ACADEMIC POLICY AND PROCEDURES

EVALUATION SYSTEM

The School establishes its evaluations based on the results of the program theoretical and practical examinations.

CREDENTIALS AWARDED

GRADING SYSTEM

Students must maintain or earn a grade of 70 % or more to complete a program successfully. This grade will be determined by a practical examination (at each evaluation period), test grades, and labs/projects.

Theory, manual skills, and clinical performance work will be graded according to the following scale:

Clinical and laboratory assessments are measured in a pass or fail basis as follows: P: Pass – 100% – 4.0 F: Fail – 0% – 0.0

GRADE ASSIGNMENTS

Theory grades are assigned based on the academic scores of exams administrated and by the assigned projects related to the corresponding theoretical content. Practical grades are assigned based on the student’s ability to apply the theory learned and the practical evaluations.

Clinical Policy

Clinical externships are designed to be instructional in nature by providing students with hands-on experience. Clinical training is a cooperative effort between the school, student, and externship facilities. Students who successfully complete programs courses and receive instructor approval in those programs, which so require, will be placed on clinical externship at local medical/hospital facilities. The school maintains professional malpractice insurance on all students and faculty while at clinical sites.

All students on clinical externship are supervised by approved faculty or clinical onsite personnel. Adequate student supervision is provided at all times. Students may not substitute or replace paid staff members. The clinical Site expects the student to obey all rules and regulations regarding the site and clinical assignment. The clinical site has the right to remove any student who demonstrates disregard for program and/or clinical site policies and procedures.

Some agencies and institutions that accept our students for externship may require criminal and/or personal background checks as well as pre-employment drug testing. Applicants with factors such as prior criminal background or personal bankruptcy, or a positive drug-testing result, may not be considered for positions at some clinical sites and some places of employment.

Clinical Externship Assignment

The School will attempt to assign sites that are within a 75-mile radius of the School and that are convenient for the students, however, this may not always be possible. Based on clinical site availability, students may be required to complete their externships at more than one clinical site. Students who decline two sites may be dismissed from the program. In such an event, the school makes no assurances as to when or if the student will be eligible to return to the program. Based on the availability of externship sites, there may be a brief period between the end of the didactic portion of the program and the date the students begin their externship. Every effort is made to minimize or eliminate any waiting period, however, in the event of such a gap, students are expected to utilize labs and other school facilities as arranged with the Director of Education or Program Director.

Most externship hours are attended during daytime hours as most offices, clinics, and other appropriate clinical sites have daytime hours. Evening students will need to make the necessary arrangements to attend their clinical during these hours.

Prior to beginning their clinical assignments, students must have:

• A current CPR certification that is valid for the length of the clinical rotation.
• Clinical sites may require additional medical information, insurance coverage and/or inoculations for the student to begin their clinical program.
• The student is responsible for any cost associated with these additional requirements.
• A statement of general health signed by a health practitioner.
• A form that includes the medical information required is furnished to the student. The statement must certify that the student’s health does not preclude him/her from working in a health care setting.
• Drug testing and background checks may also be required by clinical sites.

Clinical Disclosure

It is the student’s responsibility to pay for any travel or food expenses during clinical experience.

Clinical Externship Conduct

Clinical externship sites are professional environments where students are expected to conduct themselves in a mature, professional manner appropriate for the workplace. Students are expected to arrive and leave on time and perform in a reliable and responsible manner. Students may not substitute or replace paid staff members. The clinical site expects the student to obey all rules and regulations regarding the site and clinical assignment.

The clinical site has the right to remove any student who demonstrates disregard for program and/or clinical site policies and procedures.

Clinical Attendance Requirements

Students must attend their clinical externship on the days and hours designated by the site. Days or times of clinical externship may not be rearranged without permission from the School’s Clinical Coordinator and the Clinical Site Supervisor. In the event a student will be absent from a clinical site, the student must call the clinical site and the clinical coordinator in advance. If the clinical site or School determines that a student is not reliable for any reason, including absences, the student may be removed from the site and may be dismissed from the program. Students are required to attend 100% of required clinical hours. Scheduled breaks do not apply to students on externship. It is the responsibility of the student to provide the school with a time sheet signed by the clinical site supervisor documenting clinical hours completed for each week no later than Monday of the following week. If a student has missed any clinical time, arrangements for makeup time must be made with the clinical coordinator. Students will not be considered to have completed their clinical externship until the coordinator has certified all required attendance hours.

Dress Code

To promote pride in Palmetto Medical Institute and the chosen profession, students are required to wear appropriate shoes and scrubs. The uniform color is royal blue. Students are responsible for purchasing the required uniforms & stethoscope, cost may range between $20.00 to $70.00 and can be purchased at any retail store.

