Pre-Professional Tracks Policies and Procedures

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Policy 1.

Students are not officially in the following tracks until 45 credits are completed with satisfactory grades.

The overall GPA and the science GPA (BIO, CHEM, and PHYS) must be B- (2.67) or better for Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) and Medical Imaging Science (MIS).

The overall GPA and the science GPA (BIO, CHEM, and PHYS) must be B (3.00) or better for Physician Assistant (PA), Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), Podiatry, Chiropractic, and Medicine (pre-Med).

Note that these minimum criteria listed above may be lower than those required by the desired professional program.

Procedures:

  • After the student has completed 45 credits toward the major, the department will check the GPAs (both overall and science). If the student meets the criteria as stated above, he/she will be accepted officially into the program.
  • If the student is a transfer student, the grades from courses transferred to Felician University will be used as part of the determination. That is, the grades on the student’s transcript(s) from the other school or schools will be used.
  • A student who started at Felician University in a non-articulation program (e.g., Biology or Nursing major), but then decides to switch to an articulation program, will be evaluated on the basis of their college-level transcripts.
  • If the student does not meet the GPA requirement of the program, she/he will be counted as a regular Biology major.
  • If a student is in one of the programs that require a B average (PA, PT, OT, Podiatry, Chiropractic or Medicine), but has a B average, that student may transfer to the MIS, MLS, or regular Biology major.

Policy 2.

Students who do not maintain the minimum GPA (see above) or better will be dismissed from the pre-professional program. This includes the following tracks: PA, PT, Audiology, OT, Podiatry, Chiropractic, MIS, MLS, and pre-Med. Note that the minimum GPA is for the major and overall, as stated above.

Procedures:

  • For students in the articulation programs, their GPAs will be examined at the end of each term. If the GPA drops below the minimum, the student will be given one semester to raise the GPA to an acceptable level (2.85 for MLS, 2.75 for MIS, and 3.00 for the others).
  • If a student has a GPA below the minimum for two semesters (consecutively or not), he/she will be removed from the track and considered a regular Biology major.

Policy 3.

Students in articulation tracks and pre-Med must demonstrate good academic progress or be dismissed from the pre-professional program. The procedures below describe minimal good academic progress.

Procedures:

  • Within the first 60 credits, the student must pass (C or better) the following science courses: BIO103, BIO104, CHEM103, CHEM104.
  • If a student does not pass these four courses in a timely manner (i.e., within the first 60 credits), she/he will be removed from the program and counted as a regular Biology major.
  • Transfer students who lack any of the courses mentioned (BIO103, BIO104, CHEM103, CHEM104) must complete them within four semesters. Note that a transfer student who needs all four courses will most likely take longer than four years to complete their program at Felician University.

Policy 4.

Students in pre-professional tracks may change their focus under certain conditions, as outlined below.

Procedures:

  • Students who meet the minimum requirements for articulation programs and pre-Med are free to transfer from one to another with the same minimum requirement. For example, a student with a 3.0 GPA may transfer from PT to Chiropractic.
  • Students who meet the minimum criteria stated here, but who do not meet the criteria of the articulation program or medical school, will be advised that they must raise their GPAs and take the required courses for their track in order to be realistic candidates.
  • A student who is dismissed from an articulation program may not enter another articulation program that has the same or higher criteria. The student may enter an articulation program with lower criteria, however, if he/she meets the requirements for that other program. For example, a student dismissed from PT with a B GPA may not transfer to PA, as both tracks have the same minimum requirements of a B. If that student wishes to transfer to MIS, which requires only a B-, that can be done.

Policy 5.

Students dismissed from, or not accepted into, pre-professional tracks, will have options to remain as science majors.

Procedures:

  • If a student is either not accepted into, or is dismissed from, an articulation program, the student will be able to work toward completing the Biology degree with the aim of applying to professional school during their senior year or after graduation. This is feasible if they can sufficiently improve their GPA by the end of senior year to qualify. Students will be advised of this possibility.
  • Students who are dismissed from an articulation program, but who do not wish to continue the Biology major, will be advised of another option, the Natural Sciences and Mathematics major with concentration in General Science.