Policy 3.3: Clinical Evaluation  

I. Policy Statement

The School of Nursing (SoN) requires that every student participating in clinical coursework receive a written evaluation of clinical performance each quarter or rotation. Evaluations reflect achievement of course or practicum objectives within the standard time frame for which the student is registered.

Course faculty hold ultimate authority for clinical evaluation and grading, and preceptor and site input are incorporated into the evaluation process. Faculty complete evaluations using program/course-specific forms aligned with course objectives, professional standards (WAC 246-840-519), program requirements, and national competencies and standards. Evaluation data contribute to the School’s systematic program evaluation plan maintained under WAC 246-840-512.

Clinical evaluation determines whether a student has met the objectives of the course and, at the conclusion of the program of study, whether the student has demonstrated the end-of-program competencies. A student whose practice or conduct is unsafe or inconsistent with professional standards may be removed from the placement under UW School of Nursing Policy 3.1: Clinical Placement Standards, Compliance and Expectations and may fail the course regardless of performance in other areas.

A DNP or GCPAPN student who has not met the objectives of a clinical course, or has not demonstrated the end-of-program competencies in NCLIN 801, may be considered for supplemental clinical under Section V. Students may not otherwise register for clinical credits beyond those their program’s curricular plan provides.

Enrollment in supplemental clinical is not a course repeat. How an unsuccessful supplemental clinical counts toward course failures is stated in UW School of Nursing Policy 1.6: Course Repeat Policy. Academic status and progression follow UW School of Nursing Policy 1.1: Academic Performance and Progress.

II. Definitions

• Clinical learning experience: As defined in UW School of Nursing Policy 3.1.
• Competency: An integration of knowledge, skills, values, and judgment demonstrated in context; evaluated against clearly defined performance indicators.
• Formative evaluation: Developmental feedback intended to guide improvement during the clinical course/rotation.
• Summative evaluation: End-of-rotation/course assessment of performance against expected outcomes that informs the course grade.
• Course Notification: The document completed by faculty that identifies unmet course expectations and outlines initial expectations and action steps. See UW School of Nursing Policy 1.4: Course Notification & Development Plan.
• Development Plan: The document co-created by the OSAA Program Adviser and the student that records strategies, resources, and follow-up to support course success after a Course Notification is issued. See UW School of Nursing Policy 1.4.
• Unsafe practice: Actions or omissions that place patients, peers, or self at risk of harm, violate scope or standards, or disregard clinical policies or preceptor/faculty direction.
• Professional conduct and essential qualifications: As defined in UW School of Nursing Policy 4.1: Essential Qualifications & Behaviors.

III. Evaluation

A. Faculty Responsibility

• Course faculty hold primary responsibility for evaluation and grading.
• Preceptor and site input are incorporated as appropriate; programs may establish additional expectations for preceptor check-ins or meetings.

B. Evaluation Standards

Evaluations are completed in Exxat, are discussed with the student, and submitted consistent with program requirements and timelines.

IV. Process

A. Unsafe Practice and Professional Conduct Concerns

• Unsafe practice or a professional conduct concern may result in immediate removal from the clinical setting. Removal is governed by UW School of Nursing Policy 3.1, which sets out the grounds, the authority of faculty and preceptors to act at once, and the review that follows.
• When faculty have a concern about unsafe practice or professional conduct but the student remains in the placement, faculty notify the Course Coordinator (A/BSN) or Specialty Director (DNP) and document the concern in writing within two business days. The Course Coordinator or Specialty Director determines whether further review is warranted.
• Whether a removal or restriction continues is reviewed under UW School of Nursing Policy 3.1. Course faculty determine the effect on evaluation and the course grade.

B. Grading and Progression

• Grading criteria are published in the syllabus.
• Course failure may result from unsafe practice or unprofessional conduct, regardless of performance in other areas.
• Faculty issue a Course Notification under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.4 when a student’s clinical performance is at risk of not meeting course objectives.
• Failure to meet course objectives, or to resolve the concerns identified in a Development Plan, may result in course failure under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.3: Grading & Incompletes.
• When a student’s clinical placement ends before required hours or objectives are complete, course faculty determine the course outcome based on the objectives and competencies the student has demonstrated. A student removed for reasons of safety, professional conduct, or compliance is not eligible for an Incomplete, which UW Student Governance and Policies, Chapter 110: Grades, Honors, and Scholarship permits only when the student has done satisfactory work to within three weeks of the end of the quarter. In these circumstances the course is graded No Credit unless supplemental clinical is approved under Section V.
• When a placement ends for reasons unrelated to the student’s performance and no alternative placement is available within the quarter, an Incomplete may be assigned under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.3 if the conditions in SGP 110 are met.
• Academic standing and progression follow UW School of Nursing Policy 1.1.

