Naturopathic Medicine Program, Dietetic Internship and Clinical Shifts
Bastyr University provides a competency-based learning format in the classroom for students in the naturopathic medicine program, clinic courses and the dietetic internship program. A competency-based evaluation of student work and performance is structured on the premise of demonstrating competence in a well-defined set of information and/or skills.
With a competency system of grading, a student is aware of the learning objectives and core competencies for each course and clinic shift; knows how knowledge and understanding of these objectives and competencies are measured; and has the opportunity to demonstrate mastery by means of quizzes, exams, papers and/or practical application. The competencies established for each course reflect the goals and objectives of the appropriate program of study. Program and department chairs in the professional programs, in consultation with the faculty, determine the requirements and standards that students must meet in order to earn a grade of Achieved Competency, Partial Competency, Repeat Competency (NM program only) or Failure. |
| AC |
Achieved Competency |
| PC |
Partial Competency |
| RC |
Repeat Competency (NM program only) |
| F |
Failure |
| I |
Incomplete – Personal emergency or serious illness |
| W |
Withdrawn |
| AW |
Administrative Withdrawal |
| IP |
In Progress – for clinic shifts, preceptorships, clinic entry, theses, didactic courses and internships |
| N |
No Grade |
| CE |
Challenge Examination |
| NS |
No Show |
| AU |
Audit |
| WV |
Waived |
ACHIEVED COMPETENCY (AC): A grade of AC indicates the student has gained the defined knowledge, information, skills and core competencies and has met the learning objectives as defined in the syllabi. Students must attain a level of achieved competency (AC) in all courses, clinic shifts and internships. AC grades are not factored into the GPA.
PARTIAL COMPETENCY (PC): A grade of PC indicates that an aspect of the learning objectives or core competencies has not been achieved and there is need for further study to earn the required AC. Faculty determine the date by which a PC grade must be converted; however, PC grades must be converted no later than the end of the break of the subsequent quarter in which the grade was received. Students may be required to complete a PC contract with the faculty member. Upon conversion of the grade, the instructor must submit a grade change form to the registrar’s office. Grades of PC that have not been converted to AC grades by the deadline revert to F grades. The course, lab, clinic shift or internship must then be repeated. PC grades do not translate into partial credit on transcripts and are not factored into the GPA.
-
For non-sequential courses, the school dean
or designee determines the date on which a PC grade must be converted, which
must occur on or before the last weekday of the break after the subsequent
quarter in which the grade was received.
-
For sequential courses, PC grades must be remediated by 5 p.m. on the second Friday
of the subsequent
quarter. If not
remediated by this deadline, the student will not be allowed to continue study
in the next sequential course.
REPEAT COMPETENCY (RC):
Repeat
Competency (RC) grades apply only to courses within the naturopathic medicine curriculum in which there are multiple core competencies (disciplines)
within a course. An RC grade must be converted to AC in
order for the student to progress within the naturopathic medicine curriculum.
AC grades are awarded to students
demonstrating competency in all of the disciplines within a course. The grade
of PC for a course is a temporary grade given when the student has a partial
competency for one or more disciplines within a course and must take one or
more remediation exam. If the student passes the remediation exam(s), then the
PC converts to an AC. If a student fails all disciplines in a course, the grade
for the course is F, and the entire course must be repeated.
An RC grade indicates that the student
demonstrated competency in some of the disciplines within the course but must
repeat and achieve competency in other disciplines in order to earn a grade of
AC for the course. A student who is successful in at least one discipline receives an RC grade when s/he does
not:
-
meet the minimum points
to be eligible to take a remediation exam for a discipline;
-
successfully pass the
remediation exam; or
-
take the remediation exam.
While the student is in the process of
repeating the discipline(s) in which competency must be demonstrated, the grade
of RC will remain on the student’s official transcript for that course. Once
competency in all course disciplines is achieved, the professor submits a grade
change form to the registrar’s office.
Students who withdraw from the
University with unremediated RC grades will receive a grade of F for those
courses.
FAILURE (F): A grade of F indicates failure to meet the minimum level of competency for learning objectives or core competencies. A student who receives a failure in a required course, lab, clinic shift or internship must repeat that course, lab, clinic shift or internship.
-
For non-sequential courses, the school dean or
designee determines the date on which a PC grade must be converted, which must
occur on or before the last weekday of the break after the subsequent quarter
in which the grade was received.
-
For sequential courses, PC
grades must be remediated by 5 p.m. on the second Friday of the subsequent
quarter. If not remediated by this deadline, the student will not be
allowed to continue study in the next sequential course.
Additionally:
-
Students who withdraw from the University with unremediated
RC grades will receive an F for those courses.
-
See “Repeat Competency” above and policy #13-C58 in the Academic Policy and Procedure Manual on MyBU for more
information.
WITHDRAWN (W): Withdrawal form must be completed, signed and filed in the registrar’s office at least three weeks before the end of a given quarter. The W grade is transcripted for all course withdrawals after the first week of the quarter (with the exception of courses that have not yet met).
INCOMPLETE (I): A student who is doing satisfactory work in a course but cannot complete the work because of a serious illness or personal emergency may receive an I grade by filing an incomplete grade request form (approved by the instructor) with the Office of the Registrar. Incomplete grades may only be awarded in the last three weeks of the quarter (after the course withdrawal period has ended) or after at least 70 percent of the class has been completed (in the case of hybrid or courses with fewer than 11 weeks). Faculty determine the date by which an I grade must be converted; however, I grades must be converted no later than the end of the break subsequent to the quarter in which the grade was received. The deadline for classes that are part of a sequence is before the subsequent quarter starts. Students may be required to complete an I grade contract with the faculty member. Upon conversion of the grade, the instructor must submit a grade change form to the Office of the Registrar.
ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWAL (AW): A student who is suffering from a serious illness or experiencing a personal emergency and is unable to withdraw from term-based classes within the appropriate time frame may be awarded an AW grade by the registrar. The AW grade is awarded for all incomplete courses in a given quarter. (See “Administrative Withdrawal” in the Academic Policy and Procedure Manual for more information.)
IN PROGRESS (IP): IP grades are indicated for didactic courses, clinic shifts, preceptorships, community practicum, clinic preparation, theses, internships and clinic entry courses in which work may extend beyond the end of a quarter. If not converted to a passing grade, IP grades may be converted to an F grade.
NO GRADE (N): N grades are assigned to indicate that a student is awarded no credit for a course but did not fail that course. N grades are administrative grades and are assigned only by the registrar. N grades are not refundable.
CHALLENGE EXAMINATION (CE): Please see “Challenge Examinations” in the Academic Policy and Procedure Manual for more information.
NO SHOW (NS): NS grades are assigned to indicate that a student did not attend class. NS grades are not refundable, and no credit is given.
AUDIT (AU): Students generally audit a course for their personal enrichment. No credit is given, and no academic grade granted. Courses taken for audit cannot serve as a prerequisite for a subsequent course.
WAIVED (WV): Courses are generally waived if a student has demonstrated competency in a particular subject matter but does not have the appropriate level of coursework from an accredited institution to allow a transfer of credit. There is no credit attached to a waived course, and a student is required to make up the corresponding credits waived with additional elective credits.