Attendance Policies

Hondros College of Nursing believes active participation in classroom, lab, online, and clinical experiences is essential for the development of the healthcare professional.

Attendance is expected in all courses. A record will be maintained for each student’s attendance and tardiness patterns in the classroom, on-campus labs, online courses, and clinical settings. Any and all absences put the student’s ability to be successful at risk. A student will be withdrawn from their program when any of the following criteria are met:

• A student fails to post any attendance during week 1; or
• A student has unexcused absences from all classes (including lab and clinicals) for fourteen (14) consecutive calendar days; or
• A student is absent from consecutive classes and/or lab meetings (excluding clinicals), as outlined in the following schedule, for a second time in their program

Lecture and lab meetings for an individual course count as a separate “meeting” for that week. Courses traditionally offered online are considered as “meeting” once per week.

Excused Absences

The following documented absences may be considered excused for purposes of the attendance policy. Excused absences do not apply to pre-class/out-of-class assignments. Pre-class assignments, by their very nature, are designed to prepare students for specific lecture content and therefore cannot be made up. An excused absence means that a student will not be penalized under the attendance and tardiness policy and will only be considered for purposes of whether or not a student will be administratively withdrawn.

• Court Appearance – Applicable only when a student is mandated to appear in court for an action in which he/she is a third party or witness. Documentation will be required.
• Military Duty – All military personnel requesting an excused absence must submit a copy of their orders to the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing, Dean of the Medical Assisting Program, or designee prior to the missed time.
• Illness – In the event a student suffers personal illness or injury, either a written doctor’s note excusing participation in school or documentation of the stay in the hospital will be required.
• Bereavement – Applicable in the event of the death of an immediate or extended family member and not to exceed 3 days. Documentation (e.g. newspaper notice, funeral notice, obituary, or church handout) is required.
• Jury Duty – Documentation required (stamped jury duty form from court).
• Extenuating Circumstance - Approved by, as applicable, the Dean of the Medical Assisting program or the program's Sr. VP of Academics.

Documentation of the above approved excused absences should be presented to, as applicable, by the Dean of the Medical Assisting program, the Medical Assisting Coordinator, the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing, or designee upon returning to school, or in advance when applicable. Students receiving funds from any state or federal agency may be subject to the additional attendance requirements of that specific agency.

Classroom, Lab and Clinical Attendance

Students are responsible to ensure they answer roll call or sign the attendance roster for each lecture, lab and clinical. Arriving late or leaving early is considered disruptive conduct per the Student Code of Conduct, and is subject to disciplinary action. Students enrolled in a virtual online lecture option are expected to log into the Zoom meeting at the start of each course lecture session and remain for the duration of the course. Students enrolled in a virtual online lecture option will be required to be present at the campus for quizzes/exams. Attendance for virtual online lectures held via Zoom will be captured by the Zoom Usage Report which show a log in and log out time for each student.

NCLEX® Review Attendance  

Students in their final term of the PN program will complete a two-day NCLEX® review, and students in their final term of the ADN program will complete a three-day NCLEX® review provided by the College. This event is designed to review test-taking strategies and curriculum content in order to increase student success on both the comprehensive and predictor examinations, and the NCLEX-PN® and NCLEX-RN® examinations. Due to the beneficial nature of this review, attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be taken daily. Any absences must be approved by the Campus Dean/ Director of Nursing or designee. If approved, the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing or designee will provide a make-up plan. Completion of the NCLEX® review or the approved make-up must be completed prior to the administration of the final term HESI assessment.

Online Attendance - for Traditional Online Courses Only

Students are required to “attend” an online course through submission of weekly course work in an asynchronous or synchronous format.

Students who were unable to complete online coursework due to a valid, verifiable excuse (per the Excused Absences policy above), but who are still considered as present in the course during the timeframe in which the missed coursework was due, may make up the missed coursework if they provide proof of the excuse to the Campus Dean/ Director of Nursing, the Dean of the Medical Assisting program, or designee within five (5) days of the due date of the missed coursework.

Excused absences only allow students to make up missed online coursework with a due date during the time period covered by the excuse, not the entire week for which the student received attendance.

Clinical/Lab Attendance 

Clinical Attendance:

