Progression, Withdrawal, Readmission, and Dismissal Policies

Progression Policies

Students selected for admission to the nursing program must also meet clinical agency requirements, present evidence of satisfactory health status, be eligible for RN licensure, and capable of fulfilling clinical practice requirements.

Pre-Requisites and Minimum Grade Requirements

1. Students must complete the following courses with a minimum grade of “C” prior to beginning Nursing 246-Introduction to Professional Nursing and Nursing 247-Health Assessment:

English 101, English 201, Biology 121, Biology 122, Chemistry 141, Psychology 201, and CMST 101 or 107. 

2. Biology 272, Nutrition 376, HP 302-Biostatistics and IPH 356-Ethics & Healthcare in a Pluralistic Society must be completed prior to beginning NURS 353-Nursing Research, NURS 356-Pharmacology for Nurses, NURS 357-Introduction to Patient Care, and NURS 358-Nursing Care of Adults I.   

3. Anatomy and physiology and chemistry course credit must be earned or equivalent competence demonstrated within five years of enrollment in clinical nursing courses. 

4. Only one course within nutrition and science courses may be repeated. Students achieving less than a "C" in two or more of these courses will be dismissed from the program and are not eligible for admission or progression. 

5. Students must achieve a minimum grade of "C" in all nursing courses. In order to achieve a grade of "C" or better in a nursing course, a student must achieve a "Pass" in the clinical component in addition to a "C" or better in the theory component. Letter grades are not given for clinical nor is a clinical "pass" utilized in computing the course grade, other than the requirement that the student must pass the clinical in order to earn a "C" grade or better. Students who do not receive a "pass" grade in the clinical will receive a letter grade of "F" in the course. 

6. Students must retake a nursing course in which a grade of a "D" or less is earned (see Delay in Progression policy). Both theory and clinical must be repeated. If the repeated grade is acceptable ("C" or above) only the higher grade will be reflected in the student's GPA. If a "D" or less is earned when repeating the course or in any subsequent nursing course, the student will be dismissed from the program and will not be eligible for readmission.

Delay in Progression and Readmission to the Nursing Program

Progression through the nursing program will be delayed if a student:

1. Withdraws from a nursing course (with or without evaluation)
2. Postpones enrollment in any nursing course
3. Fails to achieve a “C” or higher in a nursing or pre-requisite course

 Any of these circumstances require readmission into the Nursing Program, and a change in plan of study. The student must submit a Request for Readmission form to the Chair of the Admission and Progression Committee for review, no later than 5 business days after the conclusion of the course in which these circumstances occur.

Request for Readmission Form

 The Undergraduate Nursing Admission and Progression Committee will meet to review the request, and the student will be notified of the decision to accept or deny readmission.

 Students may only be readmitted to the Nursing Program one time.

Readmission to the Nursing Program is not guaranteed. 

Readmission will likely delay graduation date and will require a revised plan of study.  Licensure and graduation papers will not be completed until the final semester of the program.

Factors that will be considered in the decision to readmit a student include, but are not limited to:

• Availability of space in courses.
• Course sequencing.
• Student performance including grades, professional behavior, and clinical performance.

Withdrawal Policy

See University guidelines for the procedure that must be followed regarding withdrawal.

Students who do not follow the required University procedure to officially withdraw from a course will receive an "F" grade.

Dismissal Policies

Additional policies regarding dismissal:  

1. Falsification of records and reports and cheating on an examination, quiz, or any other assignment will be a basis for dismissal from the program.
2. Plagiarism, as defined in the University Bulletin, is the intentional reproduction of another person’s ideas, words, or statements without acknowledgment. Students must give credit when using the works of others and are expected to properly reference the use of: 1) direct quotes; 2) another person’s ideas or opinions; or 3) any borrowed statistics, facts, or other materials. Failure to properly give credit to others’ work is a form of academic dishonesty (University Bulletin, Student Rights and Responsibilities).
3. Academic honesty is an expected behavior of all students. Academic dishonesty may include, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, and knowingly assisting others in an act of academic dishonesty. Students who engage in academic dishonesty in any form, even as a first offense, place themselves in jeopardy of receiving a failing grade for the assignment or course, as well as dismissal from the nursing program and University.  Policies and procedures governing academic dishonesty can be found at the University’s Academic Integrity and Appeal Policy (http://www.usi.edu/deanofstudents/academic-integrity)
4. Violation of client and/or agency confidential information may result in dismissal from the program.
5. The Faculty reserves the right to dismiss any student whose personal integrity, health or behavior demonstrate unfitness to continue preparation for the profession of nursing and/or violate the Code of Ethics.
6. Students considered by Faculty to be unsafe practitioners or whose progress in meeting program objectives is judged unsatisfactory will be dismissed from the program.

Faculty who meet with students who are delayed or dismissed from the program will complete the Exit Questionnaire and submit to the Program Chair.