School of Nursing Policies and Procedures

Degree Policies for the Generic Undergraduate Nursing Program

• Minimum C+ in all required science courses, nursing courses, and Lifespan Development
• Minimum 3.0 cGPA to enter the clinical phase of the program
• Once the student enters the clinical phase of the program, am minimum 2.67 cGPA must be maintained. Any student who falls below this threshold will be placed on academic probation. A student may be on academic probation for one semester. Failure to return to good academic standing may result in dismissal from the program.
• Only ONE nursing or required science may be repeated. Lifespan Development is excluded.
• Any two course withdrawals in a nursing or required science course (whether from the same or different courses) equate to one failure. Lifespan Development is excluded. Course withdrawals resulting from an approved leave of absence will not count against the student’s progression in the program.
• Students who are unsuccessful in any two nursing or required science courses will be dismissed from the program. Lifespan Development is excluded.

Degree Policies for the Accelerated Nursing Program

Students in the accelerated nursing program must meet and maintain the following criteria:

• Minimum C+ in all nursing courses.
• Minimum 2.67 cGPA must be maintained once the student enters the clinical phase of the program.
• Only ONE nursing course may be repeated.
• Any two course withdrawals in a nursing course (whether from the same or different courses) equate to one failure. Course withdrawals resulting from an approved leave of absence will not count against the student’s progression in the program.
• Students who are unsuccessful in any two nursing courses will be dismissed from the program.
• Students may not request to change their primary campus/site after they’ve begun the program.

Differentiation of Generic and Accelerated Nursing Programs

The generic and accelerated nursing programs are separate and distinct and are registered as such by official accrediting bodies. Therefore, students enrolled in the accelerated nursing program are not permitted to take nursing courses in the generic undergraduate program. Likewise, students enrolled in the generic Undergraduate Nursing Program are not permitted to take nursing courses in the accelerated program.

Grade Rounding Policy

Grades will not be rounded until the end of the semester. Grades will carry their original numeric value to the hundredth place. The final course grade will be rounded to the tenth place after totaling all assignments and exams. The minimal grade required for successful completion of a course is 76.45%.

Professional Decorum

Students must behave in a professional manner toward faculty, staff and patients. This behavior includes courtesy, honesty, ethical actions and responsible verbal and electronic communication. Behavior that interferes with clinical agency/staff/faculty relationships may be cause for dismissal from the School of Nursing.

Class Attendance

Students are required to be present, prepared and on time for each class session. Students are responsible for all missed work. Students that have unexcused absences for quizzes and/or exams will receive a 0 for the missed quiz and/or exam. Students that are late for quizzes and/or exams will NOT be given extended time to complete the quiz and/or exam. Students that arrive more than 15 minutes late for a quiz and/or exam will not be permitted to test and will receive a grade of 0. Course faculty are under no obligation to provide makeup quizzes or examinations or to extend deadlines. Any student who is ill and cannot attend class must notify their course faculty and the Office of Student Affairs prior to class time and provide appropriate medical documentation. This is considered an excused absence. If a student misses a class without appropriate documentation, it will be considered an unexcused absence. More than two unexcused absences from class will result in the student being unable to meet course outcomes and the student will be unsuccessful in the course and receive a grade of C- in the course.

Course Withdrawal and Repeat Procedures

When a student withdraws from or is unsuccessful in a nursing course, they will need to attempt/repeat the course in the next available term that the course will be offered, pending space and availability. Withdrawing from or repeating a course will result in an inevitable delay in the student’s anticipated graduation. Not all courses are offered every semester; some are only offered in alternating semesters or alternating years. The School of Nursing is not responsible for accommodating students who fall behind in their regular program sequence due to a course withdrawal or failure.

Additional Course Withdrawal and Repeat Procedures for Accelerated Nursing Students

When a student in the accelerated nursing program needs to repeat a course or complete a course from which they withdrew, it will result in part-time enrollment for the following term and an adjustment of the student’s tuition plan. The student must complete an Accelerated Nursing Course Repeat Memo, which will be provided to the student by the School of Nursing. Along with the Memo will be an updated progression/graduation plan that is specifically tailored to the student. The student is responsible for reviewing both documents and providing their signature. Both documents will be submitted to the Offices of the Registrar, Financial Aid, and Student Accounts. The student’s progression plan cannot be
amended until the appropriate forms are signed and submitted.

