General Academic Policies

Leave of Absence
Credit for Prior Education

Leave of Absence

Mount Carmel College acknowledges circumstances that may result in an interruption during a student’s educational journey outside of their control. In these situations, it may be deemed necessary to interrupt their enrollment at the College. Mount Carmel College, at its discretion, may permit a student to take a Leave of Absence. Leave of Absence’s must be approved by the Records and Registration Office and requested through their Student Success Advisor. All requests for Leave of Absence must be submitted in writing (i.e. Leave of Absence Form) with applicable documentation before approval.

A Leave of Absence (LOA) from the College may be granted to a student in good academic standing. Good academic standing is defined as a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA for Undergraduate Programs and a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA for Graduate Programs. Requests for LOA’s may not be within the first semester, session, or term at Mount Carmel College. If a student requests a Leave of Absence during active course(s), the student will receive a ‘W’ grade for the course regardless of percentage completed.

General Reasons for LOA with documentation:

Medical situation that impacts the student or the student’s immediate family
Military Service
Jury Duty
Family Tragedy (i.e. death of immediate family)
Mitigating circumstances approved by the Academic Program Director and/or the Director of Records and Registration

Students may be granted multiple Leave of Absences; however, the combined amount of time MUST NOT exceed 180 days within a rolling 12 month period. The 12-month period begins on the initial day of a student’s LOA. In order to request an extension, the student must submit the extension and have it approved before the end of their initial scheduled LOA. Students may request an extension of their LOA as long as their cumulative time does not exceed 180 calendar days.

Any extension to this timeline for extenuating circumstances outside of the student’s control must be approved by the appropriate Assistant/Associate Dean. If a student on LOA does not return after one year and has not received an approved extension from the appropriate Assistant/Associate Dean, MCCN will consider the student to have withdrawn from the College. A withdrawn student who wants to return must reapply for admission.

College Initiated Leave of Absence

In the uncommon circumstance that a student cannot safely remain at the College or meet academic standards, even with accommodations and other supports, the College reserves the right to require the student to take a mandatory leave of absence. The Academic Dean, or their designee, in consultation with appropriate healthcare provider(s), will make the decision to require a student to take a leave of absence based on an objective assessment of the student’s ability to safely participate in the College’s programs utilizing the following assessment criteria:

The student presents an immediate danger to self or others by threatening and/or inflicting bodily harm to self or to others.
The student’s behavior has the potential to result in bodily or other substantial harm to self or others.

The assessment will determine the nature, duration and severity of the risk; the probability that any potentially threatening behavior will occur; and whether reasonable modifications of policies, practices, or procedures will sufficiently mitigate the risk. In the event that a determination is made to require a student to take an LOA after a thorough assessment, the College will notify the student in writing.

Appeal of College Initiated Leave of Absence

After the College initiates a mandatory LOA, within three business days, the student may initiate an appeal in writing to the College President, or their designee. A student may not stay on campus during the appeal period. An appeal can only be made based on the following criteria:

The decision is unreasonable based on the circumstances.
The procedures and/or information relied upon in making the decision were wrong or unfair.

The written appeal should clearly state the specific unreasonable, wrong, and/or unfair facts and should present relevant information to support the statements. To aid in review of the student’s appeal the College President, or their designee, may request an assessment by an outside healthcare provider of the student’s functional ability to return to the College by an outside healthcare provider to aid in their review of the student’s appeal. The College President, or their designee, will review the appeal and will respond to the student in writing within three business days. The response will provide a conclusion as to whether or not the College Initiated LOA is upheld, or the appeal is granted upon a thorough review of the relevant facts.

Returning After a Leave of Absence

Leave of Absence: It is the student’s responsibility to notify their Student Success Advisor prior to their anticipated return date. Failure to notify by the designated date will result in administrative withdrawal from the College. Returning students that do not actively participate in their next scheduled courses will be subject to the College’s administrative withdrawal policies.

