Academic Policies – Graduate Nursing

Academic Requirements

In order to maintain continuous enrollment in the program, all graduate students must achieve a “B” in all clinical courses and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 to continue in the sequence and graduate from the program. The end-of-program objectives for which each graduate student is accountable are to:

1. integrate principles of systems theory, natural, biological, physical, and social sciences in advanced nursing practice.
2. analyze client responses to therapeutic interventions.
3. synthesize the nursing process in a manner inclusive of biopsychosocial phenomena and cultural and ethnic variations.
4. synthesize primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention to promote optimal wellness.
5. integrate nursing research methods to improve advanced practice nursing.
6. demonstrate dependent, independent, and interdependent professional behaviors in advanced practice nursing.

Length of Program

Students may elect full or parttime study to complete the degree. Course work may be completed in 1 1/2 calendar years of full-time study. Parttime study is achieved in four academic semesters and two summer sessions. Lecture courses are offered in an evening format. Students must complete all course requirements within a five year time frame counted from entry into the first nursing course.

Deferred Enrollment, Leave of Absence, Withdrawal

Any student accepted into the program who wishes to defer enrollment must write a letter to the Coordinator requesting permission to defer. Permission to defer will be granted for one year beginning at the time of the request. Filing the request in a timely fashion secures a place in the following year’s class.

Once enrolled, a student may request a leave of absence from the University, which, when granted, permits the student to maintain matriculated status although not in attendance and to resume study without applying for readmission. Leave of absence status is ordinarily granted for no more than two semesters.

To be official, this request must be submitted in writing to the Program Coordinator at least one month prior to the beginning of the term for which the leave is sought, unless extenuating circumstances prevail.  It is then sent to the Registrar.  To be official, any withdrawal from a course must be submitted by the student in writing, with authorization by the Program Coordinator, to the Registrar. Students may drop a course within one calendar week after the official opening of the academic term by filing “Drop/Add” forms with the Registrar. When a student officially withdraws from a course during this one-week period, no notation of the withdrawal will appear on the official record. The symbol “W” will be entered on the transcript when the official Withdrawal occurs before two-thirds of the scheduled ses

The symbol “W” will be entered on the transcript when the official Withdrawal occurs before two-thirds of the scheduled sessions of the course have met. Withdrawal without academic penalty may be permitted also, with the concurrence of the Program Coordinator, the Academic Dean, and the instructor, in cases of exceptional circumstances and for serious reasons, when the time for withdrawal has elapsed and an “incomplete” may be inappropriate to the situation. The symbol “WU,” which carries the same penalty as an “F” grade, will be entered on the transcript in the case of unofficial withdrawal, that is, when a student fails to continue to pursue a course for which he/she has been registered and from which official withdrawal has not been authorized.

“Withdrawal from Course” forms are available in the Office of the Program Coordinator. Upon receipt of the completed form, the Registrar will notify the instructor of the course of the student’s official withdrawal. Students who are planning to withdraw from the program as a whole complete an exit interview with the Program Coordinator.

Grading Policy

The evaluation of student achievement in each course is the responsibility of the teaching faculty. Guidelines have been developed by Dominican University describing the quality of performance expected for the various grading categories. Achievement in a course is based on the concrete evidence of the level of mastery demonstrated by the student on formal examinations, participation in class sessions, independent components or other written assignments, written and oral quizzes, and other means of assessment used by instructors. Each faculty member may have a different method of computing grades, and specific methods will be outlined by the course instructor at the beginning of the course and documented in the course syllabus.

The Graduate Nursing Program uses the following uniform grading scale:

GradeUndergraduate % Grading ScaleGraduate % Grading ScaleQuality Points Per Semester Hour of Credit
A(100 - 95)(100 - 95)4.0
A-(94 - 90)(94 - 90)3.7
B+(89 - 87)(89 - 87)3.3
B(86 - 83)(86 - 83)3.0
B-(82 - 80)(82 - 80)2.7
C+(79 - 77)(79 - 77)2.3
C(76 - 73)(76 - 73)2.0
C-(72 - 70)--1.7
D+(69 - 66)--1.3
D(65-60)--1.0
F(Below 60)(Below 73)0
WUFailure due to unauthorized withdrawal.Failure due to unauthorized withdrawal.0
WWithdrawal without penaltyWithdrawal without penalty--
IIncompleteIncomplete--
PPassingPassing--
MPMinimally Passing

In order to maintain continuous enrollment in the program, all graduate students must achieve a B in all clinical nursing courses, and maintain a GPA of 3.00 each semester to continue. Students must complete all course requirements within a five year timeframe from entry into the first nursing course.

Health Requirements

All graduate students must show evidence of an annual physical with up-to-date immunizations and/or titers as required by regulatory agencies. In addition, all graduate students must hold Student Nurse Practitioner malpractice insurance coverage. Information concerning coverage is available in the Office of the Program Coordinator.