The University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry (UMC) is the only dental school in Mississippi and is committed to training exceptional dental professionals to provide quality patient care to their communities. Its mission is to provide an academic and hands-on environment that fosters lifelong learning, service, and research in the science of dental medicine. With core values like integrity and excellence, it's no wonder some students may find themselves overwhelmed to keep up.
If you or someone you love has been accused of a disciplinary action, asked to sit before a dismissal hearing, or is offered a remediation meeting, an attorney-advisor can help ensure the program upholds your due process rights. Call our offices today.
University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry Code of Conduct
All dental students at UMC School of Dentistry are compelled to maintain the highest moral and ethical standards. As such, they must, at all times, make sure to follow particular academic and professional rules, both on and off campus. These rules cover such behaviors as:
- Mismanaging patients
- Failing to provide a diligent and appropriate amount of treatment
- Violating patient confidentiality
- Providing treatment without supervision
- Abandoning a patient
- Lying
- Stealing another student's property
- Drunken behavior
- Threatening to harm someone else
- Embezzling
- Committing abusive acts or speaking with abusive language
Additionally, UMC Dental must refrain from committing any act of academic misconduct. The term academic misconduct varies from school to school, but it basically covers any act of dishonesty in academic work, such as:
- Plagiarizing: using someone else's words or ideas as if they were your own
- Changing or falsifying academic documents or materials
- Cheating: using or attempting to use unauthorized materials on an exam, clinical, or paper
- Falsifying or copying assignments
- Giving or receiving unauthorized aid in tests, exams, or other assignments
If you are accused of violating any of these rules above, you will be notified of a disciplinary action. Working with an attorney-advisor is the best way to guarantee you have every opportunity to defend yourself.
Remediation at the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry
At the end of the academic year, UMC reviews the progress of each student. If they see a student has been struggling with the course material or their clinical rotations, they will refer the student for a remediation plan. For a student to be considered for a remediation plan, they must have gotten lower than a 70% or a fail in a course, not have completed all their assignments for a course, and not fulfilled the requirements in the Student Handbook for Clinical Evaluation.
Typically, remediation takes place during the summer after the academic year. If you successfully complete the remediation plan, you will progress to the next year with your class. If you do not successfully complete it, you may be referred for dismissal from the program altogether.
Dismissal Proceedings at the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry
At UMC School of Dentistry, students can be dismissed from the program for several reasons, including:
- Voluntarily withdrawing without notifying the school
- Getting a second failing grade, even if the first failing grade you got in the program was remediated successfully)
- Failing a course after repeating the course because of a failing grade
- Being placed on probation
- Violating the student handbook
- Acting inappropriately
- Committing sexual harassment or sexual misconduct
If you are referred for dismissal, it is important to create a solid defense to present. You will be given an opportunity to defend yourself at the hearing. You can present witnesses and evidence to support your side of the story. The chair of the Student Ethics and Civility Committee will conduct the hearing and review the information you have provided. Once the hearing is over, they will determine whether or not dismissal is appropriate.
If the committee determines that dismissal is appropriate, they will send you a notice. This notice will also include specific instructions for how to appeal their decision. Appeals must be made to the Office of the Dean within five days of the date on the notification letter. The Dean will call the appeals committee together. They will review the appeal and determine whether the original decision on dismissal should be upheld, struck down, or amended in some way.
How a Skilled Attorney-Advisor Can Help
When you get into dental school, you are so focused on your future career that you never consider what might happen if you are forced to leave dental school early. Many students underestimate the pressure that comes with graduate programs and find themselves struggling to follow the specifics listed in the code of conduct. Unfortunately, if this happens, and the student is punished with a suspension or a dismissal, the punishment will be noted on their final transcript. For students that hope to transfer to another school and continue their education or are hoping to join a fellowship after graduation, they will have to explain the punishment notations on every admissions application in the future – which can make gaining admission particularly difficult.
Attorney Joseph D. Lento and Lento Law Firm have helped hundreds of students across the country who have found themselves in similar situations. They understand how the legal world operates and all the complexities a university proceeding can present. Call our offices today at 888-535-3686 to schedule a consultation or visit us online.
