NDCDE has established default 20-week enrollment windows for all courses, except for Dual Credit, and Credit Recovery, and other courses specially denoted as automatically extended. In the event that an extension may be needed, the individual who enrolled the student in a course may review the options below and make a formal request to NDCDE.
To request any of the course length change options, use the Course Length Change Request Form found on the Forms page
Course Holds
If a student is experiencing a personal hardship (extenuating circumstances out of their control, medical issues including mental health, etc.) and is unable to work on a course(s) for an interval of one week or more, the course enrollment(s) of the student may be placed on a one-time hold in each course enrolled, for the duration of the needed hold, which may be applied retroactively and will not exceed 20 weeks.
If a student is experiencing a medical hardship that was not addressed with a course hold prior to impacting their coursework, there is the potential to apply a retroactive medical extension with the submission of dated paperwork.
A one-time hold of 20 weeks for each course requested and approved will begin on the date the hold is put in place in NDCDE’s Student Information System.
While the hold is in place the student will not have access to the course or regular communication from the teacher and will retain all progress and time remaining in the course prior to the hold.
All course hold requests must be submitted and approved by the individual who purchased the enrollment on behalf of the student. If more than one course is put on hold, they can be reinstated at the same time or in a staggered reinstatement to provide more flexibility for the student, as decided by the academic team.
For more information, please reach out to: an NDCDE principal at ndcde.learning@k12.nd.us or 701-298-4830.
Course Hold Reinstatements
If a student was placed on a previous course hold and is ready to be reinstated and resume NDCDE coursework, the requester of the hold should submit a reinstatement request. If early reinstatement is not requested, NDCDE administration will send out communications and automatically reinstate the enrollment at the end of the 20-week hold.
Once the course is reinstated, the student will have the same number of days left in the course as they had when the hold was put in place. In the event that an extension may be needed, the individual who enrolled the student in a course may review the options below and make a formal request. For more information, please visit the Course Holds section of the NDCDE website.
Short-Term Extensions
The following policy applies for requests to extend a course for up to 14 days beyond the 20-week default course end date. The short-term extension request form must be initiated and completed by the enroller of the course at least 48 hours before the scheduled end date.
Elementary students may be granted a: one-time, short-term, extension of up to fourteen (14) days beyond the scheduled end date of the course when a student has unforeseen circumstances that will prevent the student from completing a course by its scheduled end date and the instructor of record confirms that a short-term extension will provide the student a reasonable time to complete the course with fidelity.
Middle and high school students may be granted a: one-time, short-term, extension of up to fourteen (14) days beyond the scheduled end date of the course may be requested when the student has completed at least 70% of the coursework with fidelity AND unforeseen circumstances prevent the student from completing a course at its scheduled end date.
Long-Term Extensions
A course, except for Credit Recovery, Dual Credit and specially denoted as automatically extended, may be purchased and extended once per course for an additional 20-weeks, within 10 business days of the completion certificate notice. Long-term extensions allow a student to receive credit for all work already completed and to receive a final grade at the end of the 40-week period or upon completion, whichever occurs first.
To purchase a 20-week course extension, locate the course that needs to be extended under the courses page of the NDCDE Online Store and choose the appropriate course extension option below the course description. You must be logged into the NDCDE store to see the course extension option. North Dakota school districts that paid the original course cost will be responsible for paying the extension fee. It is at their discretion as the course enroller to determine whether to initiate an extension request.
For information on pricing, please see our Fees and Costs page.
Course Retakes
This policy applies when a student has previously attempted a NDCDE course and did not complete it (dropped or withdrew) or received a failing grade at the course end date, whether default or extended. If these students would like to resume or retake the course, they must reenroll and will not receive credit for any work previously completed. If the student’s school district paid the original cost of the course, the district must complete the re-enrollment process at the student’s request.
To request any of the course length change options from above, use the Course Length Change Request form found on the Forms page.
NDCDE recognizes that the needs of local school districts may, in rare circumstances, warrant exceptions to the limitations and duration of holds and extension requests under this policy. A school administrator may request an exception to this policy by contacting the NDCDE principal, who shall consider the impact on students and NDCDE teacher workloads, when determining whether to grant the request and shall document the reason for denying or approving the request and other terms and conditions, ensuring this information is communicated with all impacted stakeholders.
NDCDE reserves the right not to grant holds, extensions, or retake requests to students who have violated its policies, including the Academic Integrity policy.
For information on course withdrawals, please visit the Withdrawal section of the NDCDE website.
For information on pricing, please see our Fees and Costs page.