Student Policies, Handbooks, and Consumer Information


Student Policies

ADA Disability Services

NWTC is committed to the goal of achieving equal educational opportunities, offering full participation for students with disabilities, and providing assistance that will facilitate students’ independence and academic progress. Students who have disabilities, including those with mobility limitations, speech, hearing or sight impairment, learning, or other disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990, may receive reasonable educational accommodations. All disabilities must be verified with current supporting documentation from an appropriate professional (licensed physician, licensed psychologist, approved agency, etc.). Students’ responsibilities may include obtaining psychological, educational, and/or medical testing and providing verifying documents. Contact one of NWTC’s counselors for information about document needs and services available.

Records of accommodation activity are kept separate from all admissions activity.

For More Information

If students have inquiries about reasonable accommodations or wish to request accommodations regarding their special educational needs, that request will be processed through the Counselor’s Office. Students are advised to make requests in advance of the beginning of classes. To obtain detailed information or to make an appointment, please contact Karen Koehn, Career Counselor at the Alva Campus at 580-327-0344 or Jennifer Shaw, Career Counselor at the Fairview Campus at 580-227-3708.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Policy

NWTC provides information to all students at the beginning of school which is designed to inform students about the Board of Education’s Drug Free School and Campus Policy, to educate students about the dangers of drug abuse, and to provide information about drug counseling and rehabilitation services. A statement of policy related to substance abuse and illegal drugs along with detailed information is contained in the Drug Free School and Workplace Handbook and in the Student Handbook both are available on this website, in the Central Office, Counselor’s Office, and the Financial Aid Office. A list of referral agencies can be found at the end of the handbook. The Drug-Free Campus and Workplace Policy states: Northwest Technology Center prohibits the unlawful use, manufacture, possession, distribution, or dispensing of drugs (“controlled substances” as defined in the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 812″ and State Statue Title 63 2-101,2-608). Violation of this policy is grounds for disciplinary action up to and including immediate discharge for an employee and permanent dismissal for a student. Federal and State laws provide additional penalties for such unlawful activities, including fines and imprisonment. The district is bound to take all appropriate actions against violators, which may include referral for legal prosecution or requiring the individual to participate satisfactorily in an approved drug use/alcohol abuse assistance or rehabilitation program. The district’s policy requires an employee to notify his or her supervisor of a criminal conviction for drug-related offenses occurring in the work place no later than five days following the conviction.

View Drug Free Schools Brochure

View the Students, Drugs And Alcohol Policy 

Campus Security Crime Report

Northwest Technology Center strives to maintain a secure and safe environment for it’s students, employees, and the public.  NWTC encourages all persons to report any criminal or suspicious activity to an Assistant Superintendent who will take appropriate action after analyzing and investigating the seriousness of the incident.

Upon enrollment all students receive a copy of the Student Handbook, which includes a section on NWTC’s Crime Awareness Policy with the current Campus Security Report.  Detailed information is also found in the Student Disclosure Notice and is available in the Central Office, Counselor’s Office, Financial Aid Office, and on this website. In addition to being informed about campus security during orientation and with periodical updates, on or before October 1st of each year, NWTC publishes and distributes an annual Campus Security Report to all enrolled students and current employees. A paper copy of the report is available upon request in the Financial Aid Office. You can also access the full report at https://ope.ed.gov/campussafety/#/.

View the Campus Security Report along with detailed information about NWTC’s policy on reporting crime and emergencies on campus, the security of NWTC facilities, campus law enforcement, security procedures and practices, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), and the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (Campus SaVE Act).

Constitution Day Information

The U.S. Department of Education’s Notice of Implementation (Federal Register/Vol. 70, No. 99/Tuesday, May 24, 2005), requires all educational institutions receiving federal funding to provide an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution beginning on September 17, 2005. September 17th is the date which commemorates the 1787 signing of the Constitution. During the years when September 17th occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the program must be held during either the preceding or following week. NWTC observes Constitution Day in accordance with the guidance provided by the Department of Education. NWTC will have a program to be determined on an annual basis.

Copyright Infringement and Sanctions Policy

NWTC requires that all students adhere to current copyright laws, congressional guidelines, and avoid plagiarism (using another person’s ideas or creative work without giving credit to that person). The copyright laws of the United States make it illegal to duplicate copyrighted materials (the work of another person) without written permission. Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under Section 106 of the Copyright Act. These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of copyrighted work without authority constitutes infringement. Willful copyright infringement can result in civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment and fines. For details see Title 17 of the United States Code, Sections 501-513.   For more information, visit the website of the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov.

