forwarded outside the educational forum without the permission of the originator. Guidance on acceptable use of internet-based capabilities as outlined in AFMAN 33-152, User Responsibilities and Guidance for Information Systems.

Extenuating Circumstances:

Extenuating circumstances are those unforeseen and uncontrollable situations that prevent students from meeting academic or performance standards. Extenuating circumstances include but are not limited to death or terminal illness notification of a family member, marital issues/situations, family issues/situations, financial situations, etc. Students must notify faculty members as soon as extenuating circumstances arise, so appropriate action can be taken. Actions may include a student’s temporary absence, administrative release, or early graduation.

EPME Graduation Criteria:

Students must meet all of the following requirements to graduate:

Graded Assignments: Students must achieve a minimum of a 70% (70 points) cumulative score at the end of the course after completion of all assignments. For the purpose of course completion, only academic scores are considered. Like a traditional university course, students need not receive a minimum 70% on every assignment to complete the course. However, instructors are encouraged to provide constructive feedback to any students who receive less than 70% on a given assignment to ensure the student can maintain an overall course passing score.

Lesson Participation: Students are expected to participate and meet lesson objectives to the instructor’s and commandant’s satisfaction. Students will participate in all aspects of every program and event. Students with profiles that limit their ability to participate in specific activities will meet graduation requirements as determined by the commandant on a case-by-case basis. Satisfactory participation is predicated on the student’s attitude, willingness to participate, and effort put forth in the program or event to the satisfaction of the commandant and/or instructor, not on level of performance or outcome. Commandants and instructors will consider unsatisfactory participation a matter of military bearing, and they will counsel and document substandard student behavior accordingly. Multiple infractions due to a lack of participation may lead to a student’s release from the school. Additionally, students must prepare for each lesson by completing all the assigned homework and readings.

Student Responsibilities: Students will act professionally and comply with all school, EPME, and Air Force policies and guidance. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in administrative action and may impact graduation and awards eligibility.

Academic Responsibilities: Students will adhere to class schedule attendance requirements and engage in the learning process by completing all homework, objective, performance, and remediation assignments on time. In class, students are expected to actively listen, critically think, and willingly discuss lesson principles. Students are highly encouraged to engage in study and review sessions as deemed necessary to meet graduation requirements. This includes participation in after-hours study groups. Students must put forth the effort necessary to achieve all learning objectives. Students who turn in late assignments are subject to administrative corrective action. Assignment scores and grades will be loaded into the LMS.

NOTE: Faculty members will not be involved in after-hours study groups or review sessions.

Additional Duties: Additional duties are an inherent part of any Air Force organization’s mission; EPME is no different. Students are expected to participate and fulfill additional duties as assigned. If an additional duty or duties impede a student’s ability to fulfill all academic requirements, the student must inform his or her instructor immediately.

Survey Participation: Students will have the opportunity to complete a survey at the end of the course (EOC). Students are encouraged to document reactions to lessons, modules, and the overall EPME experience throughout the course for use on the EOC survey. Students are encouraged to provide their opinions about the program’s effectiveness (i.e. course content, instruction, assessments, awards, facilitators, etc.) which are administered and monitored via and authorized survey application. The program goal is to use this data, often in conjunction with other data, to improve the educational experience by identifying course strengths and areas for improvement. 

CCAF Classroom: All EPME flight rooms are CCAF-accredited classrooms.


 

Complete the Student Acknowledgement by clicking here, or by a paper/electronic equivalent process administered by your instructor.