Mar 28, 2024  
Undergraduate Record 2014-2015 
    
Undergraduate Record 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED RECORD]

School of Nursing: Academic Rules, Regulations, and Information


 About   Academic Rules  Programs/Courses    Faculty  

Click on a link to be taken to the entry below. 


Academic Rules and Regulations

      ^ TOP

Policies and Procedures

Academic Standing First-year students in the pre-professional component of the program are considered to be in good academic standing if they earn no more than one grade below C-. Additionally, first year nursing students are required to earn a minimum C- grade in anatomy and physiology, chemistry for health professionals, and microbiology. Students who do not earn a C- or higher in either semester of anatomy and physiology, chemistry for health professionals, or microbiology are required to retake the course(s). This may alter the planned sequence of courses and may lengthen the time for completion of the program. Thsee standards also appy to any second year transfer student who may be completing these courses after transfer to the SON.

Second, third, and fourth years students in the professional component of the program are considered to be in good academic standing if they have a semester average of at least 2.000 and no grades below a C- in required nursing courses regardless of the semester average. Grades of D and F are failing grades for all required nursing courses in the professional component of the program. Students earning a grade of D or F in a required course in the professional component will be placed on academic probation and must successfully repeat the course with a grade of C- or above. This may alter the planned sequence of courses and may lengthen the time for completion of the program.

First year students must maintain a semester GPA average of 1.8. Students who do not meet these standards will be placed on academic probation.Nursing students in years two, three, or four will be placed on academic probation if their semester grade point average falls below 2.0. A grade of D is included in the student’s GPA and counts toward credits earned. An F grade is included in the student’s GPA but does not count toward credits earned.

A nursing student is subject to suspension if (1) the student earns a total of two Ds or one F at any time in the professional component of the program (years two through four), (2) the student’s GPA is below 2.000 for two semesters, or (3) the student has been placed on academic probation two semesters.

Appealing a Grade Students who wish to appeal a course grade must first attempt to resolve the issue with the instructor of the course. Absent a satisfactory outcome, the student consults with the following chain of communication: faculty advisor program director/coordinator prior to meeting with the Senior Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Services.  

The student will be advised by the Senior Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Services to file a formal appeal to either the Department Chair or the Associate Dean of Academic Programs.  The appeal letter must address the grounds for the appeal including any claims of grading errors, perceived inequities based on policies/syllabi discrepancies or extenuating circumstances. The documentation for the appeals process does not include email; it must be printed and presented to the Office of the Associate Dean of Academic Programs. 

For grades awarded for the fall semester, the written appeal must be submitted no later than 14 calendar days after the beginning of the spring semester. For grades awarded for the spring semester or summer sessions: the written appeal must be submitted no later than 14 days after the first day of the fall semester. For January term, a written appeal must be submitted no later than 14 days after the end of that session or term. Appeals submitted after the deadline will be heard only in exceptional cases, as determined by the Senior Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Services.

The Associate Dean of Academic Programs shall make a final decision after full consideration of the materials submitted and/or a committee’s recommendation.  The student will be notified of the decision within three weeks of receiving the student’s appeal.

Changes in Class Schedules Students change their class schedules via SIS (www.virginia.edu/sis). If instructor permission is necessary for admission to a course, a form signed by that instructor is submitted to the School of Nursing Registrar’s office. Students may add and drop full-semester courses through the deadlines stated in the University Registrar’s Academic Calendar.

Course Load Special permission from the Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Services is required for traditional BSN students to register for fewer than 12 credits or more than 17 credits each semester.

Grade Changes No grade may be changed without the approval of the School of Nursing after it has been submitted to the University Registrar (UREG). The School of Nursing is not authorized by the faculty to change a grade submitted to UREG except when an instructor certifies that, because of errors in calculation or transcription, an incorrect grade has been submitted. Extra work to raise a grade, once submitted, is not permitted.

Grades An undergraduate student’s work in a course is graded on the basis of A+ (97-100), A (94-96), A- (90-93), B+ (87-89), B (84-86), B- (80-83), C+ (77-79), C (74-76), C- (70-73), D+ (67-69), D (64-66), D- (60-63) and F (59-0).

Incomplete Grades A grade of incomplete is a non-grade designation given for a course. A grade of IN becomes a grade of F 30 days after the end of the examination period unless a form requesting an extension of time has been signed by the course instructor and approved by the Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Services. The faculty has adopted a policy that, unless authorized by the Dean’s office, students must complete all course work before taking the final examination. Instructors are not authorized to extend the time for completion of course work without the Dean’s approval. Forms for securing extensions are available from the School of Nursing website. Prior to the end of the course, students must initiate the request for a grade of IN and secure the instructor’s approval.