Click Here to view NWTC Copyright Policy.

Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy

NWTC is committed to providing all students and employees with a safe and respectful school environment. Both state and federal law specifically prohibit harassment of or by employees and students in connection with the district.

The district prohibits discrimination, harassment or retaliation based on real or perceived race, color, sex, pregnancy, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, religion, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, age, or genetic information.  This prohibition applies to students, employees and board members in any aspect of the district’s programs, including during school hours, extracurricular activities, technology center sponsored events, or outside of school hours if the conduct affects the education or working environment.

Click here to view the Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy.

Emergency Response and Evacuation Policy

Emergency procedures for fire, weather, and intruder alert are posted in each area and complete instructions are given to each student, faculty, and staff member of NWTC. Regular drills will take place throughout the school year. In addition, NWTC provides timely warning to the campus community of any occurrences of crime or suspicions of danger that are reported and are considered to represent a threat to students and/or employees. NWTC officials will notify the campus community immediately upon confirmation of a significant emergency, unless issuing the notification will compromise efforts to contain the emergency. Resources that may be used to disseminate emergency information include the mass notification phone system, email, the NWTC website, the campus intercom, and internal alarms.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Click here for detailed information on NWTC’s FERPA policy and student rights under FERPA.

Grievance (Complaint) Policy and Procedures

NWTC’s grievance policy and procedures provide a prompt and equitable resolution of complaints from students, parents, employees, and patrons of the school district. The grievance procedure adopted is designed to handle complaints related to any of the following: an alleged action that is specifically prohibited by state or federal law, including prohibitions against discrimination, sexual harassment, and the release of student grievance procedure confidential information; also an alleged violation of equal employment opportunity requirements, laws which require the disclosure of certain information, and/or an alleged violation of any other consumer protection law applicable to NWTC and recipients of state or federal funds.

Click Here for detailed information on NWTC’s Grievance Policy and Procedures.

Student Complaints to our State Accrediting Agency the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education (ODCTE)

House Concurrent Resolution 1081, passed by the 1998 Oklahoma Legislature, directs each state agency with a website to provide an online form so the public can “…register comments or complaints relating to the performance of persons, businesses, or other entities regulated by the state agency.”

Comments or complaints may be submitted to:
Gina Hubbard, Director of Statewide Outreach
Administrative Services
Email:  gina.hubbard@careertech.ok.gov
Phone:  (405) 743-5167
You may also download this Comment and Complaint Form, complete the form, save the form to your computer, then email the form to Gina Hubbard.

Internet Usage Policy

Use of the internet is intended for education, training, research, administration, and planning purposes. Unacceptable use of the internet includes sending or receiving any material in violation of any federal, state, or local regulations. This includes, but is not limited to copyrighted material, material protected by trade secrets, threatening, obscene, or pornographic material. Students may not use the internet to advertise products or promote political points of view, nor any deliberate attempts to vandalize, damage, disable or disrupt the property of the District, another individual, organization, or the network. Use of the district’s networks, computers, software, and internet access is considered a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use may result in school disciplinary action from revocation of user privileges up to and including suspension or dismissal from NWTC.

Click Here to view  the  NWTC Student  Internet Usage Policy.

Intruder Policy

An intruder is an individual in the school building who has not followed established visitor procedures and may or may not be a safety hazard to the school. Any student or school personnel who observes an individual in the building who appears suspicious or out-of-place should immediately contact their instructor or the Central Office for assistance. NWTC will conduct 2 intruder drills per year on campus.

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Policy

NWTC uses Barracuda filtering software to prevent peer-to-peer file sharing. This is CIPA (Children Internet Prevention Act) compliant. It shall be required by NWTC to educate minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and other cyber bullying awareness and response. Inappropriate actions or behaviors could possibly result in civil or criminal liabilities.

School Bullying Prevention Act and Policy

The Oklahoma Legislature established the School Bullying Prevention Act (70 OKLA. STAT. § 24-100.2) with the express purpose of prohibiting peer student harassment, intimidation, bullying, and hazing. These terms include, but are not limited to any gesture, written or verbal expression, or physical act that a reasonable person should recognize will harm another student, damage another student’s property, place another student in reasonable fear of harm of the student’s person or damage to the student’s property, or insult or demean any student or group of students in such a way as to disrupt or interfere with the school district’s educational mission.

