Policies & Procedures

Introduction

The Wagner College PA Program Student Handbook defines, publishes, and makes readily available to all PA students, principal faculty, and staff the policies and practices of the Wagner College PA Program. The policies are published in the Student Handbook so they are readily available to all enrolled students.  PA students are encouraged to periodically review the Handbook.  The Wagner College PA Program Student Handbook is designed to familiarize PA Students with the program, its structure, policies, and practices.  The Wagner College PA Program Student Handbook defines policies, academic standards and requirements, curricular components and academic credit, performance expectations, requirements for completion, and other program policies related to PA students.  These policies are consistent with federal, state, and local statutes, rules, and regulations.  They comply with institutional policies that meet regional accreditation requirements and federal law and are applied consistently to all students and faculty.

The Student Handbook contains policies and requirements that govern academic performance, student conduct, and program expectations for the PA Program at Wagner College. Some of the policies are unique to the PA Program and are designed to promote academic, clinical, and professional standards and the meeting of program-required competencies. It sets forth the parameters of achievement and behavior expected of its students. It is the responsibility of all PA students to be knowledgeable about PA Program and College policies. These policies are applied to all aspects of the student’s progress while enrolled as a PA student of the Wagner College PA Program. For certain clinical sites, a clinical affiliation agreement may specify that certain program policies will be superseded by those at the clinical site.

Program policies apply to all students and faculty. The Program and College reserve the right to make changes to the Handbook and maintain the right to refuse to matriculate a student deemed by the faculty to have not met prerequisite requirements, to be academically incompetent, or otherwise unfit or unsuited for enrollment.  The College Handbook is available for a complete resource on college procedures and policies.

Notice of Non-Discrimination

Wagner College and the Wagner College PA Program do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin or religion, in compliance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with Title IX of the Educational Amendment of 1972. The non-discrimination policy is consistent with federal and state statutes, rules and regulations. This applies to both activities on campus as well as at all clinical affiliate sites. At clinical affiliate sites, program policies may be superseded by those of the clinical site.

Wagner College has a policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, and related misconduct. Wagner College does not favor or prefer any individuals, characteristics, or groups, and prohibits all forms of discrimination and harassment based on protected status, including sexual and gender-based harassment, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, stalking and interpersonal violence, which need not be based on the individual’s protected status. In addition, this policy prohibits complicity for knowingly assisting in an act that violates this policy and retaliation against an individual because of their good faith participation in the reporting, investigation, or adjudication of violations of this policy. Wagner College students, faculty, and employees who violate this policy are met with appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal or termination from the College.

Wagner College and the PA Program do not favor or prefer any individuals, characteristics, or groups, and does not discriminate based on sex, race, color, creed, handicap, genetic information, pregnancy status, religion, national origin or ancestry, gender, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and veteran status and provides equal access to its services and activities, whether they are offered in-person or online.  Therefore, there are no admission or enrollment practices that favor specified individuals or groups, and all policies apply to all students.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Wagner College is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion at every level of the institution. This requires the community of students, faculty, administration, and staff that recognize the educational benefits for all its members that flow from such a community. The College encourages inquiry and reasoned dialogue in a climate of mutual respect and openness that enables genuine liberal art and professional education.

The Wagner College PA Program values equality of opportunity, human dignity, and racial/ethnic and cultural diversity. Accordingly, the Program does not engage in any discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, or disability. The Program provides all students with quality experiences within an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust and expects that all students abide by the policies of Wagner College concerning academic integrity, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination.

Work Policy

The PA Program does not maintain a policy that limits or prevents students from working, but does discourage students from working due to the time constraints of the intense curriculum and the requirements of the supervised clinical practice experiences. Students should therefore, not miss or leave class or a supervised clinical practice experience for work or any other personal appointments.

PA students are not required to work for the Program.  No student workers are used as administrative staff.  PA students do not substitute for or function as instructional staff or, during clinical experiences, do not substitute for clinical or administrative staff.

