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Carmen C. Sceppa, MD, PhD, FGSA, Dean

Jennifer Kirwin, PharmD, BCPS, FNAP, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Clinical Professor—Department of Pharmacy and Health Systems Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Bouvé College of Health Sciences Office of the Dean
Behrakis Health Sciences Center
617.373.3323
Bouve_College_of_Health_Sciences@northeastern.edu

Office of Student Services
Behrakis Health Sciences Center
617.373.3320
617.373.8994 (fax)

bouvestudentservices@northeastern.edu  

The Bouvé College of Health Sciences strongly supports the mission of Northeastern University as a practice-oriented, student-centered, experiential research institution. The college is committed to the goals of the university, which include excellence in education, research, scholarship, clinical practice, experiential learning, access to educational opportunities, and a strong professional orientation. 

Bouvé offers students an education in health, health profession fields, and public health that features a curriculum of highly relevant, closely integrated, basic and applied courses in the physical, biological, behavioral, social, environmental, and health systems sciences. Students engage in interprofessional patient care, interdisciplinary translational research, and experiential learning opportunities through the university’s signature cooperative education program, as well as through service-learning, research, and global experiences.

Bouvé leverages interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration to tackle the world’s most pressing health challenges. The college seeks to prepare students to become clinicians, researchers, and leaders in healthcare and in the promotion of health of individuals and populations.

Students are provided a broad range of services and programs to ensure their academic success and enhance their overall educational experience at Northeastern, from their first year through graduation. Faculty are deeply committed to student success, as students interact with world-class healthcare and educational institutions nationally and globally, to advance health for all.  

Academic Requirements

Students are responsible for following the program requirements for their respective major, pattern of attendance, and graduation year. Students are responsible for monitoring their own progress through the curriculum by registering for the courses stipulated by their curriculum plan, abiding by course prerequisites, regularly checking their degree audits, and knowing the consequences for unsatisfactory academic progress. Any exceptions to a student's curriculum plan will be determined by protocols established by the program, after consultation with the student's academic advisor.

The minimum passing grade for a course within a curriculum is stipulated in the program requirements published in this catalog. The minimum passing grade required for certain NUpath writing-intensive courses is established by the university and can be viewed here.  For a course where the minimum passing grade is not established in the program requirements published in this catalog, the university's minimum passing grade for the course will be accepted.

Academic Progression within Bouvé

  • First-year students must complete the minimum semester hours outlined by the university Academic Progression Standards and meet all major/program prerequisite course requirements to progress to sophomore status. 

  • Students who incur an incomplete grade in a prerequisite course may not progress into the subsequent courses(s). Any exceptions will be determined by protocols established by the program, after consultation with the student's academic advisor. See Clearing an Academic Deficiency and Requesting and Clearing an Incomplete Grade in this catalog for more detail. 

  • Please see each major/program's requirements page in this catalog for progression requirements specific to that program.

Undergraduate Student Academic Petitions

Students must submit petitions to relevant offices on campus to request any of the following:

Collegewide Academic Probation Procedure

Academic standing is determined at the conclusion of every term, and students on academic probation are notified via email.

Students on probation are required to meet with their advisor before the end of week 2 of their probationary semester to complete an Academic Probation Contract. 

Once the contract is completed and signed, students are required to submit it to both their program and their Student Services designee, no later than the end of week 3 of the probationary term. Failure to submit an Academic Probation Contract in a timely manner may result in dismissal from the college.

The program will review the student’s contract and provide any additional feedback or recommendations for the student and return a signed copy to the student.

Advisors will meet with students on academic probation throughout the semester to benchmark progress and assess compliance with the contract during weeks 4, 10, and 12. 

A review of the student’s progress will occur at the end of the term.  

  • If a student returns to good standing, they will no longer be on academic probation. 
  • If a student does not return to good academic standing, their compliance with their contract will be reviewed: 
    • If a student was compliant with the contract, they will be required to submit a second Academic Probation Contract to the unit.
    • If a student did not comply with the contract, they may be dismissed from Bouvé with an option to appeal.

Academic Dismissal from Major

Students in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences will be dismissed from their major/program effective the following academic semester for failure to earn the minimum required grade in the same required course twice. Additional grounds for academic dismissal specific to each major can be found on the program requirements page of the major in this catalog.

Note: Students dismissed from their major/program but who are otherwise in good standing with the university are allowed to remain at Northeastern for up to two semesters as a provisional Bouvé student, by the end of which, the student is expected to move into a new major. If not moved into a new major by the end of two semesters, the student will be blocked from further registration.

Academic Dismissal from the University

When a Bouvé College of Health Sciences student is dismissed from the university, they are not permitted to remain registered for courses in the immediate next academic term. If the university dismissal is successfully appealed, a student may register for classes in the following academic term.

Collegewide Appeals

Students who believe that they were erroneously, capriciously, or otherwise unfairly treated in an academic, professional code of conduct, or cooperative education decision may petition to appeal the decision.

Details about the process for undergraduate students may be found in  Academic Appeals Policies and Procedures in the Undergraduate section of this catalog, supplemented by the college-specific policies and procedures below.

Details about the process for graduate students may be found in Academic Appeals Policies and Procedures in the Graduate section of this catalog, supplemented by the college-specific policies and procedures below.

