Academic Standards and Guidelines

The Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) program requires students to receive a grade of a B or better in every course. To earn a B grade, students must achieve a minimum of 80 percent in each course in accordance with the grading policy outlined in the syllabus. To maintain good academic standing, students must receive a B grade or better on all courses. Academic standing is evaluated after each term/block.

Additionally, the following outlines the standards and expectations that the College expects of doctorate students enrolled in the DMSc program:

Course Access

Students are granted access to their orientation course two weeks prior to the first day of class upon starting their DMSc program. For all other courses, students are granted course access on the Thursday prior to the first day of class. Classes begin on Mondays.

Participation and Attendance in Courses

Weekly continuous participation is expected in all class activities. The academic week is from 12:00 a.m. Idaho time on Monday through 11:59 p.m. Idaho time the following Sunday. Participation is defined as having completed one or more of the activities required in any week, which may include posting or responding to a discussion post; submitting a paper; completing a quiz or examination; or completing some other assignment as presented in the course syllabus.

Attendance for each course is taken the first week of class. As the DMSc program is an online program, students are required to complete the Acknowledge the Syllabus assignment to have attendance accepted. Students failing to complete this requirement may be removed from the course and administratively withdrawn from the DMSc program.

Late Assignment Policy

All assignments must be submitted on the assigned due date/time via Canvas to earn full credit. Assignment deadlines are listed in Mountain Standard Time and therefore students should adjust submissions in their local time zones accordingly.

In rare and exceptional cases, an instructor may grant a student permission to submit an assignment late; however, such late submission may result in point deductions and will be graded at the instructor’s discretion. If an assignment is submitted late without instructor permission, the assignment will be subject to point deductions, and at the instructor’s discretion, may result in a zero for the assignment.

In the event a student is unable to submit work to Canvas by the deadline due to technology issues, the student must:

  • Notify the instructor; and
  • Open a ticket with IT by emailing helpdesk@collegeofidaho.edu or schedule an appointment with IT during office hours (keep the ticket number as documentation the issue has been reported).

Once the IT issue has been resolved, the student should then submit their work through Canvas for grading.

For more information on contacting IT, see Information Technology Canvas course.

Inclement Weather/Power Outage Policy

In the event a major weather occurrence or wide-spread power outage prevents a student from accessing a class, instructors will work with the student to set reasonable accommodations to accept assignments after a due date. Instructors may request documentation from a student if a weather or power-outage occurrence is not widespread.

Changing Concentrations

Upon receipt of their enrollment deposit, students are enrolled in the concentration track identified during the admissions process and will receive a copy of their Academic Degree Plan, which outlines the required courses to complete the DMSc program. Students wishing to change concentrations either before or during the program MUST contact the DMSc program manager.

Changing Semester Load

All DMSc degree pathways require completion of two courses (6 credits) per block, which are outlined in the Academic Degree Plan provided to the student at the time of enrollment. Students experiencing extenuating circumstance who wish to decrease their per block course load from two courses (6 credits) to one course (3 credits) MUST contact the DMSc program manager.

To remain eligible for financial assistance, students must be enrolled in at least five (5) credit hours each semester.

Changing Degree Pathways

Upon receipt of their enrollment deposit, students are enrolled in either a traditional pathway or an accelerated pathway identified during the admissions process and will receive a copy of their Academic Degree Plan, which outlines the required courses to complete the DMSc program.

Students who are eligible for an accelerated pathway, but in the admissions process elect to start their DMSc in a traditional pathway, and who then subsequently desire to change to the accelerated pathway MUST contact the DMSc program manager before the first day of the first term of their DMSc program.

Students who matriculate into the accelerated pathway and subsequently decide to switch to the traditional pathway MUST contact the DMSc program manager, and if approved, must continue to pay the accelerated tuition rate for courses taken as part of the traditional pathway.

Course Cancellation

In the unlikely event that the institution has to cancel a course, any student enrolled prior to a course cancellation will receive a full refund of tuition paid.

Program Cancellation

Should the College cancel a program, currently enrolled students are permitted to complete a program before it is discontinued. No new students are permitted to enroll in a program the College has cancelled.