DNP and MN Handbook 2025-2026

Welcome to the College of Nursing (CON) at Washington State University (WSU)! We are delighted that you have joined our College as a professional graduate student. Our goal is to train tomorrow’s nurses who are compassionate caregivers, excellent leaders, nurse scientists, and nurse educators who make valuable and lasting contributions in their communities. To achieve this goal, the College of Nursing programs are rigorous but student-focused, technologically enhanced, and personalized. You will be challenged, but also nurtured, to develop professional nursing competencies expected for your degree level.

The policies and procedures in this handbook are for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Master of Nursing (MN) professional programs. They have been officially approved by our program leadership. Failure to follow these policies and observe the degree requirements inevitably results in complications and could delay or jeopardize completion of your degree.

Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with and following the guidelines in all sources. The CON will aid students in understanding the rules and regulations in these documents but ultimately, responsibility for compliance rests with each student. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to your staff coordinator or faculty advisor.

Specific forms, websites, and other materials described herein or included are subject to modification. As forms are updated, they will be made available to students. While students should rely on this handbook in planning their program, in the unlikely event that language contained herein conflicts with WSU policies and procedures, the policies outlined in this handbook are subservient to those outlined by Washington State University or updated policies on the CON website.

Lastly, a glossary is available at the end of this document.

Welcome to WSU! Go Cougs!

–The Team in the Center for Student Excellence

revised 02/20/2026

Table of Contents

• SECTION I: ORGANIZATION
• SECTION II: PROGRAMS
• SECTION III: Support & ADMISSION
• SECTION IV: PROGRESSION & DISMISSAL
  • Grading Policy
  • Satisfactory Program Progression
  • Unsatisfactory Student Performance
  • Program Progression
  • Graduate Progression Appeal Process
  • Dismissal
  • Repeat Coursework
  • Readmission to the College of Nursing Program
• SECTION V: Academic Policies & Procedures
  • University Policies
  • College of Nursing Policies
• SECTION VI: Standards of Conduct for Students
  • Academic Grievance Procedure
• SECTION VII: CLINICAL POLICIES
  • Vaccine and Clinical Requirements – DNP and MN
  • Confidentiality of Patient Records
  • Medication Administration
  • Travel Related to Clinical Placements
  • Clinical Site Requirements
  • Clinical/Practicum Hours
  • Clinical Systems Management
  • Clinical Faculty and NP Clinical Evaluator
  • Required Documentation and Progression
  • Drug Screening Policy
  • Annual Passport Requirements
  • Technical Standards
• SECTION VIII: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
  • General Information
  • Safety Information
• SECTION IX: APPENDICES
  • MN: Master’s Thesis/Clinical Research Project
  • Summary of Thesis and Clinical Project Options
• SECTION X: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
  • Glossary

SECTION I: ORGANIZATION

The WSU College of Nursing (CON) Master’s degree in Nursing (MN) and the WSU College of Nursing (CON) Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the Washington State Board of Nursing.

Students are encouraged to review the College of Nursing Mission, Vision, and Values as well as the College’s information on our commitment to community engagement.

WSU does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, creed, genetic information, marital status, protected veteran/military status, or immigration or citizenship status in any education program or activity that it operates complaint with Title IX and other civil rights laws and regulations. Inquiries regarding Title IX, ADA, or other civil rights laws, as well as reports of discrimination can be directed to the Compliance and Civil Rights, WSU ADA Coordinator, or WSU Title IX Coordinator. More information on WSU’s policies and procedures to respond to discrimination and harassment are available here: Nondiscrimination statement. 

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SECTION II: PROGRAMS

The College of Nursing programs that relate to this handbook are below. All program outcomes are developed based on national standards for master and doctoral education. Information on program outcomes, requirements, and additional details can be found on each program’s linked website.

Master of Nursing (MN)

The Master of Nursing program is designed for licensed RNs who have a bachelor’s degree in nursing  and wish to go on for a master’s degree in nursing with specialization in Clinical Systems Leadership or Nurse Education. The program is considered “hybrid” with most of the instruction offered online, some required attendance of scheduled classroom time over Zoom, and some non-lecture practice hours. Zoom class sessions are typically block-scheduled so that students can attend each of their courses in a 1–2-day block (for example, class sessions might be scheduled August 21 and 22, though some courses require non-lecture practice hours that are scheduled separately from the typical block scheduling).

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program is designed for licensed RNs with a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in nursing who wish to earn a doctorate in nursing practice. Nurses with a DNP possess expertise in theory, practice, and leadership. Students must choose one of the options of specialty tracks: family nurse practitioner, psychiatric mental health practitioner, or general. The program is considered “hybrid” with most of the instruction offered online, and some required attendance of scheduled classroom time on the student’s campus of registration. In-person class sessions are typically block-scheduled so that students can attend their courses in a 1–2-day block of time. Required lab intensives are scheduled separately from the typical block scheduling and students attend these at the campus where they are admitted/registered. Clinical training in contracted facilities is required. Students will be placed in agencies where the best and most appropriate training can occur with qualified preceptors. Students may recommend placements or preceptors to program leadership and College staff for consideration.

DNP-Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Track

The DNP-FNP program is designed to prepare the student for a career in primary care. In many states, FNP practitioners have full practice authority. The FNP may assess patients, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and diagnose and manage health problems (including the prescribing of medication). FNPs promote health and wellness through patient education and empowerment.

Graduates of the DNP-FNP program may take the Family Nurse Practitioner certification examination offered by either the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board to become certified and then state licensed.

DNP-Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Track

The DNP-PMHNP program is designed to prepare the student for a career in specialty care. In many states, PMHNP practitioners have full practice authority. The PMHNP may assess patients, order and interpret diagnostic tests within scope, and diagnose and manage psychiatric-mental health problems and disorders.

Graduates of the DNP-PMHNP program are eligible to take the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner examination offered by either the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board to become certified and then state licensed.

DNP Post-Master’s, General

The DNP Post-Master’s General program is available to nurses with an advanced practice NP master’s degree who want to earn their DNP. It is focused on evidence-based practice, leadership, and research.

Graduate Certificates

The CON offers 2 certificates: Nursing Education and Nursing Leadership. Many students opt to add in these certificates to their progression plan. Please talk to your Academic Coordinator if you are interested in adding a certificate.

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SECTION III: SUPPORT & ADMISSION

Admitted graduate students will be supported by Academic Coordinators, Student Success Coaches, and faculty advisors. The Center for Student Excellence (CSE) Coordinators and Coaches help students by:

• Referring students to appropriate resources and opportunities
• Facilitating safe and private spaces for advising/coaching, including spaces where a student otherwise does not know with whom to speak or where to start
• Collaborating with faculty advisors by referring students to them for theory or clinical concerns

Academic Coordinators support students with:

• Creating progression plans and facilitating degree verifications
• Providing registration guidance each term, including course and section numbers
• Applying and removing advising holds
• Guiding processes and policies, including that for onboarding and admission to programs

Student Success Coaches support students who want to become stronger learners. Whether students are facing specific learning challenges, or they just want to sharpen their strategies, coaches support students with:

Student Success Coaches support students who want to become stronger learners. Whether students are facing specific learning challenges, or they just want to sharpen their strategies, coaches support students with:

• Learning strategies
• Time management
• Test-taking skills
• Health and wellness tips
• Peer mentorship connections and opportunities

Faculty support for graduate students includes:

Advanced Practice and Community-Based Care Department Chair

This Department Chair oversees all graduate professional programs (MN and DNP).  

Program Director

Program Directors are College of Nursing faculty members overseeing a graduate program.

Faculty Advisor

Each graduate student registered for classes is assigned a graduate faculty advisor. These assignments are made by the end of the first Fall semester by the Academic Coordinator in conjunction with the Department Chair, relevant to each student’s progression plan.

Students are encouraged to maintain regular contact with their faculty and consult with them frequently regarding matters related to the academic program and professional development. It is required that students meet with their faculty advisor each Spring to complete the Annual Review document by the identified due date. Information is sent out to students in advance each Spring semester.

The faculty advisor’s responsibilities in relation to each graduate advisee are to:

1. Be acquainted with the student’s interests/needs
2. Sign any change of status forms
3. Be informed about the student’s progress in the program
4. Counsel regarding academic questions or problems
5. Counsel regarding workload and course requirements to achieve a successful academic outcome

Faculty advisors are not to recommend changes to the progression plan or changes related to progression/enrollment. Those changes are overseen by the Academic Coordinator.

