Enrollment in the Stanford Health 4 All ("H4A") program constitutes a commitment by the fellow to abide by and accept Stanford University policies, rules, requirements, and regulations, including (but not limited to) those concerning academic performance, fellow conduct, health and safety, housing, use of the libraries and computing resources, intellectual property (including completing and signing the SU-18 patent agreement), operation of vehicles on campus, University facilities, and the payment of fees and assessments. Some of these are set forth in this handbook while others are available in relevant University offices.

Fellows should take responsibility for informing themselves of applicable University policies, rules, requirements, and regulations. A collection is available on the Stanford University policy web site. Many are also set forth in the Bulletin.

Stanford H4A reserves the right to withhold or cancel enrollment in classes, the Service Learning Internship, or activities of any fellow: who is not in compliance with its policies, rules, requirements, or regulations; or for reasons pertaining to academic performance, health and wellness, qualification to be a fellow, behavioral conduct, or the safety of the University community.

This handbook may be revised and updated from time to time. 

Welcome to the Stanford H4A Fellows Program. This 9-month professional certificate program is designed to address an urgent and persistent health need within our communities.

Health starts long before illness, in our homes, communities, schools and jobs. While we devote most of our attention to medications and healthcare delivery, a major opportunity exists for improving wellness long before medical care. The innovative Stanford H4A Fellows Program aims to train the next generation to address health in our families, neighborhoods, schools, communities, and jobs. The unique dual-edged program combines an evidence-based curriculum, developed by Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC) faculty, and a practicum component to engage fellows within the community. The multidisciplinary service learning experience provides fellows the opportunity to acquire the science and skills needed to design and implement health interventions that deliver measurable results. Ultimately, fellows learn how to engage communities in changing human behavior for a healthier world, all with close mentorship from Stanford H4A faculty and staff.

This handbook also is intended to serve as a resource for the fellows, community partner organizations engaged with the fellows, SPRC faculty, and Stanford H4A staff. The handbook provides detailed information regarding academic policies and procedures pertinent to all fellows, community partners, and Stanford H4A faculty and staff. Its purpose is to provide information about guidelines and milestones relevant to successful completion of the certificate program. 

Stanford University is our community. Stanford H4A fellows are expected to show both within and without the Stanford H4A Fellows Program such respect for order, morality, personal honor and the rights of others as is demanded of good citizens. Failure to do this will be sufficient cause for removal from Stanford H4A Fellows Program.

Stanford H4A is dedicated to the mission of nurturing a vibrant learning community, nourishing the life of the mind, and promoting health through collaboration and intellectual exchange. Fellows enrolled in Stanford H4A are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that represents the spirit of this mission. In addition, fellows are expected to comply with the law, all rules and regulations put forth by Stanford University, including the University’s Honor Code and Fundamental Standard and all rules and requirements of the community partner site to which they are matched. 

Disciplinary Process

Admission to Stanford H4A Community Fellows Program is discretionary. Stanford H4A fellows are not matriculated Stanford University students, and not all University student rights and privileges apply to the fellows. While fellows are expected to comply with the Honor Code and Fundamental Standard, since they are not students, review of potential violations will not be according to the process that has been established for students. Rather, the Stanford H4A program will handle these issues directly.

Issues and conflicts must be reported to the Program Director, who will take the matter under advisement. The Program Director will make a ruling on the matter. The fellow may request a review of the ruling by the Faculty Committee, whose decision will be final.

Stanford H4A reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to withhold registration from, or require withdrawal from the program of, any fellow or applicant.

Core Curriculum

Required for all fellows, unless courses previously completed via Stanford or other equivalent undergraduate degree program. Fellows who have completed any of the core coursework would either register for an elective or engage in Independent Study/Research with Stanford H4A Faculty.

• Science of Prevention
• Design Thinking 4 Engaging Community
• Demystifying Health Data
• Theory & Practice of Behavior Change
• Healthy Living (Nutrition, Activity, etc.)
• Assessment & Impact
• H4A Program and Internship Engagement class

Program Readiness

To best prepare our fellows to succeed in the H4A Program and understanding that some may have not had quantitative coursework/experience recently, each admitted fellow will be sent a link for a statistics placement test offering a self assessment of the fellow's readiness for H4A’s quantitative material.  Fellows will take the test once and submit their results via email to our Program Associate before August 15, 2015. Fellows who are unprepared with the foundations of statistics (as determined by the passing score on the placement test), will be expected to satisfactorily complete a self-paced beginning statistics course (link will be supplied by H4A) before November 30.