College Initiated Leave of Absence: If a student was placed on a required leave of absence by the College, the student may petition to return to the College at any time. The student must submit a signed release to return to class and/or the clinical unit if they are admitted as an inpatient to a hospital or are seen for treatment in a hospital Emergency Department or Behavioral Health facility. In addition, any student who receives written documentation from a healthcare provider (even if the student was not hospitalized or seen as an inpatient) stating that they have any restrictions related to class or clinical participation must submit a signed release to return to class and/or clinical. This signed release must be submitted by the student to the Director of Compliance and Safety prior to the student’s return to class and/or clinical.

The student should always email the Director of Compliance and Safety notification of their circumstances prior to returning to the clinical and/or class setting. Information should not be shared directly with the faculty member(s). The release must clearly identify all restrictions. Additionally, the length of time the restrictions apply must be clearly stated. If the documentation provided by the student indicates that they are not safe to return to the class and/or clinical setting, or the stated restrictions may require the student to request reasonable accommodations, the Director of Compliance and Safety will work with the student to determine the best next steps and connect the student to any other necessary campus resources. This policy applies to students in on-campus and online platforms. If approved, it is the student’s responsibility to notify their Student Success Advisor prior to their anticipated return date. Failure to notify by the designated date will result in administrative withdrawal from the College. Returning students that do not actively participate in their next scheduled courses will be subject to the College’s administrative withdrawal policies.

Student Skills Review

Students that have progressed into courses with clinical components with a Leave of Absence over 90 days, are responsible for contacting their Student Success Advisor two months prior to the expected return date from their LOA. All returning students must pay any outstanding account balance in full before being permitted to return to the College. Enrollment in a student’s returning course will be on a first come, first serve basis for a student returning from LOA.

The student’s skill level classification and course placement will be determined by the Student Success Advisor. The Student Success Advisor will notify the specific course coordinator if Clinical Skills Competency Evaluation is required is the responsibility of the student to contact the course coordinator to complete all competency requirements successfully, if applicable. Students who fail to successfully complete the Skills Remediation/Competency Evaluation by the Friday before classes begin will not be permitted to attend clinical. (Please refer to the Attendance Policy).

The College reserves the right to enhance/revise the curriculum at any time. If this occurs during the student’s LOA, the student may be required to progress in the revised program with different requirements than the original program of study.

Credit for Prior Education

All applicants to Mount Carmel College of Nursing are eligible to apply for credit granting. Perspective students wishing to have their prior education assessed for credit granting must provide documents of their prior education, training, and not limited to military training. Upon receipt of official transcripts, credit will be granted, as appropriate.

For veterans and military students, evaluations will occur in accordance with 38 CFR 21.4253(d) (3). Veterans seeking to use the GI Bill® (GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans10/2/2023 Page 144 of 209 Affairs (VA)) can obtain more information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill ).

Prospective students who request to credit granting from previously attended institutions should submit official transcripts to the Records and Registration Office via electronic submission (registrar@mccn.edu), or sealed official transcripts to the campus designee, one week prior to their anticipated start date. To be considered official, transcripts must be sent from the originating institution to the Registrar or campus-based designee.

Prospective students must submit official or unofficial transcripts 14 calendar days before their anticipated start date. Official transcripts must be provided according to the above outlined policy no later 7 calendar days prior to their anticipated start date. Students failing to submit official transcripts 7 calendar days prior to their anticipated start date may be denied transfer and/or admission to their chosen program. Transfer of credit will not be reviewed on or past the students anticipated start date.

In addition to official transcripts, copies of course descriptions, school catalogs, and course syllabi may be requested for evaluation purposes. Please note that course schedules which are based on an unofficial transcript are subject to change if information contained in the official transcript differs from the unofficial transcript. The college does not evaluate credit based on prior learning experience including, but not limited to, life or work experience.

