General Institutional Information

Privacy of Student Records − Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Students have the right to inspect their education records, to request corrections or deletions and certain rights to limit access to such records by other persons. A written request to view the records should be submitted by the student to the appropriate academic person. Records or transcripts may be disclosed to parents only with written consent of the student. Students are required to sign a release of information statement prior to graduation or termination from the College. This statement designates whether a formal written request is required. Academic records of all students currently enrolled in the College are kept and maintained by the College. Other records kept include permanent Alumni records, Clinical Evaluation form, Financial Aid records and an Advisement record. An Advisement Record is kept by each student's academic advisor. This Advisement Record contains the student's admission worksheet, ongoing course requirements, current grade record, advisement session log sheet, and the student's redetermined academic plan. According to the Buckley Amendment, students have access to information placed in the Advisement Record.

Access to Official College Records
All records containing confidential material are kept in locked file cabinets with access limited to those who have legal authority to review them. The provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 are used as guidelines in determining protection of information. The policy statement concerning students’ access to their records appear in the College catalog. Students are asked to sign a statement concerning parental access to grades and other materials when they enter the College. This statement is kept in the student's file and may be changed at any time by the student. Enrolled students and/or their parents may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education if they believe the College has failed to comply with the Family Education Right and Privacy Act.

Procedures for Challenging Content of Official Records
Students who wish to challenge any aspects of their official record which they feel could be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy may proceed through the appeals procedure.

Disclosure to Parents
Student records or transcripts may be disclosed to parents only with written consent of the student. Records of requests and disclosures, whether granted or not, are maintained in the Registrar’s Office. These are considered a part of the permanent record of the student.

Price of Attendance - Tuition fees

Refund Policy and Requirements for Withdrawal and Return of Federal Financial
Aid Drop Policy Courses may be dropped within two weeks after the first day of the semester. Courses dropped within this period will not appear on the student's transcript. A $5.00 fee is assessed and refund policies are followed.

Withdrawal from a Course
Students may withdraw from a course any time after the drop period and before the last day of class or clinical. Withdrawals will be recorded on the transcript according to policy as WX if before midterm, WP if passing the course after midterm, WF if failing the course after midterm, and WA if auditing the course. Any course in which a grade of WX, WP, WF or WA is received must be repeated in its entirety.

Add/Drop/Withdrawal Procedure
Students adding, dropping or withdrawing from a course must complete the Change of Study form. This form is available through the Academic Advisor. After this form is completed and signed, the student takes the form to the Academic Dean for approval. Withdrawal from the College Students withdrawing from the College must complete the official withdrawal procedure. This procedure is available through the Academic Advisor. The student is responsible for providing written documentation that all library and course materials, identification badge and parking permit have been returned. The student is responsible for finalizing all financial obligations to the College. The appropriate status at withdrawal will be recorded on the student’s transcript according to policy.

Readmission
Students who have not been enrolled in the college within the last year must complete the readmission process. Those seeking readmission must contact the appropriate academic person for full details concerning the process. Decisions regarding readmission will be made by the Student Affairs Committee with full consideration of individual student circumstances and space availability. Students re-enter under current academic and clinical policies/requirements.

Instructional Facilities
St. John’s College is housed in a building adjacent to the hospital at 729 E. Carpenter Street in Springfield, Illinois. The administrative offices, financial aid office, faculty offices, classrooms, and recreational rooms are all conveniently located in this two-story building. A fully equipped nursing arts laboratory with state-of-art material is provided for student use.
The computer laboratory with its nursing education programs is also made accessible to students to assist learning in a highly technological environment.
The office of the Financial Aid Officer is located on the first floor of the College to allow ready access in the event questions or concerns arise about financial aid matters.
Recreational facilities are also located on the second floor with lounge areas, and a television for students during the hours the building is open (Tuesday through Friday 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Being adjacent to St. John's Hospital makes access to its services possible at all times.
Reasonably priced cafeteria services and a full range of health services are readily available in the hospital.
A large, well-provisioned Health Science library is located on the second floor of St. John’s Hospital. In addition to the educational opportunities offered on the St. John's campus, students may use the medical library at Southern Illinois School of Medicine and the many services available in the city of Springfield. Lincoln library, the state library and the various governmental offices are within walking distance of the College.

