Registration and Attendance

Registration/Drop-Add Policy

Didactic courses are required and are offered as a cohort. There are no opportunities to drop or add a course. Students must be enrolled prior to starting either didactic or experiential courses. Please note, this includes unexpected changes to clinical rotation assignments that could result in dropping/adding a course late.

Conference Attendance Policy

Attendance at a state or national conference is encouraged and is the financial responsibility of the student. Faculty will attempt to honor a student’s request to attend a conference given adequate notice of attending; however, excuse from class, lab, or rotations will be approved by individual faculty.

If a student is requesting to miss part of his/her rotation experience due to a conference, it must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Experiential Education by January 1 prior to the start of rotations for review and approval. Those submitted after January 1 may be denied.

Clinical Year Attendance Policy

Student attendance is mandatory at the following:

  • Any on-site orientation required by rotation site
  • Rotation specific pre- and/or post-rotation meetings with individual faculty
  • End of Rotation (EOR) meetings
  • Summative Exam and any practice sessions pertaining to this
  • Clinical year courses

Students are expected to be at their rotation/experience every day. Any student missing a clinical day must report the absence to the Director of Experiential Education immediately. Please complete the Butler University PA Program Request for Excused Absence form within 72 hours of absence (Appendix A). This request must be approved and signed off by the student’s preceptor. Documentation (i.e. doctor’s note, obituary) may be required to justify the absence(s) at the discretion of the Director of Experiential Education.

Unexcused absences may result in failure of clinical year courses. Students missing days will be required to meet with the Director of the Experiential Education for the PA Program and/or the PA Program Director to discuss the course of action to be taken. This may include make-up days, a failed or incomplete rotation, review by the Student Professional Conduct Committee, and/or other actions as deemed appropriate.

Travel to Attend an End of Rotation Meeting

If an End of Rotation meeting begins the day following a student’s last rotation day and the student is completing a rotation at a distant rotation (more than two hours), please follow these guidelines regarding absence:

  • If a rotation site is a two-five hour drive from campus, one half day from rotation will be excused for travel.
  • If a rotation site is more than a five-hour drive from campus, one full day from rotation will be excused for travel.
  • It is expected that weekend days are utilized as travel days to optimize start and end days of rotations.