Welcome to the Admissions Office
Our staff in the admissions office is here to help you begin your career in massage therapy. Please contact the Admissions Office to inquire about additional information,
to set up a private meeting with our
admissions representative, or to reserve your spot
at
Orientation Day!
If you have specific
questions regarding our programs, application
process, or any other concerns, you may contact us
at the following times
The Admissions Office is open:
Monday - Thursdays: 8:45am -
7:00pm
Fridays: 8:45am - 4:30pm
Saturdays: 9:45 am - 11:30 am
Email:
massage8@rcn.com
Phone: (610) 419-3535
School Policies
Entrance Requirements
The
Institute does not discriminate on the basis of
race, gender, religion, nationality, age,
disability, sexual orientation, or other status
protected by law. The only entrance requirement for
all programs is that a student must be 18 years of
age or older by the program start date.
Enrollment Procedure
-
Meet with
admissions personnel to complete an Enrollment
Agreement
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Transfer of Credits
Transfer
of credits from other schools is possible. The
maximum amount of credit issued in a transfer from
another school will be 150 hours. The potential student
must pass a test that signifies
an equivalent level of knowledge to the Institute's
standards of completion for that particular course.
The test that will be administered is the
Institute’s written final exam for that subject.
The student will need to pass with a 70% grade or
higher. Additionally, the student may need to
demonstrate similar hands on techniques in a
practical exam. If the course taken elsewhere is
identical and if it was taken within the last two
years, no test is required. If a student can
show evidence of CPR training taken within six (6)
months prior to their program start date, they will
receive credit for CPR. If the student
does receive credit for any course, the cost of the tuition will
remain the same.
Transfer
of credits earned at Health Options Institute is at
the discretion of the receiving institution. It is
the student's responsibility to confirm whether or
not another institution will accept credits earned
at Health Options institute.
Student
Concerns
If you
have any questions concerning the Institute’s
fulfillment of its obligations as outlined in your
enrollment agreement, or believe you have been
sexually harassed or discriminated against based on
race, gender, nationality, age, disability, sexual
orientation, or other status protected by law,
please put the complaint in writing. The
Institute’s Director will respond within 1 -14
days. Should your contact(s) with the director not
bring a resolution, you may then contact the
overseeing authority, which is the State Board of
Private Licensed Schools, Pennsylvania Dept. of
Education, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA,
17126-0333.
Dismissal
Health
Options Institute may dismiss a student for any
reason. These reasons include, but are not limited
to:
-
Association with an establishment with a record of
prostitution or of sexual favors
-
Violating any terms or conditions of the program
enrollment agreement
-
Being more than one
week behind in scheduled payments
-
Being
more than one hour late on two or more occasions
for any given class
-
Academic
slowness to the point where the teacher needs to
devote the majority of his or her time to the
student to the exclusion of the other students.
-
Academic Failure
-
Dishonesty involving
examinations
-
Disruptive and/or
inappropriate conduct
-
Failure
to work in student clinic
-
Lack of satisfactory academic
progress as noted in the Satisfactory
Progress Section of the student information
publication catalog
Enrollment Cancellation:
Within
5 days after enrollment: A student may cancel
enrollment within 5 calendar days after the
agreement is signed.
The
Institute will refund the entire enrollment fee
within 30 days of cancellation, provided no classes
have been attended.
More
than 5 days after enrollment: If a student
withdraws more than 5 calendar days after agreement
is signed, but prior to the program start date, or
if a student never actually attended the Institute,
the Institute will refund the tuition within 30 days
of cancellation. The enrollment fee will be
retained.
Refunds
For Withdrawal or Dismissal After Program Start Date
If you
withdraw from the Institute, you are required to let
the Institute know in writing; either by e-mail,
fax, regular mail or hand-delivered. Your date of
attendance of your last class will be used as your
withdrawal or dismissal date. If you withdraw or
are dismissed from the program after the Program
Start Date and more than 5 calendar days after the
day on which you signed this agreement, there will
be no refund of the enrollment fee. For a student
withdrawing from the program after completing 50% of
the clock hours, the student is entitled to no
refund. Student absences prior to the last date of
attendance will not affect the 50% mark. If you
have completed 50% or less of your contracted
program of study, your tuition will be refunded for
the percentage of clock hours remaining in the
program after your last class attended for the
amount of the percentage of clock hours has been
paid for but not attended. I.e.: Student has
withdrawn after completing 40% of the program and
has paid for 70% of the program; student will
receive a refund of 30% of the full program tuition.
If a student is dismissed after the 50% mark, the
student will not in any way be financially penalized
for being over the 50% mark. I.e.: Student is
dismissed after completing 60% of the program and
has paid for 100% of the program. The dismissed
student will receive a refund of 40% of the full
program tuition.
Pro
Rata Refund and Make-Up Work Policy for Veterans
In the
event a veteran fails to enter, withdraws or is
discontinued from the program at any time prior to
completion, the amount charged to the veteran does
not exceed the approximate pro rata portion of the
total charges for tuition, fees and other charges
that the length of the completed portion of the
program bears to its total length (34 CFR 21.4255).
Make-up work is not permitted for the purpose of
receiving Veterans Affairs training allowances (CFR
21.4254).
