Clinicals and Externships

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  1. Nature of policies in this section of the Catalog
    1. The policies in this section pertain to all programs and to all students enrolled in those programs where the program requirements include a clinical rotation or externship. In this policy where the term “externship” is used, it is used as the generic term and is intended to cover all three of these types of academic experiences.
  2. Nature of Clinical and Externship - educational purpose, status of students
    1. Most programs at this College are intended to prepare students for a specific career or profession. Therefore, the externship component of those courses is integral to academic requirements for preparation for the chosen career or profession. The externship closely reflects the student's future working responsibilities. Therefore, a student is required to demonstrate dependability, punctuality, and accountability, which are essential and measurable professional qualities. While at the externship site, the student's status is that of student at the institution. The student is not an employee at the site. Students receiving education at clinical/externship sites may not be permitted to be paid for their time onsite.
  3. Requirements that must be met prior to release to externship
    1. The student must complete the required didactic and lab components of their program as specified in the course requirements and syllabus for that program. This includes having demonstrated competency in, and having passed, skills tests with grades as specified in the syllabus or course requirements.
    2. Students must have a CGPA of at least 2.0 in order to be eligible to be assigned to an externship site, be meeting the terms for satisfactory academic progress, and assuming successful completion of the externship, be able to complete the program within the maximum time frame specified by the SAP policy.
    3. There are a wide range of program and site-specific requirements including, in some programs, mandatory vaccinations, immunizations, background checks, and health insurance. These requirements are disclosed to the student during the enrollment process and the student is required to sign an acknowledgement of the information disclosure.
  4. Agreements
    1. The College maintains current agreements with all entities and locations where the student may be assigned for purposes of meeting the externship component of the program requirements. The standard agreement calls out the responsibilities of the site, the responsibilities of the institution, and the responsibilities of the student.
  5. Site availability, assignment to a site
    1. Students will meet with the externship coordinator or externship instructor during the course preceding any course with an externship component. This meeting will normally take place within 30 days from the day the student is scheduled to start the externship course. The externship instructor will review available sites with the student and select the venue that will best meet educational requirements. Student considerations for distance to travel and availability of transportation will be taken into account where possible. Generally, students are not required to find their own sites, rather they will be assigned to a site with whom the College has an existing relationship. Should the student want to introduce a new site to the College, the College will need to inspect and evaluate the appropriateness of the site and its ability to meet the educational objectives of the externship course module, and to complete an agreement with that site before the student can attend there.
    2. The student will be assigned to a specific venue and will be assigned specific regular hours of attendance that will enable the student to complete the externship within the timeframe specified in the program requirements if the student attends as specified.
    3. Students must be prepared to travel to their externship assignments. The school will attempt to assign sites that are convenient for the student; however, this may not always be possible. Students will be informed by the externship coordinator or instructor if there is state-specific regulation or guidance as to the distance the student is expected to travel. Additional information can be found in the Externship Handbook.
  6. Scheduling
    1. A student must be scheduled to begin externship within 14 calendar days of the end of the student's didactic training (excluding holidays and regularly scheduled breaks). If a student does not begin externship training as scheduled, the student is considered to be absent. If a student does not begin externship training within 10 scheduled externship days of the scheduled start dates, he or she must be terminated (dropped) from the program.
    2. Hours of externships availability
      1. For most programs, students are expected to make themselves available for externship duties between the hours of 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Mondays through Fridays or normal business hours for the site. For most programs, the level of supervision required is not available on nights and weekends so students enrolled in night and weekend classes must plan accordingly. Night and weekend students sign a disclosure that they were made aware of this at the time of enrollment.
      2. Students will be advised if their program requires an exception to this weekday, daytime scheduling of externship hours during the enrollment process and during their study.
    3. Length of day, maximum length of day
      1. In the interests of safety and of effectiveness of the learning experience, a student will normally be expected to be on site at the externship location for between four and eight hours per day, five days a week or according to the site's schedule of business hours.
  7. Attendance, reporting of attendance, notification of intention to be absent, or unexpected absence.
    1. The student must complete 100% of the hours specified in the program outline for externship.
    2. The student must report site attendance to the externship instructor daily. The Registrar will record attendance. A student who does not report attendance risks being in violation of the attendance policy. Violation of the attendance policy could cause the student to be dismissed from the school.
