Accreditation decisions for colleges of osteopathic medicine

Chicago, September 24, 2018–The American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) today announced accreditation decisions made at its Aug. 24-26, 2018 meeting.

Comprehensive site visits occur at the end of an accreditation cycle. The following comprehensive site visits occurred following a seven year accreditation cycle:

Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (Harrogate, Tennessee) – granted continuing Accreditation with Heightened Monitoring.
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (New York, New York) – granted continuing Accreditation.
University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (Fort Worth, Texas) – granted continuing Accreditation with Exceptional Outcome.

Mid-cycle reports are due halfway through an accreditation cycle. The following reports were reviewed:

William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) – granted continuing Accreditation.

Other reviews:

Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (Dothan, Alabama) – conditionally granted substantive change request for a planned class increase, pending a satisfactory focused site visit.
Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (Fort Smith, Arkansas) – granted continuing Pre-Accreditation status.
A.T. Still University, School of Osteopathic Medicine (Mesa, Arizona) – conditionally granted substantive change request for a planned class increase, subject to receipt of additional information to be submitted to the COCA Executive Committee.
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (Erie, Pennsylvania) – granted substantive change request to establish an additional location in Elmira, New York, with an increase in the approved class size, subject to LECOM’s receipt of New York state authorization and a pre-operational site visit.
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (Tulsa, Oklahoma) – granted substantive change request to establish an additional location in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, with an increase in the approved class size, subject to a pre-operational site visit.
Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Parker, Colorado) – granted substantive change request for a change in ownership, pending a satisfactory focused site visit.

The COCA is recognized by the United States Department of Education as the accreditor of colleges of osteopathic medicine. Accreditation from the COCA signifies that a college has met or exceeded the Commission’s standards for educational quality.

The foregoing information is provided pursuant to 34 CFR §602.26.

About Accreditation Statuses

The accreditation statuses described above are defined as follows.

Accreditation with Exceptional Outcome: This indicates that all standards are compliant and all elements are met. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for 10 years.

Accreditation: This indicates that all standards are compliant. However, there may be unmet elements that must be addressed via progress reporting. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for seven years.

Accreditation with Heightened Monitoring: This indicates that fewer than three standards are non-compliant and ongoing monitoring will occur via progress reporting. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for four years.

Accreditation with Warning: This indicates that between three and five standards are non-compliant and ongoing monitoring will occur via progress reporting. For schools with this status, accreditation will be granted for two years.

Accreditation with Probation: This indicates that more than five standards are non-compliant. For schools with this status, the accreditation will be granted for no more than one year.

Withdrawal of Accreditation: This indicates that the quality of the educational program is compromised and the school was unable to come into compliance with all standards within the allotted timeframe.

Pre-accreditation means that a COM is progressing toward accreditation within a reasonable period of time as determined under the Standards of Accreditation (2017).

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Media Contact:
Sheridan Chaney
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