ACADEMIC INFORMATION AND COLLEGE POLICIES RASMUSSEN COLLEGE EXTERNSHIPS, PRACTICUMS, AND CLINICALS Health Sciences Externships, Practicums, and Clinicals Externships, clinicals, and practicums for Health Sciences programs are to be conducted in Rasmussen approved locations. Each practicum site will be established utilizing an agreement to determine the responsibilities of the practicum partner, Rasmussen College, and the participating student. Students may need to travel out of the immediate area to complete practicum activities. The cost of any such travel is the responsibility of the student. Practicums/ Externships in Health Sciences programs have attendance expectations that differ from the general Rasmussen College Attendance Policy. These attendance policies can be found in the program-specific manuals/handbooks. In order to successfully complete a practicum experience, students must complete the required number of practicum hours for the course. Students who do not complete all required practicum hours during the quarter or term in which the course is scheduled will fail the practicum course. All student activities associated with the curriculum, especially while the student is completing his or her clinical rotations, will be educational in nature. The student will not receive any monetary remuneration during this educational experience, nor will he or she be substituted for hired staff personnel within the clinical institution. Often, students will be offered a position toward the end of their rotation. It must be understood by both parties that should compensation occur for time associated with the practicum requirement, the student may be dismissed from the program and forfeit any accumulated hours. POLICIES AND GRIEVANCES Accommodations Policy The mission of Rasmussen College in disability services is to create an accessible college community where students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of the educational experience. Rasmussen College recognizes its obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and commits to the success of its students and faculty by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability and requiring reasonable accommodations to qualified disabled students in all programs and activities. Students with disabilities do not have to self-disclose or register with the Campus Accommodations Coordinator, although the College encourages them to do so. Students seeking academic accommodations or adjustments must contact the Campus Accommodations Coordinator to request such services. Students who are unsure who to contact should check with their Academic Dean or Campus Director. Attendance A basic requirement for employment in any organization is regular, on-time attendance. Rasmussen College students are expected to be on time and in regular attendance for all of their classes. Workplace etiquette also requires a call be made if an absence is necessary. Rasmussen College students are expected to call the College and to indicate if they will be absent or tardy. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor to get missed information, class work, and assignments. Attendance requirements are met by (a) attending a face-to-face course session at the campus or other class location, or (b) substantive online activity, including commentary in the discussion section of the online classroom, posting of required assignments and course quizzes and exams in a timely manner. Discussion posts in the student lounge area of the classroom are encouraged but do not count as attendance activities. Attendance is not equivalent to participation. Student grades will be impacted by the frequency and quality of participation in class, whether face-to-face or online, consistent with the requirements of the particular course and as outlined in the course syllabus. Rasmussen College uses a standard grading scale for its courses (although some programs may be required to follow additional standards). Faculty are required to keep accurate attendance records which are submitted to the student records. Rasmussen College makes attendance records available to supporting agencies and prospective employers. Students must maintain regular attendance and be in satisfactory academic standing to remain eligible for financial aid. First Week Attendance: Students are expected to meet attendance requirements in their courses on or before the seventh (7th) day of the start of a term. Students who have not met the attendance requirement in at least one scheduled College course within seven days of the start of a term may be administratively withdrawn from the College. Course Attendance: If a student has not been in attendance in a course within 14 days of their last date of attendance in that course, he or she may be administratively withdrawn from the course. If the student has not been in attendance in any courses within 14 days of their last day of attendance, he or she may be administratively withdrawn from the College. Upon withdrawal a student’s financial aid eligibility will be adjusted according to the Institution’s refund policy as described in the College Catalog and will be assigned grades according to the Rasmussen College Drop/Add Class Policy. Externships, Practicums, and Clinicals in Nursing and Health Sciences programs have attendance requirements that are more stringent than the attendance policy above. Attendance policies for programs with additional requirements can be found in program-specific manuals/handbooks. Rasmussen College Academic Integrity Policy I. Introduction: As an institution of higher learning, Rasmussen College is dedicated to global enrichment and meeting the evolving needs of our diverse communities. In pursuit of this commitment, students of Rasmussen College are expected to uphold the very highest business and personal ethics and embrace opportunities for engaging in honest intellectual inquiry by practicing academic integrity. Academic Integrity is the commitment to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. The purpose of this policy is to clarify the College’s expectations with regard to student academic behavior and provide examples of academic misconduct. Misconduct is a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, whether intentional or unintentional, and includes all forms of academic cheating. II. Definitions a) Academic Misconduct is the violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, including all forms of academic cheating including but not limited to acts listed below and any other act that results in unfair advantage to the student. b) Cheating: Distributing or receiving answers or information by any means other than those expressly permitted by an instructor for any academic exercise. Examples include: i. Copying answers, data, or information for any academic exercise from another student in which the student is not expressly permitted to work jointly with others. 