V. Supplemental Clinical (NCLIN 567)

A. Scope and Entry Points

Applies to: DNP and GCPAPN students enrolled in clinical practicum courses.

Supplemental clinical NCLIN 567 extends clinical learning into a subsequent quarter when a student requires additional clinical experience to meet course objectives, track sub-objectives, or end-of-program competencies. It is a structured remediation pathway and is not a course repeat. Because it adds clinical credits outside the student’s curricular plan, supplemental clinical is an altered progression plan and is approved by the DNP Coordinating Committee under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.1.

• Course or track objectives not met (NCLIN 516, 517, or 518). The concern arises during the quarter, and the student continues in the program on successful completion.
• End-of-program competencies not met (NCLIN 801). The concern arises at the conclusion of the program of study, and completion of the program depends on demonstrating the competencies.

The procedure below applies to both entry points.

B. Choosing the Right Pathway

The pathway follows the reason a student did not complete the clinical course.

• Hours or experiences incomplete, performance satisfactory. When the student is meeting course objectives but required hours or clinical experiences were not completed because of circumstances outside the student’s control, clinical is extended under UW School of Nursing Policy 3.1. The course instructor may assign an Incomplete if the conditions in Section IV.B are met.
• Course objectives or track sub-objectives not met. Supplemental clinical under this section, subject to the considerations below, or No Credit.
• Removed from clinical for safety, professional conduct, or compliance. The removal and the course grade are separate determinations under Section IV.A. Supplemental clinical is not available if course faculty have determined in the clinical evaluation that the student’s practice was unsafe or unprofessional, or the ADAA’s review under UW School of Nursing Policy 3.1 continues a removal for safety or professional conduct.

C. When Supplemental Clinical Is Appropriate

Supplemental clinical is suited to a student who is meeting course objectives and track sub-objectives generally and whose unmet objectives are discrete and identifiable.

Supplemental clinical is ordinarily appropriate when:

• the student is meeting the course objectives and track sub-objectives other than those identified;
• the unmet objectives are identifiable and confined to a discrete area of practice rather than spanning multiple domains of the clinical evaluation; and
• the unmet objectives can reasonably be resolved within the NCLIN 567 credits proposed, while the student also meets the objectives and track sub-objectives of any clinical course taken in the same quarter.

Supplemental clinical is ordinarily not recommended when:

• the unmet objectives span multiple domains of the clinical evaluation, or reflect a general pattern of not meeting course objectives or track sub-objectives;
• the expectations set in a Course Notification issued under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.4 were not met by the stated timeline;
• a finding of unsafe practice or unprofessional conduct has been made, which disqualifies supplemental clinical; or
• the credits required to resolve them approach a full quarter of clinical, or the student could not reasonably carry both the supplemental clinical and the clinical course scheduled for that quarter.

D. Procedure

A Course Notification is issued under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.4 during the quarter when a student’s progress is insufficient or the student is at risk of not meeting objectives. Supplemental clinical is not raised at that stage. The procedure below begins at the end of the quarter, when objectives or track sub-objectives remain unmet.

Step 1: Document what remains unmet

• At the end of the quarter, the faculty member provides a written description of the course objectives and track sub-objectives that remain unmet.
• The instructor of record does not submit a final grade for the clinical course while supplemental clinical is under review. The course carries the missing grade annotation “X” until the outcome is known.
• Supplemental clinical is not available retroactively to change a grade already submitted.

Step 2: Specialty Director review

• The faculty member notifies the Specialty Director, who considers whether supplemental clinical is a fit against the criteria in Section C and what it would entail. The Specialty Director consults the DNP Program Director on whether the unmet objectives are discrete enough to be addressed in supplemental clinical.
• Where supplemental clinical appears appropriate, the Specialty Director notifies the Office of Clinical Placements (OCP) so that placement options can be explored while the request is under review.