As a rule, the following guidelines are followed when considering transfer credit at MCCN:

Transfer of credit is required to come from a post-secondary institution accredited by one of the seven regional accrediting commissions.
1. https://www.chea.org/regional-accrediting-organizations#western-junior
2. Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
3. Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
4. New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
5. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
6. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
7. WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
Only college level courses with grades of “C” or higher are eligible for consideration of transfer credit (grades of “C-” or lower are not acceptable for transfer). MCCN refrains from the transcription of credit from other institutions that it does not apply to its own programs.
Courses reviewed for transfer of credit must have a minimum of 80% content match with of Mount Carmel’s Course(s).
Courses with clinical hours must match with 80% of the perspective Mount Carmel’s Course(s) clinical hours.
MCCN reserves the right to accept or reject all transfer credits in terms of their own institutional standards and requirements. Courses considered for transfer must be equivalent to those required in the current MCCN curriculum or meet established requirements.
Transfer credit grades are not included in the cumulative grade point average at MCCN.
Transfer credit is included in total credits earned. All courses accepted for transfer will be noted on the student’s MCCN transcript as “K.” Potential transfer of credit may be posted on students transcript as “P(Potential)K”
Perspective student currently attending another institution may at times have an active course applicable to their perspective program.
1. In these situations, potential transfer of credit may be posted in a student’s plan of study as “PK.” Official transcript(s) providing the course(s) final grade must be submitted 7 calendar days before the start of the program.
2. In the event the student is unable to provide by day one of the students program, their “PK” grade will not be converted to official transfer of credit “K.” The course will be removed from the plan of study and the students schedule will be adjusted accordingly.
3. Student not meeting admissions requirements due to uncompleted “PK” grade conversion to official transfer of credit, “K,” may be cancelled and/or deferred to the next available start date of their chosen program.
Except for courses articulated through transfer policies or institutional agreements, the institution makes no promises to prospective students regarding the acceptability and applicability of credit awarded by examination or credit for transfer until an evaluation has been conducted by the Mount Carmel College Transfer Credit Evaluation Officer or designee.
The stakeholders for the program and/or transfer of credit designee, is responsible for the determination of the transferability of nursing courses for pre-licensure nursing students (see “Nursing Transfer Credit” below).
If a student should waive the credit for a transfer course, the student is held accountable for completing the course at MCCN. If a failure results in that course, it must be repeated per MCCN policy.
Credit earned at institutions outside the United States must first be evaluated by a MCCN approved credential evaluation service.
1. World Education Services, Inc
  P.O. Box 745 Old Chelsea Station
  New York, NY 10113-0745
  (212) 966-6311
  http://www.wes.org
2. Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
  P.O. Box 514070
  Milwaukee, WI 53203-3470
  (414) 289-3400
  http://www.ece.org
3. Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
  International Educational Consultants
  P.O. Box 248233
  Coral Gables, FL 33124
  (305) 666-0233
  http://www.jsilny.com
4. International Education Research Foundation, Inc.
  P.O. Box 66940
  Los Angeles, CA 90066
  (310) 390-6276
  http://www.ierf.orge.
5. Educational Perspectives
  P.O. Box 618056
  Chicago, IL 60661-8056
  (312) 421-9300
  info@educational-perspectives.org
  http://www.educational-perspectives.org/
Nursing Transfer Credit:
1. New pre-licensure nursing students with transfer nursing credit from other institutions and former MCCN nursing students being readmitted to the College must undergo evaluation of academic nursing credit after admission is offered and confirmed.
2. In order to assure student success in the MCCN program the academic stakeholders for the program and/or transfer of credit designee, will evaluate previous nursing credit and determine, prior to registration for any MCCN nursing course, the need for prerequisite review. Examples of what may be required include: demonstration of nursing skill levels review and/or auditing courses applicable to program core.
3. Senior level nursing courses (400 level) are not eligible for transfer of credit.
4. Graduate Coursework:
  1. maximum of 12 credit hours of equivalent course work, with a grade of “B,” may be transferred from another graduate program or proficiency examination into the Master’s Program. To review the DNP transfer credit policy, click here. Once enrolled at Mount Carmel College of Nursing, degree candidates are required to complete all degree coursework offered through Mount Carmel College of Nursing.
  2. Degree Candidates may not transfer credit toward core degree courses.
  3. Post Graduate Certificate AC-AGNP students who already hold a national nurse practitioner certification and seek a second nurse practitioner area of focus, their transcripts will be evaluated for clinical practicum hours and courses. The AC-AGNP Master’s nurse practitioner program requires 650 clinical practicum hours. A certified nurse practitioner may be given transfer credit for 150 hours of our 650 clinical practicum hour requirement to acknowledge the clinical expertise already demonstrated by the certificate student.
  4. National AG-ACNP, FNP, and PMHNP certification exams require a minimum of 500 clinical practicum hours. Additionally, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) with a valid APRN license seeking a second nurse practitioner certification may be given transfer credit for NURS 525: Role Transition – APRN.
Military Credit:
1. Credit for military training and experience in the armed forces of the United States, the National Guard or the Reserve Components may be granted in accordance with the credit recommendations provided by the American Council on Education (ACE).
2. In order to have such work evaluated and added to the permanent academic record, a potential student needs to submit, to the Office of Records and Registration, certified copies of any documentation related to these experiences, including official military transcripts and discharge forms.
3. Decisions regarding the utilization of credit granted through this program shall be made at the discretion of the Transcript Evaluator, in consultation with the Associate Dean of the applicable program.
Course Recency: Age of courses to be transferred are based on start date of program enrollment. Courses over the assigned thresholds may be reviewed by academic stakeholders to override this academic standard otherwise courses in excess of this timeframe are not eligible for transfer of credit.

