Life Safety Institute’s code of ethics is based on students engaging and achieving results in an honest manner: without guile, without shortcuts, and by focusing on their work. The rules and sanctions outlined below, serve to codify this concept, the foundation of our academic ethics.

Our policy regarding cheating or unauthorized device use

Cheating is defined as the unauthorized exchange of information or material, whether given or received. Consulting unauthorized sources, documents, or persons, or using unauthorized electronic devices (such as cell phones, pagers, smartwatches, or PDAs) during an examination is a serious violation of the Life Safety Institute's code of integrity.

Students who are caught cheating will be sanctioned as follows:

A zero will be assigned to the academic activity in question.
No make-up will be allowed, even if the zero brings the student's average below the passing average

Our policy regarding plagiarism

Plagiarism is the appropriation not only of the words of another, as occurs when you copy a piece of writing in whole or in part, but also of ideas or other types of information, as when you summarize or report in your own words the content of a text without indicating the source. Plagiarism is considered cheating and Life Safety Institute provides the same management policy outlined above.

To avoid this, all references must be properly cited on any written work submitted by the student.

Our policy regarding forgery

Forgery is defined as the act of making a false statement, false signature, or falsification of entire documents for the purpose of deceiving and cheating. In the event of such acts, Life Safety Institute enforces a zero-tolerance policy resulting in immediate dismissal from the educational program.

Attendance Policy

Students are strongly encouraged to actively and consistently attend all didactic, laboratory, and clinical sessions, the schedule for which is listed in the program manual.

In case of absence, missed hours accumulate on an hourly basis and must all be made up; the maximum absence limit is unique to each of the scheduled programs: if the limit is exceeded, the student is no longer eligible for graduation.

Regarding assignments and exams:

It is expected that assignments to be submitted online must be turned in by the specified due date (if late, you will be subject to a 20% penalty);
Midterm and final exams must be taken on the designated date as there are no retakes.

Exceptions due to extenuating circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Class Cancellation

Life Safety Institute recognizes that adverse weather conditions and significant events can impact the safety of students and staff traveling to and from class. While every attempt is made to maintain normal operations for the benefit of students, it may occasionally be necessary to cancel in-person classes when extreme weather or events occur.

In the event of a class cancellation, all remaining scheduled classes will be pushed back by the number of canceled classes or alternative arrangements made and announced to all students.

Clinical Completion Period / Extension

Once a student has completed specific areas of the didactic portion, they may become eligible to enter a similar area of the clinical portion. The philosophy of the Life Safety Institute is students complete the clinical skills/hours in a reasonably timely manner: the goal is for students to have completed their clinical component prior to graduation. In fact, the latter is a requirement for graduation; without a completed clinical component, the student will not be considered eligible for graduation. In special cases where more time is needed to complete the program, the additional time is not automatically granted but will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Clinical Documentation

Life Safety Institute students are required to do clinical hours in the hospital or urgent care, completing certain clinical objectives and documenting their experience according to the Bureau of EMS and National Standard Curriculum guidelines. They must, in addition, document their skills and patient assessments within 72 hours of the end of their clinical shift; documentation must be factual, complete, and verifiable. Failure to submit within 72 hours will result in the documentation not being considered.

Clinical Eligibility

To ensure patient safety, Life Safety Institute students must demonstrate competency in the cognitive and psychomotor learning domains prior to entering the clinical environment.

Before entering clinical, students must:

Demonstrate successful completion of the didactic and laboratory portions of the program related to the area of clinical skills
Demonstrate successful completion of all related psychomotor skills as required by the National Registry of EMTs and/or the state of New Hampshire
Be in good standing with Life Safety Institute according to all other policies
Students must maintain an average grade of over 70% to be eligible for clinical.

Clinical sites set their own entrance requirements; most clinical sites require:

A clean background check
Flu vaccine
A COVID-19 vaccine
Negative 2 step Tuberculin Skin Test or health care provider documentation medical clearance
Completed Hepatitis B immunization series with laboratory-confirmed positive antibody or signed waiver
Varicella immunity: documentation of 2 vaccine doses, lab-confirmed immunity, or health care provider diagnosis of disease
Rubeola immunity: documentation of 2 vaccine doses or lab-confirmed immunity
Mumps immunity: documentation of 2 vaccine doses or lab-confirmed immunity
Pertussis vaccine (e.g. documentation of single dose Tdap or Dtap)

Clinical Skill Limitations

During clinical practice, students may have the opportunity to perform skills or procedures that are not normally considered part of the emergency medical services (EMS) provider skillset under the direct supervision of a preceptor or physician. Therefore, Life Safety Institute emphasizes that:

Students are not allowed to perform skills outside of their scope of practice
Students are also not allowed to perform skills that they have not yet been trained on or signed off on

Confidentiality and Privacy

As a student who is rotating within the healthcare setting, you have an ethical and legal duty to keep patient information confidential. The federal law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) forbids healthcare providers from disclosing patients’ protected healthcare information, except upon written authorization by the patient or as otherwise permitted by law.

