Year One — May 4, 2020

Year Two — May 4, 2020

Year Three — May 4, 2020

Year Four — May 4, 2020

Why, in this stressful time, are the nursing faculty members refusing to make a one-time exception to the nursing program policy of needing a 63% to pass?

There are two things to address this question.

• The first is why is the university, and the BN program included, not allowing exceptions to progression standards during this stressful time?
  • While learning in all courses at MRU is important to future career success, learning or not learning in professional programs — e.g. nursing, athletic therapy, medicine — will impact client outcomes. Professionals (and professionals in training) have a responsibility to provide evidence to the public that they are competent to manage the complexities of the care with which they have been entrusted. While the stresses associated with adapting to a pandemic are certainly a very good reason not to have learned something as well as one might have learned something under “normal” conditions; there is no good enough reason to excuse substandard care to the public. While every effort is being made to keep stressors to a minimum, professional programs still have an obligation to their regulatory bodies and through them to the public to ensure that their students have been assessed for and do meet entry-level competencies. Our goal is to continue to help students to meet entry-level competencies in the current environment. The BN program leadership is working closely with CARNA to determine what that means and how students can best demonstrate their achievements under pandemic conditions.

• The second is the issue of what it means to “pass”.
  • The requirement of achieving 63 per cent in a core course before being allowed to progress to a core course at a higher level is called a “progression grade or standard”. This is not the same as a pass. A passing grade at MRU is any grade of 50% or above or any grade at or above a ‘D’. A ‘CF’ would indicate that a student has achieved a grade of less than 50% or below a ‘D’ on a course. A ‘CP’ would indicate that a student has achieved at least 50% or at least a ‘D’ in a course. Should a student decide to have a ‘CF’ or a ‘CP’ on their transcript it means that the grade is not used in the calculation of the GPA and that the actual grade that was assigned does not appear on the transcript.

A progression grade is a standard that is applied in addition to a passing grade. When a program, such as nursing, specifies a progression standard, it means that a student must not only pass the course but must also meet a second standard, the progression standard, in order to progress to other higher-level courses within the program. You will notice in the MRU grading system that the descriptor beside a ‘D’ range grade is: “Marginal performance — Generally insufficient preparation for subsequent courses”. “Insufficient preparation” is not considered “good enough” when patient safety and well-being depend upon the knowledge of the professional. The descriptor beside the ‘C’ range is: “Satisfactory — Basic understanding of subject matter”. “Satisfactory” or “basic” understanding is considered the bare minimum standard that a healthcare professional should attain. That is why nursing, and other professional programs at MRU, make use of progression standards.

If I decided to change my letter grade to a ‘CP’ or a ‘CF’, may I change my mind later on?

No, changing the grade designation is a one-time option.

Please read the email from the provost’s office with a detailed explanation. A decision to make a change in how your grade appears on your transcript is deserving of serious consideration. Make sure that you understand what you are doing.

Updated: Sept. 23, 2020

How is the financial cost of an online lecture being justifiably compared to an in-class lecture given that Mount Royal prides itself on small class sizes and individualized help for students?

Tuition is determined by credit hours and not by delivery method. Research has shown that offering courses online increases rather than decreases workload for faculty. Individualized help for students can still be managed through virtual meetings and other online means. 

Now that the courses are online, we are required to type in short/long answer questions. We acknowledge the fact that some of us are good at MCQ and some at short answers and the quizzes/exams have to balance both. But, some students in the program — like myself — are slow typers. Do you think the addition of this short answer portion — which would require us to have a certain speed — on our final exam is fair? In addition, do you it is justifiable to incorporate too many short/long answer questions, with the amount of time given? 

On behalf of myself and other students, I would like to address that Mount Royal University policy did not indicate anywhere the need for nursing students prior to admission to have a certain speed when writing short answer responses online. This affects the results of many students as they have the calibre to score well, but they are not able to show their full potential due to this typing issue on quizzes/tests or exams. We request the authorities to please consider this point. Thank you. 

Course instructors have made many modifications to exam delivery to decrease the impact that doing things in a new way will have a student performance. 

What will happen for It’s Your Move, CPR and Mask Fit certifications if we are unable to get these before they expire? 

There will be modifications and allowances made with respect to expectations until providers can once again resume the provision of these courses and services. Communications about PPRs and modifications to PPRs will be channelled through the course coordinators so that they can be customized for each program year or program stream.

Updated: Sept. 23, 2020