a. Graduate students are expected to be on site at the medical center from 8am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday (with the exception of the first 4 weeks when instruction begins at 8:30am and ends at 4pm) unless otherwise indicated by program leadership. This schedule is carefully configured to meet state and national requirements for both clinical and lecture hours.
Three weeks of vacation are built into the schedule. Two weeks occur just prior to the start of spring semesters and one week falls in the middle of spring semester. Graduate students are permitted to take up to 16 hours (or 2 days) of personal time per semester in hourly increments with advance notice. The written request must be made two weeks prior to the requested date/ time and must be made to the program director AND the clinical instructor. Advance notice provides adequate opportunities to schedule make-up experiences. Request forms are provided in the appendix.
Students missing more than 2 days in a row due to illness or other unplanned critical events are required to:
Submit a written explanation as to the program director that includes: the anticipated date of return; a list of missed experiences; and the approved make up schedule for those experiences (clinical instructor approval required).
Submit a doctor’s excuse for absences due to illness for more than 2 consecutive days that provides the date the graduate student is medically cleared to resume normal activity (and return to the program).
In the event of a prolonged absence graduate students must adhere to the leave of absence policies found in the current Graduate Studies Bulletin entitled: Regulations and University Policies Concerning Graduate Studies.
Noncompliance may result in dismissal from the program. A sample evaluation form is provided in the appendix.
Unscheduled absences (those that occur without prior advance notice) will be monitored. Absenteeism and a history of repeated requests to leave early without proper approval will result in remediation and may lead to dismissal from the program.
Graduate students must inform clinical instructors or the program director if they are unable to attend clinical rotations and/or lectures prior to the beginning of the shift. It is the expectation of the department that the graduate student reports their absence directly to a departmental representative. Although it may be helpful to leave a voice mail or send an email, key instructors may not receive the message in a timely fashion. In some cases, instruction to other students may be delayed until everyone is present.
Missed exams must be made up immediately upon the graduate student’s return to the program.
Alerts for program closings due to dangerous travel conditions, power outages, or unexpected utility failures will be made directly to students as soon as the information becomes available.
b. Attendance is mandatory. Students are permitted 2 sick days per semester and must make up practicums and exams within a reasonable time frame when they return to class. In the event that additional days are missed the student must:
- Submit a written explanation within 2 days to the program director explaining the reason for the extended absence that includes an anticipated date of return with an approved (by the appropriate instructor) action plan detailing the makeup schedule for missed practicums and/or exams.
- Submit a doctor’s excuse for absences over 3 consecutive days with written approval to return to normal activities.
- Submit a doctor’s excuse for leave of absences due to a medical condition with a written statement that the student cannot return to the program for medical reasons.
- Students that do not comply with these policies will be placed on academic probation or dismissed from the program at the discretion of the program director.
c. Withdraws from the program will follow the University policy for tuition and fee refunds. The tuition refund policy can be viewed at the following URL: www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/home/forms/refund-schedule.aspx
d. Grades of B- or better are required for satisfactory performance in the graduate program. One grade below B- in any course requires that the program director and graduate student meet to review overall performance to create a documented plan intended to enable that the graduate student successfully completes the graduate program. This plan will be formally submitted to the Office of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) and a copy will be placed in the student’s academic file. A second grade below B- will require that the graduate student meet with the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Program Director to evaluate their standing in the program and may result in disciplinary action per this policy: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/trainee-handbook/policies-benefits/c-or-below-grade-policy.aspx .
A student who receives the grade of C or below (E) in one or more courses will be considered to have an unsatisfactory record and will be automatically placed on academic probation. In the event that satisfactory academic performance does not resume, exclusion (or dismissal) from the program may result. An appeal process is in place. Further information about the academic probation policy and the appeal process is found here: https://www.rochester.edu/college/gradstudies/graduate-handbook/academic/grading.html#academic_probation_policy.
In the event that Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs for the School of Arts and Sciences and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences determines that a student is to be excluded, both the program and the student will be informed in writing (email communication is considered to be “in writing”) within 10 business days of the determination. Similarly, when a decision to exclude a student is made by the program, both the student and Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs for the School of Arts and Sciences and the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences must be informed in writing within 10 business days of the decision. The exclusion (dismissal) notification must include the effective date of the exclusion and a clear statement of the reason(s) for exclusion.
e. Evaluations of student performance are provided an impartial, fair and consistent manner. One on one advisement meetings between the program director and students occur mid semester in fall and spring. The program director is also available for additional meetings at the student’s request. In addition, the program director schedules advisement meetings as needed when a student is identified at risk and in need of advising for academic, behavioral or emotional concerns. One to one advisement meetings between the program director and graduate students are held in a private setting. Records of these meetings are maintained in a confidential manner.
The Care Network is a university resource that offers students support. Students may engage independently or be referred by a member of the university. The CARE Network strives to maintain students’ privacy as much as possible, but when there are instances related to sexual misconduct (Title IX issues) or self-harm/harm to others, CARE staff are mandated to report information to the appropriate campus resources. Care referrals have no impact on the student’s academic standing or records.
The program adheres to the University of Rochester Policy on Confidentiality: www.rochester.edu/policies/policy/confidentiality/.
f. Grade appeals must be submitted in writing with a full explanation of the reason for dispute; a copy of the graded assessment; and references to course materials to support the claim. Appeals will be reviewed by the Medical Director and Program Director. The outcome of the appeals will be returned within 2 weeks of submission of the required documents.
g. As per the University of Rochester Regulations and University Policies Concerning Graduate Studies, academic honesty is taken very seriously and a central responsibility for all students. Suspected breaches are reported to the department chair and associate dean of graduate studies. Claims of academic misconduct will be reviewed by department leadership and if a breach is confirmed will result in penalties. Ignorance of this policy is not considered a valid excuse or defense. The full policy can be viewed at the following URL; on page 19: www.rochester.edu/GradBulletin/PDFbulletin/Regulations.pdf.
h. Should a student drop out of the program and wish to return the following academic year they will need to reapply to the program. If accepted to the program the student will need to pay the going flat tuition rate for the academic year that they are scheduled to return.
i. In the event that the student must retake a course, they will need to pay for the course again at a pro-rated, per credit hour cost.
j. The entire Graduate Education Trainee Handbook is provided at this URL: www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/trainee-handbook.aspx.