Student
Responsibilities/Dress Code
Students
are required to provide a sheet, towel, pillowcase,
and massage oil or crème for all classes where these
are needed.
The
student is to come in clean, comfortable clothes
which are easy to move in. Massage class students
are to have their fingernails trimmed short in
respect for their fellow students. The Institute
reserves the right to refuse admission to the
scheduled classes to any student failing to comply
with these standards.
Privacy/Access to Files/Security
We respect
your right to privacy. We do not sell, trade, or
give away any personal information you provide us
with. Student records are confidential and
are accessible only to the individual student, loan
co-borrowers, administrative and teaching staff, or
to state officials when appropriate. Student
records will only be released to outside parties
upon written request by the student. The student
may obtain a copy of their records for themselves
anytime the school is open. The records may be
reviewed by the student for accuracy at any time.
If errors or omissions are found, the school will
immediately update the records to make them
accurate. Computer back-up records are made daily
and kept both at the school and at a separate
location for additional security.
Attendance/Tardiness
Attendance
is taken at every class and is part of the student’s
permanent student record. Make-up classes are
required for all non-permitted absences as noted
below. Additionally, if a student arrives over
twenty minutes late for any class, he/she may be
required to attend a full or partial make-up class.
Make-up classes may be done either by repeating the
same class in a large group class (usually available
to Deep Muscle Massage students) or by doing a
private one on one make-up class. Due to the fact
that repeating the same class may require a large
wait, if the wait is over one month, permission must
be granted by the director to do this. The student
may miss one class in Shiatsu, Meridian Dynamics,
Sports Massage: American/European and
Russian/American and two classes in Anatomy and
Physiology: Level I or II and still receive full
credit towards certification, even when no make-up
class is done provided all tests are taken and
passed. Attendance is required on all days of all
weekend seminar classes in order to receive credit.
Attendance is required in all morning or first
evening of the week classes in Deep Muscle Massage
and in at least thirteen of the sixteen afternoons
or second evening of the week classes in Deep Muscle
Massage. If a student misses three (3) classes in
the first 2/3 of any once a week course for any
reason, even if private make-up classes were done,
that student is automatically considered withdrawn
from that course and needs to meet with director to
discuss any options for possibly repeating the
course. If a third absence occurs in the last 1/3 of
a class, the student will need to retake the last
part of the class by picking up the class where they
left it off at their third absence, provided the
director grants permission. If a student misses any
part of a weekend class they will be required to
repeat the entire weekend the next time the class is
offered, space permitting, or as soon as there is an
available class.
Leave
of Absence
A leave of
absence is permitted for any reason, provided it
does not exceed 180 days in any 12 month period. A
leave of absence must be requested in writing. The
students payments will be temporarily suspended
during the leave of absence provided they are paid
to date, to resume once classes resume again.
Federal regulations require that the leave of
absence be treated as a withdrawal if it exceeds 180
days. In this case, a new enrollment agreement must
be signed with new payment arrangements when the
student begins his/her education again.
Satisfactory Progress/Private Remedial
Tutoring/Probation/Readmission
Students
will receive progress reports at either the 1/3 or
1/2 mark of all weekly classes regarding attendance,
homework, technique, and written test grade
averages. A student will also be informed at the
end of each course as to if there are any course
requirements that still need to be met. A student
is required to re-take any test or tests that cause
their test scores to fall below a 70% average. The
student will have a 30 day probationary window of
time in which to bring up their test score average
to above 70% and to satisfy attendance, homework,
and technique requirements. Should the student
desire remedial instruction, one on one private
tutoring is available for most classes. Make-up
class fees will be charged for one on one private
tutoring and for technique re-testing. Additionally,
a student may be permitted to repeat a class in
certain instances. A student will have a 30 day
probationary period after the start date of the
repeated class to show satisfactory progress in
their technique, attendance, homework, and/or to
bring their test score average to above 70%. Unless
the student is showing satisfactory progress in the
area(s) that needs improvement, they will be
dismissed at the end of the 30 day probation
period. If a student is receiving veteran’s
education benefits, the VA will be notified of
dismissal or any probation in excess of 30 days. If
a class is taken as a single class rather than as
part of a program, probationary rules do not apply.
Please note that academic failure is rare at Health
Options Institute, because we give special attention
to students who need it and because of our policy of
allowing students who fail a test to retake a same
or similar test. Original test grades and retake
test grades are averaged, unless a course is
repeated. If the student opts to repeat some of a
course and to retake tests already taken, only the
grades from the second time the course was taken
will be used to determine the student’s final
grade. If a student has withdrawn from a prior
class and has had passing grades originally, the
student doesn’t necessarily need to repeat classes
already taken and tests already taken that he or she
passed. In this case, the original test grade will
be used for those particular weeks.
Please
note the following:
i) Course
withdrawals – Credit will not be given for
classes students withdraw from.
ii) Course incompletes –
If the incompleted course is a prerequisite to
another course, the prerequisite course requirements
must be completed by at least 3 days prior to
entrance to the new course.
***Readmission of a student
after academic dismissal will be on an individual
basis. A student applying for re-admission must
meet with the director to discuss any options.
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