GRADING POLICY

The graduate nursing faculty of the joint MSN program subscribe to the following grading scale:

INCOMPLETE GRADES

Incomplete grades must be completed by the end of the following semester.  No one may be cleared for graduation with “I” grades on the record.  Students who have not completed Nurs 800 in the designated semester receive an “IP” grade.  The “IP” grade is removed upon completion of the thesis/project.

GRADE APPEAL POLICY

Disagreements between students and faculty on student rights and academic complaints against faculty members may be dealt with as described in the Clarion University Student Rights, Regulations, and Procedures Handbook, Edinboro’s Student Handbook or the Slippery Rock University Green and White Student Handbook at the respective university of the faculty member.

PROGRESSION POLICY

Students must maintain a “B” average or better in order to remain in good standing.  In addition, FNP students must earn a “B” or higher in each of the program’s clinical courses (NURS 615, 620, 630, 640, and 750) in order to progress in the clinical sequence.

Nursing as a practice discipline has two interrelated components, thus two grades are given for each clinical course (theory and clinical).   In the nursing courses that entail (a) theory, and (b) clinical practice, the student receives two grades in each course.  The theory area is graded on the conventional “A, B, C, D, E,” scale, with any mark below “C” indicating failure.

The clinical experience is graded “Pass/Fail”.   A student is evaluated according to behavioral criteria based on the program and course objectives which must be met in order to receive a passing grade in the clinical experience.

A grade lower than a “B” in the theory component or a failure in the clinical practice experience, or both, in any of the clinical nursing courses listed in this section is regarded as a failure for the entire course and the student must repeat the entire course (theory and clinical).  The student must then receive a “B” or better and/or a “Pass” before being permitted to progress in the other clinical courses or internship.

An unsatisfactory grade in either the theory or the clinical practice experience, or both areas of any of the nursing courses listed in this section is regarded as unsatisfactory for the entire course.