Yale School of Nursing Academic Support
Yale School of Nursing (YSN) is committed to supporting all students in didactic and clinical courses. Nursing faculty share responsibility for supporting students in reaching academic goals, clinical competencies, and achieving high standards of professionalism. Students are expected to be accountable for their learning and course assignments. In graduate academic programs, the expectation for students enrolled in a didactic course is 3 hours of work for every credit hour of class per week, in addition to clinical hours. However, some students may need extra time and support to meet the standards necessary for academic progression and professional practice.
YSN Student Academic Support
- to identify students who may be at risk of failing to meet academic standards and competencies as early as possible
- to offer resources and, when needed, a remediation plan to support students in meeting these standards
The intent is to identify learning needs early, establish support, and create an individualized plan that will promote learning and demonstration of competency.
Students are encouraged to meet with the faculty of record as soon as possible if they are concerned about their performance in a didactic or clinical course. During this meeting, faculty will discuss strategies that may assist the student to learn the material and ultimately demonstrate competency. Academic advisors are another source of academic support that can be a resource. Life circumstances often influence academic performance. Academic advisors and the Office of Student Life can provide YSN and campus resources to assist in these situations.
Additional Resources for Students with Learning and/or Physical Disabilities
Students may know or be unaware of learning and/or physical disabilities causing them challenges. The Yale Student Accessibility Services (https://sas.yale.edu) is the primary resource that students can access to secure needed accommodations and/or seek to be evaluated. Accommodation might include certain environmental aspects while taking an exam, needing a note taker, etc. The YSN Associate Dean of Student Life and the YSN Associate Director of Student Success serve as the designated liaison to Student Accessibility Services (SAS).
If the student has accommodations per Yale University Student Accessibility Services, it is the student’s prerogative to disclose any or all accommodations. The Office of Student Success and Operations will work with the information provided by the student and objective data available to support and guide the student. Students are never required to disclose disabilities to faculty members.
Reassessment Plan for Students with a Failed Assessment in a Course:
Yale Campus resources are available to all students including OSL, Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL), Poorvu Center, SAS, and ODEIB. In addition, YSN has resources to support successful learning that may include teaching assistant (TA) or teaching fellow (TF) review sessions, pre and post exam TA support, faculty and/or advisor student meetings, peer study or support groups, peer or faculty workshops on testing strategies, practice tests, and re-taking an exam or performing an alternative assessment (as appropriate).
There is a direct correlation between successful remediation and being assessed in a way that requires retrieval of content and learning1. The YSN reassessment plan will therefore include re-exposure to content and a subsequent reassessment to improve student learning, retention of content and ability to demonstrate competency. As such, YSN students will be afforded the opportunity to perform a reassessment of course content, limited to one per course of an attempted assessment that was failed. The student must pass the reassessment of content in order to receive a passing score of 74%. A score of 74% is the highest score awarded regardless of whether the grade a student receives on the reassessment is greater than 74%.
The faculty of record will decide on the type of reassessment and the grading rubric, as in some cases, only the topical area(s) where competency was not demonstrated will be reassessed (e.g., multiple choice, short answer, other assignments, case study, presentation, project, etc.).
The timing of the reassessment will be at the end of the semester. However, if mutually desired, the reassessment may occur sooner with shared decision-making between the student and faculty. Often coursework is scaffolded, and it is important for students to demonstrate competency with initial material before moving on to more advanced concepts. Students requesting a reassessment must notify the faculty of record prior to the last day of the course, requests for a reassessment of the final exam must be received within 3 days of the final exam grade being posted in Canvas.
1 Green, ML, Moeller, JJ & Spak, JM. (2018). Test-enhanced learning in health professions education: A systematic review: BEME Guide No. 48. Medical Teacher, 40, 4, 337-350.
Approved by BPO November 19, 2025