Academic policies

The course runs 19 modules and 51 scheduled contact hours. To complete a certificate tier you have to finish every module, clear every checkpoint quiz at 80 percent or better, and turn in every required assignment, including the capstone business plan.

Checkpoints can be retaken as many times as you need. After a failed attempt the questions you missed are shown so you can go back and read, and the correct answers stay sealed until you pass, because the retake is the point. Question order and answer order are reshuffled on every sitting.

Contact time is tracked per module. A module is not marked complete until the lesson has actually been open and read, and the checkpoint attached to it has been cleared.

Assignment rubrics, as they stand in the live course:

Assignments are scored against these criteria, returned with written feedback, and can be revised and resubmitted on request until the standard is met. The self-paced Tidepool tier is practice only: no submissions, no instructor review, and no certificate.

Brackish Course uses the standard equivalency of one Continuing Education Unit per ten contact hours of instruction.

Those 51 hours are the sum of the scheduled contact time for all 19 modules, counting lecture, reading, labs, and exercises. Assignment and capstone work you do on your own time is not counted toward contact hours.

CEUs are awarded only on completion of a certificate tier, meaning every module, checkpoint, and required assignment is finished to standard. The figures on this page are read live from the course, so they change if the course changes. College credit is separate and is issued only by the college offering the course.

The course is built to match the ANSI/IACET Standard for Continuing Education and Training, the national yardstick for this kind of learning. Brackish Course is not yet an IACET Accredited Provider and we plan to apply in 2027. Until that is official, your certificate is an institutional credential backed by the permanent, verifiable record described on this page, and employers and agencies can evaluate it directly. IACET does not allow hours finished before accreditation to be reissued under their credential later, but your record of hours and scores stands either way.

Everything you submit has to be written by you. Cite anything that is not yours. AI may not write your assignments. Every student writes a short profile sample on the way in, and submitted work is compared against it. If something looks off, I will ask you about it before I decide anything.

Sharing a sign-in, passing materials to someone who did not enroll, or circulating answer keys ends your access. Work that is not yours does not earn a certificate.

Conduct, in and out of the classroom: treat other students, guests, and me with respect. Harassment, threats, and slurs are grounds for removal without refund. Disagreeing hard about farming practice is welcome. Going after a person is not.

Consequences. First concern, a conversation and a chance to explain or redo the work. Confirmed dishonesty, no credit for that assignment. Repeated or serious dishonesty, removal from the course without a certificate. Any of those decisions can be appealed below.

If you think a grade or a decision is wrong, say so. Nothing here counts against you and you will not lose access while an appeal is open.

1. Raise it with me first, within 30 days of the grade or decision. Use the help button in the classroom or email jules@brackishco.org. Say what the decision was and why you think it is wrong.
2. I acknowledge within 3 business days and tell you what I need from you, if anything.
3. I review and respond in writing within 10 business days, with the rubric line by line for a grade appeal. A grade can go up, stay the same, or in a case of confirmed dishonesty stand as it is.
4. If you are still not satisfied, ask for a formal review. The appeal, my decision, and your response go to an independent reviewer with subject matter experience who is not involved in your grading. That review is completed within 20 business days and its outcome is final for the course.
5. Every step is written down and kept with your academic record under the retention policy below.

Courses taken for credit through Santa Monica College or MiraCosta College follow that college's own grievance and grade appeal procedures, which take priority over this page.

Refunds and withdrawals are handled by me, person to person. There is no automatic cancel button, and nothing about your seat changes on its own.

You have 14 days from the day you buy to ask for a full refund. If your classroom opens during that time, the clock starts over: you get a full 14 days from the day your classroom actually opens. Whichever of those two dates falls later is the one that counts, so a slow opening on my end never costs you your window. After that date the sale is final.

How to ask: email me at jules@brackishco.org, or use the quiet link at the bottom of your dashboard that says you need to step away. It asks for a reason and an optional comment and sends it straight to me. I read every one myself and answer you directly.

You can withdraw at any time by asking the same way. Withdrawal after the refund window does not return your payment, and your records are kept under the retention policy below. If you hit a real hardship, write to me anyway. I would rather work something out than take money from someone who is stuck.

If you need an accommodation, email me before you start or any time you need one. You do not need a diagnosis or paperwork to ask, and I do not need to know your medical history. Tell me what gets in the way and what helps.

Things I can do: extended time on assignments, alternate formats for readings and templates, transcripts or captions for recorded material, oral instead of written responses where the rubric allows it, and screen reader friendly documents. The course is self-paced, so deadline pressure is already light.

Requests are answered within 5 business days. What you tell me stays between us and is not written into your academic record. If you are enrolled through a college, their accessibility office handles accommodations and I follow their determination.

Student academic records are kept for at least 7 years after your last activity in the course, and certificate records are kept permanently so a certificate can always be verified.

• Enrollment, tier, and completion dates.
• Module completion and contact time.
• Checkpoint attempts and scores.
• Assignment submissions, rubric scores, and written feedback.
• Certificates, including title, issue date, and verification code.
• Appeals, accommodation decisions, and conduct decisions.

Every certificate carries a verification code that anyone can check at brackishcourse.org under verify. You can request a copy of your own record, or a transcript of scores and completion dates, any time by emailing me. Records are not sold and are not shared with anyone outside the school unless you ask me to send them, or the law requires it.

Jules Marsh is Lead Instructor and Academic Director of Brackish Course, responsible for curriculum design, learning outcomes, assessment standards, grading, instructor qualifications, and annual review of course content against current industry practice and regulation.

Course content is reviewed at least once a year, and sooner when a regulation, a price benchmark, or an agency process changes. Sources are dated in the materials so you can see how current a figure is. Courses offered for college credit are additionally reviewed and approved through that college's curriculum process.

About Jules and her qualifications →