Going to dental school can feel like a dream come true. You have worked so hard to get where you are, so when school becomes overwhelming, you may begin to crumble under the pressure. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry is an incredibly competitive school. Students are held to high expectations in both their professional manner and academic prowess. For students who are unable to keep up, they meet a harsh reality where they may be forced not to graduate with their classmates. If you or someone you love has been brought before a dismissal committee or is being forced to retake a class or clinical, working with an attorney-advisor is the best way to protect your interests. Call our offices today.
University of California Los Angeles School of Dentistry Code of Conduct
At UCLA School of Dentistry, students are expected to follow a specific code of conduct to ensure the university is producing the best dental professionals they can. These policies generally include:
- Maintaining satisfactory grades
- Upholding patient confidentiality
- Pursuing and using evidence-based science
- Keeping a good bedside manner with patients
Additionally, UCLA also includes academic integrity in these policies. Academic integrity is essentially the act of ensuring that the learning process at UCLA is not disrupted. As such, students are asked to refrain from committing any act of academic misconduct, including:
- Cheating: using any materials on an exam, paper, or other assignment without permission from the instructor or helping someone else do so
- Plagiarism: using the work or ideas of another as if they were your own on an exam, paper, or other assignment
- Multiple submissions: submitting the same work you've been graded on previously for another assignment – either in the same course or in another course – without permission
- Fabricating information and presenting it as factual
- Helping others perform academic misconduct
If a student is caught violating these policies, the university will refer them for disciplinary action, which could include a dismissal hearing depending on the severity of the behavior. It is important to contact an attorney-advisor the moment you learn of these hearings so that they can explain how to best defend yourself and your place in dental school.
Remediation at UCLA School of Dentistry
All students learn differently. Some are more practical and will have an easier time in the clinical simulations or with real patients, while others will have an easier time taking tests. Graduate schools understand this and try to incorporate different ways for students to be graded on their learning. One commonality among all dental schools is the ability to remediate a course, exam, or clinical if a student receives a lower grade.
At the end of every academic year, the administration at UCLA will review each student's record and determine if they are progressing through the program on time. If they find that a student is having a harder time maintaining their grades, they will devise a remediation plan for them. Once the student has successfully completed the remediation plan, they will go back to matriculating with their classmates.
Unfortunately, some students are unable to successfully remediate and will be referred for a dismissal hearing. Dismissal hearings are extremely nuanced, and it is important to prepare accordingly. An attorney-advisor can help walk you through it, ensuring the best possible outcome for your case.
Dismissal Proceedings at UCLA School of Dentistry
At UCLA School of Dentistry, students can be referred for dismissal for several reasons, including if they are falling behind in their studies or are unable to maintain satisfactory grades, have violated an aspect of the code of conduct, or have violated patient confidentiality. Once a student has been referred for dismissal, the school will generally reach out to the student and interview them for their side of the story. They will then review the entire issue and determine whether or not the student should be dismissed.
Usually, dental programs like UCLA's allow the student an opportunity to present evidence and witnesses on their behalf. When this is completed, the dismissal committee will reconvene later and review all the evidence presented. From there, they will make their decision and notify the student.
If the student disagrees with this decision, they will have a certain amount of time to appeal it. The decision letter will lay out the steps for the appeal, including how quickly it needs to be submitted, who to submit it to, and what grounds it can be made on. Most of the time, the grounds are the following:
- There is new evidence available now that was not available during the hearing that would have affected the outcome if it had been available
- There is a clear conflict of interest or bias from the dismissal committee toward the student
- The dismissal committee violated one of its own policies or procedures
The next decision body will review the appeal and determine if the original decision should be amended, upheld, or stricken from the record. Whatever they decide, it is permanent and cannot be appealed further.
Why You Should Work With a Skilled Attorney-Advisor
Undergoing a dismissal proceeding can feel overwhelming. Where do you even start? How can you adequately defend yourself? If you are thinking like this, don't worry, you are ten steps ahead of the student who thinks they can “wing it” and goes in unprepared. Attorney-advisors work incredibly hard to protect students from unnecessary consequences that may arise during these proceedings. For instance, if you are dismissed, and you hope to continue your education elsewhere, you may find it hard to gain admission because the dismissal lives forever on your final transcript. Additionally, many students take out considerable loans to attend dental school. You will still be expected to pay back these loans even if you do not have the salary a dentist would have. All this pressure and confusion can have a real effect on a student's mental health. Attorney-advisors help shoulder that burden.
Attorney Joseph D. Lento and Lento Law Firm are skilled attorney-advisors who have helped hundreds of students in similar situations across the country. They will work tirelessly to form a solid defense, gathering evidence and presenting witnesses to advocate on your behalf. Call our offices today at 888-535-3686 to schedule a consultation or visit us online.
