Baccalaureate Degree Programs

The College of Health Professions offers undergraduate programs leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science with majors in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (with Options in Clinical Sciences, Medical Technology, and Nutritional Sciences), Community Health Education, Exercise Physiology and Nursing.  All departments in the College also offer graduate degrees (for further information see the Graduate School Catalogue).  The Department of Work Environment offers graduate degrees exclusively, however, graduate courses that introduce the work environment disciplines to college undergraduates are also described in the department descriptions below.

The course requirements for undergraduate programs of the college have been determined by specific professional objectives and are subject to the recommendations of the various professional accrediting associations. Each course of study provides a basic general education in the sciences, the psycho-social areas, and the humanities; a comprehensive introduction to the health professions; upper division professional courses; and clinical or teaching experiences in one or more community health agencies or schools. Candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Health Professions must comply with the University general education requirements and with the rules and regulations of the College of Health Professions. The University general education requirements are described in the “Academic Policies” section of this catalogue.

Candidates for degrees in the College of Health Professions may be permitted to elect a second academic major or a minor in another college provided that all curriculum requirements of the College of Health Professions can still be satisfied. Election of a second major or minor may require an extension of the normal four-year period of undergraduate study for all but the unusual student.

General College Requirements

Candidates for the baccalaureate degree in the College of Health Professions must satisfy the general University  requirements for graduation, complete all courses and credits as required by the specific program of study, and meet  the academic requirements of the College of Health Professions as specified in this section.

Retention and Continuance in College Programs

Irrespective of the classification policies of the University, students shall not be admitted to professional courses of the College unless they have satisfactorily completed all courses which are specified in their programs of study for the first two semesters and have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 2.50 or better for all such courses. Students enrolled in exercise physiology, medical technology, and nursing also are required to achieve at this time a cumulative grade-point average of 2.50 or better in their required science courses.

To qualify for continued matriculation in programs of the College of Health Professions, all students must maintain on-going cumulative averages of 2.50 or better by achieving the following averages at the end of the end of the freshman year and at the end of each semester thereafter: 1) a semester average of 2.50 or better, 2) not less than a grade ‘C’ in any professional major course and 3) a semester average of 2.50 or better for professional courses attempted in the major. Students enrolled in exercise physiology, medical technology, and nursing must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or better in their required science courses. Students who fail to satisfy these academic requirements will be dismissed from their respective programs. Such students may seek reinstatement to programs by filing a petition with the professional review committee of their respective departments. Students who are granted a one-time probationary period must maintain all CHP criteria for remainder of time in their major. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the program. Students whose petitions for reinstatement are denied may seek transfer to another major within the University if they qualify under University policies as students with satisfactory academic standing. Students who do not qualify for such standing may be dismissed from the University at the time they are dismissed from the College of Health Professions and are ineligible for readmission as probationary students in the College of Health Professions.

All students in the College of Health Professions must demonstrate a level of professionalism and a state of emotional and physical health which will enable them to provide safe competent practice in their chosen professional field. In special cases, at the request of the professional review committee of the student’s major department, an individual may be required to present statements of physical and/or mental health from appropriate physicians or psychiatrists who are fully licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. On the basis of a review of such statements, the professional review committee may recommend to the chairperson of the student’s major department that the individual be denied admission to or continuance in the major program. Students must demonstrate professional behavior in all practicum/pre-practicum courses. Students must successfully meet the course objectives of the practicum/prepracticum courses. Failure to meet course objectives or standards of practice in clinical or practicum/prepracticum courses, will result in course failure regardless of academic grades in non-practicum courses.

Procedure for  Reinstatement

Students who have been denied continuance in their majors, or students who have been dismissed from a major for non-academic reasons concerning a lack of professionalism, emotional and/or physical health, may submit a written petition, in response to the letter of notification received, to the appropriate professional review committee for re-evaluation of their transcripts for the purpose of reinstatement on probation. This petition must be received no later than the date specified in the letter of notification and may be submitted only once. In making recommendation for reinstatement, the professional review committee may recommend to the faculty specific requirements which students must satisfy as a condition of their reinstatement. The faculty will vote to accept or reject the request for reinstatement and will forward to the department chairperson and the Dean its recommendations together with a statement of requirements which reinstated students must satisfy as a special condition of their reinstatement and continued matriculation. Students who are dismissed a second time may not petition again for reinstatement. Students who are dismissed from their major for academic reasons may obtain undeclared health status for one semester while deciding on a new major.

