University of Southern Maine

School of Nursing Policies

The following policies are not an all inclusive list; however, they are policies that students need to be aware of to avoid an interruption in progress in their course of studies

Policies affecting ALL students (undergraduate, graduate, RN/BS)

Students must be in compliance with health requirements, health insurance, and CPR certification before starting clinical course work. See CONHP Pre-Clinical Health Requirement webpage for specifics on titers, immunizations, and TB screening. Health insurance must be equal to or better than the health insurance offered through USM Student Health Services. CPR must be professional rescuer level. Students who do not meet these requirements cannot progress to clinical course work: for the Undergraduate students this begins with NUR 213, Fundamentals of Nursing Lab; for the RN/BS student this is for NUR 419, Community Partnership for RNs; for the graduate student this begins with NUR 602, Advanced Health Assessment.

Students must meet the above requirements at least one month prior to the start of the semester or they will have their enrollment cancelled. Those dates are as follows: for fall semester - August 1 st , for spring semester - December 1, for summer session - April 15 th.

Undergraduate Nursing Progression Policies

Nursing majors and nursing candidates must have a 2.75 GPA to enter NUR 212/213 (Nursing Arts and Sciences and Fundamentals of Nursing Lab) or NUR 209/210 (Total Health Assessment and Lab) if neither course was completed by December 2004.

1. Students attain a grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 to enter NUR 212/213 Nursing Arts & Sciences/Fundamentals lab. The 2.75 GPA must be maintained throughout the student's course of studies. Students must enter NUR323/325, Introduction to Adult/Older Adult Health Nursing with one year of taking NUR 212/213 and NUR 209/210 or the course(s) taken more than a year previously will have to be repeated. CON 302. Pharmacology must be taken concurrent or one semester prior to entrance in to NUR 323/325. If taken more than one semester prior, it will have to be repeated.
   
2. Students must maintain the overall GPA of 2.75 throughout their course of studies (GPA of 2.5 if they completed NUR 212/213 or NUR 209/210 by December 2004).
   
3. Students must have a science GPA of 2.67 before starting NUR 323/325. The science GPA is calculated from the grades of Anatomy and Physiology and lab, Pathophysiology, Chemistry (CHY 105/106, CHY 101/103, or equivalents), microbiology and lab, and nutrition. This GPA is calculated on transfer as well as USM courses.
   
4. Once students are accepted as nursing majors or candidates they must take all or all remaining (if some equivalent courses where accepted at transfer) required CON and NUR courses at USM.
   
5. Students must attain a grade of C or higher in all required prerequisites and all CON and NUR courses. (In addition to all CON and NUR required courses students must attain a C grade in the science courses used to calculate the science GPA, English Composition, Introduction Psychology, Introduction to Sociology, Growth and Development, Statistics, and Skills of Analysis (usually Philosophy).
   
6. If a student does not attain a grade of C or higher in a required CON or in a NUR course that course may be repeated one time. It may not be repeated a second time without permission of the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions.
   
7. Students who must repeat a nursing clinical course or its companion theory course (due to a grade below C in a theory course or a failure or a second low pass [see catalog for policy on low pass] in a clinical course) must successfully complete the course with the unsatisfactory grade before they can take other clinical or companion theory courses: This policy applies to the following courses: NUR 323/325, NUR 311/312, NUR 315/316, NUR 330/332, NUR 423/425. Students who have an incomplete in any of the above courses will have their progression stopped until the course is completed.
   
8. Failure in a Partnership course (NUR 339, NUR 341, NUR 439, NUR 326, NUR 327, NUR 327, NUR 328, NUR 436, NUR 437, NUR 538) stops progression in the course of study until a satisfactory grade is achieved.
   
9. The clinical and its companion theory course (the combinations listed above) must be taken concurrently.
   
10. Students must start NUR 323/325 within one year of completing NUR 212/213 and NUR 209/210 or repeat the course/s taken more than one year earlier .
    
11. Pharmacology (CON 302) must be taken one semester prior to or concurrently with NUR 323/325.
    
12. Students must stay with the same Partnership they start in (NUR 339, NUR 436, or NUR 326). If a student chooses to leave one partnership and enroll in a different one, the student will have to start the partnership course sequence over again.
    
13. Students may not take more than 18 credits during fall or spring semester without permission of the Dean. During the summer, students cannot take more than 9 credits in a 7 week course block without permission of the Dean.
    

Graduate Nursing Progression Policies

1. 1. Graduate Nursing students must maintain a GPA of 3.0. If a student's GPA falls below 3.0 the student will be placed on probation and have one semester to attain a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
   
2. Graduate Nursing students must attain a grade of B- or higher in all course work. If a student receives a grade of less than B- in a course, that course may be repeated once. A student who receives less than a B- in more than one course cannot continue in his or her course of study without permission of the Dean.
   
3. A grade below B- in a clinical/seminar course or the companion theory course will stop the student's progression in the program until the course is passed with an acceptable grade. A grade of below C- in a clinical/seminar course will result in dismissal from the University.
   
4. If a student receives below B- in a graduate theory course that has a companion clinical/seminar course, when the theory course is repeated they student must also repeat the clinical/seminar course with a minimum or 8 hours/week of clinical.
   
   

Policies that apply to graduate students in the 2 nd Degree Option Program and RN/MS students.

The following policies are in addition to the graduate nursing student policies 1 - 3.

1. Students in these tracks must receive grades of B- or higher in all required undergraduate CON and NUR courses. The course with less than a B- may be repeated one time, unless the grade is below C- which will result in being dismissed from the program.
   
2. All undergraduate course work must be completed prior to starting the graduate portion of the program.
   
3. Second Degree Option students must receive a minimum of Pass (P) in all undergraduate clinical courses.
   
4. Second Degree Option students who fail NCLEX-RN cannot progress in their course of studies without review by the Graduate Curriculum, Admission, and Advancement Committee and permission of the Dean.
   
   

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