VCOM Faculty Handbook

13. The Provost will provide the final decision of VCOM in writing within 14 working days of receiving the report. The choices the Provost may make include, but are not limited to: a. Retain the faculty member with a probationary period, which will include a plan of improvement outlining expectations and ways in which progress will be measured. b. Dismiss the faculty member within 90 days, with or without the ability to be on-campus. c. Dismiss the faculty member immediately for cause, with pay for 30 days. d. Exoneration of the faculty member. 14. The faculty member may appeal the decision of the Provost to the President. Upon receiving written notification of the decision of the Provost, the faculty member, within seven calendar days, may appeal the Provost’s decision to the President. a. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the President and be based upon new, relevant, and material information that was not available to the Appeal Hearing Committee and the Provost. b. After careful consideration of the facts and record of the hearing, the President will notify the faculty member, in writing, of the decision in a timely manner (typically within 14 calendar days from the time the written appeal from the faculty member was received by the President). c. The President’s decision is final. The written response will be kept in the faculty member’s permanent file. 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. AND/OR 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/

American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation

142 East Ontario Street Chicago, IL 60611-2864 predoc@osteopathic.org

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