Deferral of Admission

Applicants accepted to the MN or DNP program must matriculate in the semester in which they are accepted; however, rare circumstances may emerge that result in a deferral decision. Details about that process can be found here. 

Provisional Admission

Please note that admission offers to the CON are provisional and dependent upon the applicant completing all requirements by the necessary deadline. For example, even if a student was provided with an admission letter, if they did not complete the required compliance items (such as immunization or training modules) by the required deadline, their admissions offer may be rescinded. They must also complete all prerequisite course requirements with minimum grades by the time they start the program. Review the guiding procedure.

Transferring Credits

Students who have graduate course credits from other graduate programs or institutions may request to transfer those credits into the MN or DNP program. Students from online-only graduate programs may still have their credits evaluated. Please note that specialty, track-specific hours for practicum may need to be taken regardless of other credit hours that are accepted.

Those transferable credits are reviewed by the Program Director in collaboration with the faculty member of the potentially-substituted course. They ensure the previous course meets the equivalency of the required WSU course. No more than 50% of the program can be transferred. To be considered, students must have earned a minimum grade of B, the course credit must be equivalent to the WSU course that would be waived or substituted, and the course must have been taken within 10-years of the time of when the substituted course would occur, if approved. For example, if a course was going to be used for NURS_ADV 987 and that was planned in Fall 2027 for a student, the course must be from Fall 2017 or later.

Please note that for the DNP program transferred hours must be from a post-licensure program and from a Nursing program specifically. For example, hours from a MEPN-type program (Master’s Entry Program in Nursing)or from a residency in medicine are not eligible.

Students should contact their Academic Coordinator to start the evaluation process. They must prepare a letter of request alongside the course syllabus. From there, the Program Director will evaluate the transfer request. If approved, Coordinators will make an adjustment in the student’s academic record to indicate that the transfer request was approved.

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SECTION IV: PROGRESSION & DISMISSAL

Academic Regulation 53 allows programs to “provide students with a specific pathway to the degree that outlines major requirements (for example, grade point average, completion of specific courses) that students must achieve.” Details about this are as follows:

Good Standing

In addition to WSU definitions of good standing (student resolved any acts of academic or behavioral misconduct and complied with all sanctions imposed as a result of the misconduct) the CON has additional major requirements:

• MN good standing also requires a Nursing GPA above 3.0, and that the student is not currently under academic sanctions or probation, and is not repeating a course or addressing a failed course. The student must also be fully compliant with all WSU & CON compliance and immunization requirements.
• DNP good standing also requires a Nursing GPA above 3.0, and that the student is not currently under academic sanctions or probation, and is not repeating a course or addressing a failed course. The student must also be fully compliant with all WSU & CON compliance and immunization requirements.

Grading Policy

The CON applies a grading scale as outlined by WSU Academic Regulations.

Please peruse the above resources for all potential grade options. Note that for incomplete grades, students receiving that grade will receive a copy of the Instructor’s Incomplete Grade Agreement. This document is generated through the College of Nursing by the faculty of record for a course. It will outline the reasons for the Incomplete, the work which must be completed for the student to receive a grade, and the date by which the work must be submitted before the grade defaults to a failing grade.

The CON does not count WSU-given Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) grades towards program requirement total credits.

Satisfactory Program Progression

Minimum GPA

The College of Nursing requires graduate students to have a 3.0 minimum GPA. For most graduate students, the minimum grade that can be accepted for credit is a C (73%) and any student who obtains less than a C (<73%) in a course must repeat that course. Note the exception of DNP Project courses (NURS 557, NURS 558, and NURS 559) which require a minimum grade of B (83%).

Time Limits & Considerations

Maximum time allowed for completion begins from the earliest course listed that applies toward the degree.

MN progression plan options are 1 or 2 years. The Graduate School at WSU identifies all masters degree completion must occur within 6 years from time of admission.

DNP progression plan options are 3 or 4 years, and DNP students must complete their degree within 7 years from time of admission. Additionally, once students have started their DNP project they must continue in consecutive semesters. Please note that state licensing boards may require recent education on certain topics, such as pharmacology, and completing a degree in a longer time than the default progression plan timing may cause issues. Students may require a repeat of content or additional education for their licensure.   

A student must register according to the required courses in the agreed upon progression plan and stay consecutively enrolled in each term (Fall, Spring, Summer), unless on an approved leave of absence with the CON. Most graduate courses in the CON are only offered once per year.

Progression Plan

Each student is provided with a progression plan upon completion of the required orientation and completion of onboarding requirements. Students must follow their progression plan and remain with their admitted campus. If a student needs to change their plan or campus and wants to explore an alternate plan, they must contact their Academic Coordinator. 

Students who need to move from their initial, admitted campus to another campus must inform their Academic Coordinator and the Program Director immediately. A change in campus may not be possible as it is subject to space available at the campus. Additionally, students who are considering moving out of state, especially out of Washington, Oregon or Idaho, should immediately discuss these plans with the Academic Coordinator and Program Director. It may not be possible to complete the WSU program.  

A leave of absence (LOA) is available to those students who must be away from active enrollment for one or more semesters and have successfully completed at least one semester of study. The LOA has a time limit of one year. Students who wish to request graduate leave must contact their Academic Coordinator to start the process. Per WSU policy, official leaves of absence, internship leave status, and absences not approved under this policy are included in the time limits to complete a degree. Please note that some courses may only be offered yearly, which will necessitate leave for a full year.

Students who have resigned from the CON; who fail to maintain continuous enrollment status; whose official leave of absence status has expired; or whose time limit for completing the degree has expired must fully reapply for admission to the CON. Such students must pay the non-refundable application fees. Readmission is not guaranteed, and there may be additional requirements or courses that must be retaken to meet licensing needs.  

Unsatisfactory Student Performance

Students who are not meeting a course’s expectations are given formal notice through a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) form. On the form, the instructor discusses the issue or concern, identifies the objective(s) the student is not achieving, and develops the recommended actions the student should take to resolve the issue. Students may need to make appointments to meet those recommended actions, and students must comply with the plan of action described on the PIP form. Students are required to discuss PIPs during their annual review with their faculty advisor.

Furthermore, if a student’s performance in a clinical course is determined by a faculty member, the preceptor, or interdisciplinary preceptor, to be unsafe, the student may be sent home from clinical. The preceptor or interdisciplinary preceptor will contact the clinical faculty evaluator as soon as possible. The student is also expected to contact their clinical faculty evaluator and course faculty as soon as this occurs. The student may receive a PIP and a remediation plan and due date. A second incident will result in course failure and probationary status, plus meeting with the Program Director. A third incident will result in immediate suspension from the program and a meeting with ADV-CAP (Advanced Practice- Curriculum, Admissions, and Progression Committee) to determine if the student will be able to continue.

If the unsafe incident meets the standard of the critical incident report, “events involving a student or faculty member that the program has reason to believe resulted in patient harm, an unreasonable risk of patient harm, or diversion of legend drugs or controlled substances”, a report will be made to the Board of Nursing on the College website. The incident will be reviewed to determine if further action is needed, including dismissal from the program. Information on incident reports is found in Section VIII of this handbook.

The CON is committed to ensuring nursing students are compliant with college and additional requirements mandated by the university and WSU Health Sciences affiliation agreements (AAs). All nursing students are required to adhere to college and facility compliance requirements while enrolled as part of their professional responsibility for patient safety. The CON utilizes the CastleBranch system for students to upload and track requirement documentation. CastleBranch will be discussed in detail in Section VII. A student is considered compliant if all documentation in their CastleBranch account is considered “Complete”, however, in some cases CastleBranch will identify requirements as “incomplete” if they are due in the next 30 days. This is an early warning system for students, but they are still considered compliant.  Students who fall into “Overdue” or “Rejected” status for one or more requirements are considered out of compliance/non-compliant. “Incomplete” statuses may also be considered out of compliance/non-compliant if no documentation was uploaded for the requirement previously. Clinical Affairs staff review student compliance status twice a month. Consequences of noncompliant status are detailed in Section VII.

Students who demonstrate patterns of non-compliant status (twice in one semester or third time or more in their entire program) will receive a PIP and will be required to meet with their associated program director.

Program Progression

Students who do not complete a required nursing course satisfactorily (receive a grade of Incomplete, 72% or less, Failure, or a Withdrawal) are not eligible to progress. This necessitates students repeating the course in its entirety, with some potential exceptions for I grades.