Faculty List - View list

Transfer of Credit Policies
Transfer of credit from St. John's College, Department of Nursing to other institutions is dependent upon the policies and procedures of the receiving institution. St. John's College cannot guarantee acceptance of transfer credit or equivalency of transferred credit in other institutions.

Transfer of Upper Division Credit
Students who wish to transfer credit for courses completed in other accredited baccalaureate programs must meet the general admission criteria and submit an official transcript and a college catalog. In addition, students seeking admission to the Nursing major must submit a statement indicating the reason they wish to transfer and provide copies of all nursing course syllabi. Upper division non-nursing courses taken on a CR/NC or P/F basis will be accepted only if the granting institution evaluates this option as a grade of C or above. The course hours will be counted towards graduation, but will not be calculated in the GPA.

Accreditation, Approval, and Licensure of Institution and Programs
The College is approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation to grant the baccalaureate degree in nursing. It is also approved by the State Agency for Veterans’ Benefits for the Montgomery G.I. Bill.
St. John’s College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (Address: 30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602) to grant the baccalaureate degree in nursing. The nursing program is accredited with the National League for Nursing—Accrediting Commission (3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 500, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, 404-975-5000).

Computer Use and File Sharing
Students have access to the College’s computer laboratory during the hours posted. Instructional aids available include Microsoft Office 2003 package with word processing (Word), Microsoft Excel, Power Point, various software-learning programs, and NCLEX Review programs. This lab is also equipped with the SAINTS system and Francis, St. Johns Intranet. Students must sign an Internet user agreement in order to utilize the Internet. The campus is equipped with WiFi.

Student Services/Activities
Lockers
Each student is assigned a locker. Student must provide their own padlock and students are advised to keep their combinations confidential. The College is not responsible for loss or theft of items from lockers.

Student Lounge
A student lounge is located on the second floor of the College. There is a refrigerator, two microwaves, telephone, typewriter and television available for student use. Each student is responsible for keeping the lounge clean and neat. All food items brought to the lounge must be properly discarded after use. All eating utensils and trays are to be removed from the lounge after use. The privilege of using the lounge furnishings is dependent upon the appropriate utilization of the area and its equipment.

Quiet Study Room
A quiet study room is provided for students on first floor. It is equipped with selected references.

Library Servcies
St. John’s College is a contributor to the Health Science Library of St. John’s Hospital, located on the second (main) floor of the hospital. The library staff provides circulation of library materials to the faculty and student body and also provides library services for internal and external health professionals. The Library personnel processes and maintains all holdings and provides general circulation, references, audio-visual, and inter-library loan services.

The Health Sciences Library at St. John’s Hospital provides students with easy access to the internet, thousands of electronic journals and books, and an extensive collection of print materials, as well as media and audiovisual equipment. Many of its electronic resources are also available from home and throughout the campus. As a member of various state and national organizations, the library can borrow materials owned by libraries anywhere in the U.S.

The library is open Monday through Saturday during the school year . The current Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association will be the manual of style adopted for all written work and will be available in the library. The Library collection includes current nursing books, journals, and audio visuals and a large historical collection of nursing books and journals.

Student nurses may check out Library materials. The due dates for these materials are: books, four weeks; journals, one week; audiovisuals, one week. Students may also complete an interlibrary loan form to request items not owned by the Health Science Library. There may be a charge for this service. The Reserve Section holds packets of information designated for specific courses and are restricted to library use only.

Student Financial Assistance Assistance

Available From Federal, State, Local, and Institutional Programs
St. John's College believes that education is a continuous and unifying process by which a person develops skills, values, knowledge, and forms a behavior of positive value in the society and profession in which he/she lives and works. We believe education takes place for learners, when self-direction and personal responsibility for learning are combined with clinical and educational facilities. With this thought in mind, the institution continues to promote scholarship and loans for its qualified, deserving students who must find funds to attend. The fundamental purpose of the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) is to make it possible for students with inadequate funds who would normally be deprived of a nursing education, to attend the College.

Financial Aid
Financial assistance includes gift aid (scholarships and grants) and self-help aid (work and loans) which may be offered singularly or in combination. In selecting students to receive institutional gift consideration shall be given to gift aid already available to the student from other sources. This should prohibit a concentration of gift aid among students for any single group, i.e., "the most needy of the needy." This ensures a much more equitable distribution of funds. Selection of students to receive financial aid will be made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, handicap or veteran status. In determining a student's resources, four things are considered: family income, family assets, student assets, and student income. The total amount of financial assistance offered a student shall not exceed his/her cost of attendance. Need for financial assistance is considered after all other resources available to the student.

Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations - http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml

Student Loan Information - http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Initial Loan Counseling for Student Borrowers - http://mappingyourfuture.org/

Exit Counseling for Student Borrowers - http://mappingyourfuture.org/

Institutional Code of Conduct for Education Loans - Code of Conduct

Health and Safety
Students and faculty are expected to apply safety/security principles in the clinical/community setting to assure protection of themselves and their possessions. Students and faculty are expected to use universal precautions at all times when in contact with the client or the client's bodily fluids. Transferring of clients safely requires proper transfer techniques, use of good body mechanics, and adequate assistance. Students are required to have faculty present when transferring clients who require more than one person to assist them. Students may transfer clients with the aid of nursing staff if so directed by the faculty. During their nursing education, students are required to participate in various experiences in community and/or inpatient settings wherein they may be exposed to potentially unsafe situations. Attendance at College-sponsored personal safety programs is mandatory.

Drug and Alcohol Policy
Use or abuse of alcohol or illegal drugs is opposed to the principles of safe care for patients and personal growth of students. Therefore, the College supports the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse in all settings and strictly prohibits use of either by students on college property. Students and employees must attend a mandatory drug and alcohol abuse prevention program offered by the College. Students will not be allowed to have drugs or alcoholic beverages on the premises and will not be permitted to remain on the premises under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The College reserves the right to use whatever means appropriate to enforce possession and usage regulations. Such procedures shall be determined by the College administration. If a student is found to be in possession of, using, diverting, or selling a legally controlled substance, the student will be required to meet with the College administration. At that time the student may be requested to seek professional counseling, withdraw from the program or be dismissed from the College, depending on the gravity of the situation.
The appropriate authorities will be notified. Clinical agency policies concerning drugs and alcohol will be in effect for students working in the clinical area. Any student convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving drugs or alcohol must notify the College administration within 5 days of such conviction. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.

Campus Security Policies and Crime Statistics - College Safety Security

Fire Safety Policies
Fire drills are held at intervals during the year. Quiet should be maintained. Walk quickly. Do not run. In addition to the information and regulations contained in the St. John's Hospital Fire and Safety Manual, the following regulations apply to the College building. When fire has been reported in the College, the public address system will announce: “Doctor Dan Firestone, please report to Building S.” The emergency lights will begin to flash. When there is a house-wide fire drill, the public address system will announce: “This is a house-wide fire drill.” The emergency lights will begin to flash.
When these alarms are activated:
Do not stop to collect clothing or valuables in other parts of the College.
Close windows and doors to the rooms and halls and leave.
Move quickly, quietly and carefully on the stairs. Vacate the building via the 7th or Carpenter Street door. (DO NOT exit fire exit door during drill). Do not use elevator.
Do not return to building until told to do so.

If students are in class during a fire, evacuate the building. If a fire is discovered in the College:
Go to the nearest pull station and pull handle.
Call front desk or 44021 (Security), give exact location of fire, what is burning and extent of fire.
If possible attempt to extinguish with materials at hand such as fire extinguisher or rug.
If unable to extinguish immediately, close windows and doors to the area to confine the fire.
Ask others to close all doors to other areas to prevent spread of smoke.
Vacate the building via the 7th or Carpenter Street door. Fire doors to the stairs are to be kept closed at all times.
Never prop these doors open or block them in anyway.

Student Outcomes Retention Rate - Retention and Promotion Rates

Job Placement for Graduates
Students are exposed to various nursing roles and potential opportunities for careers throughout their educational process. Information regarding employment and educational opportunities is distributed to both faculty advisors and students through presentations and bulletin board displays.

Voter Registration
St. John’s College, Department of Nursing, is required by the 1998 Amendment to the Higher Education Act to make a good faith effort to distribute voter registration applications to all students who are enrolled in a degree or certificate program. The voter registration requirement applies to general elections and special elections for the election of governor or other chief executives within a state and for election of federal offices. A supply of Illinois Voter Registration applications are placed in common areas available to students at least 120 days prior to the deadline for registering to vote within the state. .

For complete details of all our policies and procedures please review Student Handbook