Participation and Engagement Policy

I. Purpose

SGU is a community of professional learning that prepares students for a range of demanding careers; including medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and the health sciences. All professional and pre-professional programs and undergraduate programs apply the same expectations for participation and engagement. Active engagement is integral to student success, the integrity of the SGU learning community, and compliance with professionalism and accreditation standards across Schools.

This policy sets out expectations for student participation and accountability in all required academic and clinical activities at all campuses where the academic program is delivered, as well as the course and program feedback systems used for quality assurance.

Exceptions: For any programs that are designed, implemented and accredited as asynchronous, distance or remote (SGS); please refer to their specific policies in their program outline/course syllabus.

II. Rationale

Presence is not only a matter of individual responsibility but also of professionalism and community engagement. SGU emphasizes that:

1. Peer learning and support are critical to professional education; a failure to engage disrupts the community of inquiry and diminishes shared learning.
2. Active participation in all scheduled educational activities ensures that students are prepared to serve patients, clients, and society with competence and compassion.
3. Regulatory and accreditation requirements may also mandate the monitoring of participation to confirm that students are actively engaged in meeting learning and that program outcomes can be accurately evaluated.
4. Professional identity formation requires reliability and accountability, qualities demonstrated through consistent participation and engagement.
5. Professional programs have the same expectations across all phases of their curriculum.

III. Scope

This policy applies to all students enrolled in the School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Graduate Studies. It covers all required academic, laboratory, clinical, and community-based learning activities.

IV. Expectations

1. Students are expected to engage as learners, dedicating the time and commitment required for their program of study and for the feedback and evaluation of those courses in which they participate.
2. Students are expected to be engaged in courses, and check the LMS and SGU e-mail daily while enrolled in a program or an active course.
3. Students must be present to actively participate in all required scheduled activities, including but not limited to: lectures, laboratories, tutorials, clinical skills sessions, community engagement activities, clinical rotations, and other scheduled course related activities.
4. Presence and Participation is both a professional responsibility and an academic requirement; failure to meet participation expectations may result in academic or professionalism consequences.
5. Some academic sessions may outline restrictions on electronic devices during the session; this will be outlined in the course syllabus.

V. Monitoring of Participation and Engagement

1. SGU uses various systems (e.g., audience response systems, scan/sign-in procedures, lab/clinical attendance logs) to verify student presence and engagement.
2. Students must use their own identity and credentials when registering participation; proxy or fraudulent participation is considered academic dishonesty and a breach of the honor code.
3. Course directors and faculty are responsible for collecting participation data and each school defines the threshold and consequences of inadequate participation; the details are outlined in each course syllabus. Each school’s Student Manual will outline the details of grace for academic activities but shall not set that lower than 80% for the course.

VI. Regulatory and Accreditation Compliance

1. Participation records may be used as part of student assessment, academic progression decisions, and external reporting to regulatory authorities.

VII. Consequences of Non-Compliance

1. A failure to participate and engage in academic activities may result in:
   1. Referral to the Office of Student Affairs.
   2. Academic penalties as defined in the course syllabi or School Student Manual.
   3. Professionalism notations in the student’s record.
2. In cases of misrepresentation of attendance (e.g., using another student’s clicker, signing in for another), students may face disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
3. For each School’s specific participation policy please refer to the relevant Student Manual.

VIII. Extenuating Circumstances

1. If, due to a catastrophic event or emergency, students are unable to attend any mandatory activity, they must immediately notify the Office of Student Affairs by email providing relevant information.
   1. The relevant Associate/Assistant Dean of Student Affairs from the appropriate School will make a determination on the validity of the absence based on information provided and communicate to the course directors, requesting that they make arrangements for completion of the missed activity.
2. Where a school/course has fractional participation requirements (i.e. 80% of activities in a category) then absence from a course event within the allowance permitted does not require notification to the Office of Student Affairs.
3. If a student is in doubt, they should refer to their course syllabus or reach out to their Course Director, who defines which activities and participation thresholds are required for each course element.
4. Absence from examinations always requires notification to Student Affairs in the absence of being able to utilize the medical excuse system.

IX. Authority

Office of the Provost: reviewed every 3 years.

X. Version History

(1025005)