Academic Policies

The Xavier faculty and administration believe in academic integrity and the principle of the honor code. Students are expected to do their own homework, to test without external resources, and to submit original work for all assignments. Xavier students are also expected to deny all requests to copy from their own work. All work is considered an individual effort unless the teacher makes it clear that any given assignment is a group effort. The teacher must make this distinction every time there is a group assignment. 

The highest level of integrity must characterize the relationship between the teacher and the student. When a teacher gives a student an assignment – homework, paper, project, lab, etc. – or when a quiz or exam is given, that teacher is building the framework for the student’s learning. When the student returns the assignment or takes the quiz or exam, his or her name attached to the document indicates that he or she has followed the teacher’s directions and has not taken credit for any work that is not one’s own. Violation of the trust between teacher and student is considered cheating and is a direct violation of our Academic Integrity Guidelines.

To be in compliance with the academic integrity guidelines at Xavier, it is stated:

1. Students will not use or give to another any notes, materials, or other sources of information on any assignment including homework, quizzes, tests, or semester examinations that have not been approved by the teacher.

2. Students’ homework and in-class work fulfill the intention of the instructor in a specific class. 

a) Individual assignments must be represented by individual work, and 

b) Group assignments must be represented by group work.

3. Students will not plagiarize in any form. Plagiarism presents the work or ideas of another as one’s own. This includes: 

a) Direct copying of another person’s work, and

b) Using any amount of another person’s material or ideas without proper documentation and citation.

CONSEQUENCES FOR VIOLATING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All suspected incidences of cheating and/or plagiarism will be taken seriously. Students found violating the guidelines for academic integrity will be reported by the teacher or proctor to the Assistant Principal for Academics.

First Occurrence: Students will be required to meet with the Assistant Principal for Academics, and complete an after-school training course about guidelines and expectations of academic integrity. Scheduling for this training will supersede any athletic or co-curricular activities. Students will receive timely makeup privileges for full credit on the offending assignment.

Second Occurrence: The student will receive a 0 (zero) for an assignment in question regardless of the point value. The parents/guardians will be notified; and a formal letter indicating the disciplinary consequence of Academic Probation.

Any Additional Occurrence: The student will receive a 0 (zero) on the assignment in question. The parents/guardians will be notified and expulsion from Xavier may be considered.

All students must achieve a GPA of 2.00 or better for each school year in order to register for the following school year. Failing one or more subjects may lead to academic dismissal. Any student whose cumulative GPA falls below a 2.00 will be placed on academic probation. In addition, students may be placed on academic probation at the discretion of the Principal.

Students on academic probation may not participate in co-curricular activities. Students are removed from academic probation if they achieve a GPA of 2.00 or better for the following semester and their cumulative GPS is 2.00 or better. Failure to achieve these two academic standards during their probationary period may result in a student’s dismissal from Xavier.

All students enrolled in an AP course are required to sit for the corresponding AP exam in May.  Failure to take an AP exam will result in the removal of the 1.0 GPA grade bump.

The AP exam fee for AP Seminar is $150.  The AP Exam fee for all other exams is $100 per exam.  

Fees will be charged to the student's FACTS account.

Co-curricular / Athletic Eligibility Rule:

Eligibility for students will be determined at the end of each grading period (i.e. when grades are posted after each quarter).  A student with a grade of ‘F’ in a class or a student who does not achieve a term GPA of 2.00 will be ineligible until a review at the end of the next quarter. Approval for eligibility is determined by the Assistant Principal of Academics.

Midterm and Final Exams: All students in all courses will be required to take both a midterm and a final exam for each course.  Failure to complete exams will result in an “Incomplete” grade and the withholding of academic credit until they are made up.  Students must make up missed Final/Midterm Exams during the scheduled make-up periods for each term.  Dates for exams are published a year in advance and are also listed on the Xavier website; exams will not be administered in advance of the published exam dates.  Students missing a midterm or final exam for any reason outside of a medical emergency will be charged a $50.00 makeup fee per exam.

Xavier College Preparatory offers membership to two honor societies.  Eligibility requirements are as follows:

• National Honor Society:  Open to students in grades 11-12 with a minimum unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.8. 

• National Art Honor Society:  Open to students with an unweighted GPA of 4.0 in two or more visual arts classes. 

Temporarily Suspended:

• International Thespian Society:  Open to students with a minimum of 100 hours of quality work in theatre arts.

Philosophy: Co-curricular activities and related functions are an integral part of student life at Xavier. Participation in the school’s teams, clubs, organizations, student government, and other activities is encouraged to create a stronger environment and promote school spirit. These activities are designed to promote the physical and social development of the student, to provide opportunities for leadership, to provide avenues to serve the school and the community, and to develop interests and talents that may not be tapped during classroom activities. They also allow students the opportunity to get to know faculty and staff members outside of the classroom experience.

A student who has been absent from school on a given day may not attend nor participate in any co-curricular activities on that day without the prior permission of the Dean of Student Affairs or another Administrator. This includes athletics, drama, speech and debate, cheer, etc.

A student must attend at least the second half of his or her classes for the day in order to participate in any of that day’s co-curricular and/or athletic activities.

Eligibility for co-curricular and athletic activities follows the same rule (refer to the eligibility rule above).

It is expected that students complete courses with a college-recommending grade (C-range or higher).  Students who complete any course with a deficient grade (D-range), with a failed grade (F), or with an incomplete grade (I) are asked to remediate the course in order to be eligible to apply to a UC/CSU institution.  All Deficiencies, Failures, and Incompletes must be corrected during the summer session which follows the close of the school year in which they were earned.  Courses may be made up at Xavier’s summer school (if offered) or at a school approved by the Director of Academic Programs.

Depending on the specific course, remediation will occur in house via: 1) individual course remediation contract, 2) enrollment in a Xavier remediation course, or 3) retaking a course at Xavier during the summer or the next school year.  It is also possible that the Xavier Administration recommend remediation through an external Xavier-approved institution.  Only credits from external Xavier-approved institutions will be accepted.  Consultation with the student’s counselor is required in order to create a remediation plan and determine the best overall course of action.  All remediation contracts and plans will require pre-approval by the Xavier Administration.

A summer school grade does not take the place of the original grade; rather, it is included on a student’s transcript and becomes part of the student’s cumulative GPA.  

A student who receives three or more semester failures (as a total of 1st and 2nd semesters) may be subject to academic dismissal.  

Students who do not make up the required courses will not advance to the next subject level.

Study Hall periods are not available for the 2025-2026 school year.  Should seniors desire to have time built into the daily schedule to work through the college application process, they may opt to enroll in the Counseling department's year-long elective course College and Career Research.

There is a 7 class-day window at the start of the school year during which time students may request a change in their schedule.  Students need a compelling reason for the change to be granted.  After the 7th day of class, only students with extreme circumstances may request a change in schedule.  In many cases, this change would be initiated by the counselor or by the teacher.  If a teacher-initiated change occurs after the deadline, the new teacher will create a Canvas assignment for the transferring student and enter the average grade from the prior course with the appropriate “grade bump” if moving down.  Students are not allowed to "drop" classes.  Beyond this point, withdrawing from a course will be indicated with a ‘W’ on the official transcript; withdrawing from a course may have admissions implications for college or university.  Withdrawing from an AVLI course requires course fees beyond one week’s time.  Schedules are not modified to accommodate teacher preference.