FIU Physician Assistant Studies — Dismissal & Appeals

Written by Zachary Gaynor, attorney · The Florida Bar, admitted 2016 · court admissions. Reviewed 2 October 2026.

How does dismissal work in FIU’s PA program?

In Florida International University’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, you must pass every course and assessment at 75 percent. You get three “lifelines” to recover failed courses in the didactic phase, and the Student Evaluation and Progress Committee (SEPC) takes up anyone who runs out. A dismissed student has 10 working days to appeal by contacting the Program Director and writing to the Dean of the University Graduate School.

The standards in the handbook

• 75 percent to pass every course and every assessment. Below 75 percent is an F. OSCEs require 85 percent and a pass on every competency.
• A 3.0 cumulative GPA. A student on probation whose GPA is below 3.0 for a third term is automatically dismissed.
• Failed exams require a remediation activity scored at 100 percent, which does not change the exam or course grade.
• Three lifelines for failed courses in the didactic phase. Each is a cumulative exam the next semester, capped at 75 percent. Using all three sends you to the SEPC and then to dismissal.
• The clinical year: two chances to remediate an end-of-rotation (EOR) exam, capped at 75 percent, but only one chance to repeat a clinical rotation. A second EOR remediation failure, or failing a repeated rotation, means referral to the SEPC for dismissal.
• Summative exams: one remediation attempt each on the end-of-didactic and end-of-curriculum exams. Failing the end-of-didactic remediation goes to the SEPC for deceleration or dismissal.

What the SEPC does

The SEPC recommends a warning, probation, deceleration, or dismissal, and sets individualized plans. The Program Director has the final word on deceleration. Professionalism violations are written up on a Student Incident Report Form, documented in your file, and referred to the SEPC. Failing onboarding, immunization, or background-check requirements is also a dismissal ground.

The rotation grade weighs the EOR exam at 70 percent, the preceptor evaluation at 10 percent, assessments at 10 percent, attendance and professionalism at 5 percent, and logs at 5 percent. An unexcused clinical absence can cost 10 percent of the grade, or fail the rotation if more than a quarter of it is missed.

Appealing a dismissal

The handbook gives a dismissed student ten working days to appeal. You contact the Program Director and write a letter addressed to the Dean of the University Graduate School. The program then files a Petition for Exception to Graduate Requirements, and the Graduate School decides. FIU’s university policy on graduate academic standing and dismissal (Policy 380.044) uses the same ten-working-day window. Neither document spells out the grounds for appeal or says who has the final word, so the letter has to make its own case: what went wrong in the process, what the record shows, and the specific relief you are asking for.

FIU’s Student Academic Grievance policy (Policy 340.340) is a separate path for arbitrary or capricious grading and “arbitrary dismissal from courses or programs.” It has its own clock: the informal step starts within 10 business days after classes begin the following semester. A panel of three faculty and two students hears it, and legal representation is not permitted. It excludes dismissals for violating professional standards.

FIU is a public university, so constitutional due process applies to disciplinary action, while courts give real deference to academic judgment. The record built before the SEPC acts is what the appeal will be judged on.

Leave, deceleration, and readmission

A leave of absence lasts up to one year, needs the Program Director’s approval, and results in deceleration. Academic standing is not an accepted reason for a leave. A decelerated student must submit a new application and join the next cohort if a seat is open, and the plan is valid for only one year. After a dismissal, you must wait at least one academic year and cannot enroll as a non-degree student in that time. FIU’s six-year limit for finishing a master’s degree keeps running during an approved leave.

Where the governing documents are

The FIU Physician Assistant Program Student Handbook, AY 2025–26 (academic standing, remediation, SEPC, dismissal appeal, leave), FIU Policy 380.044 (Graduate Academic Standing, Academic Dismissal and Readmission), Policy 340.340 (Student Academic Grievances), and Policy 380.080 (Time Limits for Graduate Degree Completion). The program’s clinical-site policies are not public, so ask for them in writing if your problem started at a rotation.

The federal money on the line at FIU

Florida International University students and families took on $199.1 million in federal Direct Loans in the 2025–26 award year — $93.7 million of it borrowed unsubsidized by 4,463 graduate and professional students, with $44.4 million more 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.

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.

Other FIU and Florida PA programs

These pages set out related procedures: the Florida physician assistant programs overview, the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, the NSU physician assistant program, and the Barry University PA program.

Common questions

What happens when I use all three lifelines at FIU?

Using all three didactic lifelines sends you to the SEPC and then to dismissal. Each lifeline is a cumulative exam the following semester, capped at 75 percent.

How long do I have to appeal an FIU PA dismissal?

Ten working days. Contact the Program Director and write to the Dean of the University Graduate School, who decides on the program’s petition.

Can I take a leave of absence to fix my grades?

No. The handbook says academic standing is not a valid reason for a leave, and any leave results in deceleration.

Can a lawyer help with an FIU grievance?

Under the Student Academic Grievance policy, legal representation is not permitted at the panel. A lawyer’s work there is the written grievance and your preparation, done before the hearing.