Under the HIPAA Security and Privacy Regulations, hospitals and other healthcare providers are required to have the capacity to determine who is accessing their patients’ protected health information and to protect the privacy of that information. Failure to maintain patient confidentially, accessing patient information without a need to do so for your work/education, or any other violation of policy, may result in disciplinary action against the student.

Some general guidelines:

Access patient information only if you need that information to do your work.
Share or discuss patient information only if it is necessary to do your work and only in appropriate locations.
If there are electronic health records, never share your identification number or password, and log off computer sessions when you will be away from your workstation.
Follow the health care system’s specific policies on confidentiality and privacy.
Ensure confidentiality when you handle all protected healthcare information.

Credentialing Requirements for Faculty

It’s the student's right and a fair expectation to receive their education from reputable, experienced, and certified medical providers. Life Safety Institute requires all instructional faculty to be licensed at or above the level they will be teaching. Adjunct faculty or assistants may not be required to be licensed medical providers but are expected to understand and be able to fulfill their required role. Lead instructors must maintain a valid NH instructor coordinator license.

Enrollment Policy

Upcoming programs once approved will be posted on our website. These programs will have a list of dates/times and their location(s). Anyone meeting the admission requirements is welcome to enroll in the program. Enrollment in the program requires full payment of tuition. Students must complete our online enrollment form.

Grading Policy

Individual programs have their own grading guidelines or policies. Grading is recorded via an online learning management system that students have access to. Students are encouraged to inquire about program grading requirements and policy prior to registering.

Grievance Policy

Students that have a concern or complaint have the right to file a grievance either with the school or the state of New Hampshire; students are encouraged to utilize this right. The successful operation of the Life Safety Institute presupposes shared common purposes and an awareness of the principles that should guide the conduct and attitudes of those who are part of it.

Students’ first step in filing a grievance is to contact their lead instructor however if the student's grievance is about their lead instructor the student is to contact the program director in writing via email.

Should the student feel their concern has not been appropriately addressed the student is to contact the Office of Career School Licensing, Department of Education (Telephone: (603) 429 - 9438), 101 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03303 in writing or via their online complaint form (https://my.doe.nh.gov/ESSWEB/HigherEducation/Complaint.aspx). The student should include their original complaint, their attempt at resolution, the answer to their complaint, and any supporting documentation.

Harassment and Discrimination

The protection of students is a fundamental right and it is Life Safety Institute LLC's duty to promote wide-ranging interventions inspired by the logic of prevention, in order to ensure a safe and serene study and work environment, conducive to interpersonal relationships and based on the principles of solidarity, cooperation, and respect.

Harassment is defined as an annoyance or discomfort that produces a disturbance of physical well-being or peace of mind. It is serious or pervasive and offensive conduct directed toward an employee or student because of his or her race, color, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or marital status.

We at Life Safety Institute do not tolerate this type of conduct and encourage a "forthright" type of communication i.e., the person who has been offended may stop the conduct by telling the other person that he or she is offended and expects the other person to stop; the person must stop such conduct immediately.

In addition to this, Life Safety Institute ensures that all employees and students are not subjected to harassment or inappropriate conduct for these reasons.

With regard to sexual harassment, this type of harassment refers to sexual orientation and gender identity in the form of discrimination, generally with a strong sexual or sexist component as well. The guidelines followed by Life Safety Institute in these cases are based on a zero-tolerance policy: discussions, jokes, or remarks involving sex, sexual matters, propositions or physical makeup, or gender stereotyping are prohibited. In addition, any physical contact not explicitly requested is not considered appropriate and will not be tolerated.

Medication Administration

Policy regarding medication administration varies depending on the role of the person who is to administer medications:

EMS students must successfully meet cognitive and psychomotor goals before becoming eligible to administer medications in a supervised clinical setting
EMS trainees may administer only certain medications and only under the direct supervision of an approved preceptor
An EMS student may administer medication only in the presence and under the direct supervision of an approved preceptor. An EMS student will never administer medication without knowledge of its mechanism of action, indications, contraindications, precautions, side effects, dosages, and allergies nor may an EMS student administer any paralytic agent

Privacy Policy

Life Safety Institute is committed to maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of educational records, providing students with appropriate access to their educational records, and complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), its implementing regulations, and applicable New Hampshire law. Access to educational records will be shared only upon valid, legal request by the student. In addition, students may request that educational records be shared with a third party. However, records will not be shared without a valid "Confidentiality Form" signed by the student.

