General Academic Information

Academic Calendar

The academic year consists of two semesters, each approximately 16 weeks in length and one summer term. Classes are generally scheduled on a five-day week. The university offers daytime, late afternoon and evening classes.

Fall Semester 2024

Spring Semester 2025

Summer Term 2025

Academic Responsibilities

Students have the following responsibilities: to plan an academic program that meets current requirements, to meet all financial obligations, to attend classes and complete course requirements, to maintain established academic standards, to fulfill graduation requirements, and to familiarize themselves with information in the Catalog and the Student Handbook. Students are expected to manifest those qualities judged to be appropriate and necessary in the profession for which they are preparing. Failure to do so may result in dismissal from the program.

Accessibility

Accessibility of Information and Communication Technology

The University of Saint Francis strives to ensure that all people, including those with disabilities, have equal access to its educational services and content, including services and content made available using information and communication technology (ICT). ICT refers to electronic resources used for instruction, information distribution, or communication. The University’s commitment to ICT accessibility aligns with federal and state law as well as the University’s Franciscan Values. Creating an accessible ICT environment is the responsibility of all University administrators, faculty, and staff.

To notify the University of an issue with information and communication technology accessibility, please contact the Dean of Student Academic Support, Academic Career and Development Center at https://accessibility.sf.edu/.

Additionally, the Coordinator of Student Accessibility Services provides services and accommodations for students with disabilities in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. To learn how to request assistance, visit https://accessibility.sf.edu/.

Course Definitions

Course Descriptions: The hours identified with each course description represent the amount of credit hours a student will earn upon successful completion of the course.

Prerequisite: A prerequisite indicates a course which must be successfully completed before enrolling in other courses as indicated.

Co-requisite: This indicates a course which must be taken no later than the same semester as the course described.

Recommended Background: Indicates level of course background or other criteria a student needs to be successful in a course.

Degree Requirements

Associate Degree

To complete an Associate degree at the University of Saint Francis, the student must be in good academic standing and meet the following criteria:

1. Completion of the general education requirements.
2. A minimum of 60 semester hours of credit earned as required by the academic program curriculum.
3. Completion of major requirements.
4. A semester’s residence, that is, at least 15 hours of credit earned at the University of Saint Francis.
5. A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. Some programs have a higher cumulative GPA requirement. Some departments stipulate a minimum GPA or minimum grade in their major courses.
6. Completion of specific program requirements. Some programs require grades of “C” or better in major courses.
7. Meet all financial obligations to the university.
8. Completion of the academic advising file audit with the Director of the program.

Bachelor Degree

To complete a Bachelor degree at the University of Saint Francis, the student must be in good academic standing and meet the following criteria:

1. Completion of the general education requirements.
2. A minimum of 120 semester hours of credit earned as required by the academic program curriculum.
3. A major of at least 30 hours, with no fewer than 12 hours earned from the University of Saint Francis. (An individual department may require more than 12 hours.)
4. A year’s residence, that is, at least 30 semester hours of credit earned at the University of Saint Francis. Specific schools and departments may require a higher number of credit hours earned at the University of Saint Francis for degree completion.
5. A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. Some programs have a higher cumulative GPA requirement. Some departments stipulate a minimum GPA or minimum grade in their major courses or in general education courses.
6. Satisfactory completion of a comprehensive examination or senior project as specified by the department.
7. Meet all financial obligations to the university.
8. Completion of the academic advising file audit with a representative of Academic Affairs.

Bachelor Degree Double Major

A student may receive a double major, provided he or she has earned the minimum number of semester hours of credit required for the degree and has met the requirements for each respective major. One degree is conferred, and the student must choose which degree is conferred if necessary.

Second Bachelor Degree

A student may receive a second Bachelor degree, provided the following conditions are met:

1. All specified requirements for both degrees are completed.
2. The second degree includes at least 30 semester hours of credit which are not counted toward the first degree.

This means a minimum of 150 semester hours (as required by the academic program curriculum) is required to receive a second Bachelor degree as determined by the academic program curriculum.

A student who has earned a Bachelor degree at another accredited college or university may receive an Associate or Bachelor degree from the University of Saint Francis, provided he or she has met all requirements for the degree from the University of Saint Francis. Specific schools and departments may require a higher number of credit hours earned at the University of Saint Francis for degree completion.

Posthumous Degree Conferral

Any currently enrolled undergraduate student who has earned academic credit at USF but who has not yet completed all degree requirements for her/his current academic major and who has passed away in any circumstance will receive a degree posthumously.

The degree will be awarded immediately following confirmation of the student’s passing by the university and after consideration of the case by the President’s Cabinet.

If approved by the President’s Cabinet, the Vice President of Academic Affairs will handle the procedure with the Registrar:

• A degree conferral date will be entered on the student’s official USF transcript.
• An official transcript containing a note indicating that the degree was conferred posthumously will be sent to the family.
• The diploma will be sent to the family or presented to a family member at the commencement ceremony if desired.
• The student’s name will be listed in the commencement program with the notation “Degree Awarded Posthumously”.

General Education

The Franciscan Core Curriculum is an endeavor on the part of the faculty of the University of Saint Francis to incorporate the Franciscan values into the General Education curriculum and to integrate the liberal arts tradition within the academic majors.

This framework creates the opportunity for students to discover the connections between the Core Curriculum outcomes and the lives we hope they lead both professionally and personally.

Franciscan Core Curriculum Vision Statement

The Franciscan Core Curriculum promotes learning, leadership and service to prepare students for lives of integrity.