Degree Level	Subject Area	Time
Undergraduate	Clinical	5 years
Undergraduate	Pharmacology	5 years
Graduate	Physical Assessment	5 years
Graduate	Pathophysiology	5 years
Graduate	Pharmacology	5 years

15. Closed School Transfer Credit-Extraordinary Circumstance:

In the unfortunate result of a school closure, MCCN, with approval of the campus leadership can allow for variances of the school’s policies to assist these students to continue their academic journey.
Student will need to apply through standard practices to MCCN and their academic progression standards will be reviewed according to MCCN transfer of credit policies and programmatic standards.
These students will be allowed some leniency during the review progress regarding:
Students under these extraordinary circumstances may be asked to provide copies of course syllabi as applicable for evaluation.
1. Residency requirements for closed school students is lowered to 1/6 of the length of the MCCN program requirements. Example 1/6 of 120 credits is 20 credits needed.
2. Students may have senior level course work applied to their program except for courses deemed not transferable by academic leadership.
3. Courses reviewed for transfer of credit must have a minimum of 50% content match with of Mount Carmel’s Course(s).
4. Courses with clinical hours must match with 50% of the perspective Mount Carmel’s Course(s) clinical hours.
5. Courses may be subject to secondary review by programmatic leadership to review against a student overall academic prowess to determine if they do not meet the content match course to cours
6. 5In non-standard fashion, MCCN may combine content to covert to equivalent of a course.
7. MCCN reserves the right to accept or reject all transfer credits in terms of their own institutional standards and requirements. Courses considered for transfer must be equivalent to those required in the current MCCN curriculum or meet established requirements.
8. Unlike standard transfer of credit, students under these exceptional circumstances cannot challenge special circumstance credits as they have already been reviewed by academic leadership.

Transfer of Credit Appeals

Students that are not satisfied with the transfer appeal decision have the right to appeal the review within 30 days of their initial transfer of credit evaluation. Student will need to complete a transfer of credit appeal form that they may access from CARMELink. Student must submit the transfer credit appeal form electronically to their Student Success Advisor. The form must be complete including supporting documentation (course syllabi) from their prior institutions to support rationale.

The Credit Evaluation Staff will consult with subject matter experts and other college personnel to determine the outcome of the appeal. The Mount Carmel College will respond via email to the appeal within 10 business days. Once the evaluation is complete, students may not ask for the courses to be evaluated again as the appeal decision is final.