Students may need to appeal to the ADV-CAP committee to gain permission to repeat a course that they did not complete satisfactorily. Appeal needs will vary based on the context of the course:

Does not meet with ADV-CAP:

• A student who takes an incomplete grade. The Program Director will inform ADV-CAP of this grade and ADV-CAP may decide that they do not need to meet with the student.

Meets with ADV-CAP:

• A student who had any concerns related to academic, clinical, or integrity issues.
• A student who does not pass a course, even if that is their first failure.
• A student who withdraws from two or more courses with a “W” grade on their transcript.

To petition to continue, students must adhere to the Graduate Progression Appeal Process outlined below. The ADV-CAP committee is the governance body that reviews those requests. As a program in the professional College of Nursing, students may not register for subsequent courses under the assumption that their petition, nor any official course grievances, will be upheld. 

Graduate Progression Appeal Process

The ADV-CAP committee at the College of Nursing is tasked with acting on matters related to academic progression, academic issues, and the reinstatement of graduate students. The committee reviews each student who appeals through the below process:

1. The student should contact their Academic Coordinator to review the appeal process and make an alternate plan of study if necessary. Coordinators are available to review readability of the progression letter.
2. The student will create a progression letter to the ADV-CAP Committee. That letter should include:
   • course(s) for which they received an unsatisfactory grade. 
   • a statement providing a perspective of why they did not receive a passing grade.
   • their plan of action to be successful if recommended to continue.
   • any other information they would like the CAP committee to know.
3. This letter should be submitted to their Academic Coordinator by the day prior to the scheduled ADV-CAP meeting.
4. The ADV-CAP Committee will weigh all input and communicate their decision as a recommendation to the Program Director. The Program Director will send their final decision to the student.

The ADV-CAP committee will use a student’s record, including grades, progression reports, and current University standings (such as academic integrity and code of conduct violations) when reviewing a student’s request for readmission. ADV-CAP will then pass their recommendation regarding readmission to the Program Director. The administrative decision, based on ADV-CAP recommendations and student documentation, will be emailed to the student’s WSU email address within one week of the ADV-CAP committee meeting.

Program Director decisions may include:

• Allowing the student to progress as usual.
• Allowing the student to progress while on probation.
  • Per Academic Regulation 53, the student may be allowed conditional continuation to be remediated and meet the minimum departmental requirements. Probation allows the student to continue to progress in the program, but may require appropriate meetings, skill tests, trainings, etc. Conditions of the probation will be delivered to the student in the same email with the decision. Students will be responsible for any costs associated with probationary requirements and will not be considered in good standing while on probation.
• Allowing the student to repeat the course(s) which they did not complete satisfactorily.
  • Per Academic Regulation 53, the student may be given additional conditional requirements in order to meet minimum department requirements during their repeat of the course(s). If this happens, the student will have to successfully meet requirements of the course(s) and any potential additional conditional requirements in order to progress successfully.
• Not allowing the student to repeat the course(s) which they did not complete satisfactorily. Since this will mean they cannot progress, this ultimately leads to a dismissal decision from that program.
  • Per Academic Regulation 53, students are eligible to reapply to the program once all departmental requirements and admission requirements are met
• Dismissal recommendation from WSU itself, such as for a conduct issue.
  • Per Academic Regulation 39, students who are dismissed for conduct issues will go through the WSU university process. Anyone dismissed from the university itself must wait a minimum of two full semesters (fall/spring, spring/fall) to re-enroll for courses offered through any WSU campus. 

Dismissal

The principal conditions for continued registration/enrollment of a student are: the timely and satisfactory completion of the university and degree program requirements; continuing to meet the technical standards of the program; fulfillment of minimum progress requirements; and meeting standards of professional behavior. The guidelines that follow specify procedures for dismissal of students who are not meeting these conditions.

A student will be recommended for dismissal from the programshould they fail to adhere to the regulations and policies set forth in this handbook and WSU regulation. Reasons for dismissal include, but are not limited to, the following conditions for the student:

• Failing to maintain minimum GPA requirements
• Failing to maintain satisfactory enrollment due to excessive leave of absences, incompletes, withdraws, or otherwise exceeding the maximum allowable time frame
• Failing to maintain Clinical Passport compliance related to admission, continuous enrollment, or other requirements from Clinical Affairs
• Engaging in a pattern of professional misconduct or a single serious incident of misconduct including unsafe clinical practice.
• Failing to meet the technical standards of the program
• Being on Academic Probation and not meeting probationary requirements, such as not completing the probationary plan.
• Not adhering to WSU policies as detailed in the Student Handbook for Community Standards. Those include:
  • Alcohol and drug policy compliance
  • Harm (or potential harm) to others
  • Sex & gender-based violence or harassment
  • Academic Integrity (cheating, plagiarism, fraud, etc.) violations
  • Patterns of clinical placement concerns or a single egregious concern (i.e. a background check failure, failure to report change in criminal status within required timeline)
  • Other violations (theft, trespassing, hazing, etc.)

The Program Director will meet with the student to review concerns and documentation prior to requesting dismissal.

If dismissal is requested, the Program Director will inform the student in writing via email. A copy will be included in the student’s file.

If dismissal is not requested, the Program Director will provide the student with a written warning via email and include a copy in the student’s file. The student may also be required to complete mandatory remediation prior to returning to the classroom or clinical site. The Program Director will work with the Department Chair to discuss the remediation plan, resources requirements, and other parameters. Remediation may include, but is not limited to, additional skills assessment, writing a paper, giving a presentation on an assigned topic, etc.

Repeat Coursework

Students are not allowed to repeat courses in which they receive a final grade of C or higher. Students needing to repeat a course with an unsatisfactory grade must follow the ADV-CAP process above.

Students who are allowed to repeat the course(s) in which they failed should work with an Academic Coordinator to identify the appropriate progression plan. They may not be able to enroll immediately in the subsequent semester; there must be room to take them in the course.

If a student needs to repeat a course that has a co-requisite, and also needs to repeat that co-requisite (i.e. they withdrew from both courses, or failed both courses), the student must repeat them both at the same time.

If a student needs to repeat a course that has a co-requisite, but they successfully completed the other co-requisite, the student only needs to repeat their failed course. If they would like to still take the co-requisite course, such as for content mastery or financial aid requirements, they may choose to audit it or may choose to fully repeat it.

Please note that clinical courses may not be audited, only fully repeated.

Per Academic Regulation 34, there are two ways that repeat grades operate, depending on the original attempt grade:

1. Repeating if the original grade was a C- or lower will have that secondary course grade replace the first grade.
2. Repeating where the original grade was a C or higher will not have the secondary grade replace the first grade. In that instance, the CON will allow the retake as “additional credit allowed” where both grades will end up on the transcript.

Readmission to the College of Nursing Program

All nursing students who have left the program, whether for personal, medical, academic, or non-academic reasons, must follow the process for readmission. Students may not participate in any classroom or clinical learning activities while waiting for readmission or pending a grade appeal for that course.

Readmission to the program will be determined by the availability of seats in that semester. A student will be readmitted when a seat becomes available, with notification going to their WSU email. Priority for seats will be given to students in the following order:

1. Current students who are progressing in good academic standing.
2. Students returning from approved medical leave of absence.
   1. Students who seek a medical withdrawal from the university should work with their Academic Coordinator on the process. Please note that under no circumstances should the student submit medical documentation to the college unprompted.
3. All other students, including those who are returning for readmission or from a non-medical leave of absence.

If there are multiple students with the same priority level for withdrawal, priority will be given to the student who has been absent from the program for the longer period of time.

Additional remediation requirements will be determined by the Program Director, including consideration of the length of absence from the program. If a DNP student has begun clinical or practica courses and is gone for more than one semester (including absence from a summer semester, if applicable), they will follow the return to practicum policy.

All students who step out of a program with clinical components will be required to re-affirm, prior to re-enrolling, that they meet the college’s Technical Standards.

In addition, all students who step out of a program will also be required to return to compliant status with all College of Nursing compliance requirement, prior to student registration.

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SECTION V: Academic Policies & Procedures

This section describes the policies, procedures, and professional standards governing students’ progress through the graduate nursing curriculum across all College of Nursing campuses at Washington State University. Academic progress policies apply to all campuses, affiliated sites, and curricular activities related to graduate nursing education.

Students are strongly advised to seek guidance from their campus Academic Coordinator, or the Director of the Center for Student Excellence, regarding any circumstances that impact their ability to participate in the nursing curriculum, and to do so before their academic performance is impacted. Each student has the responsibility to know these policies and use them in their decisions.

