Summary of Changes

Admissions, Records, and Registration

Admission to the University’s Degree Programs 

• Admission Application Types include degree seeking, certificate, nondegree/noncertificate seeking, readmission, reinstatement, subsequent applicant
• Admission Decision Status includes full/regular admission, contingent admission, denial, deferral, and rescinded.
• Definitions for each application type and decision status are also included. 

 

• Federal financial aid cannot be disbursed until the background check, drug screen, and fingerprint results have been received and cleared by the University. There will be a delay in the disbursement of financial aid funds should all requirements not be met prior to the start of the student’s first trimester.
• SLP students must submit cleared reports prior to the term start date; all other students should submit by term start date but have 30 days after term start to comply.
• Pending charges and probation can also cause dismissal.
• Generally, the deposit is not refunded with other tuition and fees should a student have an adverse report on the initial background check, drug screen, or fingerprint report. Exceptions may occur for students residing in certain states with superseding deposit requirements.

Application for Admissions MOT, MOT Flex , Applications for Admission OTD, OTD Flex 

• Prerequisite of one medical terminology course now may be fulfilled with traditional academic credit, continuing education units, certification, or the noncredit USAHS Medical Terminology course with evidence of successful completion.

Physician Assistant Studies , Hybrid Immersion MOT , RN-Master of Science in Nursing (FNP, AGNP, or PMHNP-PC)  

• Includes admission and application requirements for each of these new offerings. 

Master of Health Administration , Doctor of Education  

• MHS, EdD programs recommend a 3.0 GPA on baccalaureate degree transcripts.

Non-Degree-Seeking Students (NDS)    

• NDS students must pay all tuition no later than the end of the add/drop period.

Admission Applications for USAHS Alumni 

• The University now offers an abbreviated application process for USAHS graduates applying to a post-professional program.  

Domestic, International, and/or Foreign-Educated Students  

• Applicants who did not complete at least 60 semester hours of college credit within a U.S. institution must provide an official TOEFL score report. 

Student Records/Student Holds  

• The University does not place financial holds on transcripts as the primary inducement for recouping student debt to the University.

Health Records  

• Required health screenings and immunizations are based on recommendations from the CDC.
• Students are responsible for costs associated with completing the requirements.

Student Information and Records Notification of Rights Under FERPA  

• Updates clarify definitions and how the University uses directory information.

Course Withdrawal  

• Students may not continue to attend in-person or online courses after withdrawing from a course. 
• Now includes a chart of the last day to withdraw for each term length (e.g., 15-week term, 8-week term, 4-week term).

Campus Exchange Program  

• Students in the MS-SLP programs may now participate in the campus exchange program.

Transcripts  

• The fee for transcripts is now $8.50 for electronic transcripts and $10.00 for paper transcripts.

Commencement Ceremony and Graduation  

• Students who are unable to successfully complete one of the final courses have a degree conferral date based on when they complete all coursework. If a student completes pending coursework by the conclusion of the add/drop period in the immediate subsequent trimester, the student’s degree conferral date on the diploma and transcript reflects the actual date of course completion as reported by the instructor during final grade submission. When a student completes the coursework after the add/drop deadline in the trimester immediately following the student’s originally anticipated final term of enrollment, the degree conferral date coincides with the next graduating cohort, which is the last day of the respective trimester.
• Honors designations are honors (3.50–3.64 CGPA) and high honors (3.65–4.00 CGPA) based on the student’s cumulative GPA calculated at the end of the second to last trimester of the program.

Replacement Diplomas  

• Replacement diplomas may be ordered through Parchment for $30 plus shipping.
• Replacement diplomas are printed with duplicate in small print to discern it from the original. 

Reenrollment Timelines

• This policy, requiring entry-level students who seek admission to another USAHS entry-level program to retake foundations coursework if longer than three years since enrollment, has been repealed.

University Policies

Student Code of Conduct  

• Violations of the code of conduct could result in referral to the PMC or to the Behavioral Intervention Team. 
• Students may be required to cover visible tattoos and body piercings for certain academic and clinical activities.

Accessibility & Accommodations  

• Notice or requests from students outside of the process outlined in the policy and/or notice to other University officials outside of the Office of Student Welfare and Accessibility including faculty, staff and administrators is not accepted as notice to the University for the purpose of approved accommodations. 
• The student is responsible for notifying his or her instructor(s) of the approved accommodations.
• Students requiring accommodations for the clinical portion of the program must submit an additional accommodation request and follow the process outlined in the policy.

Complaints Policy  

• The sequence in the formal complaint process now includes submitting the formal complaint, the appeals process, and a request for reconsideration of the appeal (formerly Steps 1, 2, and 3). 

Academic Policies

Academic Integrity Policy 

• Violations of policy are now categorized as Level I (minor) violations or Level II (major) violations (formerly Levels I, II, and III). 
• Grading sanctions are determined by the instructor and the program director, and the potential sanctions for each level are included in the policy.

Credit Hour Policy  

• Now includes a list of credit hours for full-time and half-time course load in each program.

Transfer Credit Policy  

• The MSPAS program does not accept transfer credit, PLA, or advanced standing.
• The School of Nursing no longer accepts HESI exams scores to test out of NUR 7610  and NUR 7580 .

Professional Conference Attendance  

• Program directors provide details specific of each program’s requirements (details for each program’s requirements removed from the university-wide policy).