Although students are entitled to seek the advice of outside legal counsel, students may not be represented by an attorney in the informal or formal academic appeal procedures. A student may consult with the provost or their designee at any point in this procedure for advice or assistance. It is strongly recommended that international students consult as soon as possible with the Office of Global Services to determine the possibility of any repercussion that the timing of an appeal may have on their immigration status. 

For appeals of decisions concerning academic standing, progression, or co-op, students should discuss their concerns with the academic advisor and prepare an appeal statement for submission to the unit level as shown in the step below. Bouvé undecided students should begin at Step 2, below.  

For appeals concerning a course grade, students should discuss their concerns with the course instructor offering the course as outlined in the Student Handbook.  If the concern remains unresolved after these conversations, the student should prepare an appeal to the department chair or school dean level—see Step 2, below.  

For appeals concerning a professional code of conduct determination (when applicable to a student’s program or major), the student should follow the process outlined in the applicable Professional Code of Conduct policy.  

Disability Access Services provides an appeal process for students with disabilities who believe their accommodation requests were unduly denied. Appeals arising from allegations of discrimination or harassment on the basis of a protected category should be referred to the Office for University Equity and Compliance. For appeals concerning student conduct, including academic integrity, please refer to the process outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. 

If the concern remains unresolved after informal discussions or if the concern pertains to a determination as outlined above, the student should prepare and submit an appeal statement. Students are encouraged to work with their advisor to complete the necessary forms. 

Step 1: BCHS Unit-Level Appeal:  When appealing a decision to the unit level, students should submit a request to appeal and submit the appeal statement within 28 calendar days of the day when the student learns of the academic determination in question. The unit-level Academic Standing Committee must provide the student with a written report of the finding(s) and decision within 10 business days according to their established procedures. 

Step 2: Department Chair- or School Dean-Level Appeal:  Appeals of course grades should be requested with the College Grade Appeal form linked here within 10 business days of the posting of the grade in question. If the student believes they have been erroneously, capriciously, or otherwise unfairly treated with a unit-level committee’s decision, they may pursue a secondary appeal to the next level as specified below. :  

School of Clinical and Rehabilitation Sciences: Department chair of the unit offering the course or major/program  

School of Community Health and Behavioral Sciences: Department chair of the unit offering the course or major/program  

School of Nursing: School dean

School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences: School dean  

Bouvé Undecided: BCHS associate dean of academic affairs

The student must request the appeal by contacting the specified office in writing via the school dean/department chair-level appeal form (see Higher Level Appeals forms) within 10 business days of receiving the report from the previous step.  After consideration, the department chair or school dean, or their representative, shall provide the student and involved faculty member with a written report of their finding(s) and decision within 10 business days of receiving the appeal request. 

Step 3. College-Level Appeal: If the student is not satisfied with the disposition of the matter at the previous step, they may proceed with the appeal to the college dean's office through the BCHS Academic Affairs Committee. The BCHS AAC hears cases that have been unsatisfactorily resolved at the prior school and unit levels for “students who believe that they have been erroneously, capriciously, or otherwise unfairly treated” or may directly hear appeals concerning course grades or when a unit does not have a unit-level committee. For all college-level appeals, the student must request an appeal hearing in writing via the Academic Affairs Committee Appeal form (see Higher Level Appeals forms) within 10 business days of receiving the report from the previous step. 

Processes for College-Level Appeals to the BCHS AAC:

  • Students wishing to bring an appeal before the college AAC should first consult with their appointed academic advisor, or when the appeal involves the academic advisor, with the assistant dean of student services.  
  • The chair of the college AAC will convene the college appeals panel from among the regular members of the BCHS AAC. The appeals panel will include three voting members of the BCHS AAC that appropriately represent the breadth and depth of programs within the college. At minimum, two schools will be represented on the panel and at least one member who teaches within a similar degree-level program. Members of the panel shall have no known conflicts of interest with the student. The assistant dean of student services and the chair of the AAC will attend the appeal panel hearing as nonvoting members. 
  • A chair for the college appeal panel shall be selected from among the panel members and is responsible for producing a formal recommendation of the committee for communication to the college dean. 
  • The chair of the AAC will be responsible for scheduling the meeting, notifying the student and other participants in a timely manner so they may attend, and keeping and archiving records of the proceedings according to committee procedures. 
  • The chair of the college appeal panel will notify the college dean of the committee's findings and recommendation. The college dean will have the final decision.
  • The college dean will notify the student and other relevant parties of the decision in writing no later than 10 business days after receiving the appeal request. 

Step 4. University-Level Appeal: Some determinations may be appealed beyond the college level. Refer to the undergraduate and graduate appeals processes linked above for more information. Decisions concerning admission or readmission into a major or program, dismissals, and matters related to co-op employment (other than grades received) cannot be appealed beyond the college level. Please note, while major or program dismissals cannot be appealed beyond the college level, underlying academic judgments that led to a dismissal may be. 

Other Policies and Procedures 

In addition to policies and procedures referenced here, the following policies and procedures published in Bouvé’s graduate catalog also apply to Bouvé’s undergraduate students:

Grade-Point Average 

Bouvé College does not permit the use of a hand-calculated GPA under any circumstances. All GPA calculations will be performed by the university's standard process.