It doesn’t matter how smart you are or how sophisticated or how disciplined—medical school is a daunting experience. You’ve inched ever closer to a career as a doctor, but you’re not there yet, and any failings have the potential to end that career before it starts.
No surprise, then, that med students occasionally look for ways to bend the rules a bit. Anxiety: it happens to the best of us. The next thing you know, you’ve made a mistake, and you’re facing charges of academic misconduct. Or perhaps you didn’t make a mistake at all. Maybe you’re simply the victim of a simple misunderstanding.
Whatever your situation, the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here to help. We don’t believe a mistake, or even two or three, should cost you your future, and we certainly don’t believe innocent students should have their dreams taken away from them. We were established specifically for the purpose of protecting student rights, and we can be fierce advocates when called on to defend our clients. We know how LSU’s School of Medicine operates, and we’re prepared to bring every resource at our disposal to bear to get you the best possible resolution to your case.
Don’t wait to contact us. Medical school disciplinary processes move quickly, and you can find yourself suspended or dismissed in a matter of days. To find out how we can help with your case, call 888-535-3686 today, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of our online forms.
What is Academic Misconduct
By this point in your academic career, you don’t need us to explain that academic misconduct applies to your course behaviors. In the broadest terms, the LSUSOM expects you to complete all your coursework honestly. Any action you take that could potentially give you an unfair advantage is treated as misconduct.
Within that general framework, the School’s policy on “professionalism” mentions five specific offenses:
- Any use of unauthorized materials in completing your assignments (cheating);
- The attempt to pass another person’s work off as your own (plagiarism).
- Theft of property, intellectual or physical;
- Hindering another student’s academic progress;
- Illegal, unprofessional, or inappropriate behavior.
Your undergraduate institution likely had a similar list of rules and regulations. However, the consequences at LSUSOM are far more serious. Most colleges and universities handle academic misconduct, at least first offenses, through in-class sanctions. Faculty have the power to lower grades and, in extreme cases, fail students outright. Only second offenses are subject to disciplinary sanctions like suspension and dismissal, though.
Playtime is over. You can probably survive at LSUSOM if you fail a class or two. Academic misconduct, on the other hand, is grounds for immediate dismissal from the program. Physicians are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethics and moral values, and even one instance of cheating is all it takes.
With the stakes this high—your very career—you cannot afford to handle an allegation on your own. Even most attorneys can’t provide you with the kind of protection the LLF National Law Firm can. We work specifically in the field of student defense, and we know exactly what to expect from campus investigations and hearings. Don’t trust your future to anyone else.
Disciplinary Procedures at LSUSOM
Dismissal over a single offense may sound harsh, and in many ways, it is. You should know, though, that the LSUSOM handbook doesn’t just outline offenses and punishments. It also outlines due process procedures for students who have been accused of misconduct. You have rights, including the right to a presumption of innocence (“non-responsibility”). In short, there are strong mechanisms in place for defending yourself.
- The School’s Council on Student Professional Development has jurisdiction over all allegations of academic misconduct. Anyone may accuse you of violating the Honor Code, but only this body may formally charge you with an offense.
- The Council should provide you with notice of the charges anytime you are under official investigation. This notice should include an explanation of the allegations and a list of your due process rights.
- The investigation itself is conducted by one faculty member of the Council and one student member of the Council, both appointed by the Council’s co-chairs.
- As part of the investigation, you should be invited to give your side of the story. In addition, you are entitled to review any evidence investigators uncover.
- Investigations must be completed within ten days. At that point, they turn their findings over to the Council, which sets a time and date for a formal hearing.
- At the hearing, both sides have an opportunity to make their cases using physical evidence and witness testimony. You also have the right to raise questions for anyone testifying against you.
- Once the hearing has concluded, the Council renders a decision based on the legal standard “preponderance of the evidence.” In simple terms, you are guilty if they are more than fifty percent convinced of your guilt.
- You can appeal a responsible outcome, but only if you can demonstrate that you were denied a fair opportunity to make your case. That usually means some piece of evidence has come to light that could alter the outcome, or a procedural error occurred significant enough to have altered the case outcome.
Unfortunately, LSUSOM does not allow you to bring an attorney with you to investigative meetings or hearings. Don’t let that dissuade you from contacting an LLF National Law Firm attorney. It’s our job to protect you, even if we never set one foot on campus, and to prepare you for absolutely everything you face. From coaching you in how to respond to questions to suggesting questions you can ask your witnesses, it’s our job to help you defend yourself.
The LLF National Law Firm is Always on Your Side
The LLF National Law Firm knows what’s at stake in a way other firms just don’t. The attorneys who make up our Student Defense Team have dedicated their lives to ensuring schools treat students fairly, and they care about your future. No one else has the knowledge of campus justice that they do. No one else can show you how to use the system to your advantage.
If you’re being forced to fight for your educational future, don’t try to handle the situation yourself, and don’t trust your case to a local attorney. Find out more about what the LLF National Law Firm can do by calling 888-535-3686, or take time right now to fill out our online questionnaire.