Academic Policies and Procedures

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Academic Policies & Procedures for the CAHP

Academic Integrity

In order to assure an understanding between students, faculty, and staff concerning what types of activity constitute violations of academic integrity, several definitions and examples have been detailed in the UNMC Student Handbook.

Attendance at Classes and Clerkships

Each student is required to attend all classes, lectures, and clinical experiences specified by the program and by the instructor of each class in which he or she is enrolled. If it is necessary for a student to be absent, the instructor, supervisor and/or program director should be notified in advance, if possible. Any absence must be excused by the instructor, supervisor, or director as specified by the program.

If allowed by the program, the student is responsible for arranging to make up any time or assignments missed.

Failure to meet the program’s attendance requirements may result in corrective action, including academic probation or dismissal. Specific policies and procedures in this regard are determined by the individual programs in the College of Allied Health Professions, and are available for review in the program-specific pages.

Clinical Education Experiences

Practical experience in various settings is an important component of the programs in the CAHP. Such hands-on experiences provide a unique form of learning and contribute to professional development.

Clinical experiences provided for students must adhere to guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition, to encourage learning through practical experience, CAHP programs will follow the guidelines listed below.

Guidelines

1. Specific, definable educational objectives will be provided for students regarding practical experiences related to their discipline. Evaluations of performance will be based on the objectives, with methods determined by the individual program.
2. Students may be assigned tasks that would otherwise be performed by professional staff members, but, in all cases, the purpose of such assignments shall be education, i.e., developing mastery of techniques and reinforcing knowledge.
3. Reinforcement by repetition may be desirable and is encouraged.
4. Supervisors in all practical experience rotations will be informed of the U.S. Department of Labor Employment Relationship Under the Fair Labor Standards Act. (See Minimum Wage Ruling below.) All criteria specified must be met to assure that students are not employees as defined by the Act.

Minimum Wage Ruling

The U.S. Department of Labor publication entitled Employment Relationship Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, dated February 1973, states the following under the heading Trainees:

The Supreme Court has held that the words “to suffer or permit to work,” as used in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to define “employ,” do not make all persons employees who, without any express or implied compensation agreement, work for their own advantage on the premises of another. Whether trainees or students are employees of an employer under the FLSA will depend upon all of the circumstances surrounding their activities on the premises of the employer. If all of the following criteria apply, the trainees or students are not employees within the meaning of the Act:

1. The training, even though it includes the actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational College;
2. The training is for the benefit of the trainees or students;
3. The trainees or students do not displace regular employees, but work under their close observation;
4. The employer that provides the training receives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees or students and, on occasion, his operations may actually be impeded;
5. The trainees or students are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and
6. The employer and the trainees or students understand that the trainees or students are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

Evaluation of Student Performance

Students enrolled in programs in the College of Allied Health Professions are expected to make satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of their programs’ requirements. Where appropriate, these standards are to be established in accordance with the standards set by the accrediting agency for each program.

The faculty of each program reserves the right to recommend that a student withdraw if health, scholastic standing, clinical or laboratory performance, unprofessional behavior, or other factors make it impractical or inadvisable for the student to continue in the program.

Academic grades are based on evaluation of professional behaviors, knowledge and theory, and technical competencies. A program may recommend dismissal of a student based on failure in any one of these domains of learning.

Each program of study in the College of Allied Health Professions will use a system of evaluations that assures fair evaluation practices will be utilized on a regular and consistent basis.

The system will include:

1. An evaluation of the domains of learning appropriate for the particular course or clinical rotation. Domains assessed will include the cognitive (knowledge), affective (professional behavior), and psychomotor (technical skills);
2. A description of minimal passing performance level (standards) in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains for each course and clinical rotation;
3. A time frame for evaluation of the three domains that is based on the length of the program, with a minimum of two evaluations completed before the mid-point of the clinical component of the program;
4. A description of how the final grade is derived from the areas evaluated.

Students will be informed of the expectations in all three learning domains at the beginning of each course or clinical rotation.

Procedure for Clinical Evaluations

1. Clinical evaluations also include the three domains of learning: cognitive (knowledge), affective (professional behaviors), and psychomotor (technical skills).
2. The student will receive a minimum of two evaluations before the midpoint of the clinical component of the program.
3. Students who perform at a non-acceptable level as defined by the program, in any of the three domains, may be placed on probation in accordance with specific program policies and procedures.
4. The student will be informed of the results of his or her performance evaluations in a timely manner.
5. The instructor/preceptor will inform the Program Director/Clinical Coordinator of evaluation results immediately upon completing the evaluations.
6. Evaluations, supporting documentation and counseling notes will be retained in the student’s file according to University of Nebraska policy (30 days following posting of grade OR returned to student). (See policy on Retention of Evaluation Materials, below.)
7. The instructor/preceptor/clinical coordinator will provide written, dated documentation of incidents that support the evaluation of a student who has failed to achieve minimal passing standards in the course or clinical rotation.
8. A second unacceptable evaluation may result in dismissal from the program.

Procedure for Didactic Course Evaluations

The grade earned in each course is determined by the course instructor, based on standards established by each program. Each academic program has established its criteria for satisfactory completion of course requirements and minimum GPA for continuation in the program. Further detail can be found in the Program-specific Policies & Procedures sections in the appendices. The grading scale outlined in Section D of this document is used for most courses.