Appeal Process Policy

Appeal Process:

1. The student may appeal a decision of the Student Performance Committee to the Vice Dean for Medical Education no later than ten (10) business days following transmittal of the Committee’s written decision. With respect to dismissal decisions, the Vice Dean for Medical Education is designated as the first level of appeal (the role identified in the USC Student Handbook as department chair/program director).
2. In the event the Vice Dean is unable to hear the appeal because of real or perceived conflicts of interest or other circumstances, the Dean will appoint a designee to hear the appeal. Conflicts of interest of the Vice Dean to hear the appeal may be identified by the Vice Dean themself or by review of the Dean if requested by the student at the time the appeal is submitted.
3. The appeal must include the specific grounds for appeal and documentation specifically relevant to and in support of the stated grounds for appeal.
4. Appeals may only be brought on one or more of the following grounds:
   • New evidence has become available of which the student was not aware or could not have been reasonably obtained at the time of the original review in which a decision was rendered and which is sufficient to alter the basis for the decision and, had it been known, would have had material impact on the outcome of the decision.
   • The decision is grossly disproportionate to the findings.
   • The Student Performance Committee deviated from the process set forth in the MD Program Handbook and such deviation had a material impact on the decision.
5. While a student may have an adviser of their choice, students must interact directly with the Vice Dean for Medical Education, not through a representative, legal or otherwise. Their adviser may not author written submissions or speak on the student’s behalf.
6. The Vice Dean for Medical Education or the Dean’s designee may choose to uphold, reverse or ask the Student Performance Committee to reconsider the decision, or may choose to appoint an ad hoc appeals committee to hear the student’s appeal.
7. The members of this ad hoc appeals committee shall be faculty members who have not been involved in the decision to dismiss. The chairperson of the Student Performance Committee shall present the findings of the Student Performance Committee to the ad hoc appeals committee but shall not sit as a voting member of said committee.
8. The ad hoc appeals committee shall submit its recommendation in writing to the Vice Dean for Medical Education or designee within ten (10) business days after the meeting.
9. Following receipt of the Student Performance Committee’s recommendation after reconsideration of their original decision or the ad hoc hearing committee’s recommendation, the Vice Dean for Medical Education or designee will issue a final decision in writing to the student within four (4) weeks of receipt of the appeal. There is no appeal of the Vice Dean’s (or Dean’s designee’s) decision, except with respect to dismissal decisions; which may be appealed to the Dean to the extent provided for in the USC Student Handbook. In those cases, the Dean serves as the final level of appeal.

Reviewed and Approved: March 13, 2024
Medical Education Executive Council