Clinical and Educational Experience Agreement Guidelines

Introduction

Many students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate programs offered at UConn are required to complete clinical experiences.  Clinicals take place in a variety of settings and allow students to hone professional skills as an integral part of their academic education. Before embarking on a clinical placement, an affiliation agreement must be in place between UConn and the clinical facility.

The primary resource for clinical placement assistance is the Office of Clinical Placement Coordination (OCPC). OCPC currently assists the following programs: Department of Allied Health Sciences, Athletic Training, Long-Term Care, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Psychological Sciences, Physiology & Neurobiology, School of Social Work, and the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. OCPC works collaboratively with clinical sites, faculty, program directors, and students to ensure University programs and their students are prepared for the clinical and/or field placements. OCPC will guide students and faculty through compliance requirements and work with the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) to manage the affiliation agreement obligations for placements.

If the clinical placement will take place at a UConn Health facility (including UConn John Dempsey Hospital, outpatient practices, surgery centers, community health locations, Farmington off-campus services, or procedure centers), a Master Agreement is already in place and an affiliation agreement is not needed.  Please contact Kimberly O’Connor at OCPC, 860-486-8850 or Gail Metsack at OGC 860-486-5796, for specific information.

Likewise, in the few situations where the clinical or field placement relates to a program that OCPC does not service, please contact Gail Metsack in the OGC.

Three Forms of Contract Agreements for Clinical Placements

Each year, hundreds of clinical affiliation agreements are processed and executed by UConn. Many clinical placement facilities will accept UConn’s Clinical Template agreement and it should be used whenever possible to help expedite placements. Some facilities prefer to utilize their own facility-generated agreement, which is acceptable as well. If the placement is for observation only, a third form is used.

1. Attorney General Approved Clinical Agreement Templates

UConn recommends a Connecticut Attorney General approved Clinical Template (Clinical Template) for ease of review. If the Clinical Template is executed without modification, it does not require legal review by the OGC and may be executed “as is.” The only choice that must be made is whether the appropriate agreement is an in-state affiliation or an out-of-state affiliation, as the forms are slightly different. In-state means the placement site is in Connecticut while out-of-state applies to all other locations.

    • In-State Student Educational Training Affiliation Agreement (link latest version)
      • When executing this document, please ensure that the State of Connecticut Terms and Conditions in paragraph 7 of the agreement are the most recent version available. The current T&Cs can be found here.
    • Out-Of-State Student Educational Training Affiliation Agreement (link latest version)

When the agreement is up for renewal, it may be extended using the Clinical Agreement Amendment form.

2. Facility Generated Clinical Agreements

Any agreement provided by a clinical facility must be reviewed and revised (if applicable) by an OCPC contract specialist or the contract liaison for the UConn program in accordance with OGC’s Clinical Agreement Review Guide.

Quick Tips: (click here)

  • Both UConn and the facility must be identified using full legal name, business type, and state of incorporation. UConn is always the “University of Connecticut, a constituent unit of the State of Connecticut System of Higher Education.”, rather than the individual program (such as School of Nursing, etc.)
  • UConn should not be referenced as a business associate of a facility, nor should the agreement require UConn to comply with HIPAA. Any such references should be removed.
  • The agreement must include a provision regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), which puts the facility on notice that it cannot disclose educational records provided by UConn.
  • Carefully review the terms of any insurance provision. Questions about insurance language should be directed to: melanie.savino@uconn.edu.
  • Despite a placements ideological affiliation, UConn cannot require, ensure, or encourage students to follow the teachings of a particular religion.
  • UConn cannot indemnify without express statutory or legislative authorization as this may constitute a waiver of the state’s sovereign immunity. Such clauses should be crossed out/deleted and marked “intentionally omitted.”
  • As an agency of the State of Connecticut, UConn cannot agree to be governed by the laws of another state/municipality/country as this may constitute a waiver of the state’s sovereign immunity. Such clauses should be crossed out/deleted with a note inserted requesting silence on governing law.

After the contract liaison determines an agreement meets the criteria set forth in OGC’s Clinical Agreement Review Guide, a MS Word version of the agreement must be submitted to OCPC for review (Kimberly O’Connor). OCPC will then submit it to OGC for legal review.

The process for reviewing agreements provided by a clinical facility is complicated and time-consuming for all parties involved. In most cases, this process results in the agreement resembling many of the same characteristics of a Clinical Template.  As a result, OGC urges contract liaisons to utilize the Clinical Template (with modifications, if necessary) whenever possible.

Facility generated agreements include VA Clinical Agreements. For a placement with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, UConn programs should continue to use the VA’s standard agreement (no revisions required) and submit it to OGC for legal review.

When a facility generated clinical agreement is up for renewal, or requires amendment in any way, the amendment (along with the original agreement) must be submitted to OGC for legal review.

3. Clinical Observation Only

If a facility will host a student for observation only, and the facility is located in Connecticut, the In-State Clinical Observation Affiliation Agreement should be executed. If it is signed without modification, it does not require review; in all other cases, including when the facility is located outside of Connecticut, please submit the form to OGC for review.

Submission to OGC

To submit a clinical agreement, amendment and/or extension to the OGC for legal review, please use the Clinical Agreement Submission Form.

And remember, Clinical Templates that are executed without any modifications are not required to be submitted to OGC for review.

More Questions or Additional Information?

If you need additional information or assistance, please contact Gail Metsack at 860-486-5796 for OGC help or reach out to ocpc.compliance@uconn.edu for questions about requirements, deadlines, an ADB/Complio account, or other compliance matters.

Questions Specific to Clinical & Field Placements?

All questions about a specific programs policies and procedures, placement schedules, or other programmatic matters should be directed to the student’s program.