Advancement Committee Meeting:
Student Appearance Procedures

Policy 565.50

Policy Statement

  1. A student referred to the Advancement Committee for reason of unsatisfactory performance will be informed in writing via emailed letter from the Committee chairperson. This notification shall:
    1. State that any student who appears before the Advancement is at risk of dismissal.
    2. State the specific reasons for which the student’s performance is being reviewed.
    3. Advise the student of their right to appear before the Advancement Committee and to be accompanied by a faculty or student advisor of the student’s choice. The advisor must be a member of the University community and shall not be an attorney or a family member.
    4. Inform the student of the membership of the Committee. If the student objects to the participation of any member of the Committee, the student must provide a written statement of the objection, including the factual basis for the objection, to the chairperson of the Committee at least twenty-four hours before the meeting of the Committee. If the objection is deemed reasonable by the chairperson, the member(s) challenged shall recuse themselves from the students review and be replaced by an alternate, if necessary, to maintain quorum. Generally, a member of the Committee will only be removed for actual demonstrated bias. The alternate member will be appointed by the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education in consultation with the chairperson of the Committee. If the student challenges the Committee’s chairperson, the Senior Associate Dean shall consider the objection and if deemed reasonable shall appoint a substitute chairperson from the faculty membership of the Advancement Committee or the faculty-at-large. The appointed alternate member will have full voting rights in the deliberations of the Committee. Members of the Advancement Committee are reminded at each meeting by the chair that anyone who has provided sensitive health, psychiatric or psychological services to a medical student before the Committee must recuse themselves from taking part in decisions regarding that student’s advancement and/or graduation; moreover, each member reviews, reaffirms and signs a documented commitment to recuse themselves under the aforementioned circumstances on an annual basis.
    5. Advise the student of their right to review their file before any hearing by the Committee.
  2. At the hearing, the student shall have the right to hear the evidence upon which the proceedings are based and be given the opportunity to clarify or correct it. The student may present additional data to the committee. A student may call witnesses to give evidence in their behalf. Additional witnesses may be called by the committee. Decisions made by the Committee during such proceedings will be based upon a simple majority vote by the voting members present while in executive session. The Committee’s sanctions are limited to the provisions of the Medical Student Handbook. A record of the vote outcome will be recorded. The Committee Chair shall notify the reviewed student, in writing by emailed letter, of the Committee’s decision.
  3. Advancement Committee decisions may be appealed to the Dean of the Larner College of Medicine. The written appeal must be based solely upon issues of procedural error(s), or clear abuse of discretion during the proceedings before the Advancement Committee or new evidence which was not available during any hearing before the Advancement Committee.
    1. The student must provide written notification of intent to appeal an Advancement Committee decision within forty-eight hours of delivery of the committee’s written notification by email.
    2. The formal written appeal must be provided to the Dean within eight (8) business days of the date indicated on the Advancement Committee decision letter. Unless written appeal is received by the office of the Dean of the College on or before the 8th business day, the decision will be effective as of the ninth business day. In the specific instances where the decision of the Committee is dismissal from the Larner College of Medicine:
      1. During the interval between receipt of written notification of the decision and the expiration of the appeal period, the student remains actively enrolled in the College.
      2. If the student submits notification of intent to appeal, they may request personal leave during this period, or they may continue normal student activities, except in instances in which a student has been placed involuntarily on administrative leave.
      3. If no notification of intent to appeal is submitted, the student will be placed on administrative leave until the expiration of the appeal period.
    3. If a student files a formal written appeal within the stipulated requirements, however, the Dean affirms the decision of the committee, the initial action shall be effective on the date of the dean’s decision.
    4. The decision of the Dean shall be final.

Applicability of the Policy

All Medical Students

Related Larner College of Medicine Policies

Related University of Vermont Policies

Not Applicable

Related Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Standard(s)

  • 9.6 Setting Standards of Achievement
  • 9.9 Student Advancement and Appeal Process
  • 10.3 Policies Regarding Student Selection/Progress and Their Dissemination

History

  • 5/20/2014 Policy Adopted/Affirmed [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/19/2017 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/20/2019 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/17/2019 Reformatted [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 1/26/2021 Policy Edited/Re-titled [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 3/16/2021 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]

Policy Oversight

Associate/Assistant Dean for Students (Student Services Coordinator)

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