Student Affairs, Policies, Procedures, & Services

The Office of Student Affairs is responsible for administering and maintaining student academic and registration records. This responsibility is governed by policies established by the School and University as well as mandates initiated by the State and Federal Governments.
Students must realize that their status as a student is a legal matter and is subject to State and Federal laws as well as University Policy. The student is obliged, therefore, to insure that the Office of Student Affairs is notified of changes in enrollment status, names, citizenship status, and addresses.

On this Page

• Registration
• Certificate of Enrollment
• Deferments
• Absence from Program (excluding Advanced Education Students)
• Unexcused Absence from Rotations
• Leave of Absence
• Student ID Cards
• Services for Students with Disabilities
• Student Mailboxes
• Religious Holidays
• Approved Research Participation - Extension of Time
• General Information for Foreign Students
• Academic Records
  • Access to Academic Records (Transcripts)
• Payment of Fees
• Withdrawal
• Tuition Refund Policies
• Clearance upon Departure from the School of Dental Medicine

REGISTRATION

Students are required to complete registration documents at a place and time announced each year. Registration documents contain information the School is required to maintain on each student and must be verified annually through the registration process.
To be a fully registered student in the School of Dental Medicine, the student is required to meet three conditions:

1. The student is required to formally complete Registration documents. A late registration fee of $50.00 per day may be imposed upon any student failing to complete this aspect of Registration at the time scheduled.
2. The student must be financially cleared by the Bursar's Office in order to register. Although students are permitted to complete their Registration forms without financial clearance, they will not be fully registered until the Bursar's Office has cleared them. Students not registered because of this condition must see the Bursar to make satisfactory arrangements to pay their bill. Failure to make full and timely payment of tuition and fees may result in a financial penalty being assessed to the student by the Bursar.
3. A student is not fully registered unless the student has submitted health insurance and immunization documentation to the Student Advisory and Health Administration Office.
   Please note that any student not fully registered:
   --Forfeits all rights to obtain official transcripts or other documents requiring the Seal of the University or signature of a School Official.
   --May be suspended or withdrawn from the program.
   

The primary Registration Form requests:

Name:
Your full legal name. Required by law.

991#:
This number is assigned through the Admissions Office during the application process. This number is utilized as your identification number. Foreign students without a social security number are assigned an identification number by the Admissions Office. This number will be used as the student's identification throughout the educational program. Please keep this number confidential.

Date/Place of Birth:
Verification of the date and place of birth by the School is required by licensing jurisdictions, the Federal Government, and others.
Citizenship: Federal law requires schools to determine this as a part of a student's enrollment record.

State of Legal Residence:
Determines eligibility for certain loan and scholarship programs. Required by School policy.

Marital Status:
Determines educational budget and, therefore, eligibility or access to certain federal loan programs. Required by School Policy and Federal laws for certain loan programs.
Non-Citizen Information: Foreign students are required to provide Visa information as mandated by Immigration Laws. Permanent residency information is also mandated by Immigration Laws.

Addresses:
School policy requires students to provide four addresses:

Local Address / Billing Address / Emergency Address / Permanent Home Address.
The Emergency Address includes the name of the person(s) to contact if an emergency regarding the student arises.

Cellular Phone Number:
This number will be used only for emergency purposes, unless given as primary local phone number.

Changes in Registration Information
Changes in any of the information cited above should be reported to the Office of Student Affairs.

Special provisions are required for the following:

1. Change in Name: Student is required to provide a copy of the court order & marriage certificate authorizing the legal change of name.
2. Citizenship: Achievement of permanent residency status must be verified by submission of the Alien Registration Card "Green Card" – I-151 or I-551 form, copy of both sides. Change in Visa status must be documented through the International Affairs Office on the Boston Campus.
   

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

The Office of Students Affairs provides the following types of letters certifying student enrollment.

Standard Certifying Letter:
This letter certifies full time enrollment for the current academic year. The letter contains:

1 Student Name
2 School ID #
3 Specialty - For Postgraduate Students Only
4 Enrollment Period (current academic period)
5 Expected Date of Graduation

Certifying Letter with Educational Costs:

This letter certifies full time enrollment for the current academic year as well as a list of billed costs for the year, payment deadline, estimated living costs for the specific academic period, and estimated costs of books and supplies. The letter, thus, certifies enrollment, educational budget for a specific academic period, and expected graduation date.