Academic Advising

Students in the College of Health Professions are assigned an academic advisor. Prior to each registration period, students must meet with their advisors to discuss selection of courses required by their academic programs. Students who fail to avail themselves of this opportunity and who register for incorrect courses, or who withdraw from courses in the schedule they have developed with their advisors, may find it necessary to extend their period of study and may be ineligible to continue in their major. All seniors must consult with their advisors prior to the established University deadline for filing program of study forms with the office of the dean. The program of study summarizes senior-level status with respect to requirements of the curriculum and grade-point averages and insures that all stated requirements for graduation are satisfied.

Declaration of Program  and Change of Program

Students entering the College of Health Professions are advised to declare a major at the time of admission. Students interested in the health professions but who are unsure of a specific major, or, students who meet the college admissions standards but do not meet the admissions requirement for a specific major, may be admitted to the college as “undeclared” health students. Undeclared health students follow the same general course of study as declared majors during their freshmen year and sophomore first semester.

By university rules, all students must declare a major once they have earned 60 credits. Transfer students wishing to enter the exercise physiology major, who are not initially eligible to transfer directly into exercise physiology, can stay in undeclared status for two semesters regardless of the number of credits they have accumulated. Exercise Physiology, Community Health Education and Clinical Laboratory Sciences all have required courses in the major in the second semester sophomore year. Students must be declared in the major to take departmental major courses. All qualifying undeclared health students can select a major in the College; however, selection of a specific major may be restricted due to non-availability of spaces in a particular program. Whenever students make a declaration of major, they are required to first obtain approval from the department Chairperson and then file an official notification with the Office of Enrollment Services.

Students desiring to change their professional program within the College of Health Professions must secure the approval of the chairperson of the appropriate department. Students transferring to another major outside the College of Health Professions must apply for intercollegiate transfer. All changes of program require official notification of the Office of the Enrollment Services. Students who change their programs within the College of Health Professions after the first year should expect possible additional course work beyond the minimum degree requirements and extension of the normal four-year period of study.

Transfer Policies

Qualified students may transfer from other colleges in the University into specified degree programs of the College of Health Professions, on a space available basis, provided they meet the requirements as stated. Irrespective of any previous recognition by the Office of Admissions or by other colleges of the University, a student transferring from another college of the University to the College of Health Professions must meet prerequisites and academic criteria for admission to programs of the college. Students who contemplate transferring to one of the health professions majors are advised that admission to the college is competitive and requires, as a minimum, the achievement of a cumulative grade-point average of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale for all previous course work attempted. In addition, applicants for exercise physiology, medical technology, and nursing, are also required to have achieved a minimum of 2.50 in their science courses. Exercise Physiology and Nursing may require cumulative grade point average of over 3.0 for admission. Students who meet college requirements, but do not meet departmental requirements may obtain undeclared health status as they wait for acceptance into the major.

Transfer from Other Institutions

Courses transferred from other institutions are initially evaluated by the Office of Admissions in terms of general university requirements. When students are admitted to the University, they are also evaluated by the professional department in terms of college and program requirements. Courses transferred to the University which are not equivalent to those of the College of Health Professions or are determined to be unrestricted elective courses will be listed on students’ transcripts but may not apply to the minimum degree requirements. All previously completed courses, including transferred courses from the compact institution, will be re-evaluated in terms of their applicability to degree requirements of the College of Health Professions. Decision regarding admission to the department is made by the Chairperson of the department. All students must satisfy all general education, prerequisite and co-requisite requirements, plus all courses in the major to be eligible for the Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Health Professions.