Additional Courses and Training

Depending on the fellow’s community partner assignment and exposure to protected health information, some fellows may be required to take online training courses in compliance with HIPAA and Human Subjects policies. The fellow will need to use his/her SUNet ID to register for these courses.

Course Readers and/or remote access will be available for course materials on the first day of class each quarter. 

A H4A Service Learning Internship Advisor/Supervisor will be assigned to each fellow before the program begins. They will assist the fellow in planning a program of study. Each fellow will meet with their Supervisor/Advisor for 2-4 hours/week for a combination of group and one-on-one sessions.

Stanford H4A Service Learning Internship and related supervisor is an integral part of the fellow experience and the Stanford H4A Advisor/Supervisor is a valuable resource for the fellow. They provide Service Learning Internship and program guidance as the fellow engages with his/her community partner. 

Coursework evaluation

All classroom-based courses will be graded as either "Satisfactory" or "Incomplete". Credit is granted towards completion of the certificate program for courses completed with grade of "Satisfactory". No credit towards the certificate of completion is provided for a course in which a fellow earns an “Incomplete".

Cases in which a fellow earns a grade of "Incomplete" will be evaluated by the H4A committee on a case by case basis. The committee's decision on the grade will be final.

At the discretion of the course instructor, course evaluation may consist of exams, problem sets, attendance, and participation. Coursework will be defined and weighted by the instructor.

The standards for good academic standing include maintaining satisfactory progress in and a completion of required courses. A grade of "Satisfactory" in each course is required for conferral of a Stanford H4A certificate.

Fellows will receive a Certificate of Completion directly from Stanford H4A. They are not eligible for Stanford University credit or transcripts.

Late assignments Policy

It is anticipated that Fellows will submit assignments on the due date set by the course instructor. Extensions may be given in case of emergency at the discretion of the instructor, and must be requested and pre-approved by instructor before due dates. Failure to do so impacts program completion requirements necessary for certificate conferral.

Service Learning Internship Evaluation

The H4A Service Learning Internships are unpaid, and Service Learning Internship grading basis is "Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory" based on a joint assessment between the community partner and Stanford H4A advisors and staff. To receive a satisfactory evaluation for the Internship and Program Engagement class component of Stanford H4A, fellows must have met the minimum requirements established in the memorandum of understanding signed with the community partner. To receive a satisfactory evaluation for the Service Learning Internship, the community partner and Stanford H4A advisors must agree the fellow has put forth a good faith effort in engaging the community, delivering his/her quarterly intended goals, and maintained the approximately 16 hour/week commitment to working with the community partner. 

The Stanford H4A Fellows Program is a 9-month, three quarter professional certificate program. Fellows must enroll for all three terms until their certificate has been conferred. The only exception is for a Leave of Absence approved prior to departure from the program.

Fellows considering taking a leave of absence for one or more quarters should first discuss the matter with their advisor and the Program Director. If a valid reason exists and the Program Director and advisor support the decision, the fellow must file a Leave of Absence Form and apply within the established deadlines. Except in urgent circumstances where it is not possible to identify the need for a leave in time, a request for a leave of absence must be made 30 days in advance of the start of the quarter.

The maximum length of any leave is one year.

Any fellow who fails to attend their cohort classes and does not secure an approved leave of absence will be discontinued at the sole discretion of the Program. If a fellow later wishes to resume study, he or she must file an Application for Reinstatement through the Stanford H4A Program Director.

Each fellow will be matched with a community partner and have ownership over delivering H4A-based solutions. The Service Learning Internship-based learning experience is a unique aspect of Stanford H4A and the matching process between the fellow and community partner is a comprehensive process that is completed during the first quarter of the program. 

Fellows may choose to create their own program to meet the goals (and in lieu) of the Service Learning Internship. This MUST be discussed and approved by the Director of Stanford H4A before the start of the quarter.

Some fellows may be working with H4A faculty as their community partner on research projects. Such projects may require an IRB (Institutional Review Board) review. The fellow must name the faculty member as the PI (Principal Investigator) on any IRB application.

Total hours required for the Service Learning Internship are 16 hours per week averaged over the quarter, for two academic quarters. Other arrangements are possible, and must be approved by the Director of Stanford H4A before the start of the quarter.

Matching Process

The Service Learning Internship match is a system for the confidential selection of fellows with community partner Service Learning Internships. The purpose of the match is to provide a uniform time for both fellows and community partners to make their selections without pressure. Under the match process, which will take place at the end of the first quarter of the cohort, fellows are "matched" to community partners using the certified rank order lists of the fellows and community partners.

While fellows and community partners may express their interest in each other, they must not solicit nor make a commitment or an implication of a commitment before the match. A community partner may not request fellows to reveal ranking preferences. Further, neither fellows nor community partners may suggest or inform the other that placement on a rank order list is contingent upon sharing ranking preferences.