Purpose and Mission

The mission of Life Safety Institute is to save lives with education by providing equitable access to collaborative, engaging, and passionate medical education.

Reasonable Accommodation for Students with Disabilities

At Life Safety Institute, we strongly believe in ensuring that all students are treated fairly and have equal access to programs, activities, and education. In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1972, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008, Life Safety Institute, in the admissions process or during school programs - does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of disability, including intellectual disability.

If a student has a disability and requests a reasonable accommodation, the student must provide written documentation of the disability and request a reasonable accommodation for a disability prior to the start of a class or program by informing the instructor and/or director in writing of the need for an accommodation.

Record and Documentation Retention Policy

All records are stored digitally, securely, for a period of no less than 7 years.

Refund Policy

Students who withdraw or are dismissed after the start of one-day classes are not entitled to a refund.
Students who withdraw prior to the start of a class or program shall be entitled to a full refund, less a 10% administrative fee.
Students who withdraw after the start of a multi-day program (i.e. EMR, EMT, AEMT) shall be entitled to a full refund, less a 10% administrative fee if requested within 7 days of the start of the program.
If a program or class is canceled, a full refund of the tuition will be issued.

Essentially if we cancel a class you will receive a full refund. If you withdraw before the start of a class you will also get a refund but we don't refund our payment processing fees as those aren't refunded to us. If you sign up for a multi-day program (ex. EMR, EMT, AEMT) you have one week to decide it's not for you and we will give you the same refund as if the class had not started. Please email us if you have questions about our refund policy. Our goal is to be fair to you as well as to us.

Pursuant to Hedc 304.1, All refunds shall be paid within 30 days upon written notification from a student of cancellation or withdrawal; and Students receiving benefits from federal programs shall be subject to federal refund policies, rules, and regulations.

Student Conduct

The following is an outline of the student behavior policy to ensure a peaceful and constructive educational climate.

Each student is expected to treat all instructors, staff, other students, visitors, and patients with respect and courtesy
Active participation is expected in the classroom, but not disruptive to classes
Each student is expected to dress in a manner that is tasteful and not offensive to others. Shirts and shoes must be worn at all times. Tank tops or shorts are not permitted. Clothing or accessories with offensive markings are not permitted
Offensive or vulgar language is prohibited at all times
Tobacco, smoking, and vaping products are not permitted on any premises within the school
Alcohol consumption is not permitted on school property
Personal electronic devices must be set to silent so as not to interrupt or disrupt classes and educational activities. No student will be on duty or answer calls while in class
The integrity of doors or fire or safety devices shall not be compromised at any time
Students will be prepared for class, including reading required materials in advance

Student Employer Clinical Conflict

Life Safety Institute has outlined a code of conduct to govern student-employer relationships.

Students may conduct clinical activities/hours with their employer — with prior approval from Life Safety Institute - but not while working as an employee. If a student performs clinical activities outside or above their scope of practice while employed at their current level of licensure, they risk violating federal, state, and/or local laws and/or regulations.

In order for a student to perform a clinical rotation at their employer, a clinical contract must exist between Life Safety Institute and the clinical site.

While a student is working for his/her employer, he/she may not perform skills/hours as a student at any time and for any reason.

Skills/hours obtained while a student is working or employed will not count toward his/her clinical requirements. If skills/hours are obtained at work and documented in the student's clinical handbook, this will be considered a falsification of records. This will result in the removal of the student from their program of study (see section Our Policy Regarding Falsification).

This policy applies to voluntary emergency medical services (EMS) agencies as well as paid EMS agencies/professional EMS agencies.

Transfer of Credit

We do not accept transfers of credit into our programs.

Tuition

Tuition includes all associated costs to graduate a program. Tuition does not include fees associated with national/state testing or certification/licensure fees. Tuition may not include textbooks. Tuition is due at the time of enrollment and to confirm a place in any program.

Uniform Policy

Students will wear a Life Safety Institute-approved uniform for all clinical and field internships. Students shall not wear uniforms with markings of other services or affiliations while participating in a Life Safety Institute clinical or field internship.

The Life Safety Institute approved uniform consists of a Life Safety Institute-issued shirt, navy/black pants without holes (NO JEANS), a black belt, and black boots or shoes. Shirts must be tucked in at all times and clothing must be generally clean and wrinkle-free. Boots or shoes must be laced or zipped at all times.

Students are expected to practice good personal hygiene habits at all times. Perfume, cologne, aftershave, body lotions, or powders should not have a strong scent due to patients and employees with sensitivities.

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