VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

Complaints Regarding Non-Compliance with American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Accreditation Standards VCOM is committed to meeting and exceeding the standards for Accreditation of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine: COM Accreditation Standards and Procedures as described by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). A copy of the standards is available upon the request from the Office of the Campus Dean or at the AOA COCA’s website at: http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/accreditation/COM-accreditation/Pages/default.aspx Students, faculty, or staff who believe that VCOM may not be in compliance with a standard of accreditation have the right to file a complaint through one or all of the following procedures: 1. Complete a “VCOM Accreditation Standards and Procedures Complaint Form”, which may be obtained from the Director for Institutional Licensure, Reporting and Accreditation Support, asking VCOM to investigate and provide a corrective action, if warranted, for the area in which the complainant believes the college is not in compliance with COCA standards. 2. Contact the COCA directly to report his/her complaint. The COCA has established a complaint review procedure to protect the integrity and the maintenance of accreditation standards and procedures as they relate to approved colleges of osteopathic medicine having recognition from the COCA. Please note that this complaint review procedure is not an appeal process for decisions made by VCOM. The complaint review procedure is to address issues raised related to accreditation issues. Please note that anonymous complaints cannot be considered. This procedure is compliant with the COCA’s accreditation complaint policies and the complaint form can be found at https://osteopathic.org/accreditation/accreditation guidelines/ AND/OR Once a complaint is received by VCOM either through direct receipt of the VCOM Accreditation Standards and Procedures Complaint Form or via notification by the COCA, the following procedures will be followed: a. Once the Director for Institutional Licensure, Reporting and Accreditation Support receives the complaint, she will make the Provost and President aware of the complaint. b. The Provost will then investigate the complaint and may appoint an ad hoc committee to assist in the investigation. The Provost and the ad hoc committee are responsible for investigating the complaint to determine the facts of the complaint. In the case of a complaint being filed with the COCA, VCOM will submit all required documentation to the COCA for their investigation and determination. c. After a thorough investigation has been conducted by VCOM and/or the COCA, a determination as to whether VCOM is compliant or non-compliant regarding the standard(s) in question will be made. 1) If VCOM is noncompliant, the Provost will make a recommendation as to corrective action(s) to the President and Campus Dean(s). The decision regarding final corrective action(s) will be made jointly by the Provost, President, and Campus Dean(s). 2) If VCOM is compliant, no corrective action(s) are required. However, the Provost reserves the right to make further recommendations to the President and Campus Dean(s) and actions may be taken to improve processes. American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation 142 East Ontario Street Chicago, IL 60611-2864 predoc@osteopathic.org Phone: (312) 202-8124

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