University Policies

It is important to distinguish University-wide policies and those specific to the CON. Students must abide by all policies in the WSU Student Handbook for Community Standards and the Center for Community Standards website as well as those pertaining to students in the Executive Policy Manual.

Academic & Professional Integrity

All members of the WSU community share responsibility for maintaining and promoting the principles of integrity in all activities, including academic integrity and honest scholarship. WSU’s  Academic Integrity policy will be strongly enforced in all College of Nursing programs. Students need to read and understand all definitions of cheating. If a student has any questions about what is and is not allowed in a course, the student is encouraged to seek clarification from the course faculty.

The Center for Community Standards, in conjunction with the academic department and faculty member(s), oversees the academic integrity process. A violation of academic integrity includes (but is not limited to) cheating, use of unauthorized materials or sources, unauthorized collaboration on projects, plagiarism, and multiple submissions of the same work.

More detailed descriptions of cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication can be found in the following Washington Administrative Codes (WAC): Acts of Dishonesty WAC 504-26-202 and Cheating WAC 504-26-010. Additionally, Violations and Possible Sanctions outlines potential WSU sanctions for Academic Integrity Violations. Students will not have the option to withdraw from the course pending an appeal and may be reported to the Center for Community Standards.

In addition to sanctions that WSU may require of the student, the CON will also provide any of the following sanctions as deemed appropriate by course faculty: re-write the assignment, demonstrate knowledge through a make-up assignment, fail the assignment, be removed from class/clinical setting, and/or fail the course. In some cases, the violation may lead to the student’s dismissal from WSU College of Nursing. Students who wish to grieve that they did not commit an academic integrity violation must go through the process with the Center for Community Standards. Students who wish to grieve the decision from the CON, but admit they did commit the academic integrity violation, must go through the grievance policy later in this document.

College of Nursing Policies

College of Nursing students also must abide by the college-specific policies below:

Waiving / Substituting a Nursing Course

Per Academic Regulation 108, colleges and departments may substitute or waive college-level requirements for individual students. Students may request permission to waive a course if they can document successful completion of a similar course, including providing a course syllabus. The instructor of the potentially waived course will review the syllabus to be assured student learning outcomes were adequately covered in the completed course. The Center for Student Excellence (CSE) also will confirm that waiving the course will not affect graduation nor academic requirements. Next, the Program Director or Department Chair may/may not approve the waiver request based on course instructor recommendation.

Specialty Track Transfer Policy

Students may request to change specialty tracks within the DNP program. To do so, they must follow the policy here.

Campus to Campus Transfer Procedure Policy

Students in the WSU College of Nursing apply to and are admitted to a campus. The number of students admitted to each campus is based on the available “seats” for both didactic and clinical placements at that site. In the case of family need, health, or other crises, students may seek to petition for transfer to another campus for completion of their studies. Information on that policy can be found here.

Students who need to move from their initial, admitted location must inform their Academic Coordinator and the DNP Director immediately. A change in clinical placements may not be possible. Additionally, movement out of state will significantly impact the student’s ability to have any placement due to local-only affiliation contracts.  

• If the move is within OR, WA, or ID: email the Academic Coordinator, Clinical Coordinator, and DNP Director
• If the move is to somewhere outside of OR, WA, or ID: email the Academic Coordinator and DNP Director

Student Employment Policy

Students are encouraged to limit employment while enrolled in classes. Students who must be employed should arrange their schedules to accommodate all clinical, lab, and didactic work as well as study time needed to be successful in nursing courses. If a student is absent due to employment requirements, that absence will not be excused. Additionally, students may not work a shift prior to their clinical assignment as this contributes to unsafe practices (i.e., working a night shift then going to a day shift clinical).

Students should not have clinical placements in the departments or floors where they are employed. Students are responsible for notifying the Clinical Placement Coordinator should such a conflict arise. Students cannot accept payment for internships/projects while earning credit for coursework within any facility as they are in “student status.”

Clinical at Student’s Place of Employment

Clinical hours in the workplace follow strict requirements. Students may complete clinical hours within the organization where they are employed but not within the same unit or under the same supervisory area, and no reimbursement will be given for clinical/practicum hours. DNP Projects may be arranged in the student’s employment setting under strict guidelines from faculty. None of the hours associated with the project can be reimbursed by the employer. The project team must include others who do not normally supervise a student as an employee.

The unit where the student works or the individual in charge of their usual work performance cannot be used as a clinical site or clinical preceptor. Students may, however, work in a different area/unit of their employment site in a non-paid position. For example, if the student is an ICU nurse at Hospital X and wants to complete a clinical/practicum at a clinic associated with that hospital, then the student can complete the total required program hours at that site. A student cannot complete a clinical rotation in a site where a family member or close friends work. Furthermore, preceptors and interdisciplinary preceptors cannot be a member of the student’s immediate family, as defined in RCW  42.17A.005(27); or have a financial, business, or professional relationship that is in conflict with the proper discharge of the preceptor’s duties to impartially supervise and evaluate the student.

Nursing Buildings & Classrooms

Food and non-alcoholic beverages may be brought into classrooms, offices, and lounges. Students are responsible for maintaining cleanliness and sanitation of these spaces. Food and beverages may NOT be taken into other learning areas of the buildings such as the Computer Laboratory, the Multimedia Laboratory, or any of the Center for Experiential Learning spaces. If a building or room has a non-food/beverage policy, that policy will supersede this policy.

Children are not permitted in the nursing buildings or classrooms. Under WAC 504-36-020, pets are not allowed in university buildings. Refer to the legislation here for exceptions, which includes trained service animals.

Alcohol and Drug Policy

Students are to adhere to the WSU Alcohol and Drug Policy as outlined in the Executive Policy Manual (EP20) as well as any policies related to drug/alcohol screening on the College of Nursing policy page. The College of Nursing will engage in a drug screening process for site requirements or for cause

Online Proctoring

Some of your courses may require proctored exams. A proctored exam is one that is overseen by an impartial individual, called a proctor, who monitors or supervises a student while they are taking an exam. The proctor ensures the security and integrity of the exam process.

Most proctors charge a fee.

There are two types of proctoring:

• virtual proctoring, exams that are supervised by WSU’s trusted virtual proctoring service
• on-site proctoring, exams that are supervised by an on-site proctor

Students should check their course syllabus at the start of each semester to find out if the course has proctored exams, and if so, the details about exam timing, type of proctoring, and the cost. In a hybrid delivered program, courses often will use virtual proctoring, but there may be some instances where on-site proctoring may be required. Please refer to the table below for general information about virtual proctoring.

Virtual Proctoring
Approved Proctors	ProctorU
Proctor fee per exam	Students will pay $6 per ProctorU session for exams hosted in Canvas. There are a small number of exams hosted in non-Canvas platforms, and the fee for those will be $11 per ProctorU session.
Computer	You use your own computer, which must be equipped with a working webcam, speakers, and microphone, provided it meets ProctorU’s equipment requirements. You must also use the ProctorU Guardian Browser.
Where you take your exam	A private, quiet location with reliable high-speed internet connection.
Scheduling your exam	No scheduling is required Students can take an exam with ProctorU anytime during the exam availability, as indicated in the course syllabus.
Other considerations	Check the course syllabus to find out what materials, if any, are permitted during the exam. Read and understand your student responsibilities.

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Section VI: Standards of Conduct for Students

Students enrolled in the College of Nursing are subject to standards of performance and ethics of the profession. Violations of conduct include issues related to professionalism, communication, dishonesty about compliance status, anything within The Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, and/or the standards in this handbook.

Further, as a whole, WSU students must adhere to the general rules and regulations of the Standards of Conduct for Students as set forth in WAC 504-26. Students are responsible for knowing these standards and may be subject to disciplinary action under the procedures outlined in this document and the procedures outlined in the Violations and Possible Sanctions section of WSU’s Student Handbook for Community Standards.

Professionalism

Professionalism is an expectation of all professional nursing students. Professional behavior guidelines are intended to ensure safe, ethical, respectful, and professional conduct by nursing students. Please see relevant professionalism policies here:

See DNP Professionalism

See MN Professionalism

Communication

The College of Nursing uses electronic means to disseminate information and communicate. This information may be important and/or time sensitive. Thus, timely review and response to email messages is vital to success for all members of the College of Nursing. The College of Nursing will only use your WSU email to contact you. Please see student expectations, etiquette, and procedures in the policy here.