As expected at all times of anyone involved in the program, participants in the match process must conduct their affairs in an ethical and professionally responsible manner and must respect the right of fellows to freely investigate program options prior to submission of a final rank order list.

Requirements

Fellows must meet all of their community partner’s requirements, which may include, but is not limited to, providing evidence of vaccination, evidence of lack of communicable disease, having particular background check results, signing forms that may limit the fellow’s rights, and participating in further training. Fellows must also follow their community partner’s rules.

Commitment and Problems

Stanford H4A expects that the fellow and community partner matched to each other will commit to each other for the length of the Service Learning Internship. Fellows or community partners who are dissatisfied, have concerns, or may not be able to fulfill the commitment should notify the Program Director as soon as possible, preferably before the end of the second week of the Service Learning Internship, for details on available options for resolving the issues.

Fellows and community partners are not authorized to release each other from their binding commitment. The fellow or community partner may request mediation if either party is dissatisfied with the match. Stanford H4A must be notified by either party of the request for mediation before the end of the second week of the second quarter. If mediation is not successful, either party must notify Stanford H4A before the end of the fourth week of second quarter. The fellow will be reassigned if a suitable community partner is available and agrees to the assignment. No further reassignments will be permitted after the second assignment, and Stanford H4A reserves the right to re-evaluate a fellow's suitability for the program if further mediation is requested during the second assignment. Due to the limited number of fellows, community partners will not be assigned a new fellow during the same cohort if a previous fellow is reassigned or removed.

Fellows who have requested mediation shall not apply for, discuss, interview for, or accept a concurrent year position with another community partner prior to Stanford H4A issuing its decision regarding the mediation. If Stanford H4A receives information that a fellow has applied for, discussed, interviewed for, or accepted a concurrent year position with another community partner prior to receiving the mediation decision from Stanford H4A, Stanford H4A will initiate an investigation to determine whether the fellow or community partner has violated the terms of this Agreement. 

The Stanford H4A program consists of a demanding and engaging curriculum and Service Learning Internship. Along with completing the program requirements, fellows may participate in optional workshops and electives under certain circumstances and by arrangement with Stanford H4A.

Stanford H4A classes are taught at the graduate level, although H4A fellows do not earn credits. The amount of work for each H4A course is similar to a graduate level 2 unit course, which is approximately 2 hours of outside work for each hour in class. H4A courses meet for 2 hours per week, and the approximate time commitment for each class is 6 hours per week (2 hours in class + 4 hours of outside work = 6 hours per week).

During the first quarter, the Service Learning Internship time commitment is approximately one to two hours per week planning and exploring possible projects and community partners. During the second and third quarters, fellows will work for their community partners approximately 16 hours per week (averaged over the quarter). First quarter this average should be a minimum of 8 hours "facetime" with the community partner and up to 8 hours prep, post, planning, and research, etc. time; second quarter the "facetime" minimum is 12 hours per week with 4-6 hours of prep, etc. time. See the charts below. Fellows who choose to engage in a research project rather than work with a community partner may do so with the approval of the Program Director, and have similar time commitments.

In addition to the course requirements, fellows agree to:

• Participate in the matching process in accordance with the terms above
• Commit approximately 16 hours/week working with his/her community partner match to:
  • Understand and engage the community
  • Create, deploy, and assess interventions for community
• 2-4 hours/week supervision by Stanford H4A
• Engage in an annual review by Stanford H4A and community partner to assess fellow’s experience.

Each quarter consists of 10 weeks.

Click here for the Academic Calendar and Course Schedule.

Click here for the Community Partner Requirements.

A. Inventions, Patents, and Licensing

Establishes policy and procedures for disclosure and assignment of ownership of potentially patentable inventions created in the course of work at Stanford or with more than incidental use of Stanford resources. Extends this requirement to faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, post-doctoral scholars and visitors.

