FAMU School of Nursing — Dismissal & Appeals

Written by Zachary Gaynor, attorney · The Florida Bar, admitted 2016 · court admissions. Reviewed 2 October 2026.

When is a FAMU nursing student dismissed?

At Florida A&M University’s School of Nursing, two course failures — any D or F — mean dismissal, and the handbook closes the usual exits: “Neither a retroactive university withdrawal nor a university grade forgiveness invalidates a nursing course failure.” Every course requires a C, the School’s scale sets C at 75–79.9, exam averages must reach 75 percent on their own, and grades are not rounded. A first-offense cheating finding on any test or proctored assessment is an automatic dismissal. The appeal ladder is real but unforgiving — the first deadline is five business days from the grade posting, and missing it forfeits the appeal.

The progression rules

• C in every course. Completing each course with a minimum C is a prerequisite for the next semester’s courses. On the School’s scale a C is 75–79.9, a D runs down to 60, and exam averages must independently reach 75 percent. “Grades will not be rounded up.”
• Two failures end the program. Two D or F grades in nursing courses is a dismissal, and retroactive withdrawals and grade forgiveness do not erase a failure already earned.
• GPA. Falling below a 2.0 cumulative GPA brings School of Nursing probation; not restoring 2.0 by the following semester is a dismissal.
• Stepping out. A student who leaves may return without reapplying if back within three semesters.
• University overlay. FAMU Regulation 4.012 runs the university ladder — warning, probation with a 15-hour cap, suspension, and academic dismissal — and expressly lets a school “deny continuation in a degree program” for failure to maintain its own standards.

Integrity and conduct

The handbook’s academic-penalties section is among the strictest in Florida: cheating on any test, exam, or proctored assessment brings a zero, an F in the course, a report to the Dean and the University Judicial Officer, and “automatic dismissal from the program” on the first offense. The Behavioral Policy adds that falsifying documents, violating the ANA Code of Ethics, or conduct that puts clients, the School, or clinical agencies at risk “will result in dismissal,” with removal decisions made by the Program Director, the Associate Dean, and the Dean together. Three minor documented occurrences — or a single incident that endangers anyone — triggers a full review. Misconduct sanctions can be appealed to the Dean within three business days, which sends the matter to the School’s Professional Review Committee.

Clinical requirements

Clinical clearance requires an annual physical, immunizations, TB testing, proof of health coverage, CPR certification, a Level II background check, and a lab-controlled drug screen — all at the student’s expense. A flagged background check or drug screen “may be unable to progress in the program.” A positive drug screen means suspension from the School for an enrolled student; a second dilute-negative result rescinds an admission offer. Attendance is tracked tightly: ten minutes late is a tardy, two tardies make an unexcused absence, and a missed clinical day requires a corrective-action meeting within two business days.

The appeal

The School publishes its own grievance procedure for the traditional BSN (revised January 19, 2016), and the clocks are the case: a written request to meet the faculty member within five business days of the grade posting — miss it and “the academic evaluation by faculty will stand.” From there the ladder runs in five-business-day steps: written appeal to the faculty member, then to the Dean, who sends it to the Academic Review Committee (faculty and students, with anyone involved excluded), which meets within five days and decides within ten, sometimes through a separate Hearing Board. The final step is a written statement to the Provost within five business days, and the Provost’s decision is final — the School’s own policy says that after the Provost, review is by certiorari petition under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.190, within thirty days. The School’s own documents call the process “non-adversarial, with the absence of legal counsel” — which is exactly why the written submissions, which a lawyer can shape behind the scenes, carry the weight. The RN-BSN version of the ladder runs even faster, on three-business-day steps.

FAMU is a public university, so constitutional due-process protections sit alongside its regulations — and because the grievance route ends in certiorari review, how cleanly the School followed its own written procedure is precisely what a court would examine.

What FAMU does not publish

FAMU posts a full School of Nursing handbook only for the RN-BSN program; the traditional prelicensure BSN handbook is not on the public site. The grading scale, two-failure rule, behavioral policy, and clinical policies are written as School-wide, and the traditional-BSN grievance steps are published separately — but per-semester progression tables and repeat limits for the prelicensure track are distributed to enrolled students, not the public. Ask for the handbook issued to your cohort, in writing, before any meeting. Context that matters for exam-heavy disputes: the Florida Board of Nursing placed FAMU’s prelicensure program on probation for 2021 after two years of low first-time NCLEX pass rates, and the university’s trustees have tracked ATI predictor testing and pass-rate recovery plans since — the program reported 93.5 percent for 2024.

Where the governing documents are

The School of Nursing Student Handbook, RN-BSN, 2025–2026, the Undergraduate Grievance Policy steps, FAMU Regulation 4.012 (Academic Standing), and the Academic Honesty Policy.

The federal money on the line at FAMU

Florida A&M University students and families took on $69.6 million in federal Direct Loans in the 2025–26 award year — including $18.1 million borrowed by 1,043 parents through Parent PLUS.

Every dollar of it rides on academic standing. A dismissal, a failed Satisfactory Academic Progress evaluation, or a mid-term withdrawal sets off federal rules that decide whether aid continues, whether money already disbursed has to go back, and — under the borrowing caps in effect since July 1, 2026 — whether a student who leaves can still finance a return. For health-professional students the timing rules bite hardest: remediation terms, leaves, and repeated courses all feed the federal pace-of-completion math. The academic fight and the financial aid fight are the same fight, and the windows are short. How those rules work: SAP appeals and academic dismissal.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid Data Center, Direct Loan volume by school, award year 2025–26 (cumulative through June 30, 2026). University-wide federal Direct Loan totals.

Other FAMU and Florida pages

These pages set out related procedures: the Florida nursing programs overview, the FAMU College of Pharmacy, the FAMU College of Law, and the FSU College of Nursing.

Common questions

Does a 74 pass a nursing course at FAMU?

No. The School’s scale sets C at 75–79.9, exam averages must reach 75 percent on their own, and grades are not rounded up.

Can I retroactively withdraw to erase a nursing course failure?

No. The handbook says neither a retroactive university withdrawal nor grade forgiveness invalidates a nursing course failure — two D or F grades is a dismissal.

How long do I have to start a grade appeal?

Five business days from the grade posting to request a meeting with the faculty member, for traditional BSN students. Miss the deadline and the School’s policy says the faculty evaluation stands. The RN-BSN track runs on three-business-day steps.

Is a first cheating offense really an automatic dismissal?

That is what the handbook says: a zero on the assessment, an F in the course, reports to the Dean and the University Judicial Officer, and automatic dismissal from the program. Academic-dishonesty charges also carry university-level appeal rights under FAMU’s Academic Honesty Policy, with their own deadlines.

What happens after the Provost denies my appeal?

The Provost’s decision is the university’s final word. FAMU’s grievance policy itself points to what comes next: a certiorari petition under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.190, filed within thirty days — a challenge built on the record of whether FAMU followed its own procedures.