Students must abide by the College’s Inclement Weather Policy for didactic and lab courses. Note, however, that the Health Sciences Programs have specific requirements and allowances for Clinical Preceptorships. See Policy below
If the College cancels in-person classes due to inclement weather, and students do not attend clinical, any missed time must be made up if feasible (see policy below).
In addition to official college closures, students may determine that travel to their preceptorship assignment is unsafe. In such circumstances,
- Students must request approval from the Dean to be absent from their clinical. This request must be sent prior to the start time of their clinical assignment.
- If approved, the student must notify the instructor/clinical coordinator overseeing the preceptorship course, and the preceptor or clinical site that they will be absent. Notification to the preceptor and instructor/clinical coordinator must also be given prior to the start time of their assignment.
The same procedure must be followed if the student is attending but will arrive late.
If the student is approved to not attend due to inclement weather, or arrives late to their preceptorship, those scheduled hours missed must be made up before the end of the semester.
Any early departure from the clinical site due to inclement weather must be communicated to the preceptor before leaving, and to the Dean and the MCHP instructor/clinical coordinator overseeing the preceptorship course within 24 hours of the early departure.
All time missed as a result of official closure by the college, arriving late, choosing to not attend, or choosing to leave early due to inclement weather must be made up prior to the end of the semester.
Inclement Weather: Clinicals Policy
Purpose of the Policy:
To ensure student safety during inclement weather while maintaining equitable access to clinical hours, including programs with individualized preceptorship schedules.
Policy:
- College or Clinical Site Closure:
When the College or a clinical site officially closes due to weather, all students are excused from clinical. Each program may have its own policy regarding the make-up of hours missed – see individual program handbooks. For those that require hours to be made up, hours missed will be tracked and made up within the academic semester.
- Individual Safety Considerations:
If the College remains open but travel is unsafe in a student’s local area, students must obtain permission from their dean to not attend. If approved, the student must notify their instructor/clinical coordinator and preceptor (if applicable) and be excused without penalty.
- Make-Up of Missed Hours
Students who miss clinical due to inclement weather must coordinate with their preceptor and instructor/clinical coordinator to make up the hours before the end of the semester.
Flexibility may vary depending on site and preceptor availability. If rescheduling is not feasible before the end of the semester it may be necessary to extend the student’s preceptorship. In this case the student will be given an incomplete grade which will delay a student who successfully completes the preceptorship from applying for and scheduling their certification examination.
Notification:
- Students must contact their dean as soon as possible prior to the start of their assigned clinical time if travel is unsafe to request approval to miss their preceptorship assignment.
- If approved, students must notify their course instructor, and preceptor that they cannot attend clinical due to inclement weather.
Documentation and Tracking:
All missed hours and make-up plans will be documented by the student on their clinical time log (if utilized in their program)and will be communicated to their course instructor and/or clinical coordinator. The college will maintain this record to ensure compliance with accreditation and graduation requirements.
Consequences for Failure to Request Approval:
Failure to properly acquire approval from the Dean for missing clinical due to inclement weather will result in the absence being an Unexcused Absence. If this absence causes the student to violate the allowed absences policy the student will be held accountable for that and consequences for violating the policy will be enforced.
Consequences for Failure to Notify Instructor and Preceptor:
Failure to notify the preceptor and the instructor as outlined in this policy will result in the student being placed on an Action Plan. Action Plans contain criteria which the students must meet in order to avoid being dismissed from the program.