Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine — Dismissal & Appeals

Written by Zachary Gaynor, attorney · The Florida Bar, admitted 2016 · court admissions. Reviewed 26 September 2026.

Who decides whether a Barry podiatry student is suspended or dismissed?

The Faculty Student Evaluation Committee (FSEC). At the Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine, students who are not in good standing are reviewed by the FSEC periodically to decide whether they may remain in the program, and when a suspended student petitions to return, the Dean presents the petition to the FSEC and its decision is final. The 2026–2027 academic calendar lists FSEC meetings on December 15, April 27 and August 3. What the School does not publish is anything about how the FSEC works — who sits on it, what notice a student receives, whether a student may appear, or how it votes — and neither the School’s handbook nor the graduate catalog describes an appeal from an academic suspension or dismissal. When the rules are silent, the written record you put in front of the committee before it meets is most of what you have.

Good standing, probation, suspension, dismissal

Grading at the School has no D. An A is 90 percent and above, a B 80, a C 70, and anything below 70 percent is an F. Good standing requires a semester and cumulative GPA of at least 2.00, no unresolved F grades, and no money owed to the School. From there:

• Probation follows a cumulative or semester GPA below 2.0 but at least 1.0, or one F in any semester. A student on probation, or with unresolved grade deficiencies, does not proceed into the third-year clinical rotations. Probation lifts after the next semester of active registration if the cumulative GPA is 2.00 or higher with no new F.
• Suspension follows a semester GPA below 1.00, probation for two consecutive semesters, more than one F in a semester, an F in extended academic coursework, failing Gross Anatomy (SPM 590), or failing APMLE Part I after two attempts. The catalog adds failing Applied Lower Extremity Anatomy I (SPM 625A).
• Dismissal follows three F grades in any semester regardless of GPA, failing APMLE Part I after three attempts, a second suspension, failing a repeated course, or withdrawing from one.

There is no academic-warning step. Students on an extended schedule face a stricter rule still: they may not withdraw from courses once the courses begin, and an F means dismissal.

One remediation exam a semester, three in the whole program

A failed course leads to a Comprehensive Remediation Examination in the first week of the following semester — for 2026–2027, on January 5 and May 18, 2027. The pass mark is 70 percent and the highest grade that can be recorded is a C. The option is limited to one course per semester and three courses across the program, and no course can be remediated more than once. If remediation fails, the whole course is repeated and must be passed with at least a C, and failing or withdrawing from a repeated course is a dismissal ground. Withdrawing from a course for poor academic performance is not permitted, and students may not withdraw from rotations or clerkships because of failing grades. A failed clinical rotation must be remediated in full, at most once a semester and three times in the program, and a student who does not remediate it does not advance to the fourth year.

Anatomy and the boards

Two courses and one examination carry their own consequences. A student who fails Gross Anatomy — or, under the catalog, Applied Lower Extremity Anatomy I or II — may not continue until the failed course is passed. APMLE Part I must be taken in July of the first year of eligibility; a student who fails the October administration is suspended, and a third failure means dismissal from the program “with no recourse for return.” The handbook contains a harsher sentence elsewhere, stating that a student who fails Part I before the beginning of the senior year will be dismissed. It sits uneasily with the three-attempt structure the same handbook and the catalog set out, and that conflict is worth raising if anyone applies it to you. APMLE Part II must be passed to graduate, the OSCE must be passed before fourth-year clerkships, and a Senior Exit Examination is required for graduation.

The honor code and professionalism

Accusations of cheating or plagiarism go to the Honor Code Committee, which is made up entirely of students with one non-voting faculty advisor. After it rules, the case goes to the Dean for discipline, and the exam or quiz grade becomes zero; the Honor Code document itself is handed out at orientation rather than posted. The dismissal threshold depends on which document governs you. The August 2025 handbook says a student referred to the Dean for cheating or plagiarism on two occasions will be dismissed; the graduate catalogs from 2024–2025 onward drop the words “on two occasions.” Because Barry applies the catalog in effect at a student’s first enrollment, the answer can turn on the year you started.

Professional conduct runs on its own track. Any faculty or staff member can report a student, a student who is repeatedly non-compliant with the professional standards is referred for disciplinary action that results in dismissal, and a student suspended for professional or behavioral reasons is ineligible to reapply. Failing or refusing a drug screen is also a dismissal ground.

Deadlines counted in business days

A grade dispute goes first to the instructor within 10 business days, then to the Associate Academic Dean within 15 business days, who convenes an ad hoc Grade Appeals committee and responds within 10. The last step, a written appeal to the Dean, must be made within two business days, and the Dean responds within five. Barry’s University-level grade appeal committee is not available to podiatry students: the Dean has final authority. A professional or behavioral sanction imposed by a Clinical Coordinator during rotations can be appealed within two business days to the Associate Dean of Clinical Education, with the Dean deciding finally. Non-academic conduct cases under the University’s Student Code of Conduct carry a 48-hour appeal window, and only suspension, expulsion or loss of housing can be appealed.