Students with two or more outstanding incomplete designations (in the same semester or cumulatively) may not enroll in courses in subsequent terms. An IN grade remaining at the time of graduation is converted to an F.

Leave of Absence A student in good standing may request a leave of absence from the School of Nursing for up to two semesters. Requests for leaves of absence must be submitted in writing to the assistant dean for academic and student services of the School of Nursing. Nursing students on an approved leave of absence who wish to enroll before the end of their second semester of approved leave, must apply in writing to the assistant dean for academic and student services at least 60 days prior to the first day of classes for the semester in which they want to reenroll.

Readmission to the SON after Suspension or Withdrawal  Students should consult “Returning to the University” in the University Regulations—Academic section of this Record for policies that govern their readmission to the University. Students in the School of Nursing who have been suspended must wait one full fall term and one full spring term before being eligible to apply for readmission. A student who has been readmitted following suspension will be permanently dropped from the school if she or he becomes subject to suspension a second time.

Transfer of Courses The University of Virginia School of Nursing accepts a maximum of 60 credits of transfer credit from institutions other than the University of Virginia toward the baccalaureate degree.

Students who receive advanced standing for a required course transferred into the University of Virginia from another institution will be responsible for replacing the credits not earned in that course with another course at the University.

Exception: RN to BSN students. RN to BSN students receive 41 credit hours of advanced standing for their basic nursing programs. Therefore, not all prior credit hours may be transferable for credit. For example, pharmacology, assessment, life span, and nutrition are all part of the 41-credit-hour package of advanced credit hours; therefore, these credits do not transfer in as additional credits.

Academic Deficiencies

Credit/No Credit Grades Students have the option of receiving the grades CR (credit) or NC (no credit) in place of the regular grades, A through F, for a given course except for courses in the major or those that fulfill basic area requirements. School of Nursing students may take a maximum of twelve credits of CR/NC courses, including nursing electives, and general education electives. (Courses used to fulfill area requirements must be taken on a graded basis.)

This option is selected when students register for courses. The last day to change the CR/NC option is the same as the last day to add a course. Instructors may deny students permission to take courses on a CR/NC basis. If this occurs, students may either change back to the regular grading option or drop the course entirely. Students may not use a CR/NC course to repeat a course in which a grade has already been given.

Criminal Background Check All nursing students are required to undergo a regular criminal background check after admission to the program. Some clinical agencies will require such a check to be performed annually and may require additional testing/screening of nursing students. Information can be obtained from the Office of Admissions and Student Services.

Degree Requirements The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree is conferred by the general faculty upon candidates recommended by the School of Nursing faculty as having completed a prescribed course of study of no less than 120 credits with a cumulative grade point average of 2.000 (C).

Overall Time Limit Traditional BSN students have a maximum of 8 semesters from the date of matriculation in which to complete all graduation requirements, while students who transfer into the BSN program have 6. A student in the RN-BSN degree program must complete the graduation requirements in a maximum of 2 academic years from the date of matriculation. Exceptions must be approved by the advisor and the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and are granted under extenuating circumstances.

Professional Status upon Graduation Prior to Final Exercises, students are expected to apply to the state board of nursing in the state in which they choose to be licensed. Graduates of the School of Nursing are eligible for membership in the University of Virginia Alumni Association and the University of Virginia School of Nursing Alumni Association. Graduates are eligible for membership in the Virginia Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, the Virginia League for Nursing, and the National League for Nursing.

Residence Requirement The residence requirement for a degree in nursing is two academic years. Students transferring from other schools of nursing and students with advanced standing credit may with permission of the Associate Dean for Academic Programs meet residence requirements in one academic year. The residence requirement for RN to BSN students is 30 credit hours.

Statement of Policy The University of Virginia School of Nursing expects all students to meet established academic standards satisfactorily for all course requirements, including meeting learning objectives, clinical practice objectives/standards, and professional standards of behavior for safe and quality nursing practice.

The purpose of this policy is to promote academic achievement, maintain academic and professional standards, and to achieve fairness and consistency in decisions regarding students with academic or professional deficiencies. Faculty members as course professors/clinical instructors are responsible for assessing and monitoring each student’s academic and professional progress, including knowledge gained, skills acquired, and professional behavior as well as adherence to policies and procedures concerning clinical education and the health system/clinical facility policies.

A student’s failure to meet the established academic, clinical and/or professional standards requires faculty documentation of a plan of action (examples provided in ADAP Website) on an academic deficiency form (available on ADAP Website) and may be initiated any time during the course or program of study. Completed academic deficiency forms are an official component of the student record and are held in the highest regard denoting a “student at risk” for successful completion of the course, including potential to fail the course.

