General Information

Accreditation

LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award Bachelor’s Degrees, Master’s Degrees, Doctoral Degrees and First-Professional Degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport.

All degree program offerings of the professional schools of LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport are either fully accredited or are eligible for accreditation according to criteria of and review by the appropriate national or other accrediting agency concerned.

Chronology

Three individuals have served as permanent chancellor of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport since its present organizational structure was implemented in 2000:

Commencement

Two commencement ceremonies are held each year to confer degrees of the respective professional schools of the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport. Payment of all financial indebtedness to the LSU System prior to commencement, as well as attendance at commencement, unless excused, in writing, by the student’s Dean, are degree requirements. The complete schedule of graduation ceremonies through 2018 is as follows:

Commencement Dates

Saturday, May 27, 2017, 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 12, 2017, 10 a.m.

Saturday, May 26, 2018, 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 11, 2018, 10 a.m.

Student Government

There are two separate student government organizations representing the student body of the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport. The Executive Council represents medical and graduate students while a separate Student Government Association is the student body organization within the School of Allied Health Professions.

The Executive Council of the Student Body is the official voice for students of the School of Medicine and School of Graduate Studies. Two seats on the Executive Council are designated for graduate student representatives.

The Student Government Association is the organization for students from the various programs of the School of Allied Health Professions.

The president of the Executive Council sits on the Council of Student Body Presidents at the LSU System level.

Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport serves as a representative voice of the faculty. The Senate consists of faculty elected representatives from the School of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies and School of Allied Health Professions. The Senate provides a means of communication between the faculty and the Chancellor and a means whereby the administration, through the Chancellor, may refer matters of common faculty interest to a body representing the faculty. The Senate also provides a means whereby the faculty can offer suggestions or recommendations to the Chancellor pertaining to matters of common faculty interest. The Senate may hear, consider, and advise the Chancellor on any matter of faculty interest. The Senate accepts and shares responsibility with administration and students in all efforts to improve the stature and to accomplish the mission of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport.

Profile of LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport is an integral part of the Louisiana State University System that is composed of public higher education and health care entities throughout the state. As articulated in its mission statement, located elsewhere in this publication, the mission of the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport encompasses delivery of healthcare services, healthcare education, biomedical research and community outreach. Each of its three professional schools and two hospitals combine these four integrated mission themes in service to the citizens of Louisiana. Approximately 70 percent of the physicians and other healthcare professionals in practice in the region were educated or trained at the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport.

Component professional schools, each headed by a dean, which now comprise the Health Sciences Center include, in the year of their establishment as autonomous degree-granting schools:

The School of Medicine, 1965
The School of Graduate Studies, 2004
The School of Allied Health Professions, 2004

This Catalog/Bulletin is an official publication of The Louisiana State University System relating to the professional schools of the Health Sciences Center, compiled, edited, and published by the Office of the Registrar, LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport.

Catalogs/Bulletins published by, and relating to, other segments of The Louisiana State University System may be obtained directly from the individual institutions concerned.

The electronic version of the Catalog is available at http://catalog.lsuhscshreveport.edu.

Federal Regulations

Campus Security

Information relative to the authority, mission composition and function of University Police for the Shreveport campus is included in this section under the Heading “University Police”. Beginning September 1, 1992, and annually thereafter, data on specific incidents of crime, (required under Title II of the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990), will be provided upon request by University Police.

Equal Opportunity

The LSU System assures equal opportunity for all qualified persons without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or veteran’s status in the admission to, participation in, or employment in the programs and activities, which the LSU System operates. Anyone having questions or complaints regarding equal opportunity at the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport should contact the Office of Human Resource Management, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103; telephone (318) 675-5610. Persons believing they have been discriminated against contrary to federal law are entitled to make an inquiry or file a complaint with: United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 701 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113; or United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 1301 Young Street, Suite Number 1169, Dallas, TX 75202.

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. These rights include:

• The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport receives a request for access.
  
  Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the records they wish to inspect. The Registrar will notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained in the Office of the Registrar, the student will be advised of the correct office to contact.

• The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
  
  Students may ask the University to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. A student who wishes to ask the University to amend a record should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.
  
  If the University decides not to amend a record as requested, the University will notify the student in writing of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
• The right to provide written consent before the University discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
  
  One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is the disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is defined as a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted as its agent or provide a service instead of using University employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the LSU Board of Supervisors; or a student serving on an official committee, such as for academic awards, disciplinary or grievance committees, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the University.