Step 3: Develop the proposed plan

• The Specialty Director and the faculty member set out the expectations the student must meet in NCLIN 567, the number of credits proposed, and the basis for that number. The basis reflects the unmet objectives and the student’s clinical load in the quarter the supplemental clinical is taken.

Step 4: Track faculty review

• The Specialty Director brings the request to the track or program faculty for review, with the documentation from Steps 1 to 3, whether the student has previously completed supplemental clinical, and the Specialty Director’s own recommendation.
• Track faculty vote on whether to recommend supplemental clinical, based on whether the student requires additional clinical and would be able to meet the stated expectations with the proposed NCLIN 567 credits in a subsequent quarter.
  • If the track faculty vote No, the Specialty Director will skip Steps 5-11 and proceed directly to Section E below.
  • If the track faculty vote Yes, the Specialty Director will follow Steps 5-11.
• The vote and the basis for the determination are recorded. Approval is contingent on resource approval under Step 5, DNP Coordinating Committee approval under Step 6, and placement under Step 7.

Step 5: Secure resources

• The Specialty Director informs the Department Chairperson of the track faculty recommendation and seeks resource approval. The Specialty Director submits a written request to the Department Chairperson, copying the DNP Program Director. The request includes the student’s name, course, credits, clinical site and preceptor, basis for the request, and proposed plan.
• The Department Chairperson holds final approval authority, as the decision allocates teaching resources.

Step 6: DNP Coordinating Committee approval

• The Specialty Director submits the track faculty recommendation and the Department Chairperson’s resource approval, with the documentation from Steps 1 to 4, to the DNP Coordinating Committee, which decides whether to approve supplemental clinical as an altered progression plan.
• The Committee may vote electronically between meetings so that the decision is not delayed.
• When the Committee approves supplemental clinical, it places the student on Final Academic Alert under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.1, because an unsuccessful supplemental quarter results in two course failures. Under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.6, two failures may result in a recommendation for Academic Drop or a repeat of the course.
• If the Committee does not approve supplemental clinical, the Specialty Director proceeds to Section E.

Step 7: Confirm placement

• The Specialty Director confirms with OCP that a placement meeting the plan is available. Where no placement meeting the plan is available, supplemental clinical is not offered and the outcome follows Section E.

Step 8: Communicate the decision to the student

• The Specialty Director meets with the student. If supplemental clinical is approved, the meeting covers the expectations the student must meet, the credits, the timeline, and registration. If it is not approved, the meeting covers the grade outcome under Section E.

Step 9: Registration

• The student registers for NCLIN 567 with the designated faculty of record.
• If supplemental clinical is approved, the “X” remains on the original clinical course until NCLIN 567 is completed under Step 11.

Step 10: Monitoring

• The Specialty Director and the NCLIN 567 instructor of record monitor progress throughout the quarter.

Step 11: Outcome

• On successful completion, NCLIN 567 is graded “CR,” the “X” in the original clinical course is converted to “CR,” and the DNP Coordinating Committee resolves the Final Academic Alert under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.1.
• If the student does not meet the stated expectations by the end of the supplemental quarter, NCLIN 567 and the original clinical course are both graded “NC,” and Section E applies.

E. When Supplemental Clinical Is Not Approved or Not Completed

1. Supplemental clinical not approved

• The DNP Coordinating Committee places the student on Final Academic Alert under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.1.
• The student repeats the course under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.6. The Specialty Director, with the OSAA Program Adviser, develops an altered progression plan for the repeat, and the DNP Coordinating Committee approves it.

2. Supplemental clinical not completed

• An unsuccessful supplemental quarter under Step 11 counts toward course failures: the original clinical course and NCLIN 567. Next steps follow UW School of Nursing Policy 1.6.

3. Students in NCLIN 801

• Whether supplemental clinical is not approved or not completed, the end-of-program competencies have not been demonstrated. The student does not complete the program until they are, and the pathways above apply.
• The degree is not conferred in the expected quarter. The student updates the graduation application under UW School of Nursing Policy 1.5: Program Duration & Graduation Eligibility, and must be registered in the quarter the degree is conferred.

VI. Roles & Responsibilities Summary

Last updated: September 2026