Grading 

• The Midcourse and Final Grade Submission policy details the expectations for faculty to submit midcourse and final grades.
• The Registrar sends notices to students who have earned a grade of C or below in the course at the midpoint of the course.

Repeating a Course  

• Policy includes maximum course loads per term while repeating a course.
• Policy includes how the University calculates cumulative GPA with repeated courses. 
• Students in the MSPAS program have additional repeat grade restrictions and should refer to the SAP policy.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy   

• Restructuring provides clarity to students and faculty on requirements for satisfactory academic progress.
• The maximum time to completion is changing for some programs.

Readmission  

• Readmission is defined as students who voluntarily withdraw from the program or who are administratively withdrawn under the Continuous Enrollment Policy and are in good standing may be readmitted into the same program.
• Previously enrolled students who are suspended or placed on Administrative LOA may apply for readmission. 
• Timeline for submitting readmission applications is six weeks before the start date of the term in which the student wishes to reenroll. 

Reinstatement  

• Reinstatement is defined as students who are dismissed (involuntarily separated) from the program due to violations of academic policies or professional misconduct (PMC) violations may be reinstated to the same program upon successful appeal. 
• Students may be reinstated only on academic appeal or PMC appeal.

Student Resources

Student Associations and Organizations 

• MSPAS students are required to join AAPA and SAAAPA.

Off-Campus Housing  

• Estimated monthly rental rates in San Marcos: $850–$1800/month for an individual and $1825–$2500/month and more for apartment rentals.

Student Employment  

• MSPAS students cannot be employed within the PA program but may hold positions outside of the PA program.

Financial Information

Tuition and Cost of Attendance  

• Tuition and Cost of Attendance for the Fall 2023 term will be available prior to term start.

Refund Policy  

• Restructuring of the policy consolidates the specifications for refunds.  
• MS-SLP, MOT, OTD, DPT programs: When notification of withdrawal from the University is submitted, the University retains $100 as a matriculation fee except in cases where state requirements supersede this policy.

Financial Assistance Programs 

• Interest rates and fees originating on or after October 1, 2022, and before October 1, 2024, are now available.

Veteran’s Benefits  

• The MSN-PMHNP-PC and MSN-AGNP role specialties are now eligible for VA benefits.

Disbursements 

•  Students receiving federal student loans need to have all admission documentation cleared before a disbursement request to the U.S. Department of Education can be made on behalf of the student for federal loans.

Safety, Security, and Technology

Safety on Campus  

• Security phone numbers are located on the back of student IDs. Students also should save their campus’ security phone number in their cell phone.
• Visitors are allowed on campus between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. All visitors are required to register with the USAHS security desk prior to being allowed to enter the student or work areas and should limit their visit to less than one hour. 

ID Badges  

• Identification badges must be worn where they are visible while on University property or while engaged in any university-related event, including during clinical education and in clinical settings.

Technology Requirements  

• Updated computer hardware requirements for both Windows and Mac computers are now available.

College of Rehabilitative Sciences

Hybrid Immersion MOT  

• The Dallas campus is offering a hybrid immersion format of the MOT program starting Fall 2023 term. 

 MOT , OTD  

• OCT 5230C  now occurs in Trimester I and OCT 5130C  now occurs in Trimester II.

Flex MOT , Flex OTD (11 term) 

• OCT 5230C  now occurs in Trimester II and OCT 5130C  now occurs in Trimester III.

PPOTD  

• Program updated the mission statement and program learning outcomes.

• EDF 7171 , HSC 7470 , and IPE 7100  are general electives and are not part of the specialization certificate. 

DPT , Flex DPT 

• PHT 5780  and PHT 5835  are now 8-week courses with required academic engagement (formerly 3-week courses). 

tDPT (Bachelor’s Level) , tDPT (Master’s Level)    

• HSC 7400  is now a 12-week course (formerly an 8-week course). 
• PHT 6030 , PHT 6035 , PHT 6038  are now 15-week courses (formerly 10-week courses) and have updated course descriptions.

College of Health Sciences

MSPAS   

• The University anticipates matriculating its first MSPAS class in January 2024, pending achieving Accreditation-Provisional status at the September 2023 ARC-PA meeting. 

MHA Program  

• Optional immersions in IPE 7001 , IPE 7050 , IPE 7121 , and IPE 7421  may not be offered every term.
• EDF 7050 /EDF 7050B , EDF 7161 , EDF 7175 /EDF 7175B , and  EDF 7181   are now offered as general electives in the MHA degree program.

EdD Core Curriculum   

EDF 7111 , EDF 7121 , EDF 7200 , EDF 7225 , EDF 7871 , and EDF 7872  now have increased credit hours. 

Education, EdD, Nurse Educator Specialization  - inadvertently removed. Has been reinstated. 8/2/2023

DHSc

• Program offering is discontinued. 

School of Nursing

RN-MSN Program  

• New program offering starting Fall 2023.

MSN Program   

• The Nurse Informaticist role specialty is discontinued.

September 15, 2023

• Board of Directors  list is updated to reflect recent changes. 

October 24, 2023

MS-SLP

• There are two prerequisite courses  that may be pending during admissions process and matriculation.

WA Students

• USAHS is to ensure that WA students are informed whether programs traditionally intended to lead to professional licensure will prepare them for licensure in Washington State at outlined in WAC250-61-151(2)(e).