/Institutions/University-of-Texas-Rio-Grande-Valley/json/som/policies-local.json

/Institutions/University-of-Texas-Rio-Grande-Valley/json/som/policies.json

EAA002 Pre-Clerkship Attendance Policy

Policy Number: EAA002
Policy Title: Pre-Clerkship Attendance Policy

A. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance for attendance during Pre-Clerkship MS Years 1 & 2. These guidelines comply with both University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine and Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

B. Persons Affected

This policy applies to all students participating in UTRGV School of Medicine Pre-Clerkship MS Year 1-2.

C. Implementation Date

This policy is effective with the Class of 2020 and will remain in effect unless otherwise amended.

D. Policy

Year 1 & 2 medical students are expected to attend and fully participate in all required educational activities. Module lead(s) will uphold attendance and punctuality requirements for all required educational activities. It is the student's responsibility to be knowledgeable of required activities during each course in order to remain in compliance. Planned required educational activities for each module are found in course calendars, syllabi, or on module learning management system (LMS) sites.

 

Required educational activities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Curricular Onboarding & Orientation
• Foundations Medicine course
• Problem-Based Learning sessions and Case Wrap-ups
• lnterprofessional Education sessions
• Clinical Skills sessions
• Flipped Classroom sessions
• Patient Panels and Guest Lecturers
• Laboratory sessions
• Quiz, Mid-module, and Final Examination periods
• Accreditation mandated trainings (Financial Aid, Assessment & Evaluation, etc.)

NOTE: Attendance to lectures during MS years 1 and 2 is not required but is highly recommended and encouraged.

 

Tardiness and Unexcused Absences

Students must arrive on time to all required educational activities. Tardiness is defined as arriving five (5) minutes past the scheduled start time of the activity. All instances of tardiness will be recorded. Students who experience an unforeseen event causing tardiness must immediately contact the Module Director and if late to a PBL session, the PBL facilitator should be notified as well. Excessive tardiness, two (2) or more times to a required educational activity, will be recorded as an unexcused absence.

Students arriving fifteen (15) minutes past the scheduled start time of the activity will be recorded as an unexcused absence. 

 

Quiz & Examination Assessment Periods

All students are required to attend and arrive on time to all quizzes and assessments. Student's arriving five (5) minutes past the start time for quizzes will not be permitted to enter the testing room and will receive a zero (0) for their grade. Quiz links in the learning management site will only be available for five (5) after the assessment start time. The link will be disable thereafter.

Please refer to policy EAA007 regarding administration of examinations for information regarding tardiness to examinations. 

Missed Content 

In all cases of absence, the student is responsible for the material missed while absent. For mandatory components of the course, designated make-up and alternative learning experiences are outlined in the course syllabus and must be completed by deadlines established between the student and the module lead(s). For non-mandatory course content, Module Leads and Module Assistant Leads are under no obligation to provide students with make-up activities. 

Students must make up content from absences (e.g., quizzes, assessments) within 5 business days.

Failure to complete make-up work and alternative learning experiences, in a timely manner as specified by the module lead, may result in overall course failure. 

Consequences for Excused and Unexcused Absences

Absences (including both excused and unexcused) cannot total more than four (4) days in a non-longitudinal module. For longitudinal courses (clinical skills, health systems science and language of medicine), absences cannot total more than five (5) business days for the entire academic year. Absences beyond these limits specified will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-Clerkships, or designee.

Unexcused absences will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action, which may include failure in professionalism and a requirement to repeat a module. Module Leads and Module Assistant Leads are under no obligation to provide students with make-up activities due to unexcused absences. 

• If one unexcused absence occurs, the student will be immediately reported to the Module Lead who will complete an Early Concern Note in which the student will be referred to the Office of Student Affairs.
• Subsequent unexcused absences within the same module will be treated as lapse in professional behavior and handled as outlined in the UTRGV SOM Student professionalism policy (https://utrgv.smartcatalogiq.com/som/policies/som-policies/student-policies/student-conduct-policies/eaa081-utrgv-som-student-professionalism-policy/).

 

Excessive Absences

Students with absences that exceed the maximum limits outlined in the previous section require consultation with the by the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-Clerkships will either:

A) Determine that the student must withdraw from the course; or 

B) Defer action to the module lead(s), who may then:

a. Require the student to make up the missed time prior to the end of the course, if feasible; or

b. Assign a temporary grade of "incomplete", requiring the student to complete remaining course requirements; or

c. Assign a grade of "F" (fail) for the course, requiring the student to remediate the course.

 

Special Circumstances

A) Religious Holy Days 

a. Texas Education Code Section 51.911 provides that students may be absent from class for the observation of a religious holy day, Such absences will not count toward the limits specified above. 

b. Students will be required to submit excused absence request for religious hold days as outline in Appendix A.

