Extramural Studies Program Rules and Regulations
Students can receive the following academic credits for extramural experiences:
- Selective credit (Years 1-3)
- Elective credit (Years 1-3)
Required Documentation:
- Clinical or Non-Clinical Experience Registration form
- Supervisor's Evaluation
- Student's Extramural Experience Report
- case log signed by the supervisor or a one page summary
Procedures:
- Complete the Extramural Registration Form
- Obtain signatures: Supervising Veterinarian, Advisor, Course Coordinator
- Submit to Student Services Office one month prior to the experience
- Within one month of returning from the experience, students must submit:
- Student Report with the required case log or one-page summary, attached
- Supervisor Evaluation form
Overall rules:
- Students may only receive selective credit for an extramural experience in the semester in which the experience occurs and during the selective period. No advance or retroactive credits will be given.
- The student must be at the practice 5 working days (1 week) to qualify for 1 selective credit or 10 working days (2 weeks) to qualify for 2 selective credits.
- Extramural experiences may be scheduled for 1 or 2 weeks (1 or 2 selective credits). Ideally, extramural clinical experiences should be scheduled for 2 consecutive weeks, but may be scheduled for 1 week if the other week is being used to take a 1 week selective course.
- Students cannot be matched to a practice in which a family member (parent, spouse, sibling, etc) is an owner or employee.
- A maximum of 2 students can be at the same practice at any one time.
- Students cannot be paid. The student is responsible for all travel, lodging, and meal expenses. Students may accept food and lodging, if offered.
- If the practice is covered by the AVMA Professional Liability Insurance Trust, a liability rider can be purchased by the student for $10 before the start of the rotation. AVMA PLIT The student must have a letter of good academic standing. These are available from the Student Services Office (see Tammy Ball).
- Students going outside the US must contact the Director of the Veterinary International Program (currently Dr. Levy) regarding needed insurance.
- Students will be graded on a pass/fail basis. The major input into the grade will be the supervising veterinarian/scientist’s grade sheet, but other evaluations may also be used. Failure to complete the course requirements will result in an unsatisfactory grade.
Minimum course requirements for extramural non-clinical experiences.
These experiences are individually designed by the student and the course coordinator. These are essentially “special topics” type experiences that happen outside the college.
- Course coordinators design these experiences so that the experience can be verified, the student is evaluated, and the experience is evaluated. A supervising veterinarian/investigator must be identified for each experience.
- One week (5 working days) is the minimum length of time for 1 credit of selective experience. Two weeks (10 working days) is required for senior rotation credit. The maximum length of time for the experience depends on the academic credit that the student is requesting.
- The student must complete a registration form for the coordinator.
- The supervising veterinarian/investigator must evaluate the student and the evaluation must be returned to the Student Services office.
- The student must complete a one page summary of the experience and return the evaluation form to the course coordinator
- The student is responsible for all travel, lodging, and meal expenses. Some experiences offer stipends or grants to cover travel, food and lodging; these may be accepted. However, the student may not be paid as an employee for the work performed.
Elective rules
- If an extramural experience occurs over a summer or vacation period, credit will be issued only in the semester immediately following the experience with permission of the course coordinator. Credit will be issued as elective/extra selective credit but cannot be used to fulfill the required two-selective credits per semester.
- Elective credits appear on the student’s transcript, but are not usually required for graduation. Some focus areas have required electives but not all focus areas offer elective credit.
- Elective experiences must be scheduled with the course coordinator, but can occur at any time.
- Elective credits are variable and must be agreed upon by the student and course coordinator prior to the extramural experience.
- Overall rules apply including all extramural paperwork, signatures, and deadlines for elective extramural experiences.
What happens if a student has to leave the extramural experience because of extraordinary circumstances (sickness, safety concerns, ethical concerns, etc)?
- The student should contact the course coordinator or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs immediately.
- If the experience is a required course (selective or clinical rotation), the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs will work with the course coordinator to schedule a replacement experience.