Undergraduate Nursing Catalog Policies

Clinical Requirements

The University policy exempting immunization requirements for students born prior to 1956 does not apply to nursing students. Prior to entry into NUR 307 and any course involving client/patient contact, students must comply with the School of Nursing clinical health and criminal background check requirements, which are located on the School of Undergraduate Student Handbook, and any additional requirements of those health care agencies to which they are assigned for clinicals. Affiliates have the right to deny clinical placement based on criminal background. Denial of clinical placements will stop progression in the Undergraduate Nursing Program.

Students who are not in compliance with nursing clinical health and background check requirements by the compliance deadline will be withdrawn from all courses (including any corequisite course) that require compliance. If students are withdrawn from courses for not being in compliance, they will not be allowed to register for those courses again until compliance is reached. Students who are not in compliance by two weeks before the start of a clinical will have to wait until the next semester when that clinal is offered to take that clinical and any corequisite courses. This will result in a delay of graduation. Notification of these deadlines is communicated to students by the Coordinator of Nursing Student Services through @maine.edu email.

​​​​​​Costs incurred by a USM School of Nursing student for health requirements and the background check may qualify the student for additional loan eligibility and can be built into the financial aid costs of attendance and education. Students must request such consideration by the Student Financial Services Office and provide documentation of actual costs incurred.

Nursing courses carry additional fees to cover laboratory and clinical costs. 

Nursing courses carry additional fees to cover laboratory and clinical costs. Students in the BS, BS-Accel, and RN to BS majors are charged a tuition differential by USM.  For information about the tuition differential students should contact Student Financial Services.  

A fee is also assessed each semester to cover the cost of standardized tests. This fee includes the cost of a review course at the end of the program. Nursing students must purchase uniforms according to the uniform policy. Because clinical experiences occur in a variety of settings in the southern and central Maine area, students must provide their own transportation to rural as well as urban areas and are required to attend the clinical to which they are assigned by the School of Nursing.

Grade Policies

The term "unsatisfactory grades" is used in this document.   Unsatisfactory grades are defined as follows: 

• A grade below C+ is unsatisfactory in a NUR course that utilizes letter grading.

• A grade of an F is unsatisfactory in a NUR pass/fail course.

• A grade below C is unsatisfactory in a CON course, Natural Science, Social Science course,  Statistics, or College Writing course that is required for the BS in Nursing major.

For those NUR courses that utilize an objective examination format, students must achieve a cumulative grade average grade of 77% or higher on all exams to pass the course. 

Grades will be calculated for each exam and made visible to students. At the end of the semester, exam grades will be averaged, and that score will be rounded, if necessary, as described below. 

Rounding will not be applied to individual exams in a course. Per mathematical rules, rounding to the nearest whole number is only affected by the digit immediately to the right of the decimal point. For example:  a score of 76.499 will be recorded as 76, and a score of 76.50 will be recorded as 77. This rounding policy is applicable to overall exam grades and final course grades.

Low pass (LP) grades are used in clinical, lab, and partnership courses to inform students whose performance is near failing. For a low pass in a clinical, students are accountable to address the weaknesses identified in their student evaluation tool in subsequent clinical courses.

A second low pass grade constitutes an F and stops progression in coursework in accordance with the progression policies.

GPA Requirements

Students are required to maintain a USM cumulative GPA of 2.75 and a natural science GPA of at least 2.67 to enroll in any NUR course. Exceptions to the above policy are: NUR 100, NUR 200, NUR 302, NUR 321, and students who are retaking a required NUR course may register for the course they need to retake, even if their USM GPA is below 2.75.

Natural Science and Social Science Course Policies

All natural science and social science courses and NUR 302 pharmacology which are required by the B.S. in Nursing program must be completed prior to beginning NUR 300, NUR 301, NUR 306, NUR 307, NUR 330, and NUR 331, and all subsequent courses in the curriculum. Natural science courses consist of: Anatomy and Physiology I Lecture and Lab, Anatomy and Physiology II Lecture and Lab, Chemistry (lab not required), Microbiology Lecture and Lab, Human Nutrition, and Pathophysiology. Social science courses consist of:  Multicultural Human Development, Introduction to Psychology, and Introduction to Sociology.

Each natural science course may be repeated only once. An unsatisfactory grade in the same science course a second time results in dismissal from the major. An unsatisfactory grade in any three total science courses results in dismissal from the major.

Each natural science course may be repeated only once. Failing the same science course a second time results in dismissal from the major. Failing any three total science courses results in dismissal from the major.

Course Sequencing and Progression Policies

Students who wish to take a required CON or NUR course at another university or college must follow the University of Southern Maine Prior Approval process, as described on the Registration and Scheduling Services website, with the assistance of their advisor.

