IU Indianapolis Campus Bulletin 2024-2025

Policies for the Indiana University School of Nursing Graduate Programs

Student Responsibility
It is a student’s responsibility to familiarize themselves with all School of Nursing graduate program policies, and to remain currently informed throughout their program of study. All provisions of this Bulletin are in effect from the year in which the graduate student enters the nursing program. The Indiana University School of Nursing reserves the right to change the regulations in this Bulletin at any time during the period for which it is in effect, and to add, modify, or withdraw courses at any time.

Residency Requirement for Degree Purposes  
The institution maintains structures or practices that ensure the coherence and quality of the programs for which it awards a degree. All candidates for graduate degrees must complete at least 30 credit hours of gradu­ate work while enrolled on campuses of Indiana University. The residency require­ment must be met on the campus where the degree-granting unit is located. Any variation from the typical minimum must be explained and justified.

• AFS-03 All Students Immunizations
  
  Prior to registration in any clinical course and at the student's expense, every full time or part time, graduate or undergraduate, nursing student must provide proof of vaccinations required for clinical participation or provide documentation of titers proving disease immunity. Any student who has a medical contraindication for receiving an immunization is responsible for contacting their advisor or appropriate person on their campus for further instructions.
• AFS-06 All Students Essential Abilities
  
  The School of Nursing faculty has specified essential abilities (technical standards) critical to the success of students in any core IU nursing program. Students must demonstrate these essential abilities to succeed in their program of study. Qualified applicants are expected to meet all admission criteria and matriculating students are expected to meet all progression criteria, as well as these essential abilities (technical standards) with or without reasonable accommodations.
• AFS-07 Evaluation of MSN Practicum Facilities and Preceptors
  
  The purpose of this policy is to ensure each practicum facility and preceptor (proposed and existing) will be evaluated for appropriateness in providing quality learning experiences to meet course and program outcomes
• AFS-10 All Students Social Networking
  
  The purpose of this policy is to outline the IUSON guidelines for appropriate use of Internet social networking sites by students engaging in online discourse and identifying themselves with IUSON.
• AFS-11 Students with Disabilities
  The School of Nursing must conform to the applicable federal, state and university policies, regulations and definitions regarding students with disabilities.
• AFS-45 Failure to Progress and Dismissal from the Graduate ProgramTo delineate the circumstances constituting and consequences for failure to progress in the Gradute Program in the IU School of Nursing (IUSON).
• AFS-46 MSN Admission
  The objective of this policy is to delineate any criteria for admission and progression that is specific to the MSN program in the School of Nursing.
• AFS-47 National Criminal Background Check for Graduate Students
  A national criminal background check is required of all individuals prior to matriculating into an IUSON graduate degree program and annually thereafter. Students are required to complete an original criminal history from the required national database. No criminal history check will be accepted from any other source. Once admitted, students will submit an updated national criminal background check on an annual basis, and at any time required by a clinical agency or change in their status. Students are responsible for notifying the Assistant Dean for Student Services in the IUSON Center for Academic Affairs on the IU Indianapolis campus within seven (7) working days of any change in their status. Students are financially responsible for obtaining all national criminal background information.
• AFS-48 MSN Course Grade Appeals
  Students have the right to appeal a final course grade assigned by a faculty member. The grounds on which a student may appeal a grade include prejudice, caprice, or other improper conditions such as mechanical error, or assignment of a grade inconsistent with those assigned to other students. Additionally, a student may challenge the reduction of a grade for alleged scholastic dishonesty.  
• AFS-49 Graduate Clock Hours
  Consistency in the interpretation of clock hours per credit hour for graduate students ensures fairness and promotes accurate calculation of clinical practice experience time. 
• AFS-50 Leave of Absence from the Graduate Program 
  Students must maintain continuous enrollment within their designated graduate program track according to an approved written program plan. Students who are unable to maintain continuous enrollment for health or personal reasons may request a leave of absence from the program. 
• AFS-52 Transfer of Credits into the Graduate Program
  Graduate students may request to transfer in graduate credits earned at another institution to satisfy the requirements for their IUSON degree program. Guidelines for the acceptance of graduate credits may vary depending on the graduate degree program in which the student is enrolled.
• AFS-53 Graduate Program Reinstatement Following Dismissal
  A student who has been dismissed from the School of Nursing for academic failure or any other reason may request reinstatement to the graduate program one time.
• AFS-54 Graduate Grades of Incomplete 
  A grade of Incomplete “I” may be assigned to a student who has performed at a satisfactory level during a majority of the course but has not completed all the required work by the end of the term due to extenuating circumstances that the instructor deems would make it unjust to penalize that student for not completing the required work on time.
• AFS-56 PhD Dissertation Format
  PhD in Nursing Science students will follow the guidelines for preparing dissertations set forth in the Indiana University Graduate School Bulletin.
• AFS-57 DNP Admission & Progression
  The objective of this policy is to delineate any criteria for admission and progression that is specific to the DNP program in the School of Nursing.
• AFS-59 PhD Admission & Progression
  The objective of this policy is to delineate any criteria for admission and progression that is specific to the PhD program in the School of Nursing.
• AFS-60 PhD Candidacy Exams
  PhD students in IUSON complete qualifying exams as outlined in the Indiana University Graduate School Bulletin. The exam (1) covers the student’s major subjects, (2) includes the minor subject at the direction of the PhD Advisory Committee, (3) includes a required written and oral component, (4) is completed immediately after the completion of required course work, (5) is successfully completed at least 8 months prior to awarding of the PhD degree, and (6) may be retaken one time if a student is unsuccessful at the first examination. 
• AFS-68 Grading of Graduate Nursing Courses
  Equal intervals will be used for grade distribution in all School of Nursing Graduate Program courses in which percentage based evaluation is employed. The establishment of percentage intervals for use in graduate program courses will ensure consistency in final grade assignment.
• AFS-70 Graduate Preceptor Appointment Policy
  IUSON offers non-paid (volunteer) preceptor appointments to nurses and other health related professionals practicing in advanced roles to provide practicum supervision students completing required practicum experiences. These appointments are school endorsed positions for persons who have expertise useful for the accomplishment of the practicum education of graduate students. Preceptor appointments are not faculty appointments and do not carry a faculty title or rank.
• AFS-72 Graduate Clinical Placement 
  The IU School of Nursing Clinical Placement Office ensures clinical placements for IUSON graduate students.  The director of clinical placement establishes and maintain partnerships with clinical facilities for the purpose of student clinical experiences and assures that clinical site affiliation agreements are current.  Program track coordinators are responsible for assuring appropriate student clinical requirements are met and evaluating preceptor qualifications and clinical sites for ability to support student learning consistent with course objectives.  Preceptor approval must be in alignment with IUSON policy (AFS-07, AFS-70).

Indiana University polices impacting students may be found here. University polices impacting graduate students include, but are not limited to:

• Distinction & Honors
• Cheating & Plagiarism
• English as a Second Language
• Semester Load
• Auditing of Courses
• Withdrawals
• Incomplete (I) Grades
• Deferred Grades
• Addition of Courses/Change of Section
• Cumulative Grade Point Average

Last Updated March 2024