ARC-PA Standard A3.14h
The student may appeal the decision of the Academic Progress Committee (APC) regarding Conditional Academic Standing, Professional Probation, or dismissal. To do so, a letter must be written to the Chairman of the PA Program within ten (10) calendar days of the APC decision. The letter must clearly outline the reason for the appeal, provide supporting documentation, and contain the student’s name and Touro ID number. Acceptable supporting documentation consists of a letter/note from a healthcare provider (MD/midlevel provider) on letterhead and/or a death certificate, where applicable.
An appeal hearing will only be granted if at least one of the following stipulations are met:
- The student must demonstrate that there is reason to believe they have been treated unfairly
- The student must demonstrate that the APC decision was capricious
- The student must outline any extenuating circumstances that were not given adequate consideration
Please note, extenuating circumstances are circumstances that are exceptional, “unforeseen,” and are above the course of everyday experience, which may include:
- Significant illness, accident, or injury to the student
- Death or serious illness of a close family member or dependent
- Family crisis of significant magnitude which directly affects the students’ ability to succeed
The following are NOT, under normal circumstances, considered extenuating:
- Minor illness
- Use of common, over the counter medications
- Stress or panic attacks caused by examinations, or the rigors of academic demands that do not affect general life activity, for which no prior application for reasonable accommodations has been made
- Domestic events
- Consequence of paid employment
- A longstanding hardship which has been previously well-managed and/or is not communicated to the program
The aforementioned list of extenuating and non-extenuating circumstances represents recognized examples of each. However, the circumstances surrounding each student’s appeal request are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. All submissions for consideration of extenuating circumstances should be accompanied by contemporaneous supporting documents from a third party, which must confirm the existence of the extenuating circumstance and state how the reported matter has affected the student concerned.