Nursing courses are sequential. Mastery of the content in a designated semester of the curriculum (see Nursing plan of study in the Undergraduate Catalog) is required before progressing to the next semester in the curriculum. 

Students may not have more than 2 years between competing NUR 203 and starting NUR 300.

Students who have successfully completed NUR 300/301 may not have a gap longer than one year before enrolling in NUR 323/325 without authorization from the school. Once a student successfully completes NUR 323/325, the student must complete all degree requirements within four years.

Nursing lecture, lab, and clinical course combinations must be taken concurrently the first time a student is enrolled in each course. 

A grade lower than C+ in a NUR lecture course or an F in a NUR clinical or lab course will stop the student from registering for any other NUR clinical, NUR lecture, NUR lab, or the first nursing partnership course with the exception of NUR 321 and NUR356, which may be taken while repeating another NUR or CON course. With permission of the instructor of the partnership course, a student may continue to the second nursing partnership course while retaking a NUR course.

Students must achieve a satisfactory grade in the course that is repeated before entering the next semester of the nursing curriculum.

Students who withdraw from or receive an unsatisfactory grade in any NUR course will also be withdrawn from any corequisite courses that they are registered for. For example, if a student withdraws from NUR 300, they will also have to withdraw from NUR 301, 306, 307, and 339 because those courses have NUR 300 as a corequisite.  

Students who receive an unsatisfactory grade in NUR 423, 425 or 413, which take place in the first 7 weeks of the semester, will not be allowed to progress to NUR 470 and NUR 480 which take place in the second 7 weeks of the semester.   

A student may repeat a maximum of two CON or NUR required courses for which the student received an unsatisfactory grade per the course grade policies. A third unsatisfactory grade in a required CON or NUR course will result in dismissal from the nursing program.

If a student receives an F in an elective NUR clinical course, they may not register to repeat that clinical elective or enroll in any other NUR clinical elective without permission of the Associate Dean of the School of Nursing. A clinical elective course may be repeated only once.

The School of Nursing Undergraduate Admissions and Advancement Committee will review the academic record of any student who receives one or more unsatisfactory grades in a given semester, whose GPA or natural science GPA is unsatisfactory, or who is not in compliance with the Catalog policies. The consequences of unsatisfactory progress may include probation in the School of Nursing, suspension from the School of Nursing, or dismissal from the School of Nursing.

Incomplete Grades

A grade of "Incomplete" may be assigned by a faculty member when a student, because of extraordinary circumstances, has failed to complete course requirements in a required CON or NUR course. In addition to complying with the University's Incomplete grades policy, Nursing Incomplete grades must be resolved satisfactorily for the student to progress to subsequent required CON or NUR courses in the curriculum.

Retention Policies

The School of Nursing requires its part time and full time students to maintain academic standing according to hours completed. The following requirements are exceptions or additions to University policies:

A student who does not maintain a USM cumulative GPA of 2.75 will be placed on probation within the School of Nursing. If placed on probation, a student has a maximum of two semesters to achieve a 2.75 cumulative USM GPA, or the student will be dismissed from the School of Nursing. A student on probation may take support courses to restore their USM GPA to a level of 2.75 or above, at which point progress in nursing lecture and clinical courses may resume.

The School of Nursing reserves the right to accept and retain only those students who satisfy the academic and clinical health requirements necessary for nursing. A student who is suspended by the University of Southern Maine for an academic integrity violation may also be dismissed from the School of Nursing.

The Maine State Board of Nursing may refuse to grant a license on the basis of criminal history record information relating to convictions denominated in Title 5, Chapter 341, Subsection 5301 of the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated.

Student Progression and Retention Appeals

Appeals for exceptions to any Undergraduate Nursing policy must be initiated by the student in writing. Information about how to submit an appeal is located in the Undergraduate Nursing Student Handbook.

Appeals related to a specific grade (course or assessment within a course) must be initiated by the student in writing. The student will first direct the appeal to the faculty of the course. If the appeal is denied by the faculty and the student wants to appeal further, they should next appeal in writing to the Associate Dean of the School of Nursing.

Graduation Requirements

For graduation, no general education requirements or prerequisites may be taken pass-fail and no more than three credits of non-nursing elective may be taken pass-fail. Only one C- or D grade from the arts or humanities will be accepted. Otherwise, a minimum grade of C or above in these courses must be achieved. Grades of C- or below are not acceptable in any nursing prerequisite course.