Upon request, the University may also disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. (Attempts are made to advise the student of the disclosure before it is made.)

• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office,
U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue., SW
Washington DC 20202-5920.

Directory Information

At its discretion, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport may provide “directory information” in accordance with the provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Directory information is defined as that information which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Designated directory information at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport includes the following: student’s name, address, telephone listing, electronic mail address, photograph, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time), participation in officially recognized activities or sports, degrees, honors and awards received, most recent educational agency or institution attended, and planned post-completion placement (including AAMC Match).

Please consider very carefully the consequences of a decision to withhold directory information. A non-disclosure block will call for Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport not to release any or all of this “directory information;” thus, any future requests for such information from non-institutional persons or organizations will be refused.

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport will honor the student’s request to withhold directory information but cannot assume responsibility to contact the student for subsequent permission to release this information. Regardless of the effect upon the student, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport assumes no liability as a result of honoring the student’s instructions that such information be withheld. Although the initial request may be filed at any time, requests for non-disclosure will be honored by the University until removed, in writing, by the student.

Military Selective Service Act

Louisiana law (Section 1, R.S. 17:3151(A)) requires all male students to register with the selective service system, in accordance with the Military Selective Service Act (http://www.sss.gov/records.htm).

Any person who is eligible to register for the Selected Service and has not done so will be denied permission to register as a student in LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport. A statement of Selective Service status is required at the time of applying for admission.

Reasonable Accommodation for the Disabled

LSU Health Sciences Center seeks to comply with the American with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by providing reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. Students are responsible for providing documentation of a disability and must contact the Office of Student Affairs of their school to request a disability related accommodation. Costs associated with documentation of a disability are the responsibility of the student.

Upon receipt of such information, the Health Sciences Center will determine what reasonable accommodations, if any, are appropriate for the student.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination on the basis of gender, and is defined as unwelcome verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature that is prohibited by both LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport policy and federal law.

The Health Sciences Center reaffirms and emphasizes its commitment to provide a learning environment that is free of discriminatory, inappropriate, and disrespectful conduct or communication. Sexual harassment threatens this environment in that it inhibits the individual’s ability to function effectively as a student and violates acceptable standards of behavior. For these reasons, the Health Sciences Center will not tolerate any form of sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment may involve submission to verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, unwelcome sexual advances, or requests for sexual favors when these are made - either explicitly or implicitly - a term or condition of an individual’s academic status. Sexual harassment may also include unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when this conduct interferes with an individual’s ability to function effectively in an academic setting by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

All categories of students and student-employees, are governed by the Health Sciences Center’s sexual harassment policy.

To help the recipient determine how best to remedy sexual harassment, as well as to ensure that appropriate measures are taken when warranted, anyone who believes he or she has been subjected to sexual harassment may address questions or complaints to his academic advisor, department head, the Dean of Students for the student’s respective school, or the Human Resources Department. The recipient of such a complaint shall notify HRM and seek that office’s assistance in connection with an investigation of the complaint.

Substance Abuse Education And Other Policies

The schools of the Health Sciences Center actively maintain programs dealing with all aspects of chemical dependency, such as prevention, intervention and rehabilitation. Education in substance abuse is provided through workshops and seminars, and has become an integral part of the curriculum of each school.

Student Responsibilities and Rights

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in Shreveport is dedicated to providing its students, residents, faculty, staff, and patients with an environment of respect, dignity, and support. The diverse backgrounds, personalities, and learning needs of individual students must be considered at all times in order to foster appropriate and effective teacher-learner relationships. Honesty, fairness, evenhanded treatment, and respect for students’ physical and emotional well being are the foundation of establishing an effective learning environment.

Student Responsibilities

Students are responsible for complying with all policies/procedures, rules and regulations and other information published by the Health Sciences Center. In addition, students are expected to abide by all federal, state and local laws.

Students are expected to:

• Exhibit the highest standard of personal, academic professional and ethical behavior.
• Treat faculty, staff, peers, clients, patients, and others with dignity and respect.
• Abide by the Code of Conduct that applies to their specific professional discipline.

Students who violate any of the above when involved in any school or school related activity/function, whether on or off campus, will be subject to disciplinary action.

Student’s Rights

Mistreatment and abuse of students by faculty, residents, staff or fellow students is contrary to the educational objectives of the LSUHSC in Shreveport and will not be tolerated. Mistreatment and abuse include, but are not limited to, berating, belittling, or humiliation; physical punishment or threats; intimidation; sexual harassment; harassment or discrimination based on race, gender, sexual preference, age, religion, physical or learning disabilities; assigning a grade for reasons other than the student’s performance; assigning tasks for punishment or non-educational purposes; requiring the performance of personal services; or failing to give students credit for work they have done.