The two basic certifying letters can be modified to include such special requirements as a statement of satisfactory academic progress or absence of School-funded financial assistance.
Letters are signed by the appropriate school official and embossed with the school seal.

Special Certifying Letters Regarding Malpractice Insurance for Postgraduate Students:
Many of the students in the Advanced Education programs are able to practice either at night or on weekends. Costs of liability insurance can be expensive for the full time practitioner. Many insurance companies will offer reduced rates for part-time practice.

The Office of Student Affairs can provide a letter certifying full time enrollment with a statement reading, “The student is covered by School Malpractice insurance while enrolled 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday.” Such letters can be filed with applications for liability insurance.

DEFERMENTS

In addition to letters certifying enrollment, the Office of Student Affairs signs the deferment forms generated by lenders and loan authorities for prior and current student loans.  It is the responsibility of the student to obtain proper deferment forms from his lenders or loan servicing agency and to submit them for processing.

NOTE: Deferment forms for future academic terms for which the student has not registered will not be processed until registration has been completed.  While Tufts University participates in the National Student Loan Clearinghouse and reports student enrollment status accordingly, not all lenders and loan servicers utilize the Clearinghouse.  Therefore, completion of the deferment form process may still be necessary.  Students should contact their loan servicers for confirmation of their participation in the Clearinghouse.

Deferment forms will be signed for the academic period which the student is registered or past academic periods in which the student was registered.

ABSENCE FROM THE PROGRAM
(EXCLUDING ADVANCED EDUCATION STUDENTS)

In addition to letters certifying enrollment, the Office of Student Affairs signs the deferment forms generated by lenders and loan authorities for prior and current student loans. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain proper deferment forms from lenders or loan servicing agencies and to submit them for processing.

NOTE: Deferment forms for future academic terms for which the student has not registered will not be processed until registration has been completed. While Tufts University participates in the National Student Loan Clearinghouse and reports student enrollment status accordingly, not all lenders and loan servicers utilize the Clearinghouse. Therefore, completion of the deferment form process may still be necessary. Students should contact their loan servicers for confirmation of participation in the Clearinghouse.

Deferment forms will be signed for the academic period for which the student is registered or past academic periods in which the student was registered.

UNEXCUSED ABSENCE FROM ROTATIONS

Rotations are clinical assignments, which involve treating patients. They are: Geriatric Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry, Chelsea Soldier’s Home, Emergency, New Patient Encounter, Periodontology, Orthodontics and Postgraduate Prosthodontics.

The director of the rotation reports all unexcused rotation absences to the Office of Student Affairs by use of the Point Deduction Form. In keeping with our vision statement “Patient Centered Education Committed to Excellence,” the report of an unexcused absence from a rotation will result in the following:

1. First Offense
Deduction of 5 points from the overall point total. A letter of warning that further unexcused absences may result in a hearing will be sent from the Dean's Office and a copy of this letter will be placed in the student's official file. Should no further unexcused absences occur, this letter will be removed from the permanent file at graduation.

2. Second Offense
Deduction of 15 points from the overall point total. A non-revocable letter will be sent and placed in the student’s file with a warning that the next letter will precipitate a hearing before the Student Promotions Committee (SPC). The student will receive a failing grade for that day’s rotation. The student will not be eligible for OKU, Graduation and Senior Dinner Honors and Awards or the Incentive Program.

3. Third Offense
Deduction of 25 points from the overall point total. A non-revocable letter will be sent and placed in the student’s file necessitating an appearance before the Student Promotions Committee (SPC) for a hearing for discussion of Academic Dismissal. The student will receive a failing grade for that day’s rotation. The student will not be eligible for OKU, Graduation and Senior Dinner Honors and Awards or the Incentive Program.

The Department Chair or rotation head has the discretion to request that the student make up any session missed for any reason. All unexcused rotation absences must be made up.
Any student absent from the academic program for a week or longer, without prior approval from the Dean's Office, may be suspended from the School immediately based on a decision reached by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs in consultation with the appropriate individuals. Those individuals may be the Dean, the Executive Associate Dean, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, or any Department Chair. Re-entry to the program can be sought through the Student Promotions Committee.