Patent Policy

• Board Policy
  • All potentially patentable inventions conceived or first reduced to practice in whole or in part by members of the faculty or staff (including student employees) of the University in the course of their University responsibilities or with more than incidental use of University resources, shall be disclosed on a timely basis to the University. Title to such inventions shall be assigned to the University, regardless of the source of funding, if any.
  • The University shall share royalties from inventions assigned to the University with the inventor.
  • The inventors, acting collectively where there is more than one, are free to place their inventions in the public domain if they believe that would be in the best interest of technology transfer and if doing so is not in violation of the terms of any agreements that supported or related to the work.
  • If the University cannot, or decides not to, proceed in a timely manner to patent and/or license an invention, it may reassign ownership to the inventors upon request to the extent possible under the terms of any agreements that supported or related to the work.
  • Waivers of the provisions of this policy may be granted by the President or the President's designate on a case-by-case basis, giving consideration among other things to University obligations to sponsors, whether the waiver would be in the best interest of technology transfer, whether the waiver would be in the best interest of the University and whether the waiver would result in a conflict of interest. In addition, the President may expand upon these provisions and shall adopt rules, based on the same factors as well as appropriateness to the University's relationship with inventors, for the ownership of potentially patentable inventions created or discovered with more than incidental use of University resources by students when not working as employees of the University, by visiting scholars and by others not in the University's employ.
  • This policy shall apply to all inventions conceived or first reduced to practice on or after September 1, 1994.

B. Additional Provisions (promulgated by the University President, reference section 5 of the Board Policy, above)

• In addition to faculty and staff (including student employees), the provisions of the University's patent policy will extend to:
• All graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
• Non-employees who participate or intend to participate in research projects at Stanford (including visiting faculty, industrial personnel, fellows, etc.)

The Board policy will apply as stated for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. In the case of non-employees, all potentially patentable inventions conceived or first reduced to practice in whole or in part in the course of their participation in research projects at Stanford, or with more than incidental use of University resources, shall be disclosed on a timely basis to the University, and title shall be assigned to the University, unless a waiver has been approved.

C. The President's authority to grant waivers of provisions of this policy is delegated to the Vice Provost and Dean of Research.

Stanford H4A fellows will be issued a SUNet ID with base privileges. A SUNet ID is a unique and permanent account name that identifies the fellow as a member of the Stanford community. The SUNet ID provides the fellow a unique login ID and password to securely access Stanford network services. The fellow will also be listed in StanfordWho, the Stanford online directory.

Lane Medical Library Privileges  

Lane Medical Library is the main medical library on campus. A  sponsored SUNet ID grants fellows remote access to all of the Lane Medical Library’s licensed content. Fellows may place holds and offsite requests on print materials, as well as check out all eligible circulating items. Fellows may log in to the computers in the Duck and Redwood rooms of the Lane Medical Library with no time limit. 

Privileges and Access at other Stanford University Libraries

Fellows have limited access to resources available through the other Stanford University Libraries (SUL). Fellows will not be able to access electronic resources from off campus. All licensed electronic resources are available from computers located within the libraries. However, some are restricted to current Stanford University faculty, staff, students and other authorized Stanford-affiliated users. Fellows should contact individual libraries if they have specific questions about an online resource.

If a fellow wishes to have access and borrowing privileges at SUL beyond the courtesy period offered to visitors, the fellow may apply for a SUL card.For application and payment details for a fee-based library membership, click here.

Although fellows will receive a SUNet ID and be valued members of the Stanford community, they are not Stanford students and must not represent themselves as such. Fellows do not pay Stanford tuition and do not acquire privileges reserved to Stanford students.

The fee for the Stanford Health 4 All Community Fellows Program is $20,000. Housing, living expenses, parking, course materials, books, insurance and transportation to the classroom, community partner site, and any related Stanford H4A location are not included.

By accepting Stanford Health 4 All's offer of admission, each fellow accepts responsibility and is liable for paying the program fees due to the University.  A  fellow's acceptance constitutes his or her agreement to make timely payment of all amounts due. Fees are due within 30 calendar days of acceptance. Other payment plans must be approved in writing by the Director of Stanford H4A.

Subject to approval from Stanford H4A, the fellow may be eligible for financial assistance in the form of course fee waivers or reductions. Fellows are responsible for any tax implications of this award.

Program fees will not be refunded after 30 days from the start of the program. See refund policy below.

In order to receive a refund of program fees (less $1000), the fellow must withdraw from Stanford H4A before the first day of instruction of the first quarter. A fellow may withdraw before 5pm Thursday of the 2nd week of instruction and receive a refund of 80% of the course fee. If a fellow withdraws before 5 pm Thursday of the 4th week of instruction, 70% of the fee will be refunded. No refunds will be granted for withdrawals after 5pm Thursday of the 4th week of instruction. For all refund requests, the notice of withdrawal and refund request must be received in writing by the Stanford H4A Program Director by 5:00 pm of the deadline date.

The application fee ($50) and any additional course or material fees are non-refundable.

Stanford H4A does not prorate program fees and cannot apply the funds to future Stanford H4A cohorts/programs.

Please allow up to two weeks to process all refunds made to credit card. No refunds will be given after the last course withdrawal deadline.

Stanford H4A does not provide housing assistance. Fellows are responsible for procuring their own housing arrangements.