    3. Students are discouraged from being absent during the externship. Students must request prior approval from the site and the externship instructor for anticipated absences. Approval will be given only for extraordinary circumstance such as a death in the family, jury duty, military duty, or similar.
    4. Students must not be late or tardy to their site. Lateness will be counted for attendance purposes at externship sites the same way that lateness to class is accounted for under the College 's attendance policy. A student who is likely to be late must inform the site supervisor as soon as it is safe and feasible to do so.
    5. If more than 20% of the scheduled externship hours are missed, in accordance with the attendance and grading policy, the student will be considered to have failed the course and will be required to retake it when a suitable site becomes available. There may be a charge involved.
    6. In addition, in some programs, the student is required to attend meetings at the College to discuss the progress, the experience, the program, and extern site instructors. Attendance will be taken at these meetings, but it will not count towards hours of attendance for the course or module.
    7. Make-up hours for lateness or absences are difficult to schedule. Make-up hours must be arranged with the site supervisor and externship instructor. Students should understand that make-up hours may not be contiguous to their scheduled end date.
  8. Supervision on site
    1. Supervision
      1. Students will be supervised on site either by a member of the College's staff or by a member of the site's staff. The student will be advised of the supervisor's name and contact information when the site assignment is given.
      2. If the student's supervisor is a member of the site's staff, a member of the College's staff will visit that site at least once during the time the student is assigned there to observe the student firsthand and to obtain feedback from both the student and the on-site supervisor.
    2. Sign-off on attendance
      1. The student's supervisor must sign off on time and reported back to the College. It is the student's responsibility to get the supervisor's signature on his or her timecard.
  9. Safety, confidentiality, professionalism
    1. Students are expected to observe and comply with all site and institutional requirements for safety and preservation of confidentiality. Students are expected to demonstrate professionalism in their interaction with all members of staff and members of the public at the site where they are assigned. Such professionalism includes appropriateness of communications. Allied health students may be required to sign a statement acknowledging confidentiality of patient records and the applicability of HIPAA laws.
  10. Dress code, behavior, conduct, and rights and responsibilities
    1. At all times, the College's policies and code of conduct including all student responsibilities are in force. These policies include the dress code policy, the drugs and alcohol policy, visitor policy, the anti-smoking policy, video and audio recording policy, and termination/expulsion policy.
    2. In addition, each site will advise the student during his or her site orientation of site-specific policies that the student is also required to observe. Violations of the site's policies are considered to be a violation of the College’s policies and discipline will be administered accordingly, up to and including dismissal from the program.
  11. Grading, student performance evaluation
    1. Academic
      1. In order to receive a grade for the course, the site must turn in an evaluation of the student's performance during the time of assignment to the site.
      2. The grade cannot be turned in until all the required hours have been completed.
      3. The site will not assign a grade. The College’s externship instructor will assign the grade based on first-hand observation and input from the site.
      4. The student is required to fill out a survey evaluating the extern site and experience.
    2. If the student has not performed sufficient hours to complete the externship by the scheduled end date, the student's grade for the module will automatically be turned to “Incomplete” and the student will be notified. The Incomplete grade policy will then be invoked. See the Incomplete grade policy.
  12. Program Specific Requirements
    1. There is a wide and extensive array of program specific conditions that a student must meet both in order to be eligible to attend education at an externship site and during the education experience itself. These conditions are often mandated by state regulators or accreditors. The College also specifies conditions in order to maintain uniformity of high standards such that the institution's credentials will be valued in the workplace. These may include vaccinations, immunizations, background checks, drug tests, and other kinds of requirements. Students are informed of these requirements at the time of enrollment. Evidence of compliance is typically requested and must be presented when requested. The program director and externship instructor will meet with students to remind them of such requirements.
    2. In some states and for some programs, the College is required to conduct a federal and/or state background check on the student. As part of that background check, the College will request records about any prior criminal or drug related offenses. For some programs, the student's driving record may also be checked. See program specific requirements.
    3. There are a wide array of site-specific requirements, the most common of which is finger printing or conducting a background check.
  13. Additional sources of information
    1. All students whose programs of study include an externship component are required to attend mandatory orientation held at the institution at least a week prior to their first day on an externship site.
    2. Additional information can also be obtained from the program director or the program's externship instructor.
    3. Any program specific requirements are stated in the program section of this Catalog.