Leave of Absence Procedures

Nursing students who need to take a leave of absence from the program must send written notification to their professional academic advisor and nursing faculty advisor. The student will also need to complete a Leave of Absence Request Form, as per College policy. A leave of absence taken during the semester will result in ‘W’ grades in all courses for that term. To formally request a return to the program, the student must send written notification to the Dean of the College and their professional academic advisor. Thereafter, the student’s request to return will be reviewed and decided upon by the Dean of Nursing.

A student who takes an extended leave of absence may be subject to repeating some or all clinical courses upon their return to the program. This decision will be at the discretion of the Dean of Nursing.

A student may take two consecutive leaves of absence. A student may take no more than three total leaves of absence while in the program.

Religious Observance Policy

The School of Nursing will excuse, without penalty, students who are unable to attend classes and/or clinicals due to religious observances. Students are responsible for providing timely notification of impending absences due to religious obligations directly to their course and clinical instructors. The student is responsible for making up missed course work, exams, quizzes, etc., and clinical hours. The student and instructor(s) will develop a reasonable, agreed-upon plan for completing missed work.

Maternity Leave Policy

Childbirth and the leave that follows are considered excused absences. A student will be granted a total of two weeks absence from classes and clinical rotations. Any student requiring more than two weeks must take a medical withdrawal from all courses. This withdrawal shall not count against the student for progression purposes. Upon return to school the student must submit a letter from her health care provider stating that she is cleared to resume clinical duties with no limitations.

Nursing Course Residency Policy

The College of Mount Saint Vincent does not accept nursing courses previously completed at other institutions. All nursing courses must be completed in residence. Furthermore, under no circumstances will matriculated students be permitted to take a nursing course at another institution in an attempt to apply that course and corresponding credits to their College of Mount Saint Vincent nursing degree.

Nursing Academic Advisement and Registration Procedures

Academic Advisement
Upon entering their first semester of clinicals, all nursing students (generic and accelerated) will be assigned a primary professional advisor and a nursing faculty advisor.

The professional academic advisor can assist students with general academic advisement inquiries including: semester registration, program progression, Core and major requirements, transfer credits, graduation auditing, change of major facilitation, general College policies and procedures, etc.

The nursing faculty advisor is the student’s direct point of contact to discuss and seek guidance with academic difficulty in nursing courses, career exploration within nursing, graduate school opportunities, professional letters of recommendation, etc.

Registration Procedures

All nursing students will be assigned a nursing block schedule and registered accordingly by their professional academic advisor from their first semester of clinicals through their final semester. Once registered, students may not change their assigned block schedule, nor request to make a change, nor “swap” schedules with another student. The School of Nursing reserves the right to cancel any under -registered blocks and reassign effected students to a different block schedule.

Once a student enters the clinical phase of the nursing program, any outstanding non-nursing courses, (i.e.: Cores, electives, courses in fulfillment of a minor, etc.), must be taken during the summer and/or winter intercession. A student can consider registering for an outstanding non-nursing course in a fall or spring term only in consultation with their professional academic advisor.

Nursing Exam Administration and Review Policy

Students will adhere to the following conditions when taking an exam in nursing courses:

Continuity of Test Administration

1. Students must take exams on the date, time, and location specified by the course coordinator. Permission to take an exam or quiz at any time other than scheduled can only be granted by course coordinator.
2. Students are to notify the instructor by voicemail or email prior to the time of examination or quiz, if unable to take the examination. If the student does not notify the course faculty of their absence prior to the examination, the opportunity for a make-up exam will not be granted. Unexcused absences will result in a zero on the exam. Situations of a medical or situational crisis on the day of the exam (e.g. car accident) will be considered a potential excused with appropriate document (e.g. police report)
3. All personal items are to be stored in a faculty designated area of the room during the exam and test review. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in a failure of the exam.
4. The only items permitted on the testing surface during exams is a piece of scratch paper and pencil.
5. Test item content and responses are confidential and are not to be discussed with others except during test review.
6. Sharing of exam content via electronic means (texting) or by verbal exchange is cheating and will result in a zero on the exam.
7. Exam results will be posted in the Learning Management System within one week of all students across all sections taking the exam.

