Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that demonstrates integrity and commitment to professional standards – concepts critical to a successful career as a nurse. Honesty and respect for self and others are important components to the practice of nursing. Dishonesty and disrespect will not be tolerated.

Critical Offenses

Critical offenses are violations of Colleges rules or misconduct that may justify dismissal. If dismissal is being considered, the student may be suspended immediately and for no more than three school days while the incident is investigated by the Associate Dean or designee. During the suspension period, students shall be prohibited from participating in classroom, laboratory, clinical, and school-related activities, and will be marked absent from all scheduled classes. Any behavior that unreasonably interferes with patient safety is grounds for immediate dismissal. Examples include:

Health/Safety

  • Willfully or recklessly endangering the physical or mental health of any person (assaulting, threatening, intimidating, stalking, bullying, hazing, dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, etc.)
  • Possession of weapons, firearms, or explosives on College or clinical sites premises
  • Possession of illegal drugs or an open container of an alcoholic beverage on college or clinical site premises
  • Being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while on college or clinical site premises

Academic Dishonesty

  • Cheating
  • Plagiarism
  • Manipulation, alteration, or destruction of another student’s academic work or faculty material
  • Any other act which might give one an unearned advantage in evaluation or performance

Fabrication

  • Presenting false transcripts
  • Lying about a personal issue to extend a deadline
  • Falsification of information

Failure to Respect Patient Confidentiality

  • Unauthorized access or copying of clinical site records or unauthorized release of patient information
  • Posting patient information or photos on social media
  • Sharing personal information about with others not authorized to receive it

Unprofessional Behavior

  • Disorderly conduct
  • Insubordinate acts or statements
  • Vulgar, demeaning, or offensive language (including on social media sites)
  • Conviction of a felony, including a nolo contendere plea

Theft

  • Taking someone else’s property
  • Copying software program from the College’s computers
  • Copyright infringement

Serious Offenses

Serious offenses may not justify immediate suspension and dismissal, but will require disciplinary action in the form of a written reprimand, and in some instances, suspension. Repeated commitment of serious offenses may result in dismissal.

  • Use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, on College premises or in unauthorized areas of clinical site
  • Filming, recording, or photographing at a clinical site

Minor Offenses

Minor offenses are lesser violations of College rules that require disciplinary action in the form of a verbal reprimand. Repeated commission of minor offenses may require a written warning or dismissal

  • Engaging in self-plagiarism as defined by the APA Manual
  • Attending to personal affairs during clinical experiences without approval from clinical faculty
  • Unauthorized use of a mobile communication device during class or clinical experiences
  • Failure to observe parking or traffic regulations on College or clinical site premises
  • Dress code violations

Disciplinary Process

To promote fairness and consistency, the College has established a system of discipline, with offenses grouped in categories defined as Minor, Serious and Critical. The following system of discipline is used to guide decision-making by the Associate Dean. Deviation in consequences may be warranted depending on the circumstances of the offense(s):

Critical Offense

1st Offense: Student may be suspended up to three days during the investigation. May result in dismissal from the College.

Serious Offense

1st Offense: Written reprimand

2nd Offense: Student may be suspended up to three days during the investigation. May result in dismissal from the College.

Minor Offense

1st Offense: Verbal reprimand

2nd Offense: Written reprimand

3rd Offense: Student may be suspended up to three days during the investigation. May result in dismissal from the College.