This section describes the policies, procedures, and professional standards governing students’ progress through the MD curriculum across all campuses of the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University.
Academic progress policies apply to all clinical campuses, affiliated clinical sites, and curricular activities related to undergraduate medical education.
Students may express concerns, ideas, and improvements through the medical student elected leadership to communicate this feedback to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. For concerns beyond the College of Medicine, such as WSU Health Science Campus and the University as a whole, students should contact the Associated Students of Washington State University at WSU Health Sciences Spokane Campus.
Each student has the responsibility to know these policies and use them in their decisions. There are two College of Medicine due process sections, one for academic policies and one for non-academic policies.
Students are strongly advised to seek guidance from the Office of Student Affairs in regard to any circumstances that impact their ability to participate in the medical curriculum and to do so before they impact their academic performance.
University Policies
It is important to distinguish University-wide policies and those specific to the College of Medicine. For a comprehensive list of Washington State University Executive Policies. Not all of the policies are student related so we have highlighted policies related to students below. Students are responsible for understanding all policies.
University-Wide Policies (Selected Not Comprehensive)
Below are WSU Executive Policies (EP) and other University-wide policies that relate to College of Medicine students. At any time, if you are unsure what to do, please contact the College of Medicine Office of Student Affairs immediately for consultation and support by emailing medicine.studentaffairs@wsu.edu or calling 509-368-6827. For emergencies, please contact Lisa Burch-Windrem, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, at lisa.burch-windrem@wsu.edu.
- EP4: Electronic Communication Policy: This policy articulates appropriate use of electronic communication, electronic correspondence, and use of social media.
- Student Conduct: Washington State Legislature has defined Standards of Conduct for Students and student conduct process. Highlighted are important components to this process:
- Any member of the university community may file a complaint against a student for violations of the standards of conduct for students including faculty, students, and staff. They will need to submit this form. The Office of Student Conduct oversees this process.
- Within the Standards of Conduct for Students is academic integrity, which has a separate process. Academic integrity violations including, but not limited to, cheating as defined here. Students who observe and learn about academic integrity violations should contact the instructor and consult with the College of Medicine Associate Dean for Student Affairs. To report an academic integrity violation, use this form. The instructor is responsible for assembling the evidence and, upon reasonable notice to the student of the date, time, and nature of the allegations, meet with the student suspected of violating academic integrity policies.
- Appeals for both Student Conduct and Academic Integrity Violations are through the Office of Student Conduct.
Students must abide by all WSU policies provided on the WSU Office of Student Conduct Website. These policies include an alcohol and drug policy.
As a point of clarity, violation of College of Medicine policies may result in dismissal from the medical degree program. Final appeals related to College of Medicine violations are routed through the Dean. However, dismissal from WSU is overseen by University-wide policies and procedures. If a student wants to appeal the decision of the Dean because they felt the process or procedures were not followed, they may contact the Graduate School Dean at gsdean@wsu.edu, 509-335-6412. It is not in the purview of Graduate School Dean to overturn whether the professional conduct as defined by College of Medicine was violated, rather, it is to investigate if processes or procedures were/were not followed.
The College of Medicine has additional professionalism and student conduct standards, which are defined below. Medical students who violate both WSU policies and College of Medicine policies will have to follow both processes that may result in two different outcomes. If you are unsure of any process or not sure what to do, please contact College of Medicine Office of Student Affairs at medicine.studentaffairs@wsu.edu or calling 509-368-6827.