Extension Policy

VirtualSC instructors and administrators strongly recommend that all students complete their online courses by the deadline of each given term in which the student is enrolled by following the course pacing guide.  In the event that a student is unable to complete the course in the given time, an extension request may be submitted, should the student meet the minimum criteria.

Qualifying for an Extension

Students must meet the following minimum criteria in order to submit an extension request:

1. The student must have 70% of the required course instructional units completed at the time of the extension request.
2. The student must be actively engaged in the course (weekly attendance as outlined in VirtualSC’s Attendance Policy, completed activities in the last week, regular communication with the instructor, etc).

Extension Request Procedures

The student should create a Course Completion Plan that documents the student’s plan to complete the course within the extension time frame (maximum of 3 weeks only). A sample Course Completion Plan is provided at the bottom of this policy. Extensions requests must be submitted to VirtualSC by the student’s School Counselor. 

Students should follow these steps to initiate the extension request process:

1. The student should obtain the physical signatures of their parent/guardian and School Counselor before requesting the counselor submit the request to VirtualSC.
2. Submit the signed Course Completion Plan to their School Counselor. An extension request, with the signed course completion plan, should be sent to both the teacher and Student Services team at virtualsc@ed.sc.gov.
3. The request for an extension must be received no later than 1-week prior to the date that final grades are issued for that course's term.

Requests of this nature are subject to teacher review to determine the appropriateness of an extension. Teachers will only approve requests made by students who meet the minimum criteria and who submit an acceptable course completion plan. If a student meets the minimum criteria but does not submit an acceptable course completion plan, the request will be denied and the student will be given up to 48 hours to submit a revised plan. Failure to resubmit the Course Completion Plan in this period will result in a denial of the extension.

If an extension is approved for a period of one week or more, the student will be subject to a monitoring review by the teacher. If progress has not been made or the submitted Course Completion Plan has not been followed, the extension may be terminated with no right to appeal for an additional extension of time.

Students who have completed an approved extension period may not request an additional extension in the course without an extenuating circumstance per our Extenuating Circumstance Guideline. Extenuating Circumstances are subject to verification. 

Extensions are not permitted in summer term courses.

Extension request deadline for Fall 2023: December 5, 2023

Extension request deadline for Spring 2024: May 7, 2024