Accreditation decisions for colleges of osteopathic medicine

CHICAGO, June 4, 2019–The American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) today announced accreditation decisions made at its April 25-28, 2019 meeting.

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

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (Kansas City, Missouri) – granted continuing accreditation with exceptional outcome.
Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Parker, Colorado) – granted continuing accreditation.

Other reviews:

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Blacksburg, Virginia) – granted substantive change request for a branch campus in Monroe, Louisiana, pending further submission of information to, and approval by, the COCA Executive Committee.
Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (Meridian, Idaho) – granted continuing pre-accreditation.
Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (Stratford, New Jersey) – granted substantive change request for a change in curriculum, pending further submission of information to, and approval by, the COCA.
The proposed Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Huntsville, Texas) – continuing candidate status.

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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