Students must achieve satisfactory academic progress in order to receive federal financial aid. The Financial Aid Office’s satisfactory academic progress standards mirror the academic progress policies of each individual college. A student who is found to not be making academic progress by the college is not eligible for federal financial aid. This rule may also apply to state, institutional, and private funds. For more information refer to the policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress.
The Progress, Promotion and Academic Appeal Policy pertains to full-time as well as part-time students. Promotion is the process by which a student progresses through an academic program and graduates. Promotion and graduation require positive action by the Dean based upon recommendations of each program’s progress and promotion committee. While progress and promotion committees generally act at the end of a term, they can act any time a student is deemed to be making inadequate progress toward degree objectives and/or is demonstrating unacceptable performance in the key areas of personal and professional behavior. Committee recommendations regarding a particular student are based upon input by each faculty member or course director who has teaching responsibility for that student during a given instructional period.
Notification of Student
Any student who is dismissed from a program or placed on probation is notified by secure email (vault.utk.edu) from the Assistant/Associate Dean for Student Affairs. A student placed on probation is given a written statement of conditions that must be met for removal of probation, and the time period allowed. Students in or heading towards distress may be referred to the UTHSC Campus Care Team.
Appeal Process
Reconsideration of Progress and Promotions Committee Decisions
A student has the right to request reconsideration before an ad hoc appeals committee in the event of a negative recommendation. Such a request must be submitted in writing and received by the Dean within five (5) calendar days of receipt of notification of the intended action. The student will meet with the ad hoc committee and may bring any person(s), excluding legal counsel, whom the student believes can contribute to the presentation. When applicable, the ad hoc committee shall meet with the involved faculty member(s). After hearing all persons who appear on behalf of the student AND in support of the action taken by the progress and promotion committee, the committee sends a recommendation for resolution of the appeal along with supporting documentation to the Dean. The Dean will notify the student in writing of the final decision made regarding the appeal. The communication from the Dean will also outline any actions necessary for the student to take (e.g. the terms of probation.).
The ad hoc appeals committee is chaired by the Assistant/Associate Dean for Student Affairs who also appoints the committee composed of faculty from the College. If the original negative recommendation made by the Progress and Promotions Committee is sustained by the Dean, the student has the right of appeal to the Chancellor. Such an appeal must be in writing and received by the Chancellor within five (5) calendar days of receipt of notification from the Dean. The decision by the Chancellor is final.
During the appeal process, a student may continue to participate in classroom activities but will be suspended from clinical activities.
Clinical Activities
All students in the College are required to engage in clinical activities as prescribed by their respective programs and are assigned to these activities during the course of their programs according to the needs of the educational programs, the students and clinical sites. Clinical experiences for health professions students are available both within the Health Science Center and through agreements with many community agencies, public and private. Programs in the College maintain a large number of affiliations with external clinical sites throughout the state and country in order to provide appropriate clinical experiences for their students. Listings of out-of-city sites may be obtained from the appropriate chairman or program director.
Occasionally, a scheduled clinical experience at an external site is unavailable due to circumstances beyond the control of the University; however, because the experience is required for graduation the college programs exercise a number of options and usually successfully substitute one site for another. On rare occasions, such a substitution is not possible and graduation may be temporarily delayed for a student until the required experience can be scheduled by the program and successfully completed by the student. A link for the Supervision of Student on Clinical or Fieldwork Assignment policy can be found at this link
https://uthsc.policymedical.net/policymed/anonymous/docViewer?stoken=de47aa28-16aa-408b-9c96-cb04f232964f&dtoken=0e3d8b24-53f9-49e5-b876-0d71a7bc7867
Readmission Policy
In the event a student is dismissed for academic reasons, eligibility to return without reapplication is determined on a case-by-case basis by each department’s student progress and promotions committee. Factors the committee will consider include academic performance, the amount of time spent away from the program, and the availability of space within the program.
Graduation Requirements
In order to be recommended for a degree in any of the programs offered by the College, a candidate must comply with the following conditions:
- The candidate must present evidence of having satisfactorily completed all prerequisite coursework, if applicable;
- The candidate must complete all required courses of the professional curriculum with a minimum grade point average stipulated by the specific degree program and, in the case of clinical education or field work, at a level of proficiency that is satisfactory to the departmental faculty;
- The candidate must demonstrate professionalism expected of a student in the particular discipline which is acceptable to the faculty;
- The candidate must discharge all financial obligations to the University and affiliated organizations;
- The candidate must meet college residency requirements;
- The candidate must meet the technical standards for the college and the respective program.
- For a baccalaureate degree candidate, the general education competencies (i.e., communication, mathematics, sciences, critical thinking, information literacy, and technology) must be met prior to graduation. Additional information on each of these competencies is presented in the program-specific section of this bulletin.
Attendance at graduation is mandatory for students completing degrees. Those students unable to attend graduation must file a written request with their respective dean to receive a degree in absentia. Permission for receiving a degree in absentia must be granted by the Dean.
Honors
The College of Health Professions (COHP) will designate honors according to the Honors Designation at Graduation Policy.
Licensure and Certification
Federal regulations require UTHSC to notify students regarding whether the completion of the program is sufficient to meet educational requirements for licensure in States. For complete information please see the Student Right to Know page on the UTHSC website (https://www.uthsc.edu/students/consumer-information.php ), under “Educational Requirements for Licensure or Certification by Program by State”. You are also encouraged to consult your state licensing agency directly as requirements may change.
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