Accreditation decisions for colleges of osteopathic medicine

CHICAGO—January 21, 2021—The American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) today announced accreditation decisions made at its December 4, 2020 meeting.

Reviews:

Proposed Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine (NoordaCOM), in Provo, UT: The COCA reviewed site visit findings and an application for pre-accreditation status from NoordaCOM. The COCA deferred the decision, requesting that NoordaCOM submit additional written information for review by the COCA Executive Committee. The required documentation was submitted and reviewed by the COCA Executive Committee on December 18, 2020, at which time, NoordaCOM was granted pre-accreditation 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: This means that a COM is progressing toward accreditation within a reasonable period of time as determined under the Standards of Accreditation (2017/2019).

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Jessica Bardoulas
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