In the GEPN, Master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) programs, satisfactory academic progress is defined as a grade of Pass or higher in all required courses. If a student anticipates difficulty in satisfactorily completing course requirements, they should notify their academic adviser. Required courses are defined in each plan of study. These requirements are listed in the YSN Bulletin and on the YSN website. There are three possible actions that may be taken when a student is in academic difficulty: (1) academic notification, (2) academic warning, and (3) academic probation.

ACADEMIC NOTIFICATION

Academic notification is a written statement from the lead faculty of a course to a student to alert them that they are at risk for an academic warning. Academic notifications are prompted when the student is not meeting course requirements. The lead faculty will send copies to the academic adviser and the associate director of student success. Academic notification can be used in all didactic and clinical courses. The academic notification will invite the student to a meeting with the course faculty to develop a plan for success in the course. 

Academic Warning

An academic warning is a written warning of the risk of failure of a clinical or didactic course. It must be provided to the student as soon as course evaluation procedures provide evidence that there is a risk. There is no official cutoff; it is up to the course lead faculty’s discretion to determine whether a student is at risk. The academic warning provides the student notice of the risk of failure. It is a faculty member’s responsibility to maintain ongoing documentation of each student’s progress in courses. In academic courses, documentation of a student’s progress may be evident in written work grades, faculty comments on exams/projects, and faculty notes on classroom participation if that is part of the grade. In clinical practicum, documentation may be evident from clinical objective checklists, comments on progress evaluations, notes about observed practice skills, supervisory sessions, or reports of clinical staff working with the student.

The warning should clearly detail deficit areas including the course objectives the student is at risk of not meeting. The written warning should be discussed and sent to the student with a copy to the program chair, the specialty director or program director, the academic adviser, the associate director of student success, and the associate dean of student life. The faculty member who issued the warning will request a meeting with the student and their adviser. For clinical courses, the meeting may include the faculty member, the student, the academic adviser and, if applicable, the clinical preceptor. A plan should be developed and clearly delineated in the academic warning. This should include the recommendation for self-referral to the YSN Academic Support team for GEPN or M.S.N. students (https://nursing.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Academic%20Success%20Plan_FINAL.PDF).

If multiple academic warnings are received by a student in a semester, there will be an automatic referral to the YSN Academic Support Team and the associate director of student success. Also, an in-depth learning plan will be developed by the faculty of record. The plan may include weekly meetings with faculty, meetings with the specialty director or program chair, and the YSN associate dean of student life. 

Academic Probation

Students who fail a required course may not continue with any academic or clinical course work until notified by the specialty director or program director of their status in the school. The program chair, associate dean of student life, specialty director or program director, course instructor, and the student’s academic adviser will review the student’s case to determine which of the following will occur:

1. The student may be withdrawn from the school.
2. The student may be placed on academic leave of absence and allowed to return to retake the failed course.
3. In rare circumstances, the student may be allowed to continue in the program and retake the failed course at the next available offering. There is a financial risk with this option, particularly if the student does not pass the course the second time and has paid for additional coursework. 

Each course failed is considered one occurrence of academic probation. Students will be allowed to retake a failed course only once. Throughout their enrollment at YSN, students will be dismissed if they are placed on academic probation for the second time.

If the student is allowed to continue in the program, the student will remain on academic probation until the student has successfully completed the failed course. The student will be charged tuition for the course retake. Once the student achieves a grade of pass or higher, the probationary status will be removed, and the student may continue in the program. 

The Financial Aid Office will be notified by the associate dean of student life when academic probation status is assigned to a student.