Graduate Policies

Annual Student Attestation

I. Purpose

Thomas Jefferson University is committed to providing an academic atmosphere that supports student success and well-being while maintaining University compliance and fiscal responsibilities. To that end, this policy identifies the online process by which students must agree to specified requirements and provide information, such as local address, emergency contact and cell phone number, to ensure the student or their designate may be contacted in the event of an emergency.

II. Policy Statement

This policy addresses the requirement that all Thomas Jefferson University students must check-in online at the beginning of their enrollment period of each academic year. The policy further specifies the general criteria, which is subject to change at the discretion of the University, associated with this check-in and selfattestation process. The purpose of this policy is to facilitate and support students throughout their enrollment and ensure that required student administrative responsibilities are addressed early in the academic year to avoid any interruption in their enrollment and/or completion of academic program requirements.

III. Scope

This policy applies to all students who are registered and enrolled for at least one term, including a semester, clinical rotation, and/or accelerated periods, within an academic year.

IV. Definitions

  • Confirmed Students: Accepted students who have confirmed their intention to enroll by submitting a deposit and/or fulfilled other administrative requirements. It should be noted that this category may also be referenced as “Deposited” in other policies, procedures or websites.
  • Registered: Student has active coursework for a specified term(s).
  • Enrolled Students: Student has active coursework for a specified term(s) (Registered) and the official class sessions have started and are in progress.
  • Leave of Absence: A leave of absence is a temporary absence from the University. Students are advised to refer to the appropriate handbook to determine all parameters related to a Leave of Absence.

Note: Students will be required to complete the annual attestation process upon return from their Leave of Absence.

  • Suspended/Suspension: Student’s enrollment is temporarily discontinued based on the University’s assessment that:
    • Student is in violation of the Community Standards; and/or
    • Student is in violation of program policies and/or clinical, clerkship or other experiential learning placement policies. Student may return after the suspension period if they have satisfied all stipulations referenced in the suspension decision.

Note: Students will be required to complete the annual attestation process upon return from their suspension.

Components

Overview

Once a student registers for any term within an academic year, they will be required to complete the annual “Check-in/Self-Attestation” process. This will generally be required only once an academic year, even if the student registers for multiple terms within that same academic year.

Check-in – Self Attestation Page

To complete this process, students will be directed to the “Check-in – Self-Attestation” screen the first time they sign into the Banner Student Information System following their registration. The screen will provide an overview of the requirement and specify the items to which they must respond.

Confirmations – Requirements for Updates, include but are not limited to the following:

  1. Confirmation of the student’s intent to enroll at Thomas Jefferson University during the specified academic year.
  2. Confirmation or update of Local Address, Cell Phone Number, and Emergency Contact. Students will be provided a direct link to the Banner screen to immediately confirm or update this information.
  3. Confirmation that, based on enrolling at Thomas Jefferson University, they understand that they are financially responsible for all tuition, fees and other University related charges.
  4. As applicable, confirmation that they understand they are responsible to maintain health insurance while enrolled at Thomas Jefferson University and that the charge for the health insurance provided by the University will be applied to their account. They further confirm that they are responsible for waiving and/or providing proof of other insurance by the specified date or they maintain responsibility for that charge.
  5. Other confirmations as determined at the discretion of the University.

Communication

General email notices will be sent to students starting in June.

Once the deadlines have passed (as specified below), all students will receive personalized notices if they have not completed the process. These notices will generally be sent twice a week until the process has been completed.

The notices will include:

  1. The reminder about the requirement;
  2. Reference to the actual policy; and
  3. Notice about ramifications of not completing this requirement by the specified deadline.

Ramifications if the Check-In/Self Attestation is not completed by the specified deadline

Ramifications include:

  • Loss of access to Canvas Learning Management System if the CheckIn/Self Attestation is not completed by July 18 for the pre-fall term (enrollment in pre-fall course(s) from May 1 through August 31), October 15 for the fall semester, February 15 for the spring semester, and June 15 for the summer semester.
  • Will not be allowed to register for subsequent terms and/or registration will be cancelled for a subsequent term if the CheckIn/Self Attestation is not completed by August 1 for the pre-fall term (enrollment in pre-fall course(s) from May 1 through August 31), November 1 for the fall semester, March 1 for the spring semester, and July 1 for the summer semester.

Note: The dates referenced above indicate the official target date as to when these ramifications will occur. Actual application of the ramifications will occur on or immediately after the first business day, following the target date, that does not coincide with a federal holiday.

Contributors/Contributing Departments: Academic Policies and Calendars Committee