Policies

Professional Conduct Policy

The School of Nursing and Health Sciences asserts that members of the nursing profession must adhere to standards in order to ensure quality, safety and maintain the trust of the public we serve. The Felician University Community asserts that students must adhere to the Franciscan Values of respect, honesty, and integrity to insure high standards in our academic and everyday lives.

Faculty and students have a cooperative responsibility to ensure that these standards are upheld by everyone.

Felician University nursing students shall abide by and be held accountable for maintaining the high standards of “professionalism” as determined by personal responsibility, Felician University, and the nursing profession.

To successfully complete a graduate clinical course, students must meet the identified clinical competencies and Professional Conduct Policy for Graduate students. All graduate students are required to demonstrate safe and ethical clinical practice at all times. A student will be at risk of not passing the course if there is any concern about student competency on the part of the course professor or clinical preceptor.

Violation of the Professional Conduct Policy within a graduate course will automatically result in a course failure and may result in dismissal from the program.

Academic Policies

Auditing courses is not permitted.

Progression Policy

• Students must achieve a grade of B or higher in all courses in the program.
• A passing grade in a clinical or practicum course requires that the student receives a grade of B or higher in the course and a pass in the clinical or practicum component. A failure in the clinical or practicum component results in an automatic failure for the course.
• If a student does not achieve a grade of B or higher on the first attempt of a course, that course can be repeated once. Failure to achieve a grade of B or higher on the second attempt will result in program dismissal.
• Students who earn two grades lower than B will be dismissed from the program.
• Each enrollment beyond the first week of course instruction is considered an attempt, whether the student completes all or part of the course requirements or officially or unofficially withdraws. The only exception to this is if a student takes an LOA (Leave of Absence).  A passing grade at the time of withdrawal, either officially or unofficially, is not considered a successful attempt of the course. Circumstances surrounding a withdrawal request should be discussed with the Associate Dean and Track Director.

Incomplete Grade (INC) Policy

• Students may request this designation if they have not completed course requirements, are in good academic standing, and experiencing circumstances beyond their control at the time of the request.
• A student must enter into a formal contract with the course instructor, at least one week prior to the end of the semester.
• The request must be made in writing by the Professor, using the form available in the Registrar’s Office or for an online course by email.
• The specific due date for completed coursework is specified on the contract. If the INC is not replaced with a formal grade by the date specified on the contract, the INC will automatically become an F.
• A course with a grade of INC prohibits a student from registering for the next requisite course.

Clinical/Practicum Policies

• Clinical/Practicum Policies are found in the Felician University Department of Graduate Nursing Clinical Packet which is specific to each program.

Graduate Student Identification Policy

The admissions process requires the submission of student identification. This government-issued form of identification will be used to verify identity throughout the program.

Student Identification: The Higher Education Act of 2008 requires validation that the person taking a course is the person receiving credit for the course. In order to comply with the Higher Education Act of 2008 the Graduate Nursing Department has instituted the following identification policy.

Graduate Student Identification: To ensure that participants in online instruction and clinical or practicum experiences are the persons receiving credit for completion of the DNP, MSN, or Certificate program requirements, all students shall:

• Be required to submit, as part of the application process, verification of identification in the form of a:
  • Notarized copy of a valid passport (photo page with signature)
  • or
  • Notarized copy of a valid government- issued photo identification
• Be required to produce the original official photo identification, a copy of which was submitted to the program, at certain times during their affiliation with the University. Examples include, but are not limited to, clinical experiences and scholarly project presentation.
• Be asked, at certain times during their affiliation with the University, to participate in student- professor phone conversations, conference calls or virtual face-to-face interaction through such software programs where faculty may verify student identity. These interactions contribute to ID verification.
• It should be noted that graduates who apply for national certifications are required to produce official forms of identification. Successful certification supports the assertion that the identified student has completed the program requirements.

Re–admission Policy

All re-admitted students who were absent from the department (either as official or unofficial withdrawals) for a period of one or more academic years may be required to repeat previously completed courses or complete additional coursework if there have been curriculum changes. The requirements in effect at the time of readmission will apply.

Non–Matriculated Registration Policy

Non-matriculated students will be able to register for courses in the Department of Graduate Nursing with written permission of the Associate Dean after review of all official transcripts. Students may take up to nine credits in this status and must achieve a grade of B or higher in all courses in order to progress. Pre-requisites are required of selected courses. Matriculated students are given registration priority.