Bullying is an individual or group aggressive physical, emotional, verbal, or sexual behavior whose intentions are to do harm to others. Bullying can include and is not limited to, name calling, verbal slurs, pushing, hitting, pinching, gesturing, threatening, disrespecting, and taking items without permission. NWTC will not tolerate bullying behavior. This conduct shall be subject to the same disciplinary consequences as other misconduct.

Victims of alleged bullying incidents are encouraged to report the situation to a teacher or personnel in the Central Office or Counselor’s Office. Confidentiality will be maintained, within legal limits, and no reprisals or retaliation will be allowed to occur as a result of good faith reporting of bullying.

Bullying Investigators – Each campus will have designated individuals to investigate bullying reports.  These individuals will be identified in the site’s student and staff handbooks, on the technology center’s website, and in the bullying prevention education provided annually to students and staff.  The technology center’s anti-bullying program is coordinated at the district level by its bullying coordinator, the superintendent of schools.

Designated Bullying Investigators:
Alva Campus: Dr. Jeremy Eaton, jeaton@nwtech.edu and Karen Koehn, kkoehn@nwtech.edu
Fairview Campus: Colt Shaw, cshaw@nwtech.edu and Jennifer Shaw, jshaw@nwtech.edu

Click Here to view Student Bullying Policy.

Student Possession of Dangerous Weapons Policy

Dangerous weapons, including but not limited to firearms, are a threat to the safety of the students and staff of the technology center.  In addition, possession of dangerous weapons, or replicas or facsimiles of dangerous weapons, disrupts the educational process and interferes with the normal operation of the technology center.

For the listed reasons and except as specifically provided in NWTC policy, possession by any student of a dangerous weapon, as that term is defined in policy, or a replica or facsimile of a dangerous weapon, while on technology center property, at a technology center-sponsored activity, or on a technology center bus or vehicle, is prohibited.  Further, use of any item or instrumentality by a student to threaten harm to any person or which is used to harm any person, while on technology center property, at a technology center sponsored activity, or on a technology center bus or vehicle, is prohibited.

Click here to view the Student Possession of Dangerous Weapons Policy.

Tobacco-Free Campus Policy

Northwest Technology Center prohibits the use of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and nicotine vapor products in or upon school property, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  This policy also applies to students on school-sponsored activities. In addition to prohibiting the use of tobacco products, secondary students are prohibited from possession of tobacco products on school property or on school-sponsored activities.  This policy shall apply to all employees, students, contracted labor, volunteers, visitors, and vendors without exception. Appropriate signage is displayed as notice to the public that Northwest Technology Center is a Tobacco Free Campus 24/7.

Tobacco Products include tobacco, simulated tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes, nicotine vapor products, and paraphernalia to use tobacco products. School Property is defined as all property owned, leased, rented, or otherwise used by Northwest Technology Center including buildings, school grounds, parking lots, and vehicles. Use is defined as lighting, chewing, inhaling, or smoking any tobacco product as defined in this policy.

Click Here  for Tobacco Free Campus Policy

Vaccination/Immunization Policy

Oklahoma law states that no minor child shall be admitted to any public or private school unless the parent or guardian presents to the school certification that the child has received the required immunizations. NWTC is not the monitoring facility for immunization records. State Statute 70-3243 requires public/postsecondary educational institutions to provide information on the risks associated with meningococcal disease and the benefits of the vaccination. Meningitis is an inflammation of the membrane that surrounds the brain. Left untreated, it can cause seizures, coma, lasting disability, and even death. Health professionals recommend that students receive the meningitis vaccine. Additional information is available at your local county health department.

**All adult health students must provide immunization records to meet the clinical facilities guidelines.

Vaccination Policy for Practical Nursing Students

NWTC has an additional vaccination policy for Practical Nursing students. Those students must provide:

  • Evidence of current immunization to tetanus and MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
  • Evidence of a negative tuberculin skin test or evidence of a negative chest x-ray in the event of a positive tuberculin skin test within the past 12 months
  • Evidence of the first injection of the Hepatitis B vaccine
  • Evidence of positive varicella titer and evidence of childhood immunizations

Voter Registration Information

NWTC provides a paper copy of voter registration applications in the Central Office. These applications are also available at the County Election Board. Applications may be downloaded at www.elections.ok.gov.