Procedures

  1. Each course professor will provide written guidelines in the course syllabus concerning student accountability, monitoring of performance and disciplinary actions, including consequences of academic deficiencies, related to meeting course and/or clinical objectives.
  2. Policies regarding academic deficiencies (academic, clinical and/or professional standards of behavior) will be uniform generally throughout all BSN, MSN and DNP programs of study (PhD students refer to the standards of the Graduate School for Arts and Sciences and/or UVA Graduate Record) and will include the following categories of corrective actions:
    • Verbal reprimands or written advisements from a faculty member or faculty advisor to a student may occur for performance deficiencies (academic, clinical and/or professional) at any time during the course or the program of study. However, there must be documented evidence that the student received the communication and understood the terms of agreement and the timeline to improve the area of deficiency. If the deficiency is corrected, no further action required.
    • If the performance area is not improved, the faculty member (course professor and/or clinical instructor) must submit a “formal academic deficiency” form to the student with copies to the Faculty Advisor, the Program Director/Coordinator, and the Senior Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Services. The student must sign the deficiency form and the faculty member submits it to the Office of the Associate Dean of Academic Programs.
    • The number of academic deficiencies is at the discretion of the course professor; however, a completed academic deficiency form is required to be submitted to the Office of the Associate Dean of Academic Programs for upholding any course outcomes and/or consequences. This also may include altering the planned sequence of courses and may lengthen the time for completion of the program of study.

Degree Information

     ^ TOP

B.S. in Nursing (BSN) The University of Virginia offers two tracts leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing: A traditional BSN program and an RN to BSN completion program. The degree is awarded after satisfactory completion of a prescribed program of study. All students at the School of Nursing take courses in anatomy and physiology, growth and development, pharmacology, pathophysiology, leadership, and nursing practice. Graduates of the program are eligible to apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination.


Required Additional Expenses

       ^ TOP

Clinical Agency Requirements Students must meet the required competencies of the clinical agency to which they are assigned as outlined in the clinical agency contract.  This may include requirements such as infection control training, criminal background investigations, and mandatory drug screening.

Community Learning Experiences Students are responsible for transportation to and from clinical learning sites. Agencies in Charlottesville and neighboring counties are used for clinical experiences, and students must have a car available for individual use while studying in those agencies. Community learning experiences begin in the second year of the program. Students who do not have access to a vehicle can participate in the University’s Zip Car loan service.

CPR Certification Students are required to obtain certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for adults, children, and infants prior to entering clinical courses. Certification must be maintained throughout the program, and validation must be presented each year. Students must complete the American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Health Care Providers course.

Diagnostic Readiness Test Students are required to complete a standardized diagnostic test that evaluates their readiness to take the licensure examination. The test is administered in the spring of the fourth year.

Drug Screening Please refer to the Student Handbook for detailed information on drug screening. Students are required to cover the cost of drug screening as dictated by a clinical agency or nursing course policy.

ESAP Pre-licensure students are required to purchase access to the Elsevier Support and Assessment Program (ESAP) materials that are embedded within the core nursing courses that all students take in their respective programs. The ESAP materials include clinical case studies, practice tests, specialty course tests, and a NCLEX-preparation course.

Hospital Insurance The Student Health Service does not provide for the expense of hospital care. The University requires that all students carry hospitalization insurance for year-round coverage. A preferred-risk group insurance program sponsored by the University is available. For an additional premium, the dependents of married students are included. Students or parents may substitute a plan comparable to that offered by the University.

Immunization Titer Requirements The School of Nursing requires documentation of the dates of a series of three vaccinations (Twinrix or Hepatitis B) or the date of a positive Hepatitis B surface antibody titer. No student will be permitted to enroll in clinical courses without providing this documentation. Information regarding the vaccine and antibody titers can be obtained from the student’s local health care provider, district health department, or from Student Health.

MMR, TD, and PPD Documentation of current measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization and tetanus booster (TD) is required for all students in clinical courses. Tuberculosis testing (PPD) is required on an annual basis for all students enrolled in clinical courses.

TYPHON The School of Nursing uses the TYPHON system for student portfolio development and for student clinical activity tracking, and access to this system is required for all students. There is a one-time access fee that students will pay at the time of the first log-on to the system. Initial training to TYPHON will be provided for all students. Following the training, students will be provided with individual log-on and password information. Students are introduced to TYPHON in the first clinical course. Ongoing use of TYPHON will continue throughout the program and for three years after graduation. Documentation of all student clinical activities is required for tracking clinical competency development, certification, and for successful post-graduate employment.

Uniforms Prospective students receive information about uniforms with their welcome letters and registration materials.