Institutional Information and Regulations

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 2020 is as follows:

Commencement Dates

Saturday, May 25, 2019, 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 10, 2019, 10 a.m.

Saturday, May 30, 2020, 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 8, 2020, 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”. Data on specific incidents of crime, (required under Title II of the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990), is published annually on the University Police website.

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

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; parking; illegal drugs; alcohol; firearms/weapons; a student’s access to records, and privacy; computer/internet/email 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 school in which a student is enrolled can assist students with information about those policies.

Procedure for Addressing Student Complaints

Each of the three schools of LSUHSC-Shreveport has a policy and procedure for addressing student grievances/complaints as follows:

School of Medicine (SOM) - the student complaint procedure including a link to the on-line student complaint form can be found here or in the School of Medicine section of the LSUHSC-S Catalog.

School of Graduate Studies (SGS) - the student complaint procedure including a link to the on-line student complaint form can be found here or in the School of Graduate Studies Student Handbook.

School of Allied Health Professions (SAHP) -the student complaint procedure can be found here or in the section titled Student Complaints and Conduct of the School of Allied Health Professions Student Handbook.

Policies for Awarding Credit

The institution employs sound and acceptable practices for determining the amount and level of credit awarded for courses, regardless of format or mode of delivery. These policies adhere to Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) policy and commonly accepted practices in higher education.

 Definition and Calculation of Credit Hours

Consistent with Louisiana Board of Regents Seat-Time Policy for Academic Credit, all classes must be of reasonable length and include both content and contact sufficient to maintain high academic quality and standards commensurate with credit hours awarded for a “traditional” three-semester hour lecture class. The basis for such certification of learning is a valid, credible assessment system which reliably determines whether a student possesses clearly identified, standards-based knowledge, skills, and abilities.

In line with the federal definition of a credit hour stated in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Credit Hours Policy Statement, LSUHSC-S defines credit hours as an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates

1. not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time, or
2. at least an equivalent amount of work as required outlined in item 1 above for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

However, the process of awarding credit may differ if an external accrediting organization defines program length and academic credit in different terms.  For example, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which is the accrediting body for medical education programs in the United States and Canada, defines program length and academic credit in terms of weeks of instruction.

Each school is responsible for establishing a formal faculty review process to ensure that the amount and level of credit awarded for the component’s undergraduate and graduate courses is compatible with sound academic practice in the given field.  Where appropriate, the schools base their review policies and processes on the standards of programmatic accrediting bodies.  A summary of each school’s practices for awarding credit is provided in the following sections.

School of Medicine

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which is the accrediting body for medical education programs in the United States and Canada, defines program length and academic credit in terms of weeks of instruction, requiring a minimum of 130 weeks of instruction for educational programs leading to the Doctor of Medicine degree (Functions and Structure of a Medical School, Standard 6.8).   The Doctor of Medicine degree at LSUHSC-S requires a minimum of 164 weeks of instruction and determination of course credits is based on the contribution a given course makes to the total curriculum for each year; the assignment of credit value for each course is based on course length (calendar days), delivery method (lecture, laboratory, directed readings, research and supervised student-patient interactions) and content (basic science and clinical). All course offerings and credits are determined and approved by the School of Medicine’s Medical Curriculum Council and accredited by the LCME.

School of Graduate Studies

The School of Graduate Studies uses the following guide for the establishment of credit hours awarded for all courses: 

• 1 credit hour is awarded for 17 contact hours in one semester for lecture-based courses. Each contact hour is based on either 50 minutes of lecture time, 60 minutes of exam time, or 60 minutes of other time such as student presentations. Letter grades of A, B, C, or F are given for approved lecture courses.
• 1 credit hour is awarded for 34 contact hours in one semester for laboratory-based courses. Each contact hour is based on 60 minutes of laboratory-based instruction. Letter grades of A, B, C, or F are given for approved laboratory courses.
• 1 credit hour is awarded for each semester of weekly Departmental seminars (50 minutes of lecture) and journal clubs (50 minutes of discussion of recent literature). These courses receive “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” grades only.
• For other courses that are awarded “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” grades, such as the Philosophical and Ethical Issues in Science course, 1 credit hour is awarded for 17 contact hours in one semester. The class periods are 50 minutes, and may include lectures, discussions and demonstrations.
• All courses for credit (either letter or S/U) must be approved by a majority of the members of the Graduate Advisory Council.
• Credit hours are awarded for thesis research and dissertation research. Students perform their thesis and dissertation research during this time. “Satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” grades are awarded for research credit hours. For the Ph.D. degree, no more than 15 credit hours of research are required. No more than 6 credit hours of research are required for the M.S. degree.
• All credit hours are based on a semester system, with the summer term being considered a semester

School of Allied Health Professions

Each academic program submits course listings, course descriptions, and credit hours to the school’s Curriculum Sub-Committee. This committee reviews all academic programs and any subsequent changes to the programs. This committee is chaired by the Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Affairs and consists of the committee members as appointed annually by the Dean and Faculty Delegate Assembly.  The committee monitors and recommends to the Dean school policies and procedures curricula, admissions, student affairs issues, and other items of an academic nature which concern the mission of the school.  The committee meets monthly, and the minutes of each meeting are reviewed and approved by the Dean. The minutes are distributed to department chairs and committee members.  All programs, courses, course descriptions, and course credits are approved through this committee.

The School of Allied Health Professions (SAHP) primarily uses the federal definition to determine the level of credit awarded for various course offerings. However, input from accrediting bodies and the SAHP Curriculum Sub-Committee, time-honored practices by programs, and peer review are also taken into account when attempting to identify the level of credit for a given course.

The School of Allied Health Professions uses the following as a general guide for awarding credit:

• 1 credit hour is awarded for 15 contact hours per semester for lecture based courses. Therefore, a 3 credit hour lecture course would meet for 45 contact hours in a semester. Each contact hour is based on 50 minutes of classroom instruction.
• 1 credit hour is awarded for 30 - 45 contact hours per semester of laboratory experience. Each contact hour is based on 50 minutes of laboratory instruction.
• In situations where a course includes both lecture and laboratory experience, the credit hours are determined by the proportion of each form of instruction utilized. By example, a 3 credit hour course that includes 1 credit of lecture and 2 credits of lab would meet 15 hours for the lecture component and 60 - 90 hours (lab hours are 2 - 3 times that of lecture) for the lab component during the semester.
• 1 credit for 15 hours of contact for seminar courses.
• 1 credit for 22.5 contact hours for conferences.
• 1 credit for 15 contact hours for small group instruction.
• 1 credit for 15 contact hours of independent study.
• 1 credit for 30 hours of contact in clinical rotation courses.
• 1 credit for 15 hours of contact for practicum/preceptorship courses

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.