To clarify, each of you were given deadlines regarding completion of one or more portions of your course. For Instructor Students, you get one overall deadline by which everything has to be done and submitted. For the rest of you, you have a “didactic” deadline and an “overall” deadline. The didactic deadline is the time frame deadline by which you are supposed to be complete with your coursework through passing final exam. The overall deadline is the deadline by which all other course/program graduation requirements must be met. Each course has a set overall deadline – 3 months for Instructor students, 6 months for EMT students, 9 months for AEMT students, and 20 months for Paramedic students.

While we will continue to work with our students who communicate with us and have true life issues that impair the ability to complete the course within the designated time frames (within reason and extension fees may apply), please understand that the REASON for the deadlines is to help keep you on track for completion in a timely manner. We also have to report every student who enrolls in some of the programs, when the enrollment starts, and when the scheduled graduation is set based on the nationally approved course deadline. When students exceed that overall deadline, it is counted AGAINST our retention rates. Retention is one of three categories on which all Paramedic programs (and soon to be all AEMT and EMT programs) are assessed for continued accredition, and low retention rates can cause a Program to lose its accreditation entirely or be put on probation for a limited time until improvement is shown. PERCOM has continued to fight this battle for you, the student, because so many of you cannot fit into traditional programs with traditional rigid deadlines and is a primary reason so many of you come to us. But please understand that this issue can affect the Program negatively so we MUST try to utilize these extensions and voluntary suspensions within reason and for GOOD reason.

We respectfully request that each of you complete the program/course in which you are enrolled within the designated deadlines posted during your enrollment process and in your course access email. If you have a good reason for needing a voluntary suspension or extension, don’t worry – we will continue to work with you. But please understand that this is for GOOD reason, not just because you have procrastinated your time away and just have not kept up with your work. We don’t want to drop you either because of life issues that interfere with your ability to complete in a timely manner. But we request that you do everything in your power to complete your coursework, skills and rotations within the allotted times.