Schools

School of Nursing

Academic Policies for Undergraduate Nursing Programs

Good Standing
In order to remain in good standing, a student must:

  • Maintain a grade of C (2.0) or above in required general education (pre-nursing) courses, with not more than one repeat in any course.
  • Repeat no more than three (3) required general education courses. Of the three (3) courses, no more than two (2) courses may be a science.
  • Maintain a grade of C (2.0) or above in each Nursing major course.

Progression
Progression to the next level of didactic and clinical courses is contingent upon successful completion of the previous semester’s general education, didactic, and clinical courses.

Academic Probation
A student will be placed on academic probation when the semester grade point average is below a 2.0 or when the cumulative grade point average falls below a 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. Academic probation will be removed following the semester in which the cumulative and semester grade point averages are 2.0 or higher.

Continuation in the Program
The internal grade point average (nursing GPA) must be at least 2.0 to enter each semester of the program.

Dismissal
A student will be dismissed from the program when any of the following situations occur:

  1. Failure of more than three (3) required general education courses. Of the three (3) courses, only two (2) failures will be allowed in science coursework. Any grade below C (2.0) is considered failing.
  2. Failure to achieve an internal grade point average (nursing GPA) of 2.0 at the completion of each semester.
  3. Failure to achieve a 2.0 IU semester grade point average in any two consecutive semesters.
  4. Failure to achieve a grade of C (2.0) or above in any two nursing courses on the first attempt.
  5. Failure to achieve a grade of C (2.0) or above in any one nursing course or in one of a co-requisite set of didactic and laboratory (clinical) nursing courses by the second attempt.
  6. Failure to meet probationary stipulations (for example, learning contracts and tutoring sessions) in the semester following the assignment of probation.
  7. Lack of personal integrity, as demonstrated by but not limited to falsification of records and reports, plagiarism, or cheating on an examination, quiz, or any other assignment.
  8. A health condition that has the potential to place the student or patients under his/her care at a safety risk.
  9. Failure to adhere to legal and ethical professional requirements, including, but not limited to confidentiality rules (i.e. HIPAA).

Students who are admitted to the major but fail to register for first semester courses must seek readmission to the program, subject to competitive review.

Any student who has been dismissed from the school has the right to make an appeal according to the guidance in the BSN Student Handbook.

Withdrawal Policies
  1. Withdrawal from a required general education course in the semester indicated in the curriculum design requires approval from the Advising Center for Allied Health and Nursing.
  2. Once admitted to the major, students may have only 2 nursing course withdrawals.
  3. If a student withdraws from any course that has a didactic, clinical or laboratory components, they must withdraw from all the components.
  4. Failure to register in each sequential semester, excluding summer sessions, constitutes withdrawal from the nursing program.
  5. After the date for withdrawal with an automatic ‘W’ has passed, if a student chooses to withdraw from any course the instructor may assign a grade of either W or F, depending upon the level of work to date.

Reinstatement
Students who have interrupted their nursing program for at least 1 semester and wish to return need to adhere to the following procedural steps: (1) submit written notification of their intent to reenter the program to the Nursing and Allied Health Advising Center AND the pre-licensure track assistant dean by March 15 for fall semester, or October 15 for spring semester; and (2) submit current health and safety requirements August 1 for fall semester, or December 1 for spring semester.

All requests for reentry will be evaluated on the basis of the availability of classroom and clinical space. Regardless of the reason for the extended absence, the 6-year rule applies for program completion. Students whose program progression is interrupted will be subject to any curriculum and/or policy changes occurring during the period of interrupted progress.

All students must successfully complete an individualized clinical and math skill competency plan as determined by the Assistant Dean of the Pre-Licensure Track or designee prior to the start of the semester for clinical re-entry/continuation.

Intercampus Transfers
Students in the nursing major who are in good academic standing may seek intercampus transfer by sending a written request to the Advising Center for Allied Health and Nursing. Intercampus transfer requests will be evaluated individually on the basis of student record review. Transfer students must meet or exceed admission qualifications relevant to the class into which transfer is requested. Further, the availability of courses, faculty, and facilities to meet student needs and program objectives will be considered.

Academic Status
Full-time status is given to undergraduate students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours during a regular semester or 6 or more credit hours during a summer term. Enrollment of fewer than 12 credit hours during a regular semester or fewer than 6 during a summer term constitutes part-time status. This may impact the student’s qualification for financial aid.

Auditing of Courses
Students have the option of registering for non-nursing classes on a credit or audit basis. Students who are auditing must officially register for a class and pay the applicable fees. Upon completion, the course is entered on the permanent university transcript as taken for no credit (NC). Required general education courses taken for NC will not apply toward completion of nursing program requirements. Students may not audit any lab or clinical nursing course. The opportunity to audit a didactic nursing course is dependent on the availability of space and demonstration of adequate program progression on the part of the student.

Correspondence/Independent Study Courses
Students must have completed any correspondence/ independent study courses prior to enrollment in the final semester of the program or register for the on-campus course in the final semester.

Prior Learning Credit

Any student, pre-licensure BSN or RN to BSN, may earn up to 15 credits of prior learning credit.  Of these 15 hours, up to 3 credit hours of nursing elective credit may be earned by pre-licensure BSN students, and up to 6 credit hours of nursing elective credit may be earned by RN to BSN students.

The student must provide evidence acceptable to a committee of nursing faculty that such credit is warranted.  For example--a military medic may apply for such credits based on the work she/he did in the field.  For RNs elective credit may be related to work experience--1 credit hour for each 4 continuous years of at least 20 hours/week employment (up to 6 credits) or a national certification (3 credits), etc.  Elective nursing credits do not take the place of required nursing courses.

The remaining credits (up to a total of 15 for previous learning) may come from the student petitioning the school normally responsible for those credits--if the student wants to get credit for a composition course then the student must petition the English Department, etc.  This might be a student who has written copy for a newspaper and can bring their portfolio of work to show the committee in the English Department so they can judge the quality and appropriateness of the work to meet a given course's requirements.  For RN to BSN students, the Assistant Dean of the RN to BSN track will determine appropriateness of all credit requests.

Prior learning credit is based on work or life experience, not on formal education as formal education that has credits associated may be transferred in as appropriate.  Prior learning credits do not include the 35 credits students are granted upon completion of a certain portion of the RN to BSN curriculum.

Determination of Grade Point Average (GPA)
The Cumulative Grade Point Average is a reflection of all work completed at Indiana University. Courses transferred from another institution are not used in calculating this average. The Interim Grade Point Average reflects grades received between the time students are admitted to the nursing major and the time that they actually begin nursing course work. Students must maintain a 2.5 interim GPA, or admission to the major will be revoked. If the admission is revoked, reapplication to the major is required. The Pre-nursing Grade Point Average includes all IU and transfer grades earned in the pre-nursing courses applicable toward the program, including initial and repeat attempts and excluding IU FX’d grades.

Nursing Contact Hours
Theory or didactic course credits are generally arranged on a one-to-one credit/contact hour basis. (For example, a 3-credit-hour course meets three hours per week for 15 weeks.) Clinical laboratory courses are scheduled in a 1-to-3 ratio. (For example, a 2-credit course meets six hours per week for 15 weeks). Additionally, the School of Nursing abides by a 50-minute hour in clinical and lab courses. Some differences may occur in courses with significant online or outside experiential learning.

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