Attendance

Attendance is determined by the faculty of the course. Unless otherwise stated by the course faculty in the individual course syllabus, the CON has a mandatory attendance policy regarding all courses, clinical, practicum, laboratory, simulation, and their respective orientations. Students are expected to be prompt and regular in attending all scheduled learning activities, including face-to-face classes, laboratory, simulation, and clinical/practicum experiences as well as all online discussions or meetings. Unless otherwise stated, students are expected to be prompt and regular in attending classes, turning in assignments on time, and in taking exams when scheduled. Faculty may establish additional rules for attendance and make-up exams, these changes will be clearly articulated in writing. Any unexcused absence may result in a failing grade and/or the student placed on Academic or Professional Probation.

Dress Code

All College of Nursing students are required to adhere to the dress code policy here. Additionally, students must adhere to any dress code related to their campus. For example, students attending the Yakima campus must adhere to the requirements of the PNWU campus.

Electronic Communication and Social Media

Electronic systems are governed by the Electronic Communication Policy (EP4) in the WSU Executive Policy Manual. All policies indicate that equipment and services will be used only for carrying out university business and may not be used for private use.

As professional nurses with a unique obligation and responsibility, nursing students must be cognizant of the public nature of social media and other electronic communication and the permanent nature of communicating therein. These technologies may give the impression of privacy, but postings and other data should be considered in the public realm and freely visible by many people. State and Federal regulations related to confidentiality along with HIPAA require that no patient information be made available to the public. These regulations apply to comments made on social networking sites, and violators are subject to the same disciplinary action as with other HIPAA violations. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has an instructive guide on social media guidelines that we encourage students to regularly review.

All Students are expected to comply with the WSU College of Nursing Social Media Guidelines including:

• Protect confidential and proprietary information
• Do not post anything that could reflect poorly on the College
• Use WSU College of Nursing intellectual properties only with permission from the Marketing Director
• Disseminating official information

Intellectual Property

Students cannot share Canvas course recordings or record a course in session. This is predicated on intellectual property of faculty members through larger WSU regulations.

Academic Grievance Procedure

Differences of opinion between students and their instructors may arise. Students and their instructors are encouraged to communicate regularly and directly to resolve such differences. An attempt should first be made to resolve the concern by an open discussion between the student and the faculty member(s) involved. If either the faculty or the student would like a third party to attend that open discussion, CSE advisors are available.

If concerns with the instructor are not resolved by that open discussion, the student may initiate a formal grievance in alignment with WSU Academic Regulation 104:

• For concerns on course policies as outlined in the course syllabus, the concern should be emailed to the instructor within 5 business days after the first day of class instruction
• For grades on individual assignments, the concern should be emailed to the instructor in a timely way (typically within a week of receiving the grade, or as defined by the instructor) so that the issue may be addressed.
• For final grades, the concern must be emailed to the instructor within 10 business days of the final grading deadline and posting to the transcript.

At each stage of the grievance process, the individual addressed will be given 10 business days in which to respond to the grievance via official WSU email and come to a resolution. Should the response be unsatisfactory, the student can then take the grievance and response(s) to the next individual on the list.

Students must follow the typical “chain of command” when following the grievance procedure: course faculty, then Program Director, then Department Chair, and finally the Dean of the College or their designee.

If a student has questions on who is next in the line of communication or wants a review of the readability of their communication, they can connect with the college’s Director of the Center for Student Excellence. While the Director cannot make decisions to resolve the issues, they are available for process explanation and readability review of the concern. Additionally, the University Ombudsman is available at any stage for advice or assistance in resolving academic complaints.

Though chairs and college deans (and program leaders and campus chancellors) may resolve complaints about instruction and grading, they may not change a final grade without the consent of the instructor, except as provided by Rule 105.

Additional Grievance Resources:

• Students who have exhausted avenues provided by WSU and still have unresolved complaints may contact the  Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) who has authority to investigate student complaints regarding the University not following published policy or state law.
• WSU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Review NWCCU complaint process.
• The University Ombudsman is available at any stage for advice or assistance in resolving academic complaints. 

• The Academic Director of Nursing at Vancouver or Tri-Cities is included in the notifications of grievance decisions made by the Program Director, Chair, and Dean for any students registered at one of those campuses.

Grievance Process

1. Student submits official grievance email to the Course Instructor which details the issue(s) no later than 10 business days following the end of the semester.
   • Student copies Director of CSE.
2. Course Instructor Response
   • Course Instructor responds to student with receipt of student grievance submission.
   • Course Instructor renders decision to student within 10 business days.
   • Course Instructor copies Director of CSE in decision email
3. If complaint is not resolved with Course Instructor, then the student may escalate to the Program Director (and Academic Director at their campus, if applicable). Within 10 business days, student submits grievance and previous communication thread to Program Director and  Director of CSE (and Academic Director, if applicable).
4. Program Director Response
   • Program Director responds to student with receipt of student grievance submission.
   • Program Director renders decision to student within 10 business days.
   • Program Director copies Director of CSE in decision email (and the Academic Director, if applicable).
5. If complaint is not resolved with Program Director, then the student may escalate to the Department Chair.Within 10 business days, student submits grievance and previous communication thread to Department Chair and Director of CSE.
6. Department Chair Reponse
   • Department Chair responds to student with receipt of student grievance submission.
   • Department Chair renders decision to student within 10 business days.
   • Department Chair copies Director of CSE in decision email (and Academic Director, if applicable).
7. After Department Chair’s Decision
   • The student or the instructor may appeal to the Dean within 10 business days of the chair’s decision. The Dean may designate the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs to handle a response.
   • The statement from the student or instructor should include the concern, how it affects the individual or unit, the remedy sought from the Dean, and all prior communication.
   • Dean or designee responds within 10 days, with a cc to the Director of CSE (and the Academic Director, if applicable).

If the concern is from a student at a campus other than Spokane, the concern will also be brought to the attention of the Campus Academic Director at the same stages as the Program Director.

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SECTION VII: CLINICAL POLICIES

Practicum/clinical experiences are an important aspect of education as a professional. It is the practicum/clinical settings that provide students an opportunity to apply theoretical and evidence-based knowledge gained in other courses, adding hands-on patient care experiences to develop and advance nursing practice. The emphasis in the Graduate Practicum/Clinical experiences is on the development of clinical and professional expertise necessary for comprehensive primary care practice or population practice in a variety of settings.

Clinical Site Requirements

Securing clinical site placement is a collaborative process. Success occurs as the result of a partnership between students, the administrative staff, and faculty.

The CON Clinical Placement staff at each campus are responsible for securing clinical placements. The student collaborates by identifying sites where they would like to be placed or sharing names of potential preceptors. Final clinical placement is contingent upon: 1) a site agreeing to host the student, 2) the site having a current affiliation agreement with the University, 3) the preceptor being appropriately credentialed for the student supervision, 4) the patient population meets the learning outcomes of the course, and 5) the student completes all agency onboarding.

While the Clinical Placement Coordinator strives to accommodate students’ site preferences, placement at a requested location is not guaranteed. The program’s primary objective is to ensure students are placed where the most effective learning opportunities and qualified preceptors are available.

Students should consider the following when considering the sites they would like to recommend. The site(s) should be a setting that will offer the population and scope of care consistent with the practicum course requirements. Clinical faculty, placement coordinators and/or program leads can assist students in determining this. In general, family practice primary care sites and any clinical experiences should have relevance to family practice (no OR, transplant unit, trauma nursing, flight/transport nursing; limited if any ER, acute care management units). Psychiatric mental health NP students should identify settings with psychiatric nurse practitioners or psychiatrists performing the full scope of psychiatric care (except for NURS 547, which allows students to be placed with master’s level therapists or clinical psychologists). The student needs to stay in close contact with the clinical placement coordinators throughout the placement process. Clinical placement coordinators work closely with track leads, course faculty, and clinical faculty evaluators (CFEs) in helping students find appropriate sites to request. In doing so they will consider the program outcomes, course outcomes, and the students’ overall performance in course work and in previous clinical experiences.

Under some circumstances, faculty may direct students to complete a clinical experience at a specific site or within a specific time frame based on assessment of their progress in the program. When selecting an NP practice site to request, students must ensure that there will be opportunities for direct patient interaction with patients of all ages and healthcare needs (for PMHNP students this means direct, interactive care settings). As an NP student, students must be able to perform assessments, develop diagnoses, formulate treatment plans, and communicate with patients and families about those activities (in collaboration with the preceptor).