Graduates of the University of Saint Francis embody the Franciscan Values in their personal and professional lives, lead with expertise and responsibility, reason with evidence and clarity, serve with compassion, and advocate with empathy.

Franciscan Core Curriculum Outcomes

• Apply the Franciscan values to reflect on one’s vocation and serve the community.
• Apply scientific or mathematical reasoning to analyze problems and make knowledgeable decisions.
• Demonstrate effective writing and speaking to communicate to diverse audiences.
• Demonstrate leadership and collaboration to build community.
• Develop digital and information literacy to make informed decisions.
• Employ the philosophical tradition to analyze assumptions about reality.
• Examine historical or social context to understand human behavior.
• Examine the richness of Catholic-Christianity, the life of St. Francis, and the Franciscan movement in dialogue with one’s own life.
• Examine the theological tradition and its contribution to the pursuit of truth across time and cultures.
• Interpret literature or creative arts to understand the human experience.

The first-year seminar or Engage is an introduction to college level study and service, collaboration and leadership. The capstone is a place of integration where the knowledge, skills and values gained in the Franciscan Core Curriculum and the student’s particular major are brought to bear in an original project.

Students will take courses from specific academic disciplines to meet each of the Franciscan Core Outcomes.

First-Year Seminar-Engage and Foundations Course (Cornerstone)

• Apply the Franciscan values to reflect on one’s vocation and serve the community.
• Demonstrate leadership and collaboration to build community.

Science or a Math Course

• Apply scientific or mathematical reasoning to analyze problems and make knowledgeable decisions.

Composition and Rhetoric Course

• Demonstrate effective writing and speaking to communicate to diverse audiences.

Fundamentals of Public Communication Course

• Demonstrate effective writing and speaking to communicate to diverse audiences.
• Demonstrate leadership and collaboration to build community.

Rhetoric and Research Course

• Demonstrate effective writing and speaking to communicate to diverse audiences.
• Develop digital and information literacy to make informed decisions.

Philosophy Course

• Employ the philosophical tradition to analyze assumptions about reality.

History or a Behavioral Science Course

• Examine historical or social context to understand human behavior.

Franciscan Tradition Course

• Apply the Franciscan values to reflect on one’s vocation and serve the community.
• Examine the richness of Catholic-Christianity, the life of St. Francis, and the Franciscan movement in dialogue with one’s own life.

Care for Creation or a Social Justice Course

• Apply the Franciscan values to reflect on one’s vocation and serve the community.

Theology Course

• Examine the theological tradition and its contribution to the pursuit of truth across time and cultures.

Creative Art or a Literature Course

• Interpret literature or creative arts to understand the human experience.

Major Specific Capstone Course

• Apply the Franciscan values to reflect on one’s vocation and serve the community.
• Demonstrate effective writing and speaking to communicate to diverse audiences.
• Develop digital and information literacy to make informed decisions.

Institutional Review Board

The University of Saint Francis has a standing Institutional Review Board (IRB) that reviews all research involving humans, animals and/or biologically hazardous materials. All research, prior to being conducted, must be approved for its protection of human participants or animal subjects by the university’s IRB. The IRB’s role is to assure that ethical designs and controls are implemented in any research conducted by individuals associated with the university.

College of Health Science Technical Standards

The University of Saint Francis has identified technical standards critical to the success of students in health sciences programs. These standards are designed not to be exclusionary, but to establish performance expectations that will enable students to provide safe patient practice with or without accommodations.

Acquiring Fundamental Knowledge

Students must be able to learn in classroom and other educational settings via lectures, demonstrations, review of research and patient care situations.. Students must have the ability to find sources of knowledge, acquire the knowledge, be a life-long learner and demonstrate adaptive thinking.

Developing Communication Skills

Students must have the ability to effectively communicate verbally, nonverbally, in writing, with groups and using information technology. Students must be able to interact appropriately with patients (persons, families and/or communities), peers, and with all members of the health care team. Students must be able to interpret and convey information gathered from communications. They must be able to speak, read and write in English.

Interpreting Data

Students must have the ability to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize data in a timely manner. They must successfully fulfill examination requirements of the program, including written and practical examinations. Students must have the ability to (1) observe patient conditions and responses to health and illness, (2) assess and monitor health needs, (3) translate data into abstract concepts, and (4) understand evidence-based reasoning.

Integrating Knowledge to Establish Clinical Judgment

Students must demonstrate critical thinking, problem-solving and decision making ability needed to care for individuals, families and/or communities across the health continuum. They must demonstrate clinical competency and the ability to participate in clinical experiences. Students must possess sensory capacity and motor function to gather patient data, perform patient assessment and implement therapeutic interventions.

Incorporating Professional Attitudes and Behaviors Into Practice

Students must demonstrate cross cultural competency, integrity, moral reasoning, ethical behaviors and concern for others. They must have the ability to acquire interpersonal skills for professional interactions with diverse individuals, families and/or communities. They must be able to work cooperatively with intra and inter professional teams, adapt to changing environments inherent in clinical practice,, and function effectively under stress.

Criminal Background

To comply with clinical requirements, all students in the College of Health Sciences will undergo a Criminal Background Check before starting clinical rotations. Evidence of positive drug screens, any DUI, driving violations or penalties, crimes such as battery or assault, theft or embezzlement, and drug or other substance abuse-related crimes may make a student ineligible to participate in clinical experiences and therefore ineligible to be admitted to or to complete a health sciences degree.