Grade Appeal Procedure

Please refer to the procedure outlined in this catalog.

Barbara J. Toscano Nursing Resource and Simulation Center

As part of the teaching program at Felician University, the Barbara J. Toscano Nursing Resource and Simulation Center provides a multifaceted center of learning for all nursing students. The Center has a large, state of the art simulated hospital clinical setting to intensify the learning experience.

The Barbara J. Toscano Nursing Resource and Simulation Center staff assists students with application of simulation technologies and techniques to develop and master skills and achieve clinical competencies. Individual tutoring and workshops further enhance theory comprehension. Hours subject to change.

The Faculty

All courses are taught by Felician University faculty experienced in traditional and online teaching/ learning. The professor acts as a mentor in the course, facilitating the discovery of learning and creating an atmosphere of reflection, collaboration and interaction.

The Curriculum

Online course content is organized in modules with specific deadlines for assignments. The online curriculum is designed to provide maximum dialogue among the participants and the faculty. The sequence in which courses are offered is subject to change. Courses are offered once per academic year in a specific sequence, based on prerequisites.

Failure to follow course sequencing may delay program progression. Theoretical content is delivered via Computer Mediated Instruction using an online format. On-campus intensives and practicum learning experiences are conducted face- to-face and are in addition to online instruction. The student is responsible for identifying a practicum site location and preceptor which must be approved prior to beginning clinical hours. Failure to do so will delay progression.

Course Orientation

All students taking online courses have access to the Brightspace Student Video Tutorials and are expected to review these tutorials, at minimum, at the beginning of the program.

Participation and Attendance

Participation and attendance are measured either in class or online by meeting assignment deadlines, actively participating in class discussions with meaningful comments, questions, ideas, and collaboration with in-class and/or online colleagues in course projects. As internet access is worldwide, travel for work or pleasure does not inhibit meeting deadlines nor constitute a justification for requesting special consideration. If illness, an emergency, or some other serious situation prevents a student from any of the stated activities, the professor must be notified immediately by voicemail or email.

Student Support

Students requiring assistance with the mechaniCS-of the online or hybrid course such as technical requirements, navigation, emailing, and file attachment, to name a few, should consult the Brightspace help function. Students requiring assistance with course content should contact the professor.

Professional Conduct

As a Catholic Franciscan University, Felician values scholarship and truth as integral parts of its academic identity. All students are governed by the regulations and provisions printed in the University Catalog, Student Handbook, and Honor Code.

Cheating, plagiarizing, or otherwise falsifying study results are prohibited. Unacceptable online conduct includes, but is not limited to, postings that are racist, derogatory, inflammatory, condescending, and rude or in any way offensive and will result in a student being denied further access to the course. For all online interactions, students are expected to follow the rules of netiquette.

Tuition Refund Policy

Please refer to the Withdrawal Refund Policy in this catalog for specifics.

Withdrawal

Students may withdraw from a course by the course drop date provided by the institution. The professor must be notified via email (online courses). Drop forms, withdrawal forms, and leave of absence forms must be obtained by contacting the Registrar's Office.

General Email

A Felician University email account is provided to all students at the beginning of coursework. All University-related correspondence is conducted through the Felician University email system. When sending an email, a student should fully identify himself/herself by name and class. Email attachments should be accompanied by a description and the requested action. Students should promptly respond to all faculty communications.

Advisement

Graduate students are assigned an advisor at the time of the initial registration. Your advisor is a key resource who will function as your coach and mentor throughout the graduate program. Please reach out to your advisor if you have questions about the program including registration, program progression, leave of absence request, and change in specialty track. Your advisor is also available to provide guidance and support if you are experiencing difficulty in the program.

Health Clearance

Immediately upon admission to the Degree or Certificate Program students must begin the health clearance process. Please refer to the Student Health Policies in the Felician University Student Handbook. Health clearance may require multiple step immunizations and titers which take several weeks to months to complete. Please contact the Center for Health at 201-559-3559 for more information. Students will not be allowed to take courses with patient contact until all obligations of the health clearance are fully satisfied. Health clearance is required in the following courses: NURS-530 (’20-23 Curriculum), NURS-671, NURS-672, NURS-673, NURS-681, NURS-682, NURS-683, NURS-810, and NURS-815, NURS-699, NURS-684, NURS-685, NURS-686, NURS-674, NURS-675, NURS-676.