Traditional B.S. in nursing students graduate in December or May. Summer graduation is limited to students in the Accelerated B.S. program. To be eligible for graduation with a bachelor of science degree with a major in nursing, the student must have successfully completed all requirements and a minimum of 120 credit hours with a minimum grade point average of 2.75.

Unless otherwise noted all policies applicable to the Traditional Fall/Spring BS in nursing students also apply to accerlated students.

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Accelerated students who fail or withdraw from a NUR or CON course will no longer be able to follow the accelerated course sequencing which will result in a delay to graduation. They will be moved to the traditional nursing program course sequence of fall and spring course offerings. 

Unless otherwise stated, all policies applicable to students in the baccalaureate program also apply to students in the R.N. to B.S. program.

Once a student is matriculated, the student is required to notify the Coordinator of Nursing Student Services of any change in status of their RN license. 

In order to take NUR 419, R.N. to B.S. students must comply with any requirements of those health care agencies to which they are assigned for clinicals, which may include criminal background checks. Affiliates have the right to deny clinical placement based on criminal background.

GPA Requirements

Students in the R.N. to B.S. program are required to maintain a USM cumulative GPA of 2.50.

Retention Policies

The School of Nursing requires its part time and full time students to maintain academic standing according to hours completed. The following requirements are exceptions or additions to University policies:

A student who does not maintain a USM cumulative grade point average of 2.50 may be reviewed by the School of Nursing Undergraduate Admissions and Advancement Committee who may recommend probation, suspension, or dismissal. If placed on probation, a student has a maximum of two semesters to achieve a 2.50 cumulative USM GPA, or the student may be suspended or dismissed from the School of Nursing. While on probation, the minimum semester GPA must be at least 2.50 or the student may be suspended. If a student is suspended for one semester, the student may be dismissed at the end of the next enrolled semester if the GPA requirement is not met.

Students must complete the degree program within four years of matriculation or they will be dismissed from the major.

Graduation Requirements

To be eligible for graduation with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing, the student must have successfully completed all requirements and a minimum of 120 credit hours with a minimum grade point average of 2.50.

USM Alert is the emergency warning system of the University. All students are automatically enrolled in this system after matriculation to the university. You can learn more and update your alert settings here: usm.maine.edu/usmalert

Information about Campus Closures & when Decisions are Made: usm.maine.edu/finance/weather-delays-and-cancellations

Nursing students are placed on an appropriate School of Nursing undergraduate listserv depending on the program in which they are enrolled. DO NOT Unsubscribe yourself from the email list until after you graduate.

USM-CONUNDER@lists.maine.edu is for students in the Traditional BS in Nursing program *note that we will be merging the accelerated students into CONUNDER and discontinuing the accelerated student list.  We will email students when this takes place at some point in Spring 2022)

USM-RN@lists.maine.edu is for RN to BS in Nursing program

The School of Nursing uses these listserves to send information to students about clinical and curriculum changes, pin ordering information, meeting notices, and other timely information. Students may also use these listservs to share public information with each other.

Lindsay Larsen, lindsay.larsen@maine.edu, administers the listservs. If you are not receiving messages from the School of Nursing, please contact Ms. Larsen to make sure that you are on the appropriate listserv for your program. 

Course enrollment caps are typically set by individual academic departments in consultation with the respective dean and vary according to the level and type of course.  

Nursing courses (both CON and NUR prefixes) have set strict enrollment limits and sometimes waitlists. Students have to meet prerequisites for most courses. 

Lab and Clinical Enrollments:  We will never approve going over the course capacity in a lab or clinical course.  Clinical placement swaps are not allowed.  Lab swaps requests from students should be referred to Netty Provost.

Lecture Enrollments:  We support maintain the course capacities on lectures but occasionally a student may be given permission to join a full lecture course.  Part time faculty - Please consult with Netty Provost before giving a student permission to join your full course.  Full time faculty - you may make your own determination about enrolling lecture courses that you teach but please see the waitlist policy below and honor it for any relevant courses.

Waitlists: Dr. Netty Provost, netty.provost@maine.edu, manages the waitlists for all undergraduate nursing courses that have waitlists enabled (NUR 100, CON 252, CON 356, NUR 321, NUR 302, and in summers only NUR 424 genetics).  Please consult her if you have questions from students about waitlists.  

The University reserves the right to cancel classes in the event of low enrollment.

Assignments are due on the date specified in the syllabus or negotiated with the faculty member. Any assignment received after the designated date will be considered late. Exceptions to the due date will be made only under extraordinary circumstances and must be negotiated before the assignment is due. A course syllabus may expand upon this policy. It is the discretion of the faculty on the consequence of late assignments. whether late assignments are accepted or a standard value deduction.

