Only probation or dismissal imposed by the medical student evaluation committee for failure to meet academic and/or professional behavior expectations and/or standards may be appealed to an appeal board appointed and convened by the associate dean for admissions and student affairs. An appeal must be made in writing to the associate dean for admissions and student affairs, within five (5) calendar days (excluding UNMC-sanctioned student breaks and holidays) of receiving notification from the medical student evaluation committee.
The appeal board shall consist of four (4) college of medicine faculty members from the COM and one (1) medical student, all with equal voting status. The appeal board shall not include current members of the medical student evaluation committee or other individuals who might have a conflict of interest. The members of the appeal board shall select one of the members as chairperson. The chairperson shall, in all cases, vote as a member of the appeal board.
If a student requests a personal appearance before the appeal board, the request shall be granted. The student requesting an appeal will be given notice of the time and place of the board meeting, its membership, and the procedures to be followed.
An advisor of choice may accompany the student when appearing before the appeal board. The advisor's name must be provided to the associate dean for admissions and student affairs at least one week before the meeting date and time. The role of the advisor shall be limited to aiding the student; the advisor may not participate in the proceedings.
In addition, legal counsel may also accompany the student. The name and contact information for the legal counsel must be provided to the associate dean for admissions and student affairs at least one week before the meeting date and time. The role of student’s legal counsel shall be limited to aiding the student. In the instance where legal counsel will accompany the student, the university's legal counsel will be present to advise the board on procedural and other matters.
The chairperson of the appeal board shall determine the order of the hearing, will direct questioning of the student, if present, and any other witnesses, if present, and ensure that the student and an advisor and/or legal counsel, if present, and any other individuals appearing before the appeal board are treated fairly.
The associate dean for admissions and student affairs or designee shall function as secretary to the board. The secretary shall keep minutes of the appeal board’s proceedings and does not have a vote. Although it will not be necessary to provide a verbatim transcript of statements before the board, either the student or the appeal board chairperson may request that the proceedings be audio recorded.
Requests by students for audio recording of a meeting must be made one week before the meeting date and time. If the appeal board chairpersons requests an audio recording of a meeting, the student shall be notified prior to the meeting. If a request for an audio recording of the meeting is made, the secretary shall arrange for an audio recording of the student’s statements and any statements of other witnesses. Deliberations of the appeal board will not be audio recorded. The student shall have access to the audio recording.
The student must show by preponderance of the evidence that the medical student evaluation committee's recommendation was improper or unfair. After consideration of all the presented written and/or oral statements, the appeal board shall decide by anonymous ballot either to recommend sustaining the medical student evaluation committee action, its abrogation or modification. The decision of the appeal board, which will be based solely on the information presented and discussion at the meeting and restricted to a matter of process, shall be presented to the dean of the college of medicine. The dean shall make the final decision.
In cases in which a student is reinstated , a program of remediation or repetition to meet the academic and/or professional behavior expectations shall be developed. The program may come from a recommendation of the appeal board and may become part of the action recommended to the dean. Additional college of medicine input may be provided by the office of admissions and student affairs, the office of medical education, and/or the medical student evaluation committee. The remediation program is not appealable.