MS in Physician Assistant Studies - East Falls & New Jersey

Physician Assistant Program Policies & Procedures

All students accepted into the Physician Assistant (PA) program must follow all applicable policies and procedures set by Thomas Jefferson University and the PA program.

General Academic Policies & Procedures

For all general academic policies and procedures for graduate students, please see the Graduate Policies section, the Student Handbook of the Jefferson College of Health Professions, and University-Wide Policies.

Policies of the Physician Assistant Program

The policies of the PA program are published in the Physician Assistant Studies Program Student Manual, which includes program clearance requirements, and is reviewed and updated annually. The Student Manual is provided to all PA students during orientation.

Additional guidelines and policies for the clinical year of the PA program are published in the Clinical Education Handbook , which is also reviewed and updated annually, and made available to PA students during their Transition to the Clinical Year course before clinical rotations begin.

Academic Standing & Progression in the PA Program

Didactic Year

Students must complete and pass all didactic semester courses to progress to the next semester of the PA program. A semester and cumulative GPA of 3.0 must be met.

You will be placed on probation status upon determination of unsatisfactory academic or professional performance. It serves as a warning and provides an opportunity to improve.

If you are placed on probation, you must return to good standing by the end of the next semester, GPA checkpoint, or time frame as defined by the probationary period, or you will be dismissed from the program. In extraordinary circumstances where the student has made significant progress toward achieving good standing, the Program Director, in consultation with the Academic and Professional Standards Review Committee, may grant one additional probationary period. If, at the conclusion of that extended period, the student has failed to meet the requirements for good academic standing, the student will be dismissed.

A student may not be on probation for two consecutive semesters, except in extenuating circumstances determined by the Program Director and the Academic and Professional Standards Review Committee and may not be on probation more than two times during the entire Program.

Any grade below a C- is considered a course failure and the student will be dismissed from the program.

Clinical Year

To progress into the clinical year's experiential phase (clinical rotations), students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater and pass the Didactic Summative Exam. Students must also meet all compliance requirements, which include immunizations and physical examination, criminal background checks, and drug screening.

Conditions that will result in probation include but are not limited to:

• Earning a grade of less than C- on one clinical course
• Failure of 3 end of rotation (EOR) exams on the first attempt

Please note: If you are placed on probation during the clinical year for failure of one rotation, you will remain on probation for the remainder of the clinical year until the failed rotation is successfully repeated and passed.

Although you are granted the opportunity to repeat one failed clinical rotation, the second failure of a clinical course will result in dismissal.

Conditions that may result in probation include but are not limited to:

• Failure to meet clinical year requirements and expectations as defined in the PA Clinical Education Handbook
• Professional or behavioral misconduct or academic dishonesty

If you are placed on probation during the clinical year for earning a grade of less than a C- on one rotation course, you will remain on probation for the remainder of the clinical year until the rotation course is repeated and passed.

If you have one rotation course failure, you must pass all subsequent rotations with a B grade or better. Earning a grade of less than B on any subsequent rotation will result in referral to the Academic and Professional Standards Review Committee and may result in dismissal from the Program.

The Program does not offer deceleration to students. Instead, students not meeting academic standards are dismissed from the Program, and offered the opportunity to apply for readmission.

Readmission After Dismissal

Petition for readmission must be initiated within one year of dismissal.

A student may petition for readmission after being academically dismissed from the Program when they can demonstrate extenuating circumstances that directly resulted in their inability to be academically successful.

To initiate the readmission process, you must notify the Program Director via email of your interest to reapply. You will be provided with a Re-Admission Petition Form that must be completed and submitted by the assigned deadline provided on the form. The completed Re-Admission Petition Form and supporting evidence will be reviewed by the HSCP Department Chair and two other leaders from the department/JCHP. They will determine whether the petitioning student has provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate extenuating circumstances existed that directly resulted in their inability to be academically successful. This decision is final.

If it is determined that extenuating circumstances existed, the completed Re-Admission Petition Form and supporting evidence will be forwarded to the Academic and Professional Standards Review Committee (APSRC) who will review and evaluate this and other pertinent information and academic records to make a recommendation of acceptance or denial for readmission.

Student Work Policy

The Program strongly discourages outside employment and extracurricular activities while you are a student in the program. If you feel that it is necessary to work or participate in extracurricular events while in the Program, it is advisable that you inform your faculty advisor.

PA students cannot be required to work for the program or substitute for or be used as instructional faculty or clinical or administrative staff.