Policies Regarding Professional Appearance and Presentation

Perfumes, colognes, and body odor:

• Should be avoided, the odor of cologne and perfumes can be nauseating and distressing to someone who is ill,

Hair:

• Avoids hair falling over the shoulders, must be clean, well maintained, and, if below the collar, must be secured.
• Beards and mustaches must be short, trimmed neatly, and clean

Fingernails

• No false fingernails of any type, including acrylics, gels, or wraps
• Nails must be short enough to not be seen over the tips of the fingers

Jewelry

• Earrings: only one small earring in each ear lobe is permitted
• Body Piercing: other than earlobes, may not be visible. Only clear retainers may be used to maintain the piercing while the jewelry is out so as to make the piercing less noticeable.
• Rings: only plain wedding bands are permitted. No rings with stones are permitted due to the potential for the stone to cause injury to the patient or tear through gloves.

Program Duration

Program and courses duration are measured in clock hours.

Clock Hour Definition

One clock hour constitutes 50 minutes of directed, supervised instruction and 10 minutes breaks.

COURSE NUMBERING SYSTEM

Course numbers are based on course codes established by the institution and do not relate to state common course numbering systems. The course numbering system consists of an alpha prefix followed by a digit course number. The Alpha Prefix identifies the academic discipline. The numbers identify the course.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

A Diploma is presented to the student who has:

1. Successfully completed all required course competencies of the enrolled program.
2. Completed attendance requirements.
3. Achieved a minimum grade of 70% on all courses.
4. Fulfilled all monetary obligations to Palmetto Medical Institute.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC POLICY (SAP)

Satisfactory progress is defined by the average attendance and academic progress maintained by the student.

The institution requires that all students enrolled be evaluated academically and attendance-wise in evaluation periods as follows:

Students are required to meet the standards of academic progress that are outlined in the sections below to determine that the standards are met. These standards have multiple components (qualitative and quantitative measurements) that include a minimum cumulative grade point average requirement (CGPA); a minimum successful completion rate based on all clock hours attempted; and a maximum time frame requirement.

SAP – Quantitative Criteria

Students must complete at least 67% of the attempted clock hours of the corresponding evaluation period in order to remain compliance with the institution’s SAP Policy. Clock hour progression will be based on a cumulative total of attempted hours to earned hours. For example, a student that is in a SAP evaluation period of 450 clock hours is required to successfully complete a minimum of 302 clock hours (450 x 67% = 302).

SAP – Qualitative Criteria

Under the qualitative criteria, to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), the student must demonstrate a minimum overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.0 at the end of the SAP evaluation period been considered.

SAP – Evaluation and Academic Probation

A student who fails to establish or maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (fails to meet the SAP Quantitative criteria or SAP Qualitative criteria) will be placed on academic probation and maintain this status of academic probation during the following SAP evaluation period. At the end of the period in which the student is on probation, the student’s overall GPA and clock hours completion percentage will be recalculated. A student will be removed from academic probation only if the student completes the appropriate percentage of coursework and earns a “C” or better in all courses attempted during the corresponding period in which he or she is on academic probation and earns a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.

SAP – Evaluation and Timeframe to Complete (MTF) Policy

The maximum allowable timeframe for students to remain active in a program of enrollment is equal to 150% of the total length of the program.

The maximum timeframe for Palmetto Medical Institute programs is as follows:

A student that reaches a total of hours attempted equal to the program’s maximum timeframe will be automatically withdrawn.

SAP – Appeals

Any student who has been placed on academic probation but who feels that there were mitigating circumstances that caused him or her to fail the SAP standard, may file a written appeal with supporting documentation to the School’s President, who will make the final decision regarding about the student’s appeal within 5 days. If the student’s appeal is granted, the student will be making satisfactory academic progress.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL

Any student who has been academically dismissed will not be considered for readmission to the institution until 6 months have passed. The student will have to reapply for admission, satisfy all admissions criteria in effect at the time, satisfy any outstanding financial obligations to the institution, and retake any failed classes before proceeding to other courses.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

Students must submit work that represents their original words or ideas. Students must make it clear the extent to which external sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source.

The Director of Nursing may expel a student for cheating or plagiarism. No credit will be given for homework that is not the original work product of the submitting student. Students will receive credit only for their own original work. Plagiarism is grounds for dismissal from the institution.

MAKE-UP WORK AND EXAMS

In order for a student to make up a class, lab or a clinical missed prior to finishing and taking the final test, the student shall make arrangements with his/her instructor. The same rule will apply for missed exams and these will be scheduled at the discretion of the Instructor.  Make-up exams are a privilege and not a right.  Students should be in attendance on examination days.

Waiver: If a student has an excused absence, such as a doctor’s note, the make-up work fee may be waived at the discretion of the Director.