Doctorate Degree Programs, Dietetic Internship, and Clinic Shifts
Bastyr University provides a competency-based learning format in the classroom for students in the naturopathic medicine program, clinic courses, and the dietetic internship program. A competency-based evaluation of student work and performance is structured on the premise of demonstrating competence in a well-defined set of information and/or skills.
With a competency system of grading, a student is aware of the learning objectives and core competencies for each course and clinic shift; knows how knowledge and understanding of these objectives and competencies are measured; and has the opportunity to demonstrate mastery by means of quizzes, exams, papers, and/or practical application. The competencies established for each course reflect the goals and objectives of the appropriate program of study. Program and department chairs in the professional programs, in consultation with the faculty, determine the requirements and standards that students must meet in order to earn a grade of Achieved Competency, Partial Competency, Repeat Competency (NM program only), or Failure.
| H |
Honors (NM program - for didactic courses only) |
| AC |
Achieved Competency |
| PC |
Partial Competency |
| RC |
Repeat Competency (NM program only) |
| F |
Failure |
| I |
Incomplete – Personal emergency or serious illness |
| W |
Withdrawn |
| AW |
Administrative Withdrawn |
| IP |
In Progress – for clinic shifts, preceptorships, clinic entry, theses, didactic courses, and internships |
| N |
No Grade |
| CE |
Challenge Examination |
| NS |
No Show |
| AU |
Audit |
| WV |
Waived |
HONORS (H): A grade of H indicates the student has obtained a minimum of 95 percent in fulfilling the course requirements. It indicates the student has gained the defined knowledge, information, skills, and core competencies and met the learning objectives as defined in the syllabi. Departments have discretion when assigning “honors” to students. The honor grade would be used in transcripts only.
ACHIEVED COMPETENCY (AC): A grade of AC indicates the student has gained the defined knowledge, information, skills, and core competencies and has met the learning objectives as defined in the syllabi. Students must attain a level of achieved competency (AC) in all courses, clinic shifts, and internships. AC grades are not factored into the GPA. An AC grade is a minimum of 73 percent and may be defined as a higher percentage for specific programs and/ or requirements. These specific grade requirements are defined on syllabi.
PARTIAL COMPETENCY (PC): A grade of PC indicates that an aspect of the learning objectives or core competencies has not been achieved, and there is need for further study to earn the required AC. Faculty determine the date by which a PC grade must be converted; however, PC grades must be converted no later than the end of the break of the subsequent quarter in which the grade was received. Students may be required to complete a PC contract with the faculty member. Upon conversion of the grade, the instructor must submit a grade change form to the registrar’s office. Grades of PC that have not been converted to AC grades by the deadline revert to F grades. The course, lab, clinic shift, or internship must then be repeated. PC grades do not translate into partial credit on transcripts and are not factored into the GPA.
- For non-sequential courses, the school dean or designee determines the date on which a PC grade must be converted, which must occur on or before the last weekday of the break after the subsequent quarter in which the grade was received.
- For sequential courses, PC grades must be remediated by 5 p.m. on the first Friday of the subsequent quarter. If not remediated by this deadline, the student will not be allowed to continue study in the next sequential course. Students earning a PC on a clinical rotation must convert the grade by the last day of the subsequent quarter.
REPEAT COMPETENCY (RC):
Repeat Competency (RC) grades apply only to courses within the naturopathic medicine curriculum in which there are multiple core competencies (disciplines) within a course. An RC grade must be converted to AC in order for the student to progress within the naturopathic medicine curriculum.
AC grades are awarded to students demonstrating competency in all of the disciplines within a course. The grade of PC for a course is a temporary grade given when the student has a partial competency for one or more disciplines within a course and must take one or more remediation exams. If the student passes the remediation exam(s), then the PC converts to an AC. If a student fails all disciplines in a course, the grade for the course is F, and the entire course must be repeated.
An RC grade indicates that the student demonstrated competency in some of the disciplines within the course but must repeat and achieve competency in other disciplines in order to earn a grade of AC for the course. A student who is successful in at least one discipline receives an RC grade when they do not:
- meet the minimum points to be eligible to take a remediation exam for a discipline.
- successfully pass the remediation exam.
- (or) take the remediation exam.
While the student is in the process of repeating the discipline(s) in which competency must be demonstrated, the grade of RC will remain on the student’s official transcript for that course. Once competency in all course disciplines is achieved, the professor submits a grade change form to the registrar’s office. Failure to convert an RC to AC on repeating the discipline is equivalent to failing the same discipline twice and puts the student at risk for dismissal.
Students who withdraw from the University with unremediated RC grades will receive a grade of F for those courses.
FAILURE (F): A grade of F indicates failure to meet the minimum level of competency for learning objectives or core competencies. A student who receives a failure in a required course, lab, clinic shift or internship must repeat that course, lab, clinic shift, or internship.
WITHDRAWN (W): A withdrawal form must be completed, signed, and filed in the registrar’s office at least three weeks before the end of a given quarter. The W grade is transcripted for all course withdrawals after the first week of the quarter (with the exception of courses that have not yet met).
INCOMPLETE (I): A student who is doing satisfactory work in a course but cannot complete the work because of a serious illness or personal emergency may receive an I grade by filing an incomplete grade request form (approved by the instructor) with the Office of the Registrar. Incomplete grades may only be awarded in the last three weeks of the quarter (after the course withdrawal period has ended) or after at least 70 percent of the class has been completed (in the case of hybrid or courses with fewer than 11 weeks). Faculty determine the date by which an I grade must be converted; however, I grades must be converted no later than the end of the break subsequent to the quarter in which the grade was received. The deadline for classes that are part of a sequence is before the subsequent quarter starts. Students may be required to complete an I grade contract with the faculty member. Upon conversion of the grade, the instructor must submit a grade change form to the Office of the Registrar.
ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWAL (AW): A student who is suffering from a serious illness or experiencing a personal emergency and is unable to withdraw from term-based classes within the appropriate time frame may be awarded an AW grade by the registrar. The AW grade is awarded for all incomplete courses in a given quarter.
IN PROGRESS (IP): IP grades are indicated for didactic courses (designed to continue beyond the quarter), clinic shifts, preceptorships, community practicum, clinic preparation, theses, internships, clinic entry courses, and module programs in which work may extend beyond the end of a quarter. If not converted to a passing grade, IP grades may be converted to an F grade.
NO GRADE (N): N grades are assigned to indicate that a student is awarded no credit for a course but did not fail that course. N grades are administrative grades and are assigned only by the registrar. N grades are not refundable.
CHALLENGE EXAMINATION (CE): Please see Challenge Examinations in the Academic Policy and Procedure Manual (p.10) for more information.
NO SHOW (NS): NS grades are assigned to indicate that a student did not attend class. NS grades are not refundable, and no credit is given.
AUDIT (AU): Students generally audit a course for their personal enrichment. No credit is given, and no academic grade granted. Courses taken for audit cannot serve as a prerequisite for a subsequent course.
WAIVED (WV): Courses are generally waived if a student has demonstrated competency in a particular subject matter but does not have the appropriate level of coursework from an accredited institution to allow a transfer of credit. There is no credit attached to a waived course, and a student is required to make up the corresponding credits waived with additional elective credits.