The Committee on Students is a standing committee of the Faculty of Medicine charged with the responsibility of reviewing the total performance of all students in the School of Medicine. The Faculty of Medicine delegates to the Committee on Students the faculty’s authority for decisions on student standing and student promotions and graduation. The Committee on Students also recommends to the Faculty of Medicine candidates for the award of the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Membership
The Committee on Students is composed of at least nine voting members, including the committee chair. Nine members are elected by the Faculty of Medicine from among its membership; the Dean of the School of Medicine has the prerogative of appointing up to four additional voting members. At least four members are from preclinical departments and at least four members from clinical departments. A Dean’s designate serves ex officio with vote. The following individuals serve ex officio without vote: the Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs, the Senior Associate Dean for Students, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, the Society Deans, the Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, and the Registrar who serves as Secretary. The Committee on Students may invite others to its meetings.
Function
The Committee on Students conducts detailed reviews of the total performance of any student referred to it. Review of student performance within the curriculum is not limited to the scores from examinations or performance in the clinical clerkships. Review by the Committee on Students includes professional attitudes and behavior as well as compliance with the University's Standards of Conduct. Medical school education entails the mastery of didactic, theoretical, and technical material, as well as the demonstration of appropriate professional and interpersonal behavior, sensitivity, sense of responsibility, and ethics, and the ability to conduct oneself suitably with patients, colleagues, and co-workers.
Students are subject to the University's Standards of Conduct that prohibit theft, assault, and other offenses. This Code is set forth in detail in the Undergraduate Student Handbook. Members of the Medical School community should bring evidence of violations of the Standards of Conduct to the Society Deans.
The Society Deans, Deans of Student Affairs, and/or their designees have the right to investigate any issue(s) of Standards of Conduct violations, academic performance, and/or professional behavior or attitudes. The Society Deans may then determine if any issue should be brought to the attention of the Committee. If a Society Dean believes that there is sufficient basis to bring any issue(s) to the Committee, then before the Committee meeting, the Society Dean shall inform the student in writing of the issue(s) to be addressed by the Committee and the possible range of sanctions. The student shall be advised in writing that any information he/she wants to submit in response, including documents and witness statements, should be submitted in writing to the Committee before its meeting.
The Committee shall then review the written document prepared by the Society Dean and/or his or her designee that was provided to the student and any written response thereto. The Committee shall also have the discretion to hear from the Society Deans themselves. The Committee shall have the discretion to hear from the student at any point in the review process, and to question the student on any matter relevant to the student's academic performance, Standards of Conduct violations, professional behavior or attitudes. The Committee also has the discretion to consider and review any other evidence, including any documents or testimony from witnesses. Formal rules of evidence are inapplicable to the Committee's meetings. The Comittee has the discretion to determine whether the student may be present and/or participate in the meeting, but the student does not have such a right.
The review process is done in order to determine the best course of action for each individual student. This Committee is responsible for all determinations of promotion and graduation, repetition of a portion of the curriculum, and any sanctions including dismissal from the School. The Committee's decision on a student need not be unanimous, but is by majority vote. Actions from the Committee on Students are noted in the student’s permanent record and in some cases appear on the official transcript of the School. The Senior Associate Dean for Students, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, and/or their designees shall notify the student in writing of the Committee’s decision and actions taken.
Appeals Process
Any student has the right to request an appeal hearing for reconsideration of a decision made by the Committee on Students concerning herself/himself. Notice to request a hearing must be presented in writing to the Senior Associate Dean for Students or the Associate Dean of Student Affairs within ten days of the Committee’s initial decision for transmittal to the Committee on Students. The formal written request should be supplemented by a statement of the student’s reason(s) for requesting an appeal and provide the names of faculty who can provide pertinent information in support of the reconsideration. At the reconsideration hearing, the student is expected to address the Committee and respond to questions. The student has the right to have a faculty advocate appear before the Committee. No other advisor or advocate, other than the CWRU faculty member designated by the student, is permitted to accompany the student to the Committee hearing. The student and advocate are not present during Committee discussion and vote, either sustaining or altering the original Committee decision.
The Senior Associate Dean for Students or the Associate Dean for Student Affairs shall notify the student in writing of the Committee's decision on appeal. A student may make a further appeal following the hearing process to the Dean of the School of Medicine on the basis of the use of inappropriate procedures. Any appeal to the Dean must be made in writing, including the basis for the appeal, and submitted to the Office of the Dean no later than ten working days from the Committee on Students' decision. If not received by the Dean's Office within that time, the right to an appeal is forfeited. If the Dean finds the student’s appeal to have merit, the Dean may then request that the Committee reconsider the case and relate the reasons for the request. The Committee will then reconsider the case and either sustain or alter the original action.
The Senior Associate Dean for Students or the Associate Dean for Student Affairs shall notify the student in writing of the Committee's decision in any matter where the Dean has asked for reconsideration. The Dean may, but is not required to, personally meet with the student. The Dean has the discretion to review the record before the Comittee and, where the Dean deems it appropriate, consider any other evidence relevant to the student.
Students are entitled to review their files; under FERPA students "have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading" or a violation of their right of privacy. The student may schedule a meeting with his or her Society Dean to request that the record be amended. If the student's request is denied, the student may appeal the decision to the Senior Associate Dean for Students for a hearing. The Senior Associate Dean will conduct a hearing and will make a final decision concerning whether the record should be amended. If the decision is made to not amend the records, the student has the right to place in the student's record a written statement contesting information and/or giving reason for disagreement with the decision to not amend the record.
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