Travel Related to Clinical Placements

To expose our students to the variety of practice settings and specialty fields available to them as future healthcare professionals, we strive to provide diverse clinical experience locations. Some clinical placements are secured with our community partners across Washington state. Some placements will be in Idaho, Oregon, and may include some distance to outlying rural areas in Washington as one way to accomplish the College of Nursing’s mission. Most clinical experiences require motor vehicle transportation.  All students will be expected to travel during their time in the program and must understand that travel to clinical placements is an integral part of the clinical placement experience. Students are responsible for their own housing, transportation, and expenses associated with their required clinical experiences. At times, students decline a placement is because of travel/commute times (see below). While travel can be burdensome and is taken under consideration, it will be required to find the most appropriate and available clinical site.

Declining a Clinical Placement

If a student declines a clinical placement they will need to identify an alternative placement independently. However, any self-sourced placement must be approved by both the clinical coordinator and the track lead. Approval is contingent upon verification that the proposed preceptor meets the qualifications outlined in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), that the site aligns with the learning objectives of the course, and that there is a current affiliation agreement with the agency. Because affiliation agreements take 6-12 months to complete, any identified site that does not have an agreement will be declined. Student progression in the program may be delayed or halted until an appropriate placement is arranged and approved.

Students who decline an assigned placement will be deprioritized by the clinical coordinator and track lead and placed at the bottom of the clinical placement list. This could significantly delay the start of their clinical rotation, and if it makes completing the hours within the semester impossible, it will result in an incomplete in the course and delay progression for up to a year. However, no student should recruit a site or preceptor unless they have been given permission to do so by the clinical placement coordinator or the track lead at the campus where the student is registered. Some agencies will remove the entire program from their placement opportunities when students perform their own outreach.

Preparing for Clinical Placement

It is important that students prepare early to ensure that clinical/practicum experiences will be successful. Students should identify clinical site possibilities 12 months before planning to enroll in a particular clinical course. It may be especially difficult to locate preceptors who can provide internship experiences in pediatric (psychiatric or primary care) and obstetrical settings (for primary care) – the CON may need more than one to two semesters to arrange these. Students will receive site request instructions from the clinical placement coordinators to assist you in identifying appropriate clinical sites.

Most hospitals and large healthcare organizations and many other health care systems and private practices require that students complete a “Provider Staff” Privileging and/or Credentialing process before beginning any clinical rotation. This may require completion of additional items beyond those required as part of the Graduate Student Passport. For example, some sites require that you complete specialized computerized charting training and/or urine drug screening. Completion of these requirements is entirely your responsibility as a student. This process can take weeks to months and should be initiated as soon as a clinical site is obtained. If WSU has been able to obtain the information from the clinical site, specific site requirements and accompanying documents will be communicated to the student.

A preceptor may invite the student to participate in patient care at a secondary site such as a hospital, urgent care center or other agency the provider contracts with (rounds, surgery, treatments, obstetrics, etc.) as part of clinical experience. If students are providing direct care at the secondary site, they must inform the WSU clinical placement coordinator. The coordinator will verify if the College of Nursing has an active agreement with the secondary site. Students will be required to complete the credentialing process with that facility as well as the primary site – before students can provide any patient care. If an AA is not established with the second site, the student will need to wait for the agreement to be fully executed by the secondary site and WSU PACS. This may result in placement at the secondary site in future semesters.

Clinical/Practicum Hours

In general, each specific course with clinical or practicum hours will require a minimum number of hours The MN or DNP program director, track coordinators for the Family and Psychiatric Mental Health NP and Population Health, and any individual employed by WSU to perform clinical supervision of NP students may assign additional practicum/clinical hours beyond those described in the syllabus to ensure students are meeting expected competency levels.  

Definition of Clinical Hours

WSU and the organizations that offer certification examinations for graduates of NP and Population Health programs define clinical hours as: “hands-on assessment, diagnosis and treatment (including client health management and education).” Students cannot count hours in “observation”, “operating room experiences”, “continuing education activities”, or other types of experience that do not involve care in keeping with this definition towards certification exam hours.

Qualification for national certification as an FNP or PMHNP includes the requirement that you have completed a minimum of 500 clinical hours supervised by qualified preceptors in settings providing direct clinical care to patients and families within the scope of the specialty. The WSU CON curriculum includes 600 hours of supervised clinical. WSU faculty members who are certified and licensed as nurse practitioners teach all courses that include clinical or practicum content in the nurse practitioner tracks to meet this qualification. See the section below about Preceptors to learn more about who may be qualified to serve as your preceptor.

In addition to specialty certification as a nurse practitioner, to qualify as a DNP graduate, you must complete a total of 1000 clinical/practicum hours which include your NP Clinical hours. As a DNP Population Health graduate, you will also need to complete 1000 hours of clinical practice, as with NP students, some of this time is completed in your DNP Project courses.

Confidentiality of Patient Records

The following policy on use of patient records has been developed to comply with federal guidelines outlined in the HIPAA regulations. The information below identifies what information is protected under Federal HIPAA requirements:

Patient Record Handling

Medication Administration

It is the standard of the Washington State University College of Nursing that students enrolled in all clinical courses will practice within the scope of the clinical curriculum and under the direct supervision of their assigned clinical faculty, supervising nurse, or practicum preceptor. Site-specific medication policies must be included in student orientations. Contracted clinical facility restrictions or limitations, which are more restrictive than these guidelines, will supersede any aspect of this policy.

Healthcare Partner Affiliation Agreements (AAs)

An affiliation agreement (AA) is a legal contract between WSU and our partner healthcare facilities. The CON Business Office processes AAs for the College of Nursing. These agreements may include other WSU Health Sciences programs as part of a multi-program agreement. WSU is required to have an AA with all Healthcare Partner/clinical sites before a student can begin a clinical rotation (whether this is NP clinical, Population health, DNP project, MN non-direct care, and MN project courses). When a student requests clinical site placement, the Clinical Placement Coordinators will review the status of the AA. If an AA is not in place when a student requests the site, the student will need to be placed at a facility with a current agreement. The process of negotiating an AA contract could take 12 months or more to finalize. The Clinical Contract Specialist will make every effort to ensure that a new agreement is in place or renewed in time for the start of the course.

AA requests are processed in order they are received from all programs with the College of Nursing. The Contracts team is unable to rush requests for individual students. There are no guarantees contracts will be completed in less than 12 months due to WSU Contract reviewers and facility legal team workload. Students may need to start placements later into the term or seek a placement at another facility due to the unpredictable timelines for AA finalization. 

Deadlines to request new facility contracts:

• Fall courses: September 1st of the previous year academic year
• Summer courses: June 1st of the previous academic year
• Spring courses: January 1st of the previous academic year

Due to the length of time and complexities beyond the College of Nursing’s control, AAs may expire prior to the renewal of the agreement. In this case, students are required to pause their coursework until the facility’s contract is renewed. This may require students to be replaced if the agreement is not renewed in enough time to meet course hour requirements.

Registered Nurse License

You must maintain a current, unencumbered licensure as a Registered Nurse throughout your enrollment in the Graduate program. Further, you must hold a current, active, unencumbered Registered Nursing license in all states in which you complete any clinical activities. Multistate (MSL) licenses that include Washington are acceptable. Students cannot participate in clinical rotations in any state where they do not hold an active and valid nursing license. It is the students’ responsibility to ensure they meet all licensure requirements for the state in which their clinical placement is located.

All DNP and MN students are encouraged to obtain RN licensure in Washington State to ensure timely access to clinical placement opportunities, particularly for those living near the state border. For non-resident students, we will seek clinical placements in your home state first; however, if appropriate placements cannot be secured, you will be required to obtain a Washington State RN license. Failure or refusal to do so may result in delays in program progression if no suitable clinical placement is available.

Students are highly encouraged to obtain a license in Idaho or in Oregon to allow for the greatest ease with clinical placement. Students living in Oregon and Idaho may request to complete clinical rotations in these states. The Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN) requires that students who are enrolled in out-of-state programs petition for approval to complete any clinical/practicum rotation in the state.

Students MUST submit the petition to the appropriate Clinical Placement Coordinator at their campus of registration in a timely way; the Clinical Placement Coordinator will finalize the document and forward it to the OSBN. Petitions to complete clinical/practicum rotations in Oregon must be approved by the OSBN before students can begin the clinical/practicum experience (PMHNP students may NOT request Oregon placement for NURS 547). This process will take a minimum of two or more months; thus students should plan accordingly. If a student will complete a clinical rotation in Oregon, the student must review all information at the OSBN website. After reviewing the information and the forms, the student is to contact the appropriate Clinical Placement Coordinator who will help with submitting the forms. Information for each state board of nursing is below:

• Oregon State Board of Nursing
• Idaho Board of Nursing

Clinical Onboarding – The Passport

The College of Nursing calls the combination of proof of licensure, immunizations, required trainings (e.g. CITI modules), and certifications (e.g., CPR.) the “Clinical Passport.” This combination of requirements is part of our contractual agreement with agencies and, therefore, is a clinical requirement for every student. For specific Passport requirements, please access the Graduate Passport Requirement website.

