It takes a lot of effort to earn the grades and MCAT scores required before you can even be considered for admission by the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) in Lynchburg, Virginia. You have every right to be proud if you are a member of LUCOM’s student body. You know, of course, that being accepted is just the beginning. There are four years of schooling and a lot of training ahead of you before you will be able to practice as a licensed osteopathic physician.

With so much work in your future, it is important to pay attention to each stage of your education, particularly situations that could result in you being dismissed from LUCOM. If you are notified that you are in danger of possible dismissal from the school of medicine, you need to take prompt and effective steps to defend yourself and your future. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help you do that. Reach out to us at 888.535.3686 or by completing our online contact form. We’ll promptly schedule a confidential consultation so you can tell us about your situation, and we can explain what we will do to help.       

Common Reasons for Dismissal

The College of Osteopathic Medicine at Liberty University has a detailed catalog that it updates on a yearly basis. This College of Osteopathic Medicine Catalog provides detailed information about the policies and procedures in place at LUCOM. It also discloses the many reasons for which a student can face dismissal from the college of medicine.

The LUCOM Catalog places the responsibility for understanding these policies and procedures squarely on the shoulders of each student. In particular, the Catalog notes that each student “is individually responsible for knowledge of the current academic regulations, the general and specific requirements, and the operational policies” that apply to medical students at LUCOM. This means that you are not likely to be able to defend yourself if you are facing a potential dismissal situation by arguing that you were not aware of the LUCOM policy that applies in your case. It also means that it is in your interest to review the LUCOM Catalog and other school publications that disclose policies, procedures, rules, and standards that apply to medical school students.

Some of the reasons a student can face dismissal from LUCOM include the following:

  • Misrepresenting themselves or violating LUCOM’s protocols in connection with licensing examinations.
  • Poor attendance, including absence from classes or clinical rotation for “five consecutive school days” without notifying the proper administrators at LUCOM.
  • Lack of academic progress, especially in cases where the student fails to pass a certain number of courses, depending on their situation. Examples include failing two or more courses during a single academic year; failing a repeated course or clinical rotation; failing two clinical rotations; and taking more than six years to complete all LUCOM graduation requirements.
  • Engaging in the unsupervised practice of medicine.
  • Unprofessional behavior, which can include violations of the student code of conduct, failure to follow school policies or procedures, and actions that are deemed a “threat to public safety.”
  • Abuse of alcohol as well as “legal or illegal substances.”
  • Violations of LUCOM’s acceptable computer use policies, including the school’s social media policies.
  • During any period of suspension from the medical school, failing to meet any requirements the student was expected to meet before being readmitted.
  • Failing to disclose any criminal “charges, arrests, or convictions,” including traffic violations, to LUCOM within 72 hours of when they happen.
  • “Circumstances of a legal, moral, behavioral, ethical, or academic nature” that support dismissal.

Students at LUCOM are also bound by Liberty University’s Student Honor Code, also known as The Liberty Way. The Liberty Way prohibits Academic Dishonesty, which includes:

  • Collaboration on coursework without permission from the instructor.
  • Contract cheating, which is defined as “outsourcing of coursework to a third party.”
  • Misuse of artificial intelligence, meaning “Any use of AI writing tools to generate, modify, add, or delete content that  compromises the originality or authenticity of coursework.”
  • Acts that compromise “exam integrity” or that “violate exam protocols.”
  • Plagiarism, including “self-plagiarism,” which means submitting the same work for more than one course or assignment without the permission of the current professor.

The Liberty Way also prohibits a number of other types of misconduct, all of which are set forth in more detail in the document. 

LUCOM’s Student Progress Committee (SPC) is responsible for reviewing many of the situations that can lead to a student being dismissed from LUCOM or otherwise sanctioned for either academic or conduct issues. There is a procedure that applies in these cases.

When an alleged violation is reported to the Chair of the Student Progress Committee, the Chair will conduct an investigation. At any point, the Chair can “de-escalate” matters to a subcommittee of the SPC called the Professional Advisory Group. The PAG is designed to “mentor students with professionalism/conduct issues” in what their proper “professional behavior” should be.

In cases where the Chair of the SPC does not refer a matter to the PAG, the Chair will call a meeting of the SPC and notify the student in writing of the time, place, and subject of the meeting. While students are not allowed to have an attorney present during the meeting, there is no prohibition on working with an attorney to prepare for an SPC meeting.

Students may call witnesses on their own behalf at the SPC meeting. The SPC, not the student, will question each witness. The student is not allowed to be in the room when the SPC does so. At some point, the student will be allowed to appear before the SPC and “present information concerning the issues and their statements to the committee.”

The SPC deliberates in secret and shall make written recommendations to the Dean, who can choose to accept, reject, or modify the recommendations or can send the matter back to the SPC for “further investigation or action.”

Potential Sanctions at LUCOM

In addition to dismissal, which of course is the most severe sanction, there are other possible outcomes in either academic or misconduct cases at LUCOM. These include:

  • Academic Monitoring. This is for students “identified to be at academic risk” and involves monitoring of and support for the student from the Office of Medical Education and/or the Office of Clinical Education.
  • Disciplinary Warning or Behavior Modification Status. This is a formal notice to the student that their conduct has not met LUCOM’s standards. It is a sanction that applies for a defined period of time and can be erased from the student’s record provided the student demonstrates “that they can effectively cease behavioral misconduct.”
  • Probation. This is a period during which the student has the chance to show that they can “remediate failing grades” or otherwise improve their academic performance, or “effectively cease behavioral misconduct.”
  • Suspension. The student may not attend LUCOM for a defined period of time, and may include other requirements that the student must meet before being readmitted.

Academic, disciplinary, and dismissal decisions made by the Dean can be appealed. The appeal must be submitted to the Dean within 72 hours of when the student receives the Dean’s decision that is being appealed from.

The LLF National Law Firm Can Help Defend You

At the LLF National Law Firm, our Student Defense Team understands how important your medical career is to you. We are here to help you if you face dismissal or any other sanctions at LUCOM, whether because of academic challenges you are facing or because of allegations of misconduct. This is what our student defense attorneys do, day in and day out, for students at colleges, universities, and medical schools all across the country. We know what it takes to protect your rights and to help you defend yourself in situations where your continued enrollment at LUCOM is at risk.   

Let us help you when your future is on the line. Call the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team at 888.535.3686, or submit our online contact form. We will schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about your situation and to explain how we are able to help.

Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine

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