Student Status, Registration, and Graduation

Academic Records

Office of the Registrar

Student Education Records and Personally Identifiable Information Policy

Registration Policy

Elective and Sub-Internship Registration Policy

Name Change Policy

Student Statuses

Eligibility for Graduation Policy

Essential Standards for Matriculation, Promotion & Graduation

Full-Time Status / Good Standing Policy

Academic Scholar Year Policy

Preclinical Split Policy (Phase 1)

Clinical Split Policy

Leave of Absence Policy

Transfer Policy

Withdrawal Policy

Separation from the Medical School:

From time to time, it may become necessary for the Academic Progress Committee (APC) or the Professional Standards and Conduct Board (PSCB) to separate (expel) a student from the medical school. This is done rarely, and only for very serious lapses in academic performance, misconduct, or both. Separation means that the student is no longer enrolled at the medical school. The APC/PSCB will take this serious step only after the student has been offered an opportunity for a hearing before this committee. A student is then separated the day immediately following the notification of the APC/PSCB decision. A separated student may only be enrolled again at the medical school after going through a new, formal application process with the Admissions Committee. Admissions decisions on any such new applications will be made in accordance with established procedures; students submitting new applications are not guaranteed the opportunity to return to Geisel.

This change in status has several immediate and important effects.

  • In the Registrar’s Office, the official transcript records that the student was separated as of the day after the APC/PSCB decision. No classes or exams may be taken, and no new grades recorded, after that date. On rare occasions when the student has submitted an appeal, the APC/PSCB may allow the student to have provisional standing and to continue some classes or exams. Provisional students in an appeal process are not allowed to have any patient contact. Provisional standing may only be granted after a formal letter of appeal has been received by the Dean and must be submitted within 10 business days of being informed of the APC/PSCB decision. No new grades will be recorded during the appeal process. If the APC/PSCB decision of separation is appealed and reversed, grades from exams that may have been taken during the appeal process will be recorded. If the APC/PSCB decision is upheld, the student record will show that the student withdrew from or failed the course(s).
  • In the Financial Aid Office, the final bill will be adjusted to cover all charges incurred up to that date, but no additional charges (e.g. new tuition costs, etc.) will be levied after that date. If a formal appeal has been submitted and received, appropriate actions will be decided on a case-by-case basis
  • In the Financial Aid Office, no new loans or grants can be given out; as of that date, some loans already given may become due. If a formal appeal has been submitted and received, appropriate actions will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
  • Regarding other offices and student privileges, the student will no longer have access to libraries, computers, buildings, or other services offered to students who are enrolled in the medical school. Also, since that individual is no longer an enrolled student, he or she may not obtain health services provided through the Health Service at Dick’s House. The Dartmouth ID card will be inactivated. If a formal appeal has been submitted and received, appropriate actions will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
  • Regarding the Dartmouth Student Group Health Plan (DSGHP), the student may continue to benefit from whatever plan enrollment is already in place and paid for. The coverage will continue through the end of that plan year, August 31, if the student maintains a payment schedule approved by the Plan Office. Since the individual is no longer an enrolled student, that individual would no longer be eligible to renew student or student dependent plan coverage for the next plan year beginning the following September 1. However, students may elect to purchase an Extension of Eligibility (EOE) for up to six months of additional coverage. This EOE is designed to facilitate the transition to other insurance coverage. Students should not rely on the DSGHP for their sole source of health insurance protection under the EOE. The application and payment for the EOE must be received within (31) thirty-one days prior to the termination date.
  • Regarding school e-mail, the student’s e-mail account will remain active for 30 days or until all appeals have been completed. A formal letter of appeal from the student must be received by the Registrar and the Chair of the APC/PSCB within one week of the PSCB decision for separation. If the decision to separate is upheld after the appeal, the student’s email will remain active for approximately 30 days, after which it will be inactivated. The APC/PSCB reserves the right to request the email account inactivated earlier than 30 days if the circumstances warrant it.
  • While a student is separated, that individual has the right to a prompt appeal process. When a separated individual follows the appeal process and has been granted provisional standing, he/she will maintain active student status. If an appeal finds in favor of the separated individual, then the transcript will reflect the timing of the original decision to separate and the subsequent decision to grant the student’s appeal. That individual will continue as an enrolled student as specified by the APC/PSCB.

Suspension from the Medical School:

Suspension is similar to the separation process with the difference being that suspension from the school is for a specified, finite period of time. The transcript will record the period of suspension, as set by the APC/PSCB. Near the end of that period, the suspended student may apply to the APC/PSCB for consideration to be re-enrolled as a student. The APC/PSCB would then need to decide whether to re-enroll the student, continue the suspension, or separate the student. If the student fails to contact the Chair of the Committee to request re-enrollment by two months prior to the end of the period of suspension, then the student’s status will be converted from suspended to separated. In other ways, the status of the suspended student is similar to the separated student outlined above.

Policy on Transfer

It is generally agreed among all U.S. medical schools that transfer during the four-year curriculum should be discouraged. Because of variations in the sequencing of academic experiences it is difficult to ensure that a student’s education will be continuous if a student transfers between schools. Additionally, because a student’s final evaluation is, indeed, a composite of all four years in medical school, the transfer student may be placed at a distinct disadvantage. In very unusual circumstances a student may wish to consider transfer. In all circumstances a student must be eligible for promotion into the next year at the Geisel School of Medicine at the time of transfer. If a student is accepted for transfer to another medical school, the student will be expected to complete all academic obligations required for promotion into the next year of the Geisel School of Medicine.

USMLE Related Policies

United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE)

USMLE Step 1 Policy

USMLE Step 2 Policy