All students must always keep their passport documents up to date while in the program. While we understand an RN employer may provide some of these renewals or immunization updates, students will be required to obtain updates outside of what is offered by employers to ensure their Passport is always up to date.

Vaccine and Clinical Requirements – DNP and MN

Please note that the WSU Health Sciences Immunization Requirements Policy applies to all students, including those in the MN and DNP programs. This policy mandates that the College of Nursing will require – as a condition of admission- certain immunizations and health screenings. The only exemption to these required vaccinations is students that have a legitimate medical condition that make vaccination medically contraindicated. See details in the policy linked above.

The College of Nursing partners with CastleBranch to track student immunizations/tests and other required information needed for clinical compliance. Upon acceptance to the nursing program, you will receive information on how to purchase a CastleBranch account and how to upload documents to complete all requirements.

Once you upload your documents to CastleBranch, a reviewer will verify your documents and accept or reject them. If they are rejected, you will receive an email with the reason for rejection and you will be asked to upload the correct document. Please take care of these emails immediately, as your clinical and project placement requires 100% compliance to attend. Please check your spam folder or adjust your filter settings to allow for communications from CastleBranch.  

It is the student’s responsibility to respond to any verification/credentialing questions by either the clinical placement coordinator, the clinical agency where the placement is arranged or CastleBranch. All updates for immunizations, tests, and other Passport requirements must be completed by the date given to you from the Clinical Affairs Office. Again, Passport requirements must be current (compliant) at all times while in the DNP program.

A delinquent requirement, including falling into overdue status, can have many negative effects on student success in clinical and project courses:

• Students may lose their placement in the clinical agency or be removed from the placement immediately.
• When clinical passport requirements are overdue, students are unable to count clinical/project hours that were accrued while out of compliance.
• Makeup hours may not be possible due to limitations of clinical organizations and faculty availability.
• Course completion and program progression are impacted.

Current students who fall out of compliance with their CastleBranch requirements:

• Will receive a Compliance Stop email from their clinical instructor. Students could lose their placement in the clinical agency, be removed from the placement immediately, and/or are unable to count course hours while out of compliance with requirements in CastleBranch.
• Will receive specific directions on how to return to compliant status, lifting registration holds, and the ability to return to clinical learning experiences in the Compliance Stop email. Students cannot return to clinical placement until the appropriate campus Clinical Onboarding Coordinator releases the student (communicated via email) to course faculty of record, faculty lead, assigned clinical faculty, and program director while copying the student.
• Students attending clinicals after a Compliance Stop email and prior to being released by the appropriate onboarding coordinator will be issued a PIP and will be required to meet with the program director.

Students cannot return to clinical placement until they are notified by the placement coordinator or staff via email that they are cleared to return. This communication will include the course faculty of record, faculty track lead, assigned clinical faculty evaluator, and program director while copying the student. Registration for the following semester will be blocked or cancelled if students do not provide required documentation by the required deadlines in student CastleBranch accounts or directions from Clinical Affairs staff.  Clinical placement staff are available to answer proactive questions about compliance requirements.

Clinical Systems Management

Washington State University students enrolled in a variety of health professions’ education programs use the Exxat online database software system to document clinical experiences and hours. Administrative staff members use clinical tracking systems to manage student site requests and other information that supports student placement. Students will receive information about Exxat along with a username and initial password shortly after enrolling at WSU.

The students are responsible for documenting any database hours or clinical experiences in a timely manner. This is a requirement up front and students must do it throughout the semester instead of waiting for the end of the semester to enter hours in bulk. Faculty utilize Exxat for curricular feedback, ensuring students meet course competencies, and for site evaluations.

For more information on Exxat, including access to FAQs and video training, refer to the following student resource webpage. 

Clinical Faculty and NP Clinical Evaluator

Once a student’s clinical site and preceptor is identified, the student will be assigned to be supervised by a College of Nursing faculty member or community-based Nurse Practitioner who is hired by WSU to be a Clinical Evaluator. Information about that evaluator and additional details can be found here.

Additional information related to DNP clinical experiences include:

• Preparation for Clinical Experiences
• Performance Evaluation

Required Documentation and Progression

Before you can receive a grade for the clinical/practicum course work, you must: document all patient contact time and clinical experiences before the last date noted in the Course Syllabus. For accuracy, it is best practice to document clinical hours and client encounters within one week of rotation day.  Ensure the completion and submission of an evaluation by each of your preceptors is in your clinical systems tracker.

To be eligible for the national licensing and certification exams as well as state licensure, a graduate must have evidence of recent courses in advanced pathophysiology, advanced assessment, and advanced pharmacology as well as the specialty clinical courses within 5 years of sitting for testing. Once you begin clinical/practicum course work in any track, on the way to your DNP, you must remain continuously enrolled in clinical/practicum course credits each semester until you complete your degree requirements (FNP students enroll in NURS 540 credits, PMHNP students enroll in NURS 599 credits, Population Health students enroll in NURS 583 credits).

Drug Screening Policy

The College of Nursing will engage in drug screening of students. Please see the policy here.

Annual Passport Requirements

Some passport documents in CastleBranch require an annual update. Mark your calendar to complete these in a timely way throughout your program. Students are required to always maintain compliance with all Passport requirements, including holidays and other breaks.

Criminal History Disclosure: Washington State University College of Nursing enters into affiliation agreements with hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes and other licensed providers to allow WSU College of Nursing students to obtain clinical experience necessary to complete their academic program. The affiliation agreements between the training sites and WSU require the University to obtain comprehensive background checks for nursing students/faculty who will provide direct services, or have unsupervised access to, or direct contact with certain vulnerable populations as defined in the Washington State Child and Adult Abuse Information Law RCW 43.43.830-842. Charge(s), conviction(s), and or/ criminal history information, including information regarding certain court and administrative determinations, must be disclosed and verified before an applicant or student/faculty can be considered for placement at a clinical site.

A conviction/criminal history record does not necessarily disqualify an individual from placement at a clinical site. However, certain criminal convictions and certain court administrative determinations may preclude assignment to a clinical site and thus, completion of the program of study. Students are obligated to promptly notify the College of Nursing in writing within 24 hours of any new charge, conviction, or civil adjudication proceeding. This applies to current students as well as those working through the admissions process and are subject to clinical training site review to determine if this is a disqualifying event. Information about disclosure form updates and background checks are found in this policy.

Technical Standards

Nursing students must meet the appropriate Technical Standards for their program independently, with or without reasonable accommodation, to support successful progress through and graduation from their respective curricula. These requirements pertain to all student conduct regardless of setting (e.g., classroom/didactic, office, on-campus simulation, off-campus clinical, email communication, etc.).

Students are encouraged to review these Technical Standards to become familiar with the skills, abilities, and behavioral characteristics required to complete the programs.Students who have questions about these Technical Standards or who may require reasonable accommodation should contact WSU Student Campus Accommodations department at the campus in which they are registered.

• MN Technical Standards may be found here
• DNP Technical Standards may be found here  

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SECTION VIII: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

General Information

Directory for College of Nursing Faculty and Staff

Contact information for all College of Nursing faculty and staff is located at College of Nursing Faculty & Staff Directory.

Academic Calendar

The Academic Calendar located on the WSU Registrar website provides relevant deadlines for registration, fees, applications, enrollment, exams, holidays, and other important information.

Library Services

WSU Libraries is dedicated to supporting the research needs of students. Refer to the College of Nursing Library Services for campus-specific information.

Online Course Access

Nursing courses use Canvas, an online Learning Management System (LMS), to deliver course content. Students will receive access to courses after they have a WSU Network ID and have registered for courses. Access the site to find course syllabi, communications from faculty, and other important information.

Licensure

To obtain a license as an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) after graduation, follow your state’s application process. In general, you will need to be licensed as a Registered Nurse in any state where you wish to obtain an ARNP/APRN license.