PA students are also not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors.  The global clinical schedule is prepared with appropriate supervised clinical practice experiences for all PA students. The PA Program coordinates all clinical practice sites and preceptors for all program required and elective clinical rotations. Students expressing an interest in a new clinical site and/or preceptor not included in the program’s preceptor database must complete a request form. The site is then reviewed and evaluated, in compliance with the site development policy for program approval. All clinical sites and preceptors are evaluated prior to development and on an ongoing basis.

Participation in a clinical experience may not be construed as gainful employment.  Accepting payment can result in loss of malpractice liability coverage for the student.  Once students have completed all requirements and graduate from the PA Program, they may pursue salaried positions at the clinical site or institution.

Health Screening & Proof of Immunization

Students must fulfill matriculation health requirements prior to beginning the program and must remain compliant with the continuing student health requirements, including immunization and health screening, for the duration of the program. These requirements are to assure protection against certain communicable diseases. For safety purposes, students who are non-compliant with requirements will not be allowed to participate in clinical activities until requirements are met. The health requirements listed are based on current Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for health professionals and state specific mandates. Students who wish to participate in elective international rotations should refer to the International Rotation Guide and the travel health policies addressed by country in the Guide. These policies are based on current CDC recommendations for international travel.

Proof of health screening performed annually and in compliance with immunization requirements, is required of all PA students in alignment with affiliation agreements with clinical affiliate sites. The annual health clearance should be obtained no earlier than 3 months before the start of the summer semester and no later than 2 weeks before the start of the summer semester. In addition, students must comply with any health clearance requirements of the affiliate sites to be able to participate in any clinical experiences. All students of the PA Program are required to maintain health insurance coverage throughout their enrollment in all phases of the program. Any cost that may be incurred for health screening, certification of physical examinations, and proof of immunizations is the responsibility of students. All requested documentation needs to be submitted by instructed deadlines.

Students must report any change in their health not noted on their annual physical examination to the Center for Health & Wellness immediately. Failure to notify the Center for Health & Wellness of any health changes that may affect patient care (or ability to meet Program Technical Standards) may result in delay in progression or dismissal from the Program.

Maintenance of Enrollment and Progression 

To maintain enrollment and progress in the program, the following are required:

  1. Maintain continuous registration
  2. Attend class, labs, SCPEs, and other program activities
  3. Successfully complete all course requirements and achieve all competencies
  4. Achieve a minimum grade of C+/77 for all courses
  5. Maintain a semester and cumulative GPA of 3.0

Remediation & Deceleration

The Wagner College PA Program monitors student progress and provides feedback on a continuous basis.

Remediation is offered by the Wagner College PA Program. Remediation is implemented when a student is identified as having an academic deficiency. This involves supplementary learning material and coursework to enhance knowledge or skills in the identified areas of deficiency. Remediation is mandatory and, when required, must be completed to demonstrate competency.  Remediation offers the opportunity to achieve competency in a particular component of the curriculum area in which the student did not demonstrate minimum competency.  Students must recognize that remediation may delay progression in the program, initiation of clinical rotations, or graduation. Should a student require remediation, the student will meet with the Remediation Coordinator to assess the learning needs and develop an Action Plan. As a component of remediation, the student is scheduled for meetings with both the Remediation Coordinator as well as the Instructor for the course requiring additional work.

Deceleration is defined as “the loss of a student from the entering cohort who remains matriculated in the PA program.” Deceleration in the Wagner PA Program occurs following a voluntary leave of absence or after a student on academic probation fails to meet the program’s standard for progression.

Decelerated students join a new cohort of students. They remain on academic warning, must register for the program’s summer remediation course, and the courses they failed that led to deceleration.

This process allows for a slower paced progression through the sequential curriculum of the three phases of the PA Program. Remediation and deceleration are considered for the student challenged with the curriculum workload and who will benefit from spending more time focusing on reviewing course content or courses in a decelerated track.