1. All clinical attendance is 100% mandatory. Students are required to make-up all missed clinical time resulting from an absence, tardy or leaving early.   
   1. Student(s) who do not complete all schedule clinical time will receive a failing grade in that course.
   2. Clinical make-ups are not guaranteed. Clinical make up dates are determined by the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing or designee.
   3. The student should submit no more than one clinical make up request per term.
2. Any student not attending or who will be tardy to a scheduled clinical must notify the clinical instructor by phone call, text, or email per the instructor’s preferred method prior to the scheduled start time of the clinical experience.
3. A no call/ no show is defined as a student who does not contact the clinical instructor prior to the missed clinical experience. A no call/ no show will result in a critical incident and may not be eligible for a clinical make-up.
4. A student arriving less than 30 minutes late (1 – 29 minutes) for clinical will be required to make up all missed minutes and will do so at the discretion of the clinical instructor.
5. Any student arriving 30 minutes or more late to clinical will be sent away and required to make up the entire clinical, if approved.
6. A student who has missed clinical is required to submit a clinical make-up form within 2 business days of the absence.  The student must include a valid, verifiable excuse (supporting documentation) to the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing, Assistant Director of Nursing, or designee. 
7. The College understands that extenuating circumstances may impact a student’s ability to attend clinical, causing the student to miss more than one clinical.
   1. If there is an extenuating circumstance, one additional make-up request form and supporting documentation may be submitted for consideration to the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing. 
   2. A third (or more) clinical make up request(s) will be sent to the appropriate SVP of academics for review.
8. Any student leaving the clinical site prior to the scheduled end time will be required to submit a make-up request form.  If approved, the student will be required to make-up the entire clinical day. 
   1. This occurrence would count as a clinical absence. 
   2. If the student has already missed a clinical(s) during the term, the policy for additional clinical absences related to extenuating circumstances will be followed.
9. A pattern of clinical tardiness or leaving early from clinical may result in disciplinary actions up to and including course failure.  A pattern is considered two or more incidents of tardiness and/or leaving early from clinical.
10. Students who have not completed the clinical eligibility requirements or specific clinical facility requirements will not be permitted to attend clinical and will not be eligible for a clinical make up.
11. Students are not permitted to leave the clinical site at any time during the scheduled clinical day.

Lab Attendance:

1. Due to the hands-on nature of the nursing and science labs, material presented may be difficult or impossible to replicate. Some lab experiences are not available to be made-up, and the College is under no obligation to provide make-up opportunities. All absences from nursing and/or science lab(s) should be made up.
   1. Lab make-ups are not guaranteed. Lab make up dates are determined by the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing or designee.
   2. The student should submit no more than one lab make up request per term.
2. All time missed resulting from absences, leaving early or tardiness in NUR 166, NUR 167, NUR 221, and NUR 232 must be made up.
3. Students arriving 30 minutes or greater to lab will be considered absent and will not be permitted to remain, and will be required to make up the entire lab.
4. Any student leaving the lab 30 minutes or greater from the scheduled end time will be required to submit a make-up request form and supporting documentation. If approved, the student will be required to make-up the entire lab experience.
   1. This occurrence would count as a lab absence and will follow the policy for lab make ups.
   2. If the student has already missed a lab(s) during the term, the policy for additional lab absences related to extenuating circumstances will be followed.
5. The College understands that extenuating circumstances may impact a student’s ability to attend lab, causing the student to miss more than one lab.
   1. If there is an extenuating circumstance, one additional make-up request form and supporting documentation may be submitted for consideration to the Medical Assisting Coordinator or Campus Dean/Director of Nursing.
   2. A third (or more) lab make up request(s) will be sent to the Dean of the Medical Assisting program or the Sr. VP of Academics for review.
6. Approved lab make ups must be completed within 14 calendar days of the missed lab at the discretion of the college. Make-up labs are done at the instructor's availability and cannot be guaranteed.
7. A pattern of lab tardiness or leaving early from lab may result in disciplinary actions up to and including course failure. A pattern is considered two or more incidents of tardiness and/or leaving early from lab.
8. Students are not permitted to leave the lab at any point during their scheduled lab time without the permission of faculty.

Virtual Lecture Policy

Students are responsible to ensure they attend all virtual classes just as you are required to attend in-person lectures.   Students must be registered for the class and attend the class as scheduled.  Student Code of Conduct, behavior expectations, Dress Code Policies, and Attendance Policies do not change with remote teaching and learning; therefore, students must adhere to the written college policies as identified in the student catalog.

• Students are prohibited from recording virtual lectures and providing virtual links with others.
• All students attending virtual classes are to be stationary and clearly observed.  The student is to remain visible on camera in order to create a collaborative learning environment.
• Students must log in with their full name as listed in CAMS.  Failure to use their full name may result in the student may risk being recorded as absent if the college is unable to verify attendance. 
• Students are expected to follow some basic etiquette rules when attending virtual lectures including but not limited to; minimizing background noise, muting of the student’s microphone when not speaking.
• Students are encouraged to ask questions and make comments using either the chat feature or microphone but always demonstrating respect to their instructor and classmates by using appropriate language and tone. 
• To ensure a positive and productive virtual learning experience students should plan an area free of interruptions, avoid multitasking, and avoid participating in other activities that may distract the student or others from the lecture.  Students are expected to engage in virtual classroom instruction and/or classroom activities as directed.

Fitness for Duty Policy

Students assigned to clinical rotations shall be deemed “fit for duty” by the student’s health care provider. If the clinical agency wants to verify the health records of any student assigned to the named agency, those records will be provided upon request.

Students prohibited by a health care provider to participate in lab, or clinical due to an illness, accident, or injury must notify the faculty member. A note from the student’s health care provider must be submitted to, as applicable, the Dean of the Medical Assisting program, the Campus Dean/Director of Nursing, or designee to verify student’s fitness for duty upon return to classes (lab or clinical). Students may not be permitted to attend lab or clinical without this verification.