The applicability of grades earned in transferred courses for the determination of the grade-point average of students’ majors at the University is determined by policies of each of the colleges. The policy of the College of Health Professions is to count such grades for required science courses for the purpose of determining the students’ science grade-point average in their professional majors. These course grades will not be counted in overall grade point average. Students who retake required science courses to improve science cumulative average will have the highest grade earned considered when that cumulative average is calculated. All undeclared students must declare a major by the completion of 60 credits. Transfer students may request exception to this rule to have the opportunity to have “undeclared health status” while attempting to declare exercise physiology. These students will be allowed two semesters in Undeclared Health.

Transfer Policies for Certified Laboratory Technicians

Current practitioners in the field including associate degree graduates with MLT (ASCP) certification may seek entry to the Department of Health and Clinical Sciences through transfer of credits acceptable to the University. Comparable didactic courses are available for challenge in the clinical practice and upper division courses.

Repetition of Transferred Courses

Students who have been granted transfer credit, and, on this basis, have been assigned to advanced courses for which the transferred course is a prerequisite, may be advised to repeat such transferred work at the University or to take a more elementary course than that which has been transferred when the competence of the student has been demonstrably inadequate. Permission to repeat a transferred course is granted by filing an academic petition form through the Office of the Dean. Since credit may not be granted more than once for the completion of any course, a condition for filing such a petition is the simultaneous filing of a request to revoke recognition of the previously transferred course.

Intercollegiate Transfer to the College of Health Professions

Students wishing to transfer from another college of the University, or from baccalaureate continuing education programs of the University, must file a petition, together with a current transcript, with the appropriate chairperson and the Dean of the College of Health Professions. Students should refer to University policies concerning intercollegiate transfer “Academic Policies: Change of Major with Intercollegiate Transfer” for further procedural details.

Readmission Policies

Students who are readmitted by the department chairperson on a space available basis into their major in the College of Health Professions must comply with the current program requirements of that major. Year of graduation based on students’ previous matriculation dates becomes null and void on readmission.

Special College Requirements

All students are expected to demonstrate behavior that is generally accepted as professional. All students must demonstrate proof of purchase of professional liability insurance at the beginning of their junior year. Students are billed for this insurance by the business office, but in case of error or omission, students are advised that they must assume personal responsibility for their coverage. Each department has developed a list of technical standards that must be demonstrated prior to program completion. See departmental technical standards later in this section. Registered Nurse students must provide their own professional liability insurance.

In order to participate in the clinical portion of the upper-division curriculum, all College of Health Professions students are required to be aware of their rights and responsibilities under the Massachusetts Right to Know Law. All students must supply documentation that they have completed a basic CPR course prior to entering their first clinical course. Thereafter, current CPR documentation must be presented annually for departmental approval. Prior to clinical or practicum experience as required by the curriculum, each student must have:

1.  evidence of medical history and physical examination documenting health status,

2.  evidence that he or she is free of tuberculosis (TB) by presenting a mantoux skin test (every 6-12 months for some clinical     affiliations). A positive test requires a recent chest x-ray,

3.  documentation of the following immunization:

a. Hepatitis B - 3 doses – Serologic proof of immunity will be acceptable.

b. Tetanus/Diphtheria (DT) l booster if 10 years since last dose.

c.              MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) 2 doses measles, 1 dose mumps, 1 dose rubella (laboratory evidence of titers indicating immunity is acceptable for Rubeola, Rubella and mumps).

d.  evidence of chickenpox childhood history or titer indicating immunity as required by clinical facilities.

Other health requirements may be mandated for specific affiliations. For a list of additional certification requirements mandated by the University of all students, refer to “Health Certification Requirements” in the Admissions section of this catalogue. In addition students in all majors must present a report of a complete physical examination before clinical experiences are scheduled. These reports are to be submitted to students’ respective departments. Students are advised to consult department chairpersons for additional details.

Each exercise physiology, medical technology, and nursing student is required to wear an approved school uniform when in the clinical setting. Details concerning specific uniform requirements may be secured from the appropriate department chairperson. Final decisions regarding clinical placements are the responsibility of the faculty of the department. All students must provide their own transportation to clinical placements. Car pools are often arranged among students. Students are advised that a CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) check is mandated by most clinical agencies prior to practicum experiences.  Failure to pass a CORI check may jeopardize continued matriculation, clinical placements and state licensure.