B) Military Service

a. Texas education code section 51.9111 provides that leave must be granted to a student to participate in active military service to which the student is called, including travel associated with the service. Such absences will not count toward the limits specified above.

b. Students will be required to submit excused absence requests for Military Service as outlined in Appendix A.

C) Other Events

a. Requests for exceptions from the limits specified above will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-Clerkships.

b. An excused absence may be granted in light of a major life event, such as the wedding of an immediate family member, or other major event. The granting of an excused absence in these instances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

APPENDIX A: Procedure

Absence Requests

Student s must complete the Student Absence Request form¹ for all requests for absences at least four (4) weeks in advance of the planned absence that will occur within a module. Student completion of an Absence Request Form does not constitute automatic approval. It is the student's responsibility to ensure all module requirements as outlined in the syllabus will be met before requesting an absence (e.g., travel, conference attendance, etc. After submission, all student absence request forms will be reviewed directly by the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-clerkship. The Assistant Dean will liaise with other necessary parties (e.g., module leads) as necessary and notify the student of the decision. A record of all the student's absence requests will be monitored by the Office of Educational Affairs.

If an absence is not approved, it is expected that the student will make the necessary arrangements to change their schedule to be present.

Exam Absences

The testing coordinator is responsible of keeping records of attendance and tardiness for all exams. The testing coordinator will report any unexcused student absences and/or tardiness for exams to the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-Clerkships, who will address the issue with the student and make a determination of actions to be taken, after consultation with all other concerned parties, as appropriate. All students who take an exam prior to or following the scheduled exam date will be required to complete and return a signed confidentiality agreement form to the Assistant Dean of Assessment and Evaluation before the exam can be schedule on an alternative date.

Absence Requests for Personal Medical Appointments and Illnesses:

Students should not schedule personal appointments and activities during times when required educational activities are scheduled.

If an absence is due to an illness or injury:

• For absences less than or equal to one business day;

• Students must submit an excused absence form to the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, preclerkship for approval.
• No more than 3 medical related absences less than or equal ti a business day and unsupported by a doctor's note are permitted within an academic year.

   

• For absences more than one business day;

• Appropriate documentation (usually considered to be a doctor's note) on the illness or injury must be provided
• Students must submit an excused absence form to the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Preclerkship for approval.

Fo all instances of absence due to illness or injury, the student is expected to maintain communication with the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Preclerkship and the module leadership as to their status, Absence requests. for illness or injury will count towards the absence limits for each module, with exceptions handled on a case-by-case basis by the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-clerkships.

 

Absence Requests to Attend Professional Conferences and Meetings

Students are encouraged to participate in professional conferences and meetings. However, students must be free of any academic deficiencies and professionalism violations and must take into consideration their academic responsibilities when making decisions to participate in professional conferences and meetings that would necessitate being absent from mandatory scheduled academic activities. Students who wish to participate in professional conferences and meetings must:

• Obtain prior approval to be absent from mandatory educational activities to attend a professional conference or meeting in advance of applying for an award for funding to attend and registering for conferences or meeting and prior to making travel arrangements.²     Approval must be sought at least 4 weeks in advance. 
• Students must submit copies of the conference invitation to present, conference program, and travel to the excused absence request form.
• Students must provide a plan for completing all missed course work.
• Absence requests will be reviewed and approved by the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-clerkship.

Absence Requests to Attend Summer Research Programs

Students are encouraged to participate in scholarly activities and summer research programs. However, student must ensure that they are able to return to start the curriculum by the start of the academic year. Should summer programs extend into the academic year, students must exhaust all options of ending their research program early.

Absences Due to Holidays and Religious Observances

Students are expected to report to their required scheduled educational activity during holidays unless otherwise specified by their module co-director.

All students, faculty and staff at the UTRGV School of Medicine have the right to expect that the SOM will reasonably accommodate their religious observances, practices, and beliefs.

Absences due to Extended Illness

• Students with extended illnesses must contact both the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and the Assistant Dean of Educational Affairs, Pre-clerkship.
• Students must provide the Office of Associate Dean Student Affairs written documentation of the nature of the illness from his or her personal physician.
• Students also have the option of requesting a Leave of Absence in the event of a prolonged illness.³

Unplanned or Emergency Absences

Students are required to contact the Office of Student Affairs at 956-296-1410 as soon as possible for all unplanned and/or emergency absences (e.g., accident, family illness or death, or other unplanned event/emergency). Students will still be required to complete an Absence Request Form the day of return. Emergency situations must be discussed with and approved by the Office of Student Affairs. Excused absences will be granted for emergencies, after approval by the Office of Student Affairs, and not count towards the above outlined limits. Confidentiality will be upheld on all matters discussed.