110 rasmussen.edu ii. Impersonation: Assuming another student’s identity or allowing another person to complete an academic exercise on one’s own behalf. iii. Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, texts, devices, notes, information or study aids to gain unfair advantage in any academic exercise (i.e., assignments, discussions, tests, quizzes, papers, labs). c) Collusion: Knowingly assisting, attempting to assist, or receiving assistance from another student or students to commit academic misconduct, or conspiring with any other person in or outside of the College to commit misconduct. d) Destruction, Theft, Obstruction, Interference: Seeking to gain unfair academic advantage by destroying, damaging, or stealing equipment or products of any academic exercise; or obstructing or interfering with an instructor’s materials or another student’s academic work. e) Fabrication, Falsification, Forgery: Deliberately falsifying, altering, or inventing student records, information or citations. Forgery is the act of imitating or counterfeiting documents, signatures, and the like. f) Plagiarism is the act of representing an individual’s or organization’s words, thoughts, or ideas as one’s own. Examples include: i. Using information (a paraphrase or quotation, in whole or in part) from a source without attempting to give credit to the author of that source. ii. Using charts, illustrations, images, figures, equations, etc., without citing the source. iii. Using an academic exercise (in whole or in part) purchased or copied from a ghostwriter or paper/essay mill. iv. Copyright infringement or piracy, including the use, alteration, or duplication of media, software, code, or information when expressly prohibited or where copyright exists or is implied. III. Violations: Students who violate the academic integrity policy (commit academic misconduct) are subject to corrective action in order to deter future misconduct and to hold students accountable for their actions. Academic Integrity violations and corrective actions are documented and cumulative; corrective actions may be increased based on a past disciplinary record, the severity of the violation, and the impact upon the academic community. The College reserves the right to dismiss a student from the College for academic misconduct; students who are dismissed from the College because of academic misconduct may not reenroll. Students who commit Academic Misconduct also run the risk of harming future educational and employment opportunities. IV. Appeal: A student found in violation of the Academic Integrity Policy may appeal a finding of misconduct using the Academic Appeal policy located in the catalog. Conduct/Dismissal Students are expected to conduct themselves with the same standards of behavior as are expected in the workplace and in the community at large. Consequently, the following is an all- encompassing policy regarding student conduct. The College reserves the right to suspend or dismiss any students whose conduct is detrimental to the educational environment. A student dismissed from the College because of misconduct may not reenroll. Conduct/ dismissal guidelines for School of Nursing students, or School of Health Sciences students enrolled in the Medical Assisting, Health Information Technician/Management, Medical Laboratory Technician and Surgical Technologist programs can be found in each programmatic handbook provided at programmatic orientation. This includes, but is not limited to, conduct: • By students, faculty, or staff that is detrimental within the classroom environment. • That interferes with the well- being of the fellow students and/ or faculty and staff members. • That causes damage to the appearance or structure of the College facility and/or its equipment. • By students who copy or otherwise plagiarize the assignments/projects of other students or professionals. • By students who otherwise display conduct detrimental to their own academic progress or ultimate success in the field for which they are being educated. Students, employees and guests using Rasmussen networks to access the internet are prohibited from viewing inappropriate material or visiting sites which have been identified as facilitating the violation of copyright/intellectual property protections or other suspicious/illegal activity. Prohibited material could include pornographic images, illegal file sharing programs (such as the illegal downloading and sharing of music), or other violations of the Rasmussen College Acceptable Use Policy. Violations will result in the loss of network use privileges and possibly other penalties, up to and including dismissal. Anti-Hazing Policy It shall be the policy of the College to strictly prohibit any action or situation which may recklessly or intentionally endanger the mental, physical health or safety of its students for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization operating under the sanction of the College. This policy applies to any student or other person who may be associated with any student organization. Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action including but not limited to suspension and/or termination from school or employment. The Campus Director of the College shall be responsible for the administration of this policy. Dress Code Rasmussen College encourages students to dress as if they were going to work and to start acquiring a wardrobe suitable for employment after graduation. Several programs, including those in our School of Nursing and our School of Health Sciences, have stringent dress code and professional appearance requirements. Standards are specified in the applicable program handbooks. In some cases, failure to meet the required standard may impact a student’s ability to participate in an externship or clinical experience, and may ultimately impact the student’s grade. Please consult the handbook specific to your program or see your Program Coordinator/Dean for details. Rasmussen College Minimum Technical Requirements In order to be successful in online courses, you must use a computer system that meets or exceeds the minimum technical requirements specified in the course. If you do not meet those requirements, you may need to attend a campus to complete some assignments. Due to frequent changes in technology, technological requirements change periodically. Technical requirements necessary for online courses to run properly are located on the following website: content. learntoday.info/ course_files/techinfo/techinfo_ols. html, which is updated regularly to reflect current requirements. Please read the following current technical requirements information carefully to ensure that your computer is properly configured for online courses. Some courses require the use of software that is not Mac compatible. If you use a Mac, you may need to attend a campus, use a PC, or run the software in Windows emulation mode in order to complete some required course activities and assignments.
