COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR PLACEMENTS & “CASTLEBRANCH”

WCU compliance office serves as the academic contracting office for all academic programs, which includes more than 200 academic programs and more than 2,500 active contracts.

Students in an academic credit internship/clinical experience must comply with requirements set by their academic program and the terms of the affiliation agreement between WCU and the placement site before starting any clinical/field/internship experience

Compliance requirements vary and are based on the academic program and a student’s placement site(s).

WCU works with third party provider, CastleBranch to approve student compliance requirements.

Cost of all compliance requirements are the responsibility of the student.

 

Compliance and CastleBranch Links

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Information about Clearances

PA Criminal background clearance (PATCH)

PA child abuse clearance

CastleBranch Portal

Overview of Student Compliance Packages

   

A Standard Program Package includes the minimum requirements to meet the needs of the academic program and comply with the terms of a standard affiliation agreement.

Minimum Requirements: 

• Pennsylvania Criminal Background Clearance (“PATCH”)
• Pennsylvania Child Abuse
• Professional Liability Insurance Policy
• WCU Student Attestation Form

Placement at a site with a Standard Affiliation Agreement:

Student would purchase and complete a Standard Program Package

Add on packages* include additional requirements to comply with the terms of a Non-Standard Affiliation Agreement.    

This may include vaccination/immunizations, drug test, and/or fingerprints.

*Depends on a student’s placement site and terms required per the affiliation agreement.

Placement at a site with a Non-Standard Affiliation Agreement:

Student would purchase and complete a Standard Program Package + Add-on package(s) as needed per agreement terms

 

 

CastleBranch Program Codes

College of Health Sciences Packages 

Program CastleBranch Package Code
Athletic Training WZ47
Communication Sciences & Disorders VS30
Kinesiology WZ95
Nutrition – Dietetics WZ67
Public Health Sciences – Graduate WZ42
Public Health Sciences – Undergraduate WZ41

*Nursing/Physician Associate/Respiratory Care – these programs complete compliance requirements through American DataBank.  

Please review requirements with program coordinators

Wells School of Music Packages

Program CastleBranch Package Code
Music Therapy WX71

College of the Sciences and Mathematics Packages 

Program CastleBranch Package Code
Psychology (both Graduate and Undergraduate) WZ66

College of Education and Social Work Packages

Program CastleBranch Package Code
Counselor Education  
Social Work – Graduate  
Social Work - Undergraduate  

College of Business and Public Management

Program CastleBranch Package Code
Criminal Justice VV19

 

 

Resources & FAQs

Student Resources

Faculty Resources

Compliance Related FAQs

  • How long are clearances valid?
    • Clearances are required for an employee or unpaid volunteer at a minimum of every 60 months from the date of the oldest clearance. Clearances may be required more frequently based on licensure or employer requirements.  
    • Agencies and organizations must ensure that clearances are obtained in accordance with the CPSL. 
  • Can a child abuse history certification or PA state police criminal history certification obtained for volunteer activities be used for employment purposes?
    • No. Child abuse history certifications and PSP criminal history certifications obtained for volunteer purposes can only be used for other volunteer activities. Child abuse history certifications obtained for volunteer purposes will indicate that the certification is to be used for volunteer purposes only.
  • What if I have multiple different placement sites:
    • If a student is rotating between multiple sites within an academic year, all site affiliation agreements will be reviewed to ensure compliance with all placements.
    • Programs with multiple year rotations, Year 1 will purchase a new student package, Year 2 will purchase a renewal package.
  • How do I contact CastleBranch?
  • How do I know what compliance package I need for my placement?
    • Every program has a standard package with a code specific for their program (reference list of program codes)
    • During the compliance request process (initiated by program coordinators) students are notified by the compliance office the standard program package code and whether any add-on packages are required per the terms of the affiliation agreement with the site.
  • What is the WCU Student Attestation form?
  • Getting errors when uploading documents to CastleBranch? What you can do:
    • Make sure the file is less than 5MB in total.
    • Reduce the size or compress if possible.
    • If still not working, please contact CastleBranch Customer Support.
  • Compliance Requirements for Paid Experiences:
    • Students with paid experiences that are employees of the site do not need an agreement. There are two key components for determining that a student is an employee that does not need an agreement:
      1. the student must be completing their field experience as part of their normal work responsibilities.
      2. the student must be paid a living wage (minimum wage or more) and not a nominal stipend.
    • If both of these circumstances are met the student’s relationship with the site is solely between the employer and employee.  If both circumstances are not met, there will need to be an agreement, and the student is required to meet all of the requirements of the agreement.