Attendance Policy

Nursing graduates are legally responsible for knowing what a nurse should know. The Colorado Board of Nursing requires a minimum number of hours for theory and clinical before being eligible to take the licensing exam. The nursing profession relies on the nurse to be dependable when reporting to work as patient care and safety depend on this reliability. NJC’s nursing program plans to emphasize the importance of reliability of the student nurse to prepare the student for practice. Therefore, absenteeism is monitored closely in the Nursing Program. 

All students are required to inform the nursing program office daily of any absence. The student should personally call (970) 521-6701 at least fifteen (15) minutes before the start of class and no later than fifteen (15) minutes after the start of class or lab that will be missed. Two absences per semester in class, lab or clinical will be considered excused as long as notice is given per policy. On your 3rd absences per semester an incident report will be initiated. If the absences are due to COVID, test results need to be turned into the nursing office. 

Students are encouraged to use the Student Health Center (Family Care Clinic) or see their private physician for illness. Students who are ill or physically unable to attend school three consecutive days or more must obtain a written statement from the attending health care provider that they may resume classes. Extenuating circumstances for prolonged or frequent absences must be discussed with the director and a decision on the ability to remain in the nursing program will be determined by the full-time faculty. 

Outside appointments (Dr., Dentist, Lawyer, Counselor, etc.) must be made outside of class hours and are not excusable from class. If an outside appointment is unavoidable prior approval one week in advance is required in order for the absence to be excused. See form at the back of this handbook.

Court appearances will be evaluated on an individual basis. If at all possible, problems requiring legal appearances should be dealt with prior to entry into the program. One-week prior approval is needed.

Students should use their own judgment during times of severe weather. No absence will be excused due to weather, unless the college is closed, the road is closed, or the instructor is not able to get to class or clinical. Instructors may decide to start class or clinical on a delayed start schedule and students will be notified accordingly of this plan including times by the administrative assistant or instructor. 

If the student must be absent when an exam is scheduled the student must notify the nursing office by calling (970) 521-6701 at least 15 minutes before the test.  If the student does not notify the nursing office of the absences the students will be allowed to take the test; however, the student will only be able to obtain 50% of the total possible points. It is expected that the exam will be made up on the first class day following the absence. Make-up exams will be made up during regular work hours. 

Class work and Assignments:  Assignments are due the day the student returns. Students are responsible for contacting individual instructors regarding work missed. Instructors are not required to contact students. Prior arrangements are expected for planned absences. 

Tardiness: is unprofessional and disruptive to fellow students and faculty. Nursing students are being enculturated into the nursing profession and tardiness affects patient care and safety and therefore is not tolerated. Students who enter class after the faculty have begun class are considered to be tardy. More than two tarries in class, lab or clinical per semester will result in an incident report. 

Lab absences: Laboratory hours and days vary by course and are difficult to make up. If a lab is missed it is required to be made up. The student needs to contact the faculty 1 week prior to the lab for a planned absence or the first day back after an unplanned absence.  The student is able to earn up to 50% of the total points for the lab once make-up is complete. 

Clinical Absences: Patient safety is the primary concern while attending clinical. No students should attend clinical if the student is ill and risks exposing vulnerable patients to a communicable illness.

Do not report to clinical if the following exists: 

• Fever of 100.5 or higher. Temperature should be measured without the use of fever-reducing medicines.
• Vomiting or diarrhea within 12 hours of shift starting

The clinical facility must be notified at least one hour before the shift begins if the student is to be absent.  A reason for the absence must be stated.  Failure to notify the clinical facility of an absence will result in an incident report and lowering of the clinical grade.  The college should also be notified of the absence per #2 above. There is no clinical absence day that is allowed.  If the student misses a clinical shift it must be made up. One clinical make-up day will be scheduled at the end of each semester. If there is more than one day that must be scheduled the student will be required to pay a fee of $45/hour to the clinical instructor for make-up time needed. Greater than three absences cannot be made up and will result in dismissal from the program. There may be extenuating circumstances beyond a student’s control and the faculty will review these on a case by case basis.