Pictured | Payton Walter | Radiography | Goshen, Indiana (hometown)
Admissions and General Information
Program Application Deadline
Every calendar year, at the beginning of the spring term of their anticipated year of entry into clinical, pre-radiography students apply for the clinical/professional program from February 1 to April 1. (All students must meet specific academic guidelines and criteria to be certified by the department as an eligible candidate for that upcoming year's program.) Applications are available online.
Required Admission Materials
Admission to the Clinical/Professional Program is based upon each applicant’s admission grade point average (AGPA) of the completed preradiography general-education core courses, a math/science grade point average (M/S GPA), campus enrollment status, repeat factor, and a personal statement (essay). A maximum of 20 students are admitted each summer session II.
Admission Rating System
At the conclusion of the spring semester of program application, students in the applicant pool are scored to determine their rank order. The criteria for admission consideration is based on a a 4.0 scale as follows:
- Application GPA (the weighted GPA of all program prerequisite courses): 35% (see addendum)
- Science GPA (the weighted GPA of the program prerequisite science courses): 30% (see addendum)
- Essay (the average of reviewers’ scores): 15%
- Campus Enrollment (the weight assigned to the type of institution where the program prerequisite courses were taken): 5% (see addendum)
- Course Repeat (the weight assigned to the number of program prerequisite courses that were repeated): 15%
Students offered a clinical position within the associate degree program must formally accept or decline admission, in writing, to the program prior to the beginning of the semester to which they are admitted. Students offered a position in the Clinical/Professional Program but decline acceptance or become academically ineligible can reapply to the program the following year. They must compete with the applicant pool for the semester in which they request entrance with no preference or wait listing given. Students have only three opportunities to decline admission in writing prior to losing their eligibility to apply.
Academic Renewal
Volunteer Experience
Although not a requirement, volunteer experience is recommended and is very helpful in making a career choice.
Criminal History Background Checks
Criminal history background checks are required of all applicants to the clinical professional program in compliance with federal and state regulations for individuals in clinical settings and working with patients and individuals who are vulnerable or minors. Licensure is also contingent upon the absence of most felony and some misdemeanor charges.
Clinical agencies require the IU South Bend Radiography Program to report the findings of a positive criminal background check. The agency has the right to refuse the placement of a student at that agency and this may impair progression through the program. (Positive reports will be reviewed by the program director and discussed with the student about implications for progression in the program and credential licensure as well as any impact on clinical placements.) All communication from the IU South Bend Radiography Program to the agency are treated as confidential and any restrictions or changes in clinical placements will be directly communicated to the student by the program director. For additional information, please contact the program director.
Students are responsible for applying for the criminal history background check and all fees associated with the check upon their application for the clinical program. A criminal background check is required every year.
Participation in Clinical Experience
A student may be prohibited from participation in Clinical Experience coursework if they have been convicted of certain crimes. These crimes may include but are not limited to: rape, criminal deviate conduct; exploitation of an endangered child and/or adult; failure to report battery, neglect, or exploitation of an endangered child and/or adult; murder; voluntary manslaughter; and operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI).
A conviction of any of the above crimes at any time during an individual’s life may prohibit them from entering clinical rotations. In addition, if an individual was convicted of involuntary manslaughter; felony battery; a felony offense relating to a controlled substance; or theft within five (5) years before the individual’s start of clinical rotations, the individual may not be able to enter clinical rotations.
Drug Policy
All admitted clinical professional students will be required to have a drug screen prior to attending clinical experience and every year; and it may be required on demand under certain situations at the clinical site. A positive drug screen may result in removal from the clinical site and possible dismissal from the program.
Admission Standards
Students enrolled in the Preradiography or Clinical/Professional Program are subject to academic standards as established by IU South Bend. Failure to maintain these standards could lead to progression issues or dismissal from the program. The standards are explained to students during their initial orientation/advising session.
If students have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. For the hearing impaired, SPRINT provides services at (800) 743-3333. For more information, contact the program director.
Essential Abilities
The IU South Bend Radiography Program has a specified policy that entails essential abilities that are critical to the success of the students in the Clinical/Professional Program. The purpose of this policy is to define the Essential Abilities or Technical Standards that are critical for student success in the Radiography and Medical Imaging Programs. All students enrolled in the program must be able to meet these minimum requirements to participate fully in all aspects of clinical education. Please refer to https://healthscience.iusb.edu/radiography/policies-and-forms.html.
Student Policies and Procedures
Please go to https://healthscience.iusb.edu/programs/index.html for all College of Health Science Policies and Radiography and Medical Imaging Policies.
ARRT Certification Eligibility
Issues addressed by the ARRT Rules of Ethics include convictions, criminal procedures, military court martials, or any matter described as a gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or felony act(s).
Candidates are required to report charges or convictions that have been withheld, deferred, stayed, set aside, suspended, or entered into a pre-trial diversion, or involved a plead of guilty or no contest (nolo contendere). Candidates do not need to report juvenile convictions that were processed in juvenile court, traffic citations that did not involve drugs or alcohol, or offenses that were previously reported to and formally cleared by the ARRT.
Candidates who had any license, registration, or certification denied, revoked, suspended, placed on probation, or subjected to discipline by a regulatory authority or certification board (other than ARRT) must contact the ARRT.
Additionally, candidates for certification are required to disclose any honor code violations that may have occurred while attending any institution of higher education (probation, suspension, or dismissal). If any of these situations apply or if a candidate is uncertain about a potential probable cause (drunk driving, possession of alcohol, possession or use of an illegal substance), they must contact the ARRT at (651) 687-0048 to discuss their particular case. This is to prevent the student from having completed the Associate of Science degree program only to be found ineligible to take the ARRT examination.
Clinical Placements
Admission to the university as a preradiography student, and successful completion of the general-education coursework, does not guarantee admission to the Associate of Science degree program. The number of clinical/professional students admitted each summer session II is dependent upon the number of clinical placements available at affiliated agencies.
Clinical agency sites include
- Beacon Medical Group Ireland Road; and Beacon Medical Group Pediatrics Bristol Street
- Community Hospital of Bremen
- Elkhart General Hospital
- Goshen Hospital
- Kosciusko Community Hospital
- Memorial Hospital
- Memorial Lighthouse Medical Imaging Center
- Saint Joseph Health System—Mishawaka
- Saint Joseph Health System—Plymouth
- Saint Joseph Health System—Medical Imaging Center, South Bend
Withdrawal and Reinstatement
Students in the Associate of Science degree program who withdraw from the Clinical/Professional Program must reapply for admission to the program. Withdrawal from radiography major courses constitutes a disruption in progress and requires that a student seek reinstatement to the program.
Students desiring reinstatement must reapply within a time frame that would allow the student timely completion of the program. A written request must be submitted at least six weeks prior to the term of desired reentry. All requests for reentry are evaluated by the program director on the basis of available resources, and if appropriate, on the satisfactory completion of any conditions and/or recommendations existing at the time of withdrawal. Reinstatement to the IU South Bend Radiography Clinical/Professional Program is not guaranteed.
Awards
The program faculty recommends graduating students with superior academic performance for degrees awarded with distinction. Also each year, an outstanding student is presented the IU South Bend Outstanding Student Award for Clinical Excellence and another student is awarded the IU Academic Excellence Award.
Graduation Requirements
Satisfactory completion of 81+ credit hours, to include 22 credit hours of general education courses and 59 credit hours of clinical/professional courses, must be completed in compliance with the academic and professional policies of the school and individual programs in order to graduate.