Technical standards are the essential nonacademic requirements of the program that a student must be able to master to participate successfully in the CLS program and become employable.  Examples of this program’s technical standards are provided below.  If you are not sure that you will be able to meet these technical standards, please consult with the CLS Admissions Chair for further information and to discuss your individual situation

Visual Skills
A student in the CLS program must possess sufficient visual skills to perform and interpret laboratory assays, including the ability to perform the following.

• Read calibration lines on pipettes and laboratory instruments that are 1 mm apart.
• Distinguish between solutions that are clear, opaque, or particulate in test tubes and on glass slides.
• Identify stained and unstained cellular components in the range of 1 mm using a binocular bright-field microscope.
• Differentiate color reactions.

Manipulative Skills
A student must possess adequate manipulative skills to perform the following tasks.

• Turn dials, press keypads and move switches on laboratory instruments.
• Use a rubber bulb to draw liquid into a marked pipette and then use a gloved finger to control the release of that liquid to within 1 mm of a fixed point on the pipette.
• Isolate bacteria in microbiology by smoothly moving a loop (a 12-inch wire with a looped end) over the surface of an agar (gel) culture plate without tearing the surface of the agar.

Computational Skills
A student must possess the computational skills needed to perfom laboratory math calculations such as the conversion of milliliters to microliters.

The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science requires us to define and publish “specific...technical standards required for admission to the program” and to determine “that applicants or students’ health will permit them to meet the...technical standards...”

A PDF version of the Technical Standards is available for your convenience. This form must be signed and returned with your CLS program application.