SBES POLICIES and PROCEDURES:

Dress Code (applies to ALL SBES students)

The dress code is applicable to all SBES students while on the WFUBMC campus who will have patient or clinical contact.  We must follow the same rules in these cases as physicians and staff. Patients expect to be treated with respect and to encounter a professional environment when they come to the Medical Center. Everyone must wear professional dress when they are in clinical areas (this applies to VT campus students when they are visiting the WFUBMC campus).  

Professional dress is defined as neat and clean slacks, dresses / skirts and shirt. Clean lab coats are also acceptable, however dresses/skirts or slacks must be longer than the lab coat.  DO NOT wear shorts underneath your lab coat.  Lab coats are available from the bookstore and can be embroidered with the department name.  Embroidered lab coats must use the BME standard for lettering and color (see the BME Administrative Assistant for this information).  An alternative is to wear blue scrubs in the clinical areas.   Students are responsible for keeping lab coats and scrubs clean. 

If you have questions about the dress code, see the Graduate Program Director. [return to top of page]

Changing between MS and PhD Programs (applies to ALL SBES students)

Provisions are made for students wishing to change from the MS program to the PhD program and or from the PhD program to the MS program.

• The student must submit a request in writing to the Graduate Program Director.

• The student's advisor must submit a letter to the Graduate Program Director indicating that an appropriate research project has been identified and that funding is available for the student's stipend for the period required to complete the proposed research.

• The BME Graduate Program will review the request and, if approved, will submit a written request to the Graduate School for a change in the student's status. [return to top of page]

Clinical Rotation Exemption (applies to ALL SBES PhD students)

The intent of the Clinical Rotation (BMES 6064/706) is to provide SBES students with a broad exposure to the clinical enterprise. If a student feels that this has been accomplished through other avenues, a letter requesting exemption from the Clinical Rotation may be submitted to the Graduate Committee. The letter should include a detailed description of the student's clinical experience and should also be accompanied by a support letter from a faculty member familiar with that experience.

The Graduate Committee will review the letters and either approve or disapprove the request. [return to top of page]

Inclement Weather Policy (applies to ALL SBES students)

This policy is designed to assist SBES faculty, students and staff in the procedures to be followed in the event of inclement weather situations at either campus.  Click here for details.

SBES Student Vacations / Paid Holidays (applies to WFU Campus Students)

Graduate students are allowed 10 vacation days each 12-month stipend year to use in a floating fashion in addition to normal holidays recognized by the Medical School. If a stipend is provided for less than 12 months, the number of vacation days is prorated accordingly

Procedures for requesting vacation:

• Complete an Authorization for Absence form (located in BME)

• Obtain Advisor signature

• Submit advisor approved form to the SBES Administrative Assistant

Time frame for submitting vacation requests:

• Less than one week: must be approved at least three working days in advance

• 1-2 weeks: must be approved at least one month in advance

Vacation may not be carried over into the following year nor can vacation be accumulated for pay purposes. The vacation year will match the stipend year, normally August-July.

All vacation is subject to departmental and advisor approval. Thus, students should make every attempt to plan for vacation and to ensure advisor approval.

Holidays

Students are allowed the normal holidays (typically 10) recognized by WFU Health Sciences. Holidays are posted in a public area and are available from the department's administrative assistant. However, if a holiday falls on a day when classes are being held due to the joint calendar between the Virginia Tech and Wake Forest Campus, students are responsible for the material covered and/or tests given. (The Martin Luther King Jr. and Good Friday holidays have been such occurrences.)

This policy is subject to review and modification by the Dean of the Graduate School at any time. [return to top of page]

Student Review Policy (applies to WFU Campus Students)

In order to protect both the student's and the BME Department's interest, each student will be reviewed at the end of each semester according to the following guidelines:

Student Review

• Each semester (fall, spring and summer) in which the student is receiving research credit, the student will be given a grade of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory and the grade is submitted to the Graduate School.

• Each semester, a Student Evaluation Form will be completed by the student's advisor and reviewed together. After the review, the evaluation form should be signed and dated by both the student and advisor and submitted to the Graduate Program Director

• The Student Evaluation Form is due one week after grades are due.

Transcript Review

•  Each semester, the student's transcript will be reviewed by the student and the advisor to assure that the student is on track with his/her Plan of Study and to assure that grades have been reported and recorded correctly.  After the review, the transcript should be initialed and dated by both the student and advisor and submitted to the Graduate Program Director

• The signed transcripts are due one week after receipt from the Graduate School. [return to top of page]

Approval for Reimbursements (applies to WFU Campus Students)

SBES students requesting reimbursement for expenses from Biomedical Engineering must follow the procedures below PRIOR to registering for meetings or purchasing items:

TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS

• A detailed budget must be submitted to the Graduate Program Director and approved prior to registering for a meeting or submitting a paper.   All expenses associated with the meeting should be listed in detail (i.e., registration costs, lodging, airfare, meals, etc). The Department will review your budget request for reimbursement and approve or deny your request.  You will be notified in writing of the outcome.

• If the Department approves your expense reimbursement, you must then complete an Authorization for Absence form and receive approval from your advisor and the Graduate Program Director.

• A green Travel Authorization must be completed and forwarded to the Department Chairman for approval.

• Upon return from the meeting you must submit original receipts for the items approved for reimbursement.  If you do not have receipts, reimbursement will not be granted.   An Expense Voucher and original receipts should be given to the administrative assistant for processing.  Do not submit expense reimbursements directly to the BME Accounting clerks.

• Failure to follow these procedures may result in out of pocket expenses.

• Forward all forms to the BME Administrative Assistant

PURCHASE REIMBURSEMENT APPROVAL PROCESS

• Provide the BME Administrative Assistant a quote of the items to be purchased, their use and where they will be stored.

• If approval is granted, you will be notified in writing.

• After purchasing the items the original receipt should be given to the Administrative Assistant for processing. Do not submit receipts for reimbursement to the BME Accounting clerks.

• Failure to follow these procedures may result in out of pocket expenses.

[return to top of page]

Student Research Assistant Work Responsibilities (applies to WFU Campus based Fellowship Students)

Most WFUSM-campus SBES students receive a stipend, which is viewed as payment for their participation in research labs, lab rotations, or similar work under the guidance of a faculty mentor. While there is not fixed number of hours, generally, first-year students with a full class load should be expected to spend around 20 hours per week with research and lab responsibilities. In order to access certain equipment, to effectively monitor experiments, or to meet various deadlines, weekend and/or evening work is not unusual. As students' course loads decrease and they become more involved in research, more time will be available for research. Hopefully, the more time students put into their research, the sooner they will complete their degree requirements.

While students are viewed as professionals and are expected to work as such (likely more than 40 hrs/week), they are also expected to have a life outside of school, and faculty members are expected to recognize this. We encourage students to participate in social activities, sports, and in particular our intramural teams, of which we are rightfully proud.

A student's research time and effort must be a mutually agreeable arrangement between the student and the advisor within the workplace policies of Human Resources, SBES, and the WFU Graduate School. This has historically been the case and has proven to be a successful approach.  [return to top of page]