Grade Scheme
Grades will be determined in the undergraduate programs using the following grading scale. To progress in the undergraduate program, students must pass each course with a C (74%) minimum.
| A | 100 % to 94.0% |
| A- | < 93.0 % to 90.0% |
| B+ | < 89.0 % to 87.0% |
| B | < 86.0 % to 84.0% |
| B- | < 83.0 % to 80.0% |
| C+ | < 79.0 % to 77.0% |
| C | < 76.0 % to 74.0% |
| F | < 74.0 % |
Assignment Outline
Peer Teaching Hours - 10%
Nursing 4555 students are required to complete five (5) hours of coaching, facilitating, and assisting Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 students during scheduled lab hours. Participation must be documented and signed by the Level 1, 2, or 3 student supported and by a faculty member or laboratory coordinator. Completed documentation is to be uploaded to the designated Canvas assignment in this course once all five hours are fulfilled.
Professional Conduct and Preparation
Students must adhere to professional dress standards during all clinical and lab hours, including wearing closed-toe shoes, securing hair appropriately, and following the piercing guidelines outlined in the Student Handbook.
Students are expected to arrive on time; tardiness or absence will result in a clinical point.
Students must come prepared by spending 30 minutes (which counts toward the 5 required hours) reviewing materials identified by the faculty teaching the skill. These resources are available in this Canvas course and in the skills lab.
During skill demonstrations, students are expected to remain attentive and provide coaching to Level 1, 2, and 3 students only on content taught by the nursing faculty leading that skill. Students may not provide additional “tips and tricks.” Coaching should focus on reinforcing approved materials and techniques, with mentorship guided by faculty instruction and course resources.
Peer Mentoring to a level 3
NURS 4555 students will also participate in peer mentoring for an assigned level 3 student. Topics covered in this mentoring program include but not limited to, time management, clinical expectations, delegation, communication, problem solving, and stress and wellness strategies as needed by each level 3. NURS 4555 students will be expected to act as a mentor and leader throughout the semester.
Precepting Clinical - 35%
Nursing is a practice discipline and cannot be learned solely in the classroom. Through supervised clinical practice, students apply their nursing knowledge base, gain further competence in skills, and utilize leadership and management abilities to plan, deliver, and evaluate care to a variety of clients in a variety of settings. As graduating nurses, students demonstrate expected professional behaviors of a baccalaureate nurse, and function as members of the health care team. The preceptor experience consists of 11, 12 - hour shifts with their assigned preceptor(s).
Documentation for Precepting
Students prepare, present, and review with preceptor a written list of student specific goals to be achieved during the precepting experience. Submit in canvas
Students will update the assigned google calendar (link given by course instructor) with their scheduled shifts and text assigned clinical faculty every week least 24 hours before clinical shifts. Any change in schedule, nurse working with student, or any other unexpected event is reported directly to assigned clinical faculty member. If a student is not able to contact their clinical faculty member within 30 minutes, the alternate faculty member is contacted. Strict communication is necessary.
Students will send a text no later than Sunday evening at 1800 hours to their assigned clinical faculty which includes...
- Briefly how the preceptor experience is going
- Weekly student preceptor schedule for the upcoming week (If there are no shifts, send an email/text anyway indicating no shifts scheduled.) - Update should include the number each shift is out of the 9 and the date of the assigned shift
- Example: Shift 9, 10/2
Students will maintain a clinical log of all precepting experiences, addressing goals, daily progress, learning, and challenges as well as student perceptions of the experiences. Clinical logs will be submitted at the end of the precepting experience in an assignment in canvas.
Evaluation of Clinical Performance
Evaluation of clinical performance is based upon the program outcomes. Each preceptor will be asked to perform a mid-term and a final evaluation on the student and fax it to the nursing instructor. Students receiving scores of 3 or less on the final evaluation will have a remediation conference with their clinical instructor to discuss their performance and decide if further clinical time is needed. The course instructor will share with each student the results of their mid-term, final evaluation and student progress and provide an opportunity for a face to face meeting to review results and progress as needed. At the completion of the preceptor experience, the student will be asked to fill out an evaluation on the preceptorship experience (found in canvas)
NCLEX Prep Testing - 10%
Preparation for taking the NCLEX examination needs to take priority for students as they approach graduation. Students will prepare for and participate in NCLEX preparation class weekly to improve skills and ability to successfully take the NCLEX. Students will provide proof of taking from 50 to 150 NCLEX type questions weekly (this could vary depending upon the week). In addition, test questions may be taken in class and testing skills and human response to testing will be discussed and practiced. There will also be a few in class assignments that for scoring purposes will fall under this heading.
ATI Testing - Comprehensive Predictor - 25%
ATI testing for this class includes the “Comprehensive Predictor” and will account for 25% of the total grade. The test is 180 questions and you have 240 minutes to complete it. The student will take this test two times during the semester, a mid-term and a final. Students are expected to take the examinations at the scheduled and appointed time (see schedule below). A ticket to test is required prior to each scheduled ATI exam which includes an ATI comprehensive predictor practice exam score no lower than 90%.
If a student gets below a 74% on both the midterm and final exam, a remediation will be required between the faculty and the student. Once the remediation is complete, one of the test's score will be changed to full points. A student can remediate at both mid-term and final to raise their test score to full points.
If a student gets below 62% on both the midterm and the final exam, they will be required to purchase and complete, at their own expense, an outside NCLEX test prep course (i.e. Kaplan or other as approved by nursing faculty). Once proof of completion is presented to faculty, one of the test scores will be changed to a 12.5. If the student is unable to complete the outside course prior to the end of the semester, an incomplete will be initiated between the student and the faculty until the review course has been completed.
ATI NCLEX – RN Comprehensive Predictor Point System - Full points is 12.5
| ATI score | Points in canvas |
| 74-100% | 12.5 points |
| 72-73.9% | 12 points |
| 70.7-71.9% | 11 points |
| 68.7-70.6% | 10 points |
| 67.3-68.6% | 9 points |
| 65.3-67.2% | 8 points |
| 62.0-65.2% | 7 points |
| Below 62% | 0 points |
Attitude/Attendance - 15%
As judged by the course instructor and clinical faculty based on classroom, clinical, and general performance. The student's attitude should reflect, at all times, the attitude of becoming a professional nurse.
Attendance will be kept for all class periods. 5 points for each class period.
Assignments - 5%
There are a few class assignments in this class that will assist the student in understanding their learning and testing styles to help them prepare to sit for the NCLEX exam.