University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences 2012 – 2013 Student ...

Flex Florida and California Campus• Attendance at special services (e.g. wedding, funeral) for a member of the immediatefamilyPlanned absences must be approved in advance by the Program Coordinator.4. Procedure for excused absences in Flex LabsStudents are strongly encouraged not to miss any portion of any lab. If a student misses more than20% of the total lab hours in a course, the student must repeat the course. In the event of anoccurrence or emergency that necessitates missing any part of a Flex weekend lab, the procedure isas follows:First contact should be the Program Coordinator or Program Manager. If the coordinator ormanager gives approval to proceed, the student next contacts the course online instructor to seekpermission for an excused absence. If the course online instructor approves, the student must thencontact the lab instructor to request approval for the absence. If all three (programcoordinator/manager, online instructor, and lab instructor) agree, the student will be granted anexcused absence. Failure to follow this sequence will result in an unexcused absence which resultsin forfeiture of the right to review with the instructor all or any part of the material. This alsoincludes taking written or practical exams. Unexcused absences are considered to be unprofessionalbehavior which could result in the final course grade being reduced by 5–10% and/or a referral tothe Professional Misconduct Committee.5. Unexcused AbsencesUnexcused absences are considered to be unprofessional behavior. With any unexcused absence,students forfeit the right to review with the instructor, all or any part of the material, including testreviews, covered during that lab session. If a student misses more than 20% of the total lab hours ina course, the student must repeat the course. Students are expected to make travel arrangements thatpermit them to attend the full lab sessions on each scheduled lab weekend. Arriving late or leavingearly for travel is considered unexcused absence except in cases of unavoidable conflicts or whenapproved in advance by the program coordinator.6. TardinessTardiness is defined as being late for lab (even if by one (1) minute), and is also considered to beunprofessional behavior. It is expected that if a student is tardy for any class, the student willapologize to the instructor immediately after that class. If a student is tardy twice (2 times), thestudent will receive a warning letter with a copy of that letter placed in his/her file. A third tardinessand each subsequent tardiness will result in a 5% reduction per tardiness from a final course grade.This represents the University’s minimal standard; individual faculty may outline additionalconsequences in their course syllabi.For absences related to clinical fieldwork/internship or practicum classes, please refer to ClinicalEducation section.Professional BehaviorProfessional behavior is expected on campus at all times. The first incidence of unprofessional behavior(other than absences and tardiness described above) will result in a warning letter to the student with acopy to his/her file. A second incidence will result in a referral to the Professional Misconduct Committeewith a recommendation that the final grade in the course be reduced by 5-10%.Student Attendance at Professional ConferencesAll students are required to attend at least one (1) professional conference during their respectivecurriculum. The value of this required attendance is greater if students wait until they are in the 5 thtrimester or later. Students will notify their program director, program manager, or an assigned facultymember of their intent to attend a particular conference. Due to the nature of the weekend lab sessions,plan to attend a conference that is not scheduled during a regular lab weekend. Students are alsoresponsible for conference costs including registration, hotel, and transportation expenses. Upon theirreturn, students are required to provide proof of attendance at the conference to the Program Coordinatoror Program Manager, or the assigned faculty member.University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences 87