WSU College of Nursing students have entered a profession in which commitment to full participation in the learning environment, including through course-supported learning experiences, is essential. These are defined as any activity designed for students to meet course objectives.
These experiences include, but are not limited to: laboratory sessions, clinical rotations, classroom experiences, simulations, and practicum. Attendance and engagement in scheduled courses and course-supported learning experiences is critical to successful course completion. Absences undermine a student’s ability to attain the necessary competency to meet course objectives and master course content.
Additionally, the Washington State Nursing Commission requires schools of nursing to document clinical hours completed by students. Each clinical course has a minimum clinical hour requirement. The WSU CON is responsible for ensuring that all students who graduate have completed the required programmatic clinical hours. Absences often make that requirement tighter or impossible to meet.
Didactic/Seminar Absences
This policy addresses absences in didactic/seminar experiences. The Pre-Licensure BSN program is approved for live, in-person class modalities. Students must have pre-approved accommodations or arrangements for individual zoom-related activities with didactic experiences.
In the event of an absence, it is the student’s responsibility to notify the faculty member or program director prior to the beginning of the day’s experience. Exceptions to this policy are considered only for unforeseen and catastrophic events. Absences and make-up content will be arranged at the discretion of the course instructor.
Clinical/ Simulation/Laboratory Absences
Clinical attendance includes all related clinical experiences on or off campus, including simulation and lab. This policy addresses absences in clinical, simulation, and laboratory course-supported learning experiences and is applied to each within a single course (e.g., one lab absence and one clinical absence in the course means two absences).
Clinical attendance requirements are more rigid with limited opportunities for make-up days due to the requirements of faculty work assignments and clinical partners to have clinical placements scheduled far in advance of the semester. Absences from clinicalwill result in an evaluation by faculty to determine if the student is able to meet the course outcomes with expected clinical competency. There may not be an opportunity for make-up of absences or competency development within the semester, which will influence the course grade. This may result in a course failure or an incomplete grade.
If a student must miss clinical/simulation/laboratory time due to illness or unforeseen personal emergency, the student must call the clinical instructor (and preceptor if applicable) at least 60 minutes prior to the start of the clinical, lab or simulation day. Notification is to include the date and time of the message, the date and time of the absence, and the emergency circumstances requiring absence from the clinical experience. The school will offer makeup for a maximum of one absence if possible. No makeup will be offered beyond one absence.
• Makeup learning activities are determined and scheduled by faculty. Alternate experiences for the purposes of makeup are at the discretion of the clinical faculty, program director and/or director of experiential learning and are not negotiable.
• Providing makeup for missed course-supported learning activities is at the discretion of the faculty, clinical placement opportunities and in collaboration with the program director. The CON cannot guarantee the availability of makeup opportunities.
Special circumstances will be addressed by the program director and the director of the Center for Student Excellence on a case-by-case basis, and decisions of that circumstance will be given to the student.
Punctuality for Clinical/Simulation/Laboratory
This policy addresses the requirement for punctuality in all clinical settings. Being on time is a professional responsibility and is a component of the College of Nursing PLBSN Technical Standards. Students are considered to be part of the nursing and/or interdisciplinary team. As such, students who are late, interrupt, or delay other students and faculty once the clinical experience has begun cause the loss of valuable clinical time. It is also disruptive to the hospital or CEL staff who expect students to be on time in order to fulfill their clinical responsibilities.
All students are expected to arrive 15 minutes before the start of the scheduled on and off-campus clinical days.
Tardiness is defined as arriving more than 10 minutes late after the designated time for any clinical experience.
Students who are expecting to be tardy for the clinical experience must contact their Clinical Instructor immediately upon learning of the arrival delay and prior to the start of the scheduled clinical experience. Notification includes the date and time of the message, the emergency circumstances leading to the late arrival, and an expected time of arrival. Asking a classmate to inform the instructor that you will be late or absent does NOT constitute proper notification
Students arriving more than 15 minutes late after the designated start time for any clinical experience will be dismissed and a clinical absence recorded. Absences will require makeup as per the clinical absence policy above.
The first time a student is tardy, they will receive a verbal warning from the Clinical Instructor and a review of the punctuality policy. The Faculty Lead will also be notified.
Students with excessive tardiness (more than one episode) will receive a PIP from the Clinical Instructor pertaining to expectations for student behavior and safe practice. The Program Director, Faculty Lead, and Center for Student Excellence will also be notified.
Failure to comply with the action plan, or further episodes of tardiness in the same or other courses, will result in a program level review through the Undergraduate Admissions and Progressions Committee for possible probation or dismissal from the program.
Failure to notify the Clinical Instructor about a possible tardiness episode will result in an immediate PIP. A second episode will result in a meeting with the Program Director and Director of the Center for Student Excellence for discussion of failure to follow the performance improvement plan and a possible course failure. A third episode will result in a program level review through the Undergraduate Admissions and Progressions Committee for possible probation or dismissal from the program.
All tardiness and clinical absences will be documented in the clinical evaluation.
As with absences, special circumstances will be addressed by the program director and the director of the Center for Student Excellence on a case-by-case basis, and decisions of that circumstance will be given to the student.
| Policy Title | Pre-Licensure Attendance Policy |
| Policy Inception Date | 06/2022 |
| Policy Applicable Party | College of Nursing Undergraduate Students |
| Date of Last Change | 07/2023 |
| Responsible Party, Level I (to create and review) | Center for Student Excellence |
| Responsible Party, Level II (to approve) | CON Faculty |
| Responsible Party, Level III (to implement) | Center for Student Excellence |
