Many courses in the undergraduate pre-licensure curricula contain laboratory, simulation, or clinical components to allow students the opportunity to develop and practice skills learned and discussed in the theory portion of classes. Specific clinical opportunities may be geographically located 100+ miles from the main campus. Students may be assigned to clinical sites that require extra time and expense to achieve the course requirements. (This does not pertain to the post-licensure programs.) In the post-licensure curricula, there are also courses that contain clinical components that are integral to meeting the course objectives of specific courses. Students in the post-licensure programs have an opportunity to select clinical opportunities to meet these objectives and expand upon their learning.
Simulation, clinical, and laboratory components are integral to theory classes and must be passed in order to pass a course containing these components. Any nursing course with a simulation, clinical, or laboratory requirement that a student is required to repeat also requires repeating of the simulation, clinical, or laboratory in addition to the didactic part of the course, (regardless of the grade received in any single course component).
Final course grades are based on the grade earned in the theory portion of the course once the simulation,clinical, and/or laboratory component has been passed. Failure of the theory portion, even if the clinical, and/or laboratory components were passed, results in a failing grade for all course components and requires a repeat of all components (theory, clinical, and/or laboratory as applicable to the particular course). Failure to pass the clinical or laboratory component results in a failing grade for all course components and requires a repeat of the didactic course and associated laboratory, simulation, and/or clinical.