The remediation process and deceleration are designed to help faculty and students identify and address areas of difficulty or challenge with respect to academic knowledge, clinical performance, or fulfillment of any of the identified competencies. The nature of the remediation process is tailored to address specific learning areas in need or deficiencies. The following factors are considered in determining how the remediation option will be implemented. The opportunity to enter into an individualized remedial program is a privilege and is not automatically granted. The remediation program is developed based on:

  1. Student’s achievement of competencies and academic performance in all other courses.
  2. Time ascertained as necessary for the student to achieve identified competency.
  3. Schedule of student and faculty members assigned to supervise and conduct the remediation work.
  4. Extenuating circumstances that may hinder or impede the progress of the remediation process.
  5. Maintenance of a minimum semester and overall GPA of 3.0

After considering these factors and the student’s overall performance, the faculty will determine how best to provide a remediation process that will improve the student’s outcomes.

The remediation coordinator is responsible for oversight of the designed remediation plan and the assignment of a remediation advisor to the student. The advisor meets with the student, completes the Remediation Forms, interviews the student, reviews submitted remediation work, and assess completion of the student’s remediation study.

 

Grievance & Appeal Procedure

Students wishing to lodge a complaint regarding academic policy, procedure, or decision, as it relates to any alleged action prohibited by anti-discrimination acts,  are encouraged to discuss the matter with the Director of the Program. The Director will give the matter prompt attention and investigate the concerns and provide the student with feedback. If the Grievance is not resolved at this level, it can then be presented, in writing, to the Office of the Provost.

The document should include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:

  1. Statement of Grievance and the facts upon which it is based.
  2. Date of occurrence.
  3. Attempts made to solve the Grievance.
  4. Student signature and date.

The Provost will attempt to resolve the Grievance to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.  In the event an acceptable resolution is not achieved at this point, the faculty member or student may submit an Appeal, requesting in a memorandum addressed to the Provost that the Appeal be brought before a committee which will review all facts and make its recommendation to the President of the College.  The decision of the President is final.

Leave of Absence/Withdrawal/Dismissal

The student who wishes to Withdraw from the program or requests a Leave of Absence is offered appropriate counseling.  After discussing with the Executive Director the reason for withdrawal and future plans or options, the student must complete the appropriate “Change of Status” form.  This form, signed and dated by the student and the Executive Director, is placed in the individual’s record.

The student is also referred to the Center for Academic and Career Advisement at Wagner College for completion of appropriate forms.  For withdrawal from the College, see the Wagner College Undergraduate & Graduate Bulletin (available at wagner.edu).

If a student takes a leave for medical reasons, the PA Program requires documentation from a health care professional attesting to the student’s readiness to resume participation in the program.

A student may also be referred to the Academic Review Committee with recommendation for Dismissal for any of the following:

  1. The student has failed 3 or more courses during the Didactic Phase of the program
  2. The student enters the Clinical or Advanced Clinical Phase of the program with an academic probation status and subsequently fails a course
  3. Failure of 3 or more End of Rotation exams
  4. Failure to complete any required remediation, as determined by the program
  5. Professional behavior that warrants immediate dismissal from the program
  6. Failure to maintain semester and overall minimum GPAs of 3.0

Students dismissed from the program are also referred to the Office of Academic Advising and Accessibility (AAA) for consideration of other major or other career options.

Completion of Program

To ensure that students have achieved program goals and objectives and are in compliance with program standards, the following are required for completion of the program. All components of the program, including the listed requirements must be completed within no more than five (5) years from commencement of the program.

  • Adherence to the PA Code of Ethics
  • Resolution of any issues/requirements of Academic Honesty, Remediation, Deceleration and/or Probation.
  • Completion of all required didactic courses
  • Completion of all clinical rotations with a minimum of 2,000 clinical hours and 1,000 patient encounters
  • Grades of C+ or higher on all didactic, clinical, and advanced clinical courses with a 3.0 overall GPA.
  • Poster Presentation of Research Proposal
  • Thesis Presentation at Annual Research Forum
  • Clinical Practicums (OSCEs)
  • Comprehensive Competency Exams (Grade of 80 or higher)
  • Professional Portfolio
  • Summative Examination
  • Exit Interview

Students who complete the above are invited to participate in the PA Program White Coat Ceremony and the college commencement exercises.

Additional policies are shared with admitted students on orientation day to the program with the distribution of the Wagner College PA Program Student Handbook.