Students have rights as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and all appropriate federal, state and local laws. Primary among those is the right to a fair and impartial hearing, if the student is accused of misconduct or violating university regulations. Additionally, students have the right to file a complaint for alleged mistreatment. The Health Sciences Center has existing policies and procedures that relate to the following: financial aid; sexual harassment; final grade appeal; student housing; parking; drugs; alcohol; firearms; student’s access to records, and privacy; computer/internet use; dress and professional conduct; health insurance; and liability insurance. Issues that relate to these specific policies, which may be found on the Health Sciences Center website, should be addressed to the appropriate office. The Office of Student Affairs of the appropriate school can help students with information about those policies.

Procedure for Addressing Student Complaints

If the Health Sciences Center or specific school already has a policy concerning the student’s complaint, procedures indicated in that policy should be used; if the Health Sciences Center or specific school has no specific policy, the following procedure should be used.

Specific school policies should include the following basic elements:

Informal Conflict Resolution

1. Discuss the conflict with the person against whom the complaint is made. In the event that the complainant does not feel comfortable doing so, the complaint should be directed to the Office of the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs of the specific school.
2. The Assistant Dean of Student Affairs will meet with the individual against whom the complaint has been made in an effort to resolve the conflict.

Filing a Formal Complaint

If the conflict can not be resolved informally, the complainant must make a formal written complaint to the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. The written complaint must include the following:

1. A statement of the complaint,
2. Identification of individual/office against whom the complaint is made,
3. The relief sought,
4. The complaint must be signed by the complainant.

Upon receipt of the formal written complaint, the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs of the appropriate school must take immediate action to resolve the conflict.

If the conflict can not be resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction within a period of 10 working days, the matter will be referred to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs of the Health Sciences Center by the Dean. The referral will include the complainant’s formal written request plus a statement of actions taken by the Assistant Dean to resolve this matter.

Referral to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs:

• May make a decision as to how the matter can be resolved. This decision shall be communicated to all concerned parties in writing;
• If for any reason the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs chooses not to render a decision, he/she may empanel an ad hoc committee comprising three faculty members, at least one of which is from the pool of elected members of the Faculty Senate and two students appointed by the appropriate Student Government Association President. The Committee shall meet in an effort to resolve the matter within a period of 10 working days. Neither party shall be represented by attorneys in the hearing. The hearing shall be recorded (but not the deliberations) for use by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs if needed. The Committee may meet with the concerned parties and others who can provide information that is helpful in resolving the matter. The Committee meetings will be closed, and information provided during the meeting shall be held in strictest confidence.

The Committee shall reach a decision as to the resolution of the matter and make its written recommendation to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs within five working days. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, upon receipt of the Committee’s recommendation, will make a decision and communicate this decision in writing to all concerned parties and the Dean of the appropriate school. The decision of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is final and non-appealable.

Library Facilities

The LSU Health Sciences Library in Shreveport serves as a principal information resource for the School of Medicine, the School of Graduate Studies, and the School of Allied Health Professions. The library occupies 39,000 square feet over three floors, with seating for 250 users at tables, carrels, and in study rooms. The library also houses five small-group teaching rooms, photocopiers, networked printers, scanners, and a fax machine. The library has two state-of-the-art computer labs on its first floor. One lab has twenty-nine computers and the other has twenty computers. Eleven public access computers are available outside the labs, as well.  A projection system for teaching is available in both labs. Adjacent to one of the labs is a videoconference room.  Wireless access to the campus network is also available throughout all three floors of the library.

The library provides a variety of information services including answering basic reference questions, providing assistance in online searching, mediated searching of online databases, e-mail and web-based reference service, a writing service and user education. Interlibrary loan requests are placed electronically through the ILLiad system. Online access is available to 151 databases. The library’s collection includes over 163,000 print volumes (books and bound journal volumes), over 1,500 electronic books, and over 4,700 electronic journals. The Library is open 102.5 hours per week.

The library has an active teaching program which includes classes in the Medical School and Allied Health curricula. Library faculty members also teach non-curricular classes, seminars and training sessions to Graduate School students, residents, faculty members and other employees.

In summary, the LSU Health Sciences Library in Shreveport provides LSUHSC-Shreveport students, faculty and staff with critically important information required for research, patient care, and teaching.