Such an unapproved absence will constitute absenteeism and is avoidable by adhering to the policies and procedures presented below.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

A. School Initiated

1 Administrative Leave of Absence
Students may be placed on administrative leave as a result of action taken by the Student Promotions Committee or the Ethics, Professionalism, and Citizenship Committee, in consultation with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. A decision to place a student on administrative leave may be followed by a remedial year when the student’s academic record and/or non-academic circumstances indicate that both courses of action may make a constructive contribution to student performance. The decision to place a student on administrative leave may also be made when the student shows evidence of promise and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs has verified unusual influences, which might be ameliorated during a period of administrative leave.

2 Medical Leave of Absence
In instances of serious physical and/or psychiatric illness, wherein members of the faculty believe that a student should not continue studies, and wherein the student cannot or will not request a leave of absence, the Dean may also elect to place the student on Medical Leave of Absence after consultation with the appropriate administrators. Medical leave of absence should not exceed one calendar year. When a student placed on such leave requests termination of the leave and reentry into the curriculum, the Dean will obtain written verification from the Student Advisory and Health Administration Office and/or the administrative psychiatric consultant that the student’s health permits the resumption of studies. The Dean may extend an administrative leave for up to one calendar year upon the recommendation of the physician(s) referred to above. If the student’s health does not permit the resumption of studies at the end of the second full year, and still wishes to return to the program, an application for readmission may be made at a later time. If the Committee on Admissions accepts the student, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs will determine the student’s entry point into the curriculum.

3 Temporary Medical Leave of Absence
Students may be placed on temporary medical leave (10 school days or less) as a result of action taken by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs in consultation with appropriate administrators noted on page 5. The Associate Dean has the right to temporarily remove a student from a course, rotation or practice assignment pending a medical or psychiatric evaluation if remaining in the course, rotation or practice assignment is thought to be detrimental to the student, classmates, or to the delivery of patient care. This action will be taken by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs on a temporary basis until a more complete evaluation of the student’s situation can be evaluated by the relevant physicians and the Dean.

B. Student Initiated

1. The student presents a letter at least 14 business days in advance of the intended leave stating his/her reason for the request. The departure date, proposed return date, and specific courses, which will be missed, should be included. Student Affairs staff, in turn, will consult with the appropriate academic and administrative staff in consideration of the request and will determine if the student is in good standing.

2. Two types of leave are granted:

a. Short term leave (one to five days which is formally recognized as absenteeism)

Usually granted only for emergency, such as illness, death in family or other similar circumstances and for personal reasons such as interviews, weddings, school business, jury duty. The short term leave can be granted and stamped “approved” by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs if the student is in good standing and the amount of leave requested is reasonable and subject to the ability of the student to make up material and/or mandatory assignments missed during the leave. If the student is not in good standing and/or the amount of time requested is unreasonable, the Associate Dean will meet with the student to determine if the leave can be approved. At this meeting, the Associate Dean will, after consulting with the student’s Practice Coordinator, recommend whether the student should or should not take the leave. The absence report will be stamped “approved” or “not approved” and placed in the student file. The absence report will be part of the student file for checkpoint considerations. For financial aid purposes, this type of leave, if approved, is formally considered absenteeism. The absenteeism is not expected to affect the student’s ability to complete the program by the previously listed anticipated graduation date.

b. Long-term leave

Usually granted for one week to one year or to the point in the year when a student can resume participation in the curriculum from a reasonable beginning point. (Leaves longer than 180 days have financial aid implications, as detailed later in this section). Consultation with senior administrators (Associate Deans) is required following a significant absence from the program.

3. Requests for leave should be identified as "Medical" or "Personal". The financial aid implications of leaves of absence are detailed later in this section.

a. Medical Leave - the student must present a physician's or counselor's
recommendation if he or she has been under treatment.
b. Personal Leave - a student must present personal reasons acceptable to the dental
school such as financial distress, interviews, or family tragedy.

4. Students in the third and fourth year of the program who are on leave