• In Washington, you can access information and materials about the nurse licensing process at the WA Department of Health website.
• In Oregon, you can access information and materials about the process on the OR State Board of Nursing website.
• In Idaho, you can access information and materials about advanced practice licensure at the ID Board of Nursing website.
• If you plan to practice in a different state after graduation, contact the Board for Nursing in that state for details and forms. All state boards of nursing are listed on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing website.

National Provider Enumeration System

The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) mandated the adoption of standard unique identifiers for health care providers and health plans. The purpose of these provisions is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the electronic transmission of health information. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) to assign these unique identifiers. After a student has received their license to practice as a Nurse Practitioner, they are to visit the website to apply.

Other Student Resources and Information

It is HIGHLY recommended that students retain a copy of all reports on clinical experiences. Most employers will request documentation of a range of data points (such as number of clinical hours, number of patients in each age group, list of procedures etc.) from your supervised clinical time.

Other student resources and information can be found on the CON website under Students.

Safety Information

In addition to any facility’s or organization’s reporting system, the College of Nursing must adhere to the process for two types of incident reports.

Incident reports: harm or near miss involving a patient or allegations of diversion or medication error

The Washington Board of Nursing (BON) requires the program to report, track, and analyze any incident that did or could have resulted in patient harm, allegation of drug diversion, or a medication errors (WAC 246-840-513)..

1. Complete the Board of Nursing Incident Report. The incident report must be completed by the student involved within 24 hours of the incident. The clinical faculty member of that student assists with that report and ensures that it was filed. Program or College leaders may interview the student and/or faculty to fully understand the incident. Students and faculty must prioritize this meeting.
2. The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the College of Nursing then has 24 hours to report to the BON, on forms provided by the board, on these events. 

The College uses the principles of a “just culture” (shared accountability and fairness) to evaluate events as part of our internal continuous quality improvement to facilitate student learning and prevent future occurrences.

Incident reports: injury involving a student, staff, or faculty member

Injuries to students, faculty or staff are reported as a “workplace injury or illness”. This form is used throughout WSU to report a workplace injury or illness of a student, staff or faculty within 24 hours. In accordance with SPPM 2.24.1, faculty, staff, volunteers, and students are to promptly report all accidental injuries and work-related illnesses to their supervisor for evaluation and possible investigation.

1. Students must immediately report all classroom injuries to their instructor and seek medical treatment, if needed.
2. Faculty will send an email with details of the incident to the Program Director.
3. The Program Director will complete and submit an Incident Report within 24 hours.
   
   NOTE: Major incidents resulting in serious injury (e.g. fracture or amputation), in patient hospitalization, or death are to be reported immediately, per SPPM 2.24.1.
4. The Incident Report gets routed to Human Resource Services (HRS).
5. HRS will review and forward a copy of the report to the college’s Dean.

For injuries occurring at a clinical agency, that agency’s incident report form may also be required.

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SECTION IX: Projects 

MN: Quality Improvement Project

Overview

The culmination of the master’s education is a capstone project that demonstrates integration of learning and competency of the end of program student learning outcomes. For students enrolled in the Clinical Systems Leadership track, the capstone project will be completed in NURS_ADV 701 and require students to identify, design, and develop a proposed quality improvement intervention within a clinical setting. For students enrolled in the Nurse Educator track, the capstone projected will be completed in NURS_ADV-586 and require students to identify, design, and develop a quality improvement intervention based on an education/performance gap within an academic or clinical organization.

DNP: Quality Improvement Project

The culmination of the DNP education is a capstone project that is designed, implemented and evaluated over 4 semesters. The project demonstrates integration of learning and competency of the end of program student learning outcomes. Students may identify a healthcare problem, evaluate the best evidence for improving the problem, and develop a proposed quality improvement intervention within a clinical setting. Students may also complete an evaluation of an establish improvement project or implement a policy improvement.  Students are encouraged to discuss their ideas for a DNP project with their adviser during their 2^nd year of the program.

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SECTION X: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Some partner healthcare facility affiliation agreements may require students placed at their sites to carry private medical insurance during their clinical placement. While the WSU College of Nursing does not require students to carry private medical insurance, proof of such insurance may be required to comply with the requirements of some healthcare partners.

Students are expected to adhere to all applicable policies and procedures of partner healthcare facilities. Partner facilities reserve the right to terminate a student’s participation in educational experiences at their site if these policies are not followed.

Students participating in the program are not considered employees or agents of the partner healthcare facility or WSU. Students are not entitled to receive any compensation or employment benefits from either the partner healthcare facilities or WSU, including but not limited to health care, workers’ compensation benefits, vacation, sick leave, or any other employment-related benefits, whether direct or indirect. The partner healthcare facility is not obligated to provide any form of insurance for the benefit or protection of students. Additionally, placement at a healthcare facility does not guarantee employment upon completion of the placement or degree conferral.

Students may receive emergency care from a partner healthcare facility and are financially responsible for any charges incurred as a result of such services.

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Glossary

• Affiliation Agreement (AA) – A legal contract between WSU and our partner healthcare facilities. The Clinical Affairs team processes AAs for the College of Nursing. These agreements may include other WSU Health Sciences programs as part of a multi-program agreement. WSU is required to have an AA with all Healthcare Partner/clinical sites before a student can begin a clinical rotation
• Advanced Practice Department Curriculum, Admissions, and Progression committee (ADV-CAP) – This College of Nursing committee is comprised of faculty and student representatives that review items related to DNP and MN admission and time in the program. That includes cohort selection for incoming students, as well as reviewing appeals from students who do not progress in a timely manner and wish to retake courses. They also review curricular changes and decisions related to courses in the department.
• Center for Student Excellence (CSE) – This College of Nursing department supports students throughout their time in the program. Academic Coordinators and Success Coaches are in this department and the CSE is focused on providing support with class registration, academic success, and resource referral.
• Clinical Affairs (CA) – This College of Nursing department supports students with immunization questions, CastleBranch and Clinical Passport questions, the medical exemption process, the onboarding processes, and AAs with partner agreements.
• Clinical experiences – These are for FNP and PMHNP students and are direct patient care clinical rotations in an organization.
• Clinical hours – These are hands-on assessment, diagnosis and treatment (including client health management and education) hours. They are not hours in observation, operating room experiences, continuing education activities, or other types of experience that do not involve care.
• Clinical Placement Coordinators: Staff at each campus who is responsible for clinical placement of students.
• Compliance Stop (CS) – Students receiving Compliance Stop emails will have a registration hold placed on their account and will not be allowed to collect hours for all course work (including project courses). DNP director, track leads, campus academic coordinators, and placement/onboarding coordinators are informed regarding any students unable to attend clinical learning experiences. Specific directions to return to compliant status, lifting registration holds, and the ability to count hours are explained in detail when receiving a Compliance Stop email.
• Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) – This form is something that College of Nursing members fill that goes to a student to provide timely feedback and notification of concerns. Concerns can be related to academic courses, clinical experiences, or professionalism. Knowing what concerns are early on allows students to course-correct and ultimately be successful in their program. In some cases, PIPs may be generated due to policy or timeline breaches, but the majority of PIPs are designed to be non-punitive and serve as an early communication tool.
• Practicum experiences – These are DNP experiences in an organization. These include Organization Leadership courses (576 and 553) with practicum experiences, as well as DNP project courses (518, 557, 558, 559) with practicum experiences. These also include DNP population health courses (556, 583).
• Practicum hours – Direct-care practicum hours are clinical experiences where nurse practitioner students are working directly with individual patients to provide health care in a clinical setting. Non-direct care practicum hours are experiences or DNP project work that may involve healthcare organizations, community members, or patient populations but the student is not providing direct patient care. DNP students must have a minimum of 1,000 hours of practicum experiences. For FNP and PMHNP students, these will be divided between direct-care and non-direct care practicum hours per our national guidelines for advanced practice nursing certification and the DNP degree. For PMG students, these will be composed of non-direct care practicum hours.
• Revised Code of Washington (RCW) – These are the compilation of all laws and regulations in Washington that are now in force.
• Washington Administrative Code (WAC) – These administrative codes are regulations of the Washington executive branch and are a source of primary law in the state. They guide many of the policies and procedures that the College of Nursing and WSU itself follow.
• Western Region Graduate Program (WRGP) – The Washington State University College of Nursing has joined the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). If students are a resident of 16 western states or territories and a full-time student, they can pursue a PhD, DNP or MN at WSU and pay the in-state tuition rate. For more information, please access the Western Regional Graduate Program College of Nursing website or the Western Regional Graduate Program website.
  
  

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revised 02/20/2026