Students enrolled in clinical training courses must attend all training hours. Absences may be excused for childbirth, documented illness, injury, death in the family, or other emergency situations acceptable to the Academic Standards Committee. Students should call the Registrar or a Dean as soon as possible when they are certain of imminent absence, and give an estimate of the duration of the absence.

Unexcused absence from, or lateness to, a scheduled clinic observation session or a scheduled internship session is considered to be a serious breach of professionalism.

1. Trainees must be aware that patients come to our clinic expecting to be examined and treated in a timely and courteous manner.  Lateness and absence are discourtesies to patients,fellow trainees, and the clinic staff.  All students with unexcused clinic absences will be required to meet with the Academic Dean or with the Program Director before returning to clinic duty.  The clinic office should be notified as soon as possible after a student realizes that she/he will not be at the clinic at the scheduled time.  A telephone answering machine will take calls before the office opens.
2. Students are reminded that all clinical training is enrolled by specific course registration, for a specific number of academic units, and not, as in some trade and technical schools, by the clock hour.
3. Time missed due to an excused absence may be rescheduled at the convenience of the clinic by the Dean of Clinical Education.  No tuition penalty shall be applied.
4. Time missed due to unexcused absences up to 10% of the hours assigned to that course may be rescheduled at the convenience and availability of the clinic by the Dean of Clinical Education.  No tuition penalty shall be applied, but the faculty will consider the absences in assigning a final grade to the course.
5. Time missed due to unexcused absences in excess of 10% of the hours assigned to the course may be rescheduled with the approval of the Academic Standards Committee, and at the convenience of the clinic by the Academic Dean.  The Committee may take those same actions as are provided for as stated above excessive classroom course absences or late arrivals.
6. Excessive late arrival to the clinic, whether at the beginning of the day or after a break, shall be dealt with the same as unexcused absences.  The third unexcused lateness shall be considered to be excessive.
7. All make-up time must be completed before the first day of the following quarter, unless another date has been set by the Academic Standards Committee.  Make-ups may be scheduled during the week of final examinations and recess.

California Acupuncture Board Examination
According to California Acupuncture Board requirements, individuals wishing to practice acupuncture in California must first obtain a state license, which requires qualifying for and passing California's written examination administered by the Acupuncture Board.

In order to obtain a license to practice acupuncture in California, one must qualify for and then take a written examination administered by the Board. Exam applicants may qualify to take the acupuncture examination by satisfying ONE of the following:

• Complete a minimum of 3,000 hours of theoretical and clinical training at an approved acupuncture and Oriental medicine training program pursuant to California Code of Regulations, section 1399.434.
• Complete a tutorial program approved by the Board(consisting of a minimum of 2,850 hours of theoretical and clinical training), which is approved by the Board per Business and Professions Code section 4938(b)(2) and California Code of Regulations, section 1399.420-432;
• Completed education and training outside the United States and Canada, documented educational training and clinical experience that meets the standards established pursuant to Business and Professions Code sections 4939 and 4941.

The Acupuncture Board administers the California Acupuncture Licensing Examination (CALE) and offers the examination in Mandarin, Korean and English. The CALE is based on and validated by an occupational analysis. The passing score on the examination is determined by subject matter experts (SMEs) who use a criterion-referenced scoring method.

California does not recognize out-of-state licensing for practice in this state. Licensees from out-of-state may not practice in California until they have taken and passed the California exam and received their California license. Therefore, licensees from other states or those individuals who have passed NCCAOM's examination (administered by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)) may not practice in the state of California until they have qualified for, taken and passed the California examination.

Individuals may obtain further information by contacting California Acupuncture Board through the following means: