Policies & Procedures

The University-assigned student email account (@umn.edu account) is the official means of communication from the University and School of Nursing. Check your University-assigned account regularly. Failure to monitor your University-assigned account will not be considered an acceptable or valid excuse for missing important information or course/program deadlines vital to your success in the DNP program. Forwarding your University email to another account risks losing important information; therefore, it is strongly recommended that you do not forward mail from this account. If you do choose to forward email sent to your University email account, you are still responsible for all information, including all attachments.

All students are expected to follow University of Minnesota information technology policies and procedures.

If you wish to use a previously completed graduate level course from another institution to meet the DNP program requirements, you must submit a Course Equivalency Petition with appropriate supporting documentation. Evaluation requests will not be reviewed until a student has accepted an offer of admission to the DNP Program. . Be sure to keep records of approved course equivalency evaluations as they are not reflected on the University of Minnesota transcript.

• Course(s) must be at the graduate level as defined by the institution offering the course
• Objectives of the completed course must be equivalent to the DNP required course
• Course(s) must have been completed within the 5 calendar years prior to the first term of enrollment in the DNP program
• Grades earned in the completed course must abide by Doctor of Nursing Practice Grading Standards.
• Credits related to the DNP Project (NURS 7100, NURS 7102, and NURS 7110) may not be satisfied by courses completed prior to admission to the program.
• For post-baccalaureate DNP students, no more than 40% of the total required credits for the degree may be satisfied through courses taken at an institution other than the University of Minnesota.
• For post-masters DNP students, no more than 10 credits of required DNP courses may be satisfied through courses taken prior to the first term of enrollment in the DNP program.

Students are expected to attend all face-to-face meetings of their courses. Students are expected to negotiate with their employers for time off from work to accommodate class attendance. Students will not be penalized for absence during the semester due to unavoidable or legitimate circumstances. Such circumstances include student illness or hospitalization, cancellation of flights or road closures due to inclement weather, extreme family emergencies, subpoenas, jury duty, military service, bereavement, and religious observances. Such circumstances do not include employment responsibilities, voting in local, state, or national elections, family vacations, attending or presenting at conferences, or avoidable child care problems. Instructors must be notified at the beginning of the term about such planned absences and arrangements made to make up required work. Instructors are not required to accommodate makeup of laboratory experiences or examinations to suit students’ personal convenience or to accommodate situations such as vacations. At the instructor’s discretion, points may be allotted for participation or in-class presentations during face-to-face class meetings and may be denied to students who miss class meetings for reasons other than those listed as legitimate circumstances.

School of Nursing instructors determine and inform students of their own policies and procedures regarding absence from class, laboratory, and examinations. Make-up work is determined at the sole discretion of the instructors, and they are not obligated to afford or arrange practicum make-up times to any student due to student absence unless it is due to one of the circumstances noted above.

Students may request a leave of absence from the University of Minnesota for up to two (2) years. To request a leave of absence, students must contact Alicia George at [email protected] in the Office of Student and Career Advancement Services guidance in the leave of absence process. 

A student will be placed on academic probation if any of the following conditions occurs:

• If either the student’s term or cumulative GPA is below 3.0.

• If two (2) or more unsatisfactory grades, as determined by the Grading Standards, are earned in a N7110 project practicum course.

• If one (1) unsatisfactory grade, as determined by the Grading Standards, is earned in a required course.

A student on academic probation will have a hold placed on the student record and must obtain approval from the Assistant Director of OSCAS/Graduate Programs in order to register for classes or make changes to the existing registration.

An action plan will be developed in collaboration with the Specialty Coordinator, DNP Program Director, and Assistant Director of OSCAS/Graduate Programs specifying the probationary term and requirements that student must meet in order to be removed from academic probation. If you meet the criteria for academic probation, the Assistant Director of OSCAS/Graduate Programs will notify you via email and arrange the planning meeting. The action plan must be in place before the student takes any classes while on academic probation.

A student is subject to dismissal from the program if any of the following conditions exists:

• If the student earns two (2) or more unsatisfactory grades in required courses in the student’s approved plan of study, as determined by the Grading Standards (see exclusions section).

• If the student fails to fulfill the conditions of the probation contract. The dismissal is effective immediately upon violation of the contract.

• If both the student’s term and cumulative GPAs fall below 3.0 at any time during the probation term as defined within the probation contract

• If at any time during the probation term (defined within the probation contract) the student earns an unsatisfactory grade, as determined by the Grading Standards.

Appeal

Students may appeal dismissal decisions in writing to the School of Nursing Graduate Admission & Progression Committee within 10 working days of receipt of the dismissal letter.

Exclusions

Unsatisfactory grades in NURS 7110 are excluded in the determination of dismissal.

In accordance with University policy, an “Incomplete” grade is assigned at the discretion of the course instructor when:

• Due to extraordinary circumstances related to the student (as determined by the instructor);

• the student has successfully completed a substantial portion of the course's work with a passing grade; was prevented from completing the work of the course on time. 

It is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor to discuss the possibility of an incomplete.  The terms for completion of the course must  follow University policy for incomplete grades and documented via the School of Nursing Instructor/Student Incomplete Agreement form.  When the incomplete grade is initiated an online incomplete agreement form is triggered by the University.  Completion of the automatically triggered online form is not required.  

An incomplete grade may impact progression in sequential courses and may result in an academic hold if two or more incomplete grades are present.

The purpose of a Notice of Concern is to facilitate student growth towards achieving program outcomes. When potential or actual problems or concerns are identified, the student and faculty member will develop a plan to resolve the issue. Copies of the notice are given to the student, the course instructor/coordinator, the faculty advisor, the Office of Student and Advancement Services, and the program director. This document does not become part of students’ official University of Minnesota academic record. All notices not resolved in a timely manner or related to scholastic dishonesty will be brought to the Graduate Admissions and Progressions Committee for review. 

The first step of any resolution should be at the lowest unit level, between the parties involved or the parties and an appropriate third party (e.g., other faculty, department chair, administrator). Students may wish to contact the Student Conflict Resolution Center or similar support service for advice and possible mediation. If no informal resolution is reached at the lowest unit level, a student may seek informal resolution at the collegiate level with the other party and higher level administrators. If the issue is not resolved informally, the student may seek formal resolution. The formal resolution policy and procedure is outlined on the U of MN Policy website. 

The University of Minnesota has established policies regarding privacy and access to student educational records. The School of Nursing adheres to these policies, which can be found at http://policy.umn.edu. You may review your file in the Office of Student and Career Advancement Services by appointment. Although you may review the information contained in the file, you may not copy or remove it. Requests made to the Office of Student and Career Advancement Services to send copies of previously submitted documents such as transcripts or references to other agencies or universities are usually not granted. Students are expected to maintain their own records and to contact the primary document source for additional records should the need arise.