If you are enrolled at the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine in Greenville, North Carolina, you obviously have a bright future ahead of you. It won’t happen without a lot of work, but you’ve made that first big step, and it is important that you do well and that your student record is free of any disciplinary notations. You know that your transcript will be reviewed carefully when it comes to applying for residency positions as well as for future employment as a physician, and you want to have the peace of mind of knowing that it does not reflect any disciplinary sanctions.

If you are accused of any form of academic misconduct while at BSOM, you need to take prompt and effective steps to defend yourself. While most academic sanctions at BSOM do not show up on the student’s permanent academic record, repeated violations or serious violations could lead to your being suspended or dismissed from the medical school, and BSOM will maintain records of any suspension or expulsion that could, under some circumstances, be disclosed. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help you defend yourself against allegations of academic misconduct. Call us at 888.535.3686, or submit our online contact form to set up a confidential consultation so we can learn more about your case and explain the ways we are able to help.         

Academic Misconduct at BSOM

The BSOM Code of Student Conduct prohibits a wide range of different types of misconduct, including those that are directly related to a student’s academic performance. These prohibitions include:

  • Cheating
  • Plagiarism
  • Any other form of “academic dishonesty”
  • “Forging, altering, or misusing” any BSOM document, including any “instrument of identification”
  • Unauthorized use of another student’s computer ID and password

There is a range of sanctions that BSOM’s Professional Conduct Committee can impose on a student found to have committed academic misconduct, and the school retains the right to impose more than one of these at a time for a given violation. The possible range of sanctions includes:

  • Warning. This is a written notice to the student that the student has violated “institutional regulations”
  • Probation. This is also in writing, and is for a “designated period of time.” The student can face even more severe sanctions if they commit another violation during any probation period. The Professional Conduct Committee Sanctions can also “specify conditions” that apply to the student while the student is on probation.
  • Loss of Privileges. The student may be restricted from enjoying certain specified privileges for a period of time. This could include, for example, access to certain parts of campus or participation in certain extracurricular groups or activities.
  • Suspension. The student is not able to attend BSOM for a “definite period of time,” with the student eligible to return after the time period has passed. There may be conditions imposed before the student can re-enroll.
  • Expulsion. The student is dismissed from BSOM on a permanent basis.

In some cases, the Professional Conduct Committee may also provide a suspended or expelled student with “access to counseling services” during the suspension period or “for a defined period of time following expulsion.”

What Happens if I am Accused of Academic Misconduct?

There is a specified procedure that applies if you are accused of academic misconduct at BSOM. Any complaint against you must be made in writing and submitted to the Dean for Student Affairs, who is responsible for administering BSOM’s Code of Student Conduct. While there is no specific deadline for complaints to be submitted, the Code of Student Conduct states that a complaint should be submitted “as soon as possible after the event” happens, and “preferably within seven (7) working days.”

Depending on the nature of the complaint, the Dean may conduct an investigation. If you are contacted by the Dean about an alleged complaint, you need to take it very seriously – this is the point at which you should reach out to the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team for help. If you are able to provide a strong defense backed up by evidence at this point in time, the Dean may decide that the allegations against you do not have merit, and the matter will end there. Alternatively, the Dean may offer to resolve the matter with lesser sanctions than what the Professional Conduct Committee may decide to impose if you go to a hearing.

Our attorneys can help you in any discussions with the Dean and in preparing a strong defense based on the facts of your case. If we are involved at an early stage, it will also make it easier to help you prepare for what could be the next stage (if the matter isn’t resolved) – a hearing before the Professional Conduct Committee.

If your case is to be heard by the PCC, you will receive a written notice of all charges that have been made against you. The hearing will normally be scheduled for 5 to 15 working days after you are notified, though it may be possible to reschedule it. You are allowed a non-attorney advisor to be with you at the hearing, though that person may not participate in the hearing, but can advise you along the way. (It may be possible, in some cases and with the committee’s permission, for your advisor to be an attorney.)

You will be able to present witnesses on your own behalf, and can offer “records, exhibits and written statements” to the PCC in your defense. Written statements, including arguments, can be very effective, especially if prepared by one of the experienced attorneys from the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team.

The PCC shall vote on the allegations after the hearing has ended, and will also designate the sanction or sanctions to be imposed if the PCC decides that the student is responsible for the alleged misconduct. The PCC’s decision may be appealed, on limited grounds, to the Dean for Student Affairs. The appeal must be submitted in writing within 5 school days of when the PCC notifies the student of the decision.

The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is able to assist you at each stage of this process. Your best chance at a strong defense is to work with one of our experienced attorneys.

The LLF National Law Firm Can Help Defend You

Medical school is stressful enough without also having to carry the entire burden of defending yourself against academic misconduct allegations. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here to help carry some of that load. We regularly help students who have been accused of academic and other types of misconduct in schools – including medical schools – all across the country.

We are very familiar with the laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that apply in these kinds of academic misconduct matters. Our attorneys know what kinds of arguments work as a defense, and what kinds of evidence will be persuasive in support of those arguments. When you work with us, you will benefit from our years of experience and understanding of what the disciplinary process involves. We also regularly discuss disciplinary matters with school officials, and know how to do so effectively.

When your academic reputation at BSOM is at stake, reach out to the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team. Call us at 888.535.3686, or fill out our online contact form. We will schedule a confidential consultation where you can tell us about the allegations made against you, and we can tell you what we will do to help.

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

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