The OSU Graduate School and the College of Nursing share responsibility for monitoring graduate student academic performance and degree completion. University Academic and Professional Standards can be viewed in Section 5 of the Graduate School Handbook.
At the end of each semester, the Graduate Studies Committee reviews the academic progress of graduate students. For students in academic difficulty, the action taken by this committee is governed by two sets of policies – those of the University and those of the College of Nursing.
To be in good academic standing, a student must maintain a graduate cumulative grade-point average (cGPA) of 3.0 or better in all graduate credit courses at OSU and must maintain reasonable progress toward Graduate School and College of Nursing requirements.
Program Level Examinations
Students must successfully complete the relevant required program level examinations in the respective program at the time these examinations occur, i.e., M.S. in Nursing Comprehensive Examination, DNP Professional Examination, and DNE Professional Examination. A student who fails a program-level examination is considered to be making insufficient progress in the program and will be issued an academic progression warning letter from the Graduate School stipulating that the examination must be retaken and passed to re-establish satisfactory progression in the program.
Program-level examinations may be retaken one time only. Students may not progress to any subsequent required program courses or undertake other subsequent program requirements for which the program-level examination is a pre-requisite, until the program-level examination has been successfully completed. Further information on program-level examinations can be found in the Graduate School Handbook in Section 6 (MS Degree) and Section 7 (Doctoral Degrees).
Course Grades & Prerequisites
- A student is making reasonable progress in the program if they receive a B minus (B-) or better in all required courses and the student’s cumulative GPA is 3.0 or above.
- If a grade lower than B- is earned in any required course, students will be required to repeat the course(s), including requisite clinical hours if applicable, with a grade of B minus (B-) or better. Many of the required courses in the College of Nursing are only offered once per year, which may necessitate a leave of absence. Reenrollment after a leave of absence is on a space-available basis.
- A student who has not successfully completed a clinical or immersion course (due to unsafe clinical practice, inability to meet course objectives, clinical competencies, professional competencies or standards, and/or insufficient clinical hours, etc.) is not eligible to progress to the next clinical or immersion course until remediation has been successfully completed. Remediation may not be completed concurrently with any subsequent clinical or immersion Consistent with Graduate School Handbook policy Section G.5, Graduate Bridge Program (GBP) Mechanism, GBP applicants must achieve an overall GPA of at least 3.0 in all coursework taken during the GBP semester in order to be accepted into their applied-for College of Nursing graduate program. College of Nursing Academic Standards and Academic Progression policies apply to students who are enrolled in graduate nursing programs.
- All course prerequisites must be met to progress to subsequent program courses.
- Students are not permitted to participate in Advanced Health Assessment or other clinical or immersion courses until all program compliance requirements have been met.
- Please refer to University policies regarding fees and penalties related to adding and dropping courses during a semester.
Progression & Remediation Policy
Student Success Plan (SSP)
A Student Success Plan (SSP) will be implemented for students who are not meeting (or at risk of not meeting) course objectives, clinical competencies, professional competencies or standards, and/or expectations for professional behavior. Remediation may be necessary to ensure educationally sound processes are in place to assist students in achieving academic and clinical success. The SSP is intended to be supportive of student learning, not punitive. The SSP provides a summary of identified concerns and an individualized plan with a timeline to meet the specified goals for successful course progression. Students are expected to collaborate with faculty in developing the SSP to meet their learning needs.
The faculty of record will determine whether the goals of the SSP have been met. Failure to successfully meet the specified goals of the SSP will result in course failure and result in non-progression. Any behavior(s) resulting in patient safety concerns or loss of clinical/immersion/project implementation placement may not be eligible for an SSP and may result in an immediate course failure. To support continued student success, an SSP may remain active from one clinical, lab or immersion course to the next if deemed appropriate by the specialty track director.
Leave of Absence (LOA)
- Students are expected to complete the program curriculum in a timely and sequential manner. Students needing an LOA from the program for any reason are required to submit an LOA petition to the Graduate Studies Committee (via Beacon). Reasons for LOA may include a non-progression issue or extenuating personal circumstances.
- Students will then need to submit a petition through Beacon to reactivate when seeking to return to the program. Space availability within courses and clinical sites is considered when reviewing petitions for reactivation. If there is no space availability, the petition to reactivate may be denied. The LOA petition and relevant processes can be located here.
- Any time a student does not intend to enroll in classes listed on their curriculum plan, an LOA petition is required for the relevant semester(s). A student who needs an LOA must notify their advisor and the Nursing Graduate Studies Committee (Chair) by submitting the form in Beacon.
- Taking an LOA ensures the time taken off does not count towards the Graduate School five-year completion requirement for the degree.
- The reactivation petition and relevant process can be located here.
Reactivation
A student who has taken a Leave of Absence (LOA) from the College may petition to reactivate into their program of study. The petition will be routed to the specialty track director for the student’s current specialty, if applicable, or the DNE Director as well as the student’s advisor and the College of Nursing Graduate Studies Committee Chairperson. Students reactivating into the program will be held responsible for the policies and curriculum in the handbook for the academic year of reactivation. The reactivation petition and relevant process can be located here.