Scheduled Clinical Absence
Students should strive to schedule appointments outside of program hours. If it is imperative that the student make an appointment during didactic course time scheduled in the Program, the student should inform their preceptor and dean at least one week in advance of the scheduled absence. A student is allowed one absence from their preceptorship/practicum without penalty but they must ensure the missed time is rescheduled and content is made up within the semester that the course runs, otherwise they will receive an incomplete for the course (See Incomplete Grade Policy in the College-Wide Student Handbook and see Absence Warning Policy).
The students are responsible for notifying their clinical (preceptor/practicum) site in advance of any changes to the schedule and ensure an alternative date/time has been scheduled to make up the clinical time. Students must notify the Dean of any changes to their preceptorship/practicum schedule in advance of the change.
Unscheduled Clinical Absence
An unscheduled absence is defined as an absence from clinical (preceptorship/practicum without one-week prior notification. Students should refrain as much as possible from having an unscheduled absence as this is disruptive of the preceptor’s schedule. As with Scheduled Absences, students are allowed only one absence for the semester (either one scheduled or unscheduled absence, not both) and they must ensure the missed time is rescheduled and content is made up within the semester that the course runs, otherwise they will receive an incomplete for the course (See Incomplete Grade Policy in the College-Wide Student Handbook and see Absence Warning Policy). Each student is responsible for making their own notification of clinical absence. Notification of clinical absence will be directed to the instructor/preceptor overseeing the preceptor/practicum course and the clinical site (if different) before the student's scheduled clinical experience. Students must notify the Dean of any changes to their preceptorship/practicum schedule in advance of the change.
Late Absences in Clinical
Students are expected to be on time for clinical experiences. If the student will be more than five minutes late for a clinical assignment, they will notify the instructor/preceptor overseeing their preceptorship/practicum and the clinical site before the scheduled start time, informing personnel that they will be late. Students will enter the time they arrive and leave their clinical site on the log in their clinical handbook. The clinical preceptor is responsible for signing off on all hours logged. Students who are habitually late will be placed on Absence Warning. Students who are more than 5 minutes late on more than 6 days during their clinical assignment will be placed on Absence Warning and will be in jeopardy of failing the preceptor/practicum course at the discretion of the preceptor and Dean of Health Sciences. See Absence Warning Policy
Unauthorized Clinical Absence
Unauthorized absence results when a student fails to notify the Instructor/Preceptor overseeing their preceptorship/practicum course as required. Per the requirement, students must notify their instructor/preceptor in advance of their inability to report as scheduled for a clinical experience; not doing so results in an unauthorized clinical absence. An Unauthorized Absence will result in the student’s dismissal from the program.
Attendance Tracking:
Student attendance and absences will be tracked to identify trends in poor attendance behavior and infractions of the attendance policies in this handbook. As part of the tracking process, students will enter the time they arrive and leave their clinical site on the log in their clinical handbook. The clinical preceptor is responsible for signing off on all hours logged.
The Dean will speak with any student who begins to develop a pattern of late attendance to develop a plan for improvement. If the attendance pattern does not improve, disciplinary action will be taken. See Absence Warning Policy.
Absence Warning Policy – AHS Program & Pre-DMS Program
Student will be placed on Absence Warning when one of the following occurs:
- The student misses a one lab/clinical class
- The student misses one day in their preceptorship/practicum assignment
- The student is more than 5 minutes late, on more than 6 days of their lab/clinical course and/or preceptorship/practicum assignment.
The Dean of Health Sciences will be notified by the instructor/preceptor when a student has met the criteria for being placed on Absence Warning. The Dean will notify the student that they have been placed on Absence Warning, why, and the student will be referred to the Absence Policy for further information.
Criteria That Must be Met by Students Placed on Absence Warning:
Any student placed on Absence Warning must do the following:
- If they have been placed on Absence Warning due to missing a lab/clinical class or a preceptor/practicum assignment, the student must not miss another lab/clinical class or preceptor/practicum assignment during the semester
- If they have been placed on Absence Warning due being more than 5 minutes late, on more than 6 days of lab/clinical class and/or their preceptor/practicum assignment, the student must not arrive more than 5 minutes late for any remaining days of their lab/clinical course or preceptorship/practicum assignment.
Consequence for Failure to Meet the Criteria for Students Placed on Absence Warning
Failure to meet the above stipulations will result in the student receiving a failing grade for the course.
NOTE: Students having an unauthorized absence at any time in the semester are not placed on Absence Warning as they are immediately dismissed from the program