Policy:
This policy applies to all prospective and currently matriculated students in the BSN program at Holy Family University. All prospective and currently matriculated BSN students must complete the FBI clearance through the COGENT website following the directions below.
In order to begin nursing courses (NURS 202, NURS 204, NURS 206), the student must have a clear FBI background check. Any offense (arrest, conviction, misdemeanor, felony, etc…) on a student's record will prohibit him/her from starting nursing courses. If the offense is expungeable, the student is encouraged to seek legal counsel. If the student's record is cleared, and the record shows as "clear," the student is eligible for progression, provided all other eligibility requirements are met.
Any student with an offense listed on the "Prohibitive Offenses" contained in PA Act 169 of 1996 as amended by Act 13 of 1997, the Older Adult Protective Services Act, will not be admitted to the BSN Program.
This FBI background clearance is required yearly and must be current. Students are responsible to immediately notify the BSN Chair of any change in legal status. Students who change to a positive background, for any reason, will be dismissed from the program until their record is expunged.
Once in the program, a change in background clearance from negative to positive will result in the student being dismissed from the program until such time that their record is expunged. Students are required to immediately notify the BSN Chair of any change in status.
Students should be aware that some offenses are "non-expungeable" and cannot be removed from a record. This includes some felonies and insurance fraud. If this is the case, the candidate can never be admitted to the Holy Family University BSN program. Other offenses may not be able to be expunged for a certain amount of time. The background clearance requirements are set by clinical agencies. There is no leniency permitted in this policy. The agency contracts specify that all students must have a clear background in order to care for patients. Please do not ask for exception to the policy as it is not possible. It is not the program's decision to make; it is the decision of the clinical agency.
If you cannot go to clinical, you cannot complete the program requirements, and are, therefore, unable to be admitted to the program.