As a member of the student body at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Monroe, Louisiana, you already know that grades are important. After all, if you hadn’t had strong grades along with a good MCAT score, you would not be where you are today. But, of course, your educational journey isn’t over yet, and you need to continue to focus on the grades and evaluations you receive at VCOM Louisiana if you want to have the best opportunities and career possible once you graduate.  

That is why if you believe you should have received a better grade than you did in a particular class, or that your clinical evaluation was not fairly done, you should do something about it. And if your GPA has dropped to the point where your enrollment at VCOM Louisiana is threatened, you need to take prompt steps to protect your status as a medical student. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help. Let us tell you how; contact us at 888.535.3686 or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation discuss your situation and explain what we can do to protect your future.   

Don’t Be Afraid to Question Your Grade

You may wonder whether you – a “mere” student – should question a VCOM Louisiana faculty member about a grade or evaluation they have given you. In most cases, you shouldn’t worry. If you present your questions fairly and support your request for a grade or evaluation change with facts that you believe show that it should be changed, most instructors will at least consider your request without holding it against you.

In part, that is because it’s increasingly common for medical students to question their grades; it is happening more and more often at medical schools all across the country, and VCOM Louisiana is no exception. One reason for this is that when it comes to making residency decisions, the medical student’s transcript is one of the few things that can make a student stand out from the crowd. In short, the higher your grades and the better your evaluations, the more likely it is that you will be matched with the residency you’re hoping for. Being able to make a strong and sensible argument in favor of your request is thus key to having the best chance to make that grade or evaluation change happen.

The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help you in this kind of situation. We regularly help students put together strong arguments that will resonate with instructors when they are asking for their grades or evaluations to be changed. In addition, we can also be enormously helpful when it comes to keeping you enrolled if your GPA has dropped to the level where VCOM Louisiana is considering dismissing you from its program.

Grade Appeals and the Promotion Board at VCOM

VCOM Louisiana’s Course Catalog and Student Handbook suggests that students who have issues with their grades or evaluations take their concerns to their Course Director. This should generally be your first step when it comes to trying to change a grade or an evaluation, even though, of course, it’s not going to resolve the issue in every case. When it doesn’t, the next step is to file a formal written grievance with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and with the Louisiana Campus Dean.

Once a formal grievance is filed, the Campus Dean will meet with the student and the Course Director responsible for the grade or evaluation to try to resolve the matter through discussion. Sometimes, that works. Other times, the Campus Dean may appoint a three-person panel to review the situation and decide whether to change the grade or the evaluation. If the decision goes against the student, the student can appeal it to VCOM’s Provost. The Provost’s decision in any grade appeal is final.

At the LLF National Law Firm, our Student Defense Team has years of experience with student-filed grievances covering many different issues, including grades. We can help draft the grievance, making sure it states your case in a persuasive, compelling way. We can also prepare you for any meetings you may have with school officials about your grievance. While in most cases you will not be allowed to have an attorney with you at these meetings, we can still thoroughly prepare you for yours so that you are ready to state your case in a strong, confident manner.

Of course, not every grade appeal is granted. In cases where your overall GPA falls below a 3.3, you may be referred to VCOM’s Center for Institutional, Faculty, and Student Success. This can also happen if you fail an exam, or are required to retake a complete course, or even part of a course.

Note, however, that a CIFSS referral does not mean you will face academic sanctions. In fact, it’s designed to help you avoid them. The CIFSS staff is supposed to work with you to help you improve your study and learning strategies, to take advantage of your academic strengths, and to work on improving your areas of academic weakness.

When CIFSS assistance doesn’t work, and the student’s grades continue to fall, the student may be referred to VCOM’s Promotion Board. The Promotion Board’s job in that case is to review the student’s record and to make a decision about whether to allow the student to continue to study at VCOM Louisiana or whether the student should be dismissed.  

Proceedings Before the Promotion Board

Being referred to VCOM’s Promotion Board is serious. You may face dismissal from VCOM Louisiana if the board believes that you are not going to meet VCOM’s standards for graduation.

Reasons for being called to appear before VCOM’s Promotion Board can differ depending on your year of medical school. If you are in OMS1 or OMS2, you can be referred to the Promotion Board:

  • If you receive an overall grade of F in a course
  • If your GPA falls to 2.79 or less
  • If you have appeared before the Promotion Board before, but have failed to meet the requirements imposed on you by that earlier Promotion Board
  • If you are in OMS3 or OMS4, you can be referred to the Promotion Board:
  • If you fail during a clinical rotation performance evaluation
  • If you fail any end-of-rotation exam more than once in the same discipline
  • If your GPA falls to 2.79 or less
  • If the administration believes you are not making appropriate academic progress

Once referred to the Promotion Board, you will be able to submit a letter on your own behalf that discusses “any issues or considerations” that you want to make known to the Promotion Board.” This letter is your chance to show the Promotion Board why you should be allowed to continue to study at VCOM Louisiana. It’s something that the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help you with. We will discuss your situation with you in detail to make sure we can use all of the relevant facts about your situation to help you draft a compelling and persuasive letter for the board to review. Because we draft letters like this on a regular basis for our student clients, you will benefit from our experience and will increase the chances that your defense will be effective. 

You should also have a chance to make an in-person presentation to the Promotion Board. Our experienced attorneys can prepare you for that as well. You will have up to 10 minutes to go over your arguments in favor of your continued enrollment and to provide the Promotion Board with “any additional considerations” that they should take into account when deciding your case.

In some cases, you may be referred to VCOM’s Individual Assessment Team. This is another forum in which the school can review your progress and determine whether you should continue at VCOM.

In any case where your enrollment at VCOM Louisiana is in jeopardy, you will benefit from having the help of an experienced attorney from the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team. We will use our experience to help protect your enrollment and your future at VCOM Louisiana – and also your future as an osteopathic physician. 

The LLF National Law Firm is Here to Help

You have worked hard to become a member of the student body at VCOM Louisiana. Making sure that your hard work doesn’t go to waste and that you continue to be enrolled at VCOM is something that the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here to help you with. Whether you are facing issues because of an unfair grade or evaluation, or have been referred to VCOM’s Promotion Board, the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is ready to help.

Our experienced attorneys know the laws, regulations, school policies, and procedures that apply in academic appeal situations. We focus our practice on helping medical and other students with grade appeals, and as a result, when you work with us, you benefit from our years of experience in this particular area. We are ready to use that experience to help you appeal a grade or evaluation and, in cases where you are referred to the Promotion Board, to maximize your chances of a successful outcome.  

To learn more about how the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help you protect your record and your enrollment at VCOM, call us at 888.535.3686, or fill out and submit our online contact form. Let us schedule a confidential consultation so that you can tell us about your grade-related issues, and we can tell you how we can help.  

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Louisiana

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