Students should keep an original copy of all assignments submitted. If a student wishes to contest a grade on an assignment, they may submit this original copy to the Director of the School of Nursing with a request for a second reader. The second reader and student will remain anonymous. The final grade for an assignment submitted for a second reading will be the average of the original grade and the grade given by the second reader.

Exams will not be given early. If an exam must be missed due to extraordinary circumstances, the course faculty member(s) must be notified personally prior to the exam. Exam make-up may be arranged with the faculty member(s), who reserves the right to change the examination format or defer the exam. A course syllabus may expand upon this policy.

Everyone associated with the University of Southern Maine is expected to adhere to the principles of academic integrity central to the academic function of the University. Any breach of academic integrity represents a serious offense. Each student has a responsibility to know the standards of conduct and expectations of academic integrity that apply to academic tasks. Violations of academic integrity include any actions that attempt to promote or enhance the academic standing of any student by dishonest means. Cheating on an examination, stealing the words or ideas of another (i.e., plagiarism), making statements known to be false or misleading, falsifying the results of one's research, improperly using library materials or computer files, or altering or forging academic records are examples of violations of this policy which are contrary to the academic purposes for which the University exists. Acts that violate academic integrity disrupt the educational process and are not acceptable.

Evidence of a violation of the academic integrity policy will normally result in disciplinary action. A copy of the complete policy may be obtained from the office of Community Standards and Mediation, online at usm.maine.edu/community-standards-mediation/academic-integrity or by calling and requesting a copy at (207) 780-5242. 

Responsibility and accountability in nursing practice are required at all times. Failure in these areas may result in dismissal from the School of Nursing. Students are expected to be aware of their clinical practice limitations and to seek appropriate guidance from clinical faculty as appropriate and necessary. Use of mind-altering drugs (alcohol, marijuana, depressants, etc.) before or during clinical experiences is grounds for dismissal from the nursing program. See The USM Substance Abuse Policy in the Student Code of Conduct.

Students are expected to follow the format of The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA Publication Manual presents explicit style requirements for authors and students in the preparation of manuscripts, assignments, and papers.

Students are expected to maintain professional confidentiality regarding clients' identities and sensitive information by not including identifying information (client initials, address, employment, etc.) in coursework or course notes; guarding any notes carefully; limiting discussions of clients to clinical instructor/seminar faculty, fellow students during clinical conference and with appropriate staff members of the clinical agency. This expectation is required by federal law with fees and punishment for disclosure of a patient's personal health information. It is also important to treat any sensitive information related to peers and faculty with confidentiality, accountability, and responsibility. The University of Southern Maine is committed to ensuring the privacy and security safeguards set forth under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) along with the recent changes imposed by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). For more information, please visit https://usm.maine.edu/orio/hipaa-resources

The School of Nursing subscribes to the American Nurses’ Association (ANA) Guidelines for Ethical Practice. All students should read the full guidelines with interpretive statements here: https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

In summary, these guidelines state that:

1. The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person.

2. The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether as an individual, family, group, community, or population.

3. The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.

4. The nurse has authority, accountability, and responsibility for nursing practice; makes decisions; and takes action consistent with the obligation to promote health and to provide optimal care.

5. The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to promote health and safety, preserve wholeness of character and integrity, maintain competence, and continue personal and professional growth.

6. The nurse, through individual and collective effort, establishes, maintains, and improves the ethical environment of the work setting and conditions of employment that are conducive to safe, quality health care.

7. The nurse, in all roles and settings, advances the profession through research and scholarly inquiry, professional standards development, and the generation of both nursing and health policy.

8. The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities.

9.  The profession of nursing, collectively through its professional organizations, must articulate nursing values, maintain the integrity of the profession, and integrate principles of social justice into nursing and health policy.

All students at USM must follow the policies in the Student Code of Conduct.

The University of Southern Maine is committed to making our campuses safer places for students. Because of this commitment, and our federal obligations, faculty and other employees are considered mandated reporters when it comes to experiences of interpersonal violence (sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating or domestic violence, and stalking). Disclosures of interpersonal violence must be passed along to the University’s Deputy Title IX Coordinator who can help provide support and academic remedies for students who have been impacted. More information can be found online at http://usm.maine.edu/campus-safety-project or by contacting Sarah E. Holmes at sarah.e.holmes1@maine.edu or 207-780-5767.

If students want to speak with someone confidentially, the following resources are available on and off campus: University Counseling Services (207-780-4050); 24 Hour Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-871-7741); 24 Hour Domestic Violence Hotline (1-866-834-4357).

The University of Southern Maine is an EEO/AA employer and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Sarah E. Harebo, Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).