Time limits and readmission

The DPM must be completed within six years of first matriculating into any podiatric medicine program — 17 semesters, a limit the School ties to its accreditor — and all first- and second-year coursework within three years. A student suspended for academic reasons stays out for at least two semesters and must petition the Dean at least four months before the semester of return; the FSEC decides, and its decision is final. A student dismissed for failing APMLE Part I three times cannot petition for readmission at all, and the School publishes no readmission route after other academic dismissals beyond Barry’s general rule that readmission depends on the approval of the dean of the school involved.

What a private school owes you

Because Barry is private, the framework is contractual: the published handbook and the University’s obligation to apply its own written procedures. The School’s handbook disclaims any contract guaranteeing that a degree will be conferred at any stated time, yet it also says the recommendation for the degree is a discretionary right that “shall not be withheld arbitrarily.” The podiatry documents say nothing about advisors or attorneys in any School proceeding. The University’s Student Code of Conduct allows one advisor who may not speak during the proceeding, and its Title IX policy expressly contemplates an attorney. A dismissed student is not entitled to any refund.

Where the governing documents are

Verified as loading on 26 September 2026:

• School of Podiatric Medicine Student Handbook, August 2025 — the School’s Current Students page, barry.edu (no 2026 edition was posted)
• Barry University Graduate Catalog 2026–2027, School of Podiatric Medicine — barry.smartcatalogiq.com
• BUSPM Academic Calendar 2026–2027 — barry.edu
• Barry University Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct — barry.edu

The handbook and the catalog disagree in places, and the catalog in force at your first enrollment governs many of the rules. Save dated copies of both, and of every letter, the day your matter begins.

The federal money on the line at Barry

Barry University students and families took on $123.7 million in federal Direct Loans in the 2025–26 award year — 2,590 graduate and professional students borrowed $56.9 million unsubsidized, and 1,492 took another $56.2 million in Grad PLUS loans.

Every dollar of it rides on academic standing. A dismissal, a failed Satisfactory Academic Progress evaluation, or a mid-term withdrawal sets off federal rules that decide whether aid continues, whether money already disbursed has to go back, and — under the borrowing caps in effect since July 1, 2026 — whether a student who leaves can still finance a return. For health-professional students the timing rules bite hardest: remediation terms, leaves, and repeated courses all feed the federal pace-of-completion math. The academic fight and the financial aid fight are the same fight, and the windows are short. How those rules work: SAP appeals and academic dismissal.

On the Department’s financial responsibility test, Barry’s most recent published composite score is 2.2 (fiscal year 2022–23) — a passing score on the –1.0-to-3.0 scale, where 1.5 and above passes. How to read that number: the federal warning signs guide.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid Data Center, Direct Loan volume by school, award year 2025–26 (cumulative through June 30, 2026). University-wide federal Direct Loan totals.

Related reading

• Health-professions program dismissals
• Academic dismissal and suspension
• Remediation in professional programs
• Academic misconduct and honor code charges
• Breach of contract against universities
• Barry University — student discipline overview

Other Florida health-professional programs

Every school writes its own dismissal, appeal and conduct rules, and the filing deadlines are rarely the same from one campus to the next. These pages set out the procedure at other Florida programs:

• NSU College of Dental Medicine
• UF College of Dentistry — Dismissal & Appeals
• FAMU College of Pharmacy — Dismissal & Appeals
• USF Taneja College of Pharmacy — Dismissal & Appeals
• Barry University School of Law

Common questions

Can I appeal an FSEC suspension or dismissal at Barry?

Neither the School’s handbook nor the graduate catalog publishes an appeal from an academic suspension or dismissal, and a readmission petition after suspension is decided by the FSEC, whose decision is final. Ask the Dean’s office in writing what review is available before the committee acts.

How many times can I remediate a course?

One course per semester and three across the whole program, and no course more than once. The remediation examination is given in the first week of the next semester, the pass mark is 70 percent, and the best grade you can receive is a C.

What happens if I fail APMLE Part I?

It must be taken in July of your first year of eligibility. Failing the October administration means suspension, and a third failure means dismissal with no recourse for return and no right to petition for readmission.

How long do I have to finish the DPM?

Six years from first matriculating into any podiatric medicine program, which the School counts as 17 semesters. First- and second-year coursework must be finished within three years.

Is one cheating referral enough for dismissal?

It depends on which document governs you. The August 2025 handbook requires two referrals to the Dean; the graduate catalogs from 2024–2025 onward make a single referral a dismissal ground. Barry generally applies the catalog in effect when you first enrolled.