Continuity of Test Review

1. Faculty at their discretion may elect to provide exam review in the format of group test review sessions. This may take the form of a concept review or a review of test questions and answers.
2. Exam review is an opportunity to enhance student understanding of the material ad will be conducted accordingly.
3. Students are not permitted to tape record, take snapshots, screen shots, take notes during test reviews, or to in any way copy or transmit exam content or answers. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in a zero on the exam/quiz and be reported to Academic Affairs for breach of the Academic Honesty policy.
4. As per testing procedure students are required to leave all electronic devices and personal belongings in a faculty designated area.
5. Test review is to take place within 10 days of all students across all sections taking the exam.
6. There will be no review of final exams.

Exam Makeup

1. Should permission for a makeup exam be granted by the course instructor, then:
a. Arrangements for the makeup exam should occur within two business days upon return to school.
b. The makeup exam is to be completed within five business days of returning to school.

SafeMedicate

Policy
SafeMedicate is a requirement of all clinical courses and is to be completed by the specified due dates. Each student will independently complete the required self-study/practice modules as assigned per semester prior to the assessment (examination). Before the student may take any examination, the student must compete the assigned module.

Prior to beginning the SafeMedicate modules in the first semester, each student is required to take a foundation numeracy examination. A grade of 90% or higher is recommended for success with the SafeMedicate modules. A grade of less than 90% indicates a fundamental arithmetic problem. If you receive less than 90% on the foundation numeracy examination, it is recommended that you seek tutorial assistance at the ARC before continuing to the SafeMedicate modules.

Each student must achieve 90% on the specific SafeMedicate assessment prior to advancing into the next clinical course and/or administering medications in the clinical setting. If the student does not achieve 90% on their first attempt, the student is to meet with their course faculty and a remediation plan will be initiated. The student is expected to complete this remediation prior to the next scheduled examination date. Proof of completion of modules and a 100% on a practice assessment is required prior to taking the assessment for a second time.

If the student is unsuccessful in attaining a score of 90% on the specific SafeMedicate exam after the second attempt, the student will not be able to progress in the nursing program and a meeting with the student, the student’s course faculty and the Program Director will be scheduled.

School of Nursing Chain of Communication (Chain of Command)

Policy
Students are to observe the chain of command as outlined in the School of Nursing Table of Organization (see Appendix).

When discussing course/class issues, students are to address issues as follows, to:

• the specific professor teaching the class;
• the course coordinator;
• the Program Director;
• the Dean of the School of Nursing

Students practicing in a clinical setting are the responsibility of the College of Mount Saint Vincent, not the clinical agency. Students are required to follow the policies of the College of Mount Saint Vincent and our clinical partner at all times.

School of Nursing Grievance Policy and Procedure

Policy
Students who believe that a School of Nursing policy has not been accurately followed may initiate a grievance process. Prior to initiating a grievance, the student must attempt to resolve the issue following the Chain of Command (see above). Students may grieve a course or clinical grade under the following circumstances:

• an error in grade calculation;
• a decision rendered that was not part of the original syllabus OR a policy that was on the original syllabus that was not followed;
• a final grade that does not reflect grades earned during the course;
• a clinical decision that appears to be arbitrary;

Procedure

1. Students will follow the Chain of Command:

1. Issue to be addressed in the following order:
   1. clinical instructor
   2. course coordinator
   3. Program Director (Undergraduate or Accelerated)

A formal grievance can only be filed after the Chain of Command, above, has been followed.

2. The procedure to file a formal grievance is:

1. A request to file a grievance must be provided in writing to the Dean of Nursing within 10 days of the grade/clinical decision.
   1. Grievances must be presented in writing
   2. The request for a grievance hearing must include:
      1. Concise fact (evidence) based material
      2. Documentation of efforts to resolve the issue at each level of the process
      3. Any written documents and/ or written communications between the student and other members of the faculty/professional staff involved in the process
2. The following issues may not be grieved:
   1. Items on exams
   2. Grades on papers or assignments
   3. Safety based clinical decisions
3. The Dean of Nursing will review the grievance request within 72 hours of receipt.
   1. If the grievance request is approved:
      1. The Dean of Nursing will convene a team consisting of one member of the professional staff selected by the student, one faculty member selected by the student, and one faculty member selected by the Dean. The Dean will serve as the Chair of the Grievance hearing.
         • The Dean will communicate the team’s decision within 14 days of the grievance hearing.
      2. The decision of the grievance team within the School of Nursing is final; students may opt to bring a formal grievance to the College Provost. The decision of the Provost is final.