Helpful housing resources (provided as a courtesy, not as an endorsement):

http://supost.com/

http://www.forrent.com/

Fellows who need disability-related accommodations should contact the Office of Accessible Education as soon as feasible.

Compliance with law

The Stanford H4A program is not a medical fellowship program, H4A fellows are not fellows as defined in the Stanford Administrative Guide, and H4A fellows are not Stanford students. Nevertheless, fellows should review Stanford policies with respect to rights in the Bulletin because many of the rights also apply to them. Please note that the H4A Program Director is the appropriate contact for fellows who would like to request records to which they may be entitled under FERPA.

Faculty Steering Committee:

• Professor Randall S. Stafford, MD, PhD
• Associate Professor Christopher Gardner, PhD
• Associate Professor Judith (Jodi) Prochaska, PhD, MPH
• Assistant Professor Sanjay Basu, MD, PhD
• Instructor Lisa Goldman-Rosas, PhD, MPH

Administrative Team:

• Sonoo Thadaney, Director of Stanford H4A and Program Development, SPRC
• Chris Scholberg, Director of Finance & Administration, SPRC
• TO Preising, Program Associate, Stanford H4A and SPRC
• Chris Harty, Program Associate, Stanford H4A and SPRC

Contact:

• Sonoo Thadaney, Stanford H4A Program Development Director sonoot at stanford dot edu
• TO Preising, Stanford H4A Program Associate preising at stanford dot edu
• Chris Harty, Stanford H4A Program Associate charty at stanford dot edu

NOTE: A prospective fellow’s admission to the Stanford H4A program will not be complete until Stanford H4A has received this signed statement below. Stanford H4A must receive the signed agreement within 30 days of the offer of admission. If Stanford H4A does not receive the signed agreement by that time, the offer of admission may be revoked at the sole discretion of Stanford H4A.

I agree to follow all policies, rules, regulations, and requirements of Stanford University, including those listed in this handbook as it may be revised from time to time. I understand that if my circumstances change and I am no longer able to meet the obligations and responsibilities described in the Stanford H4A Handbook, I must notify the Program Director immediately and that, as a result, I may be required to withdraw from the program and to pay late withdrawal penalties.

Signed: ____________________________________________

Print Name:_______________________________________

Date:__________________________________

Print and sign this page and mail or FAX to:

TO Preising

Stanford H4A Program Associate

Medical School Office Building (MSOB)

1265 Welch Road, X3C30

Stanford, CA 94305-5411

FAX: 650-725-6247

Updated 12/2/14

An H4A Fellow who has completed the H4A program may be invited to continue as an H4A Alumni Fellow.

Criteria for Alumni Fellow Engagement

1. Invitations for Alumni Fellows may only be extended by H4A faculty or the Program Director and must be approved by the H4A Program Director. Invitations may be extended in the following circumstances, but are not limited to these circumstances:
   1. The prospective Alumni Fellow is engaged in a continuing research project with a faculty PI;
   2. The prospective Alumni Fellow has a continuing service learning internship with an H4A partner which is being supervised by H4A;
   3. The prospective Alumni Fellow is mentoring a new fellow on a service learning internship.
2. Alumni Fellows will not be paid by the H4A program.
3. The term of the Alumni Fellow engagement will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
   
4. If a prospective Alumni Fellow is an international citizen, the fellow must have a valid visa for the duration of the proposed term. H4A does not sponsor visas for international H4A Fellows or Alumni Fellows.
5. The Alumni Fellow is subject to the same rights and responsibilities of an H4A Fellow as stated in the H4A Fellows Handbook.

NOTE: A prospective Alumni Fellow's acceptance will not be complete until Stanford H4A has received this signed statement below. Stanford H4A must receive the signed agreement within 30 days of the invitation to the Alumni Fellow. If Stanford H4A does not receive the signed agreement by that time, the invitation may be revoked at the sole discretion of Stanford H4A.

I agree to follow all policies, rules, regulations, and requirements of Stanford University, including those listed in the Stanford H4A Fellows Handbook and this Addendum as they may be revised from time to time. I understand that if my circumstances change and I am no longer able to meet the obligations and responsibilities described in the Stanford H4A Handbook and Addendum, I must notify the Program Director immediately and that, as a result, I may be required to withdraw as an Alumni Fellow.

Signed: ____________________________________________

Print Name:_______________________________________

Date:__________________________________

Print and sign this page and mail or FAX to:

TO Preising

Stanford H4A Program Associate

Medical School Office Building (MSOB)

1265 Welch Road, X3C30

Stanford, CA 94305-5411

FAX: 650-725-6247