LECOM at Jacksonville University — Dismissal & Appeals

Written by Zachary Gaynor, attorney · The Florida Bar, admitted 2016 · court admissions. Reviewed 3 September 2026.

Which rules govern LECOM at Jacksonville University?

LECOM at Jacksonville University opened in 2026 as an additional location of LECOM Erie, not a separate college. There is no Jacksonville handbook — one LECOM catalog governs every campus. The Student Promotion and Graduation Committee recommends, a Dean decides, and an appeal lies to the President. The first appeal is due in three working days.

What the campus is, precisely

The site sits at 5415 Dolphin Point Boulevard, adjacent to the Jacksonville University campus. LECOM’s own catalog describes it as “an additional location of LECOM Erie… Students at this location study in the PBL pathway” — the problem-based learning route rather than the lecture-discussion or directed-study pathways. COCA records it as established in 2026 under LECOM’s existing accreditation, last reviewed autumn 2024 with the next visit in 2034-2035. It is licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education.

The practical consequence: your pathway matters as much as your campus. The catalog sets different progression and assessment expectations by pathway, and a student in the PBL route is measured against PBL criteria. Any appeal should be argued against the standards for the pathway you were actually in.

The rules that will decide your case

Because one document governs all campuses, the full analysis — the committee structure, the four inconsistent statements of the same appeal deadline, the published preponderance standard, the enrolment-during-appeal rule and the COMLEX and COMSAE gates — is set out here:

LECOM — dismissal, promotion and appeals in full

The short form, which applies identically in Jacksonville:

  • Appeal to the Dean: three working days. Appeal to the President: seven — but the catalog states that window four different ways across its sections, including once with no unit at all. Treat it as seven calendar days.
  • Preponderance of the evidence is the published standard for all Student Code violations. LECOM is the only Florida osteopathic programme that publishes one.
  • You may remain enrolled during a Presidential appeal — but academic work “will not be scored or graded during any period of enrollment while under appeal,” and transcripts are held.
  • The President decides on the record below and hears no new argument, so the first hearing is the one that counts.
  • Six years, then immediate dismissal, with no committee step. Exceptions must be requested in advance by letter.
  • COMLEX: a second Level 1 failure means removal from rotations and a petition to sit a third; a third failure means a dismissal recommendation. COMSAE gates of 400 to reach OMS4 and 450 to sit Level 2-CE.
  • No right to counsel is provided at a committee hearing; the institution’s own representative is expressly described as a non-attorney.

A note on brand-new campuses

A first cohort is the cohort most exposed to procedural improvisation — committees meeting for the first time, staff applying a document written for another campus, timelines that have never been tested. That is not a criticism of any school; it is what a first year looks like. It also means the record of what was actually done in your case is worth building carefully and early, because departures from the written procedure are both more likely and more provable in year one.

Keep every email, note the date and time of every meeting and who attended, and ask in writing for the specific catalog provision the College says applies to you.

Where the governing documents are

  • College of Osteopathic Medicine Academic Catalog and Student Handbook 2026-2027, updated 1 July 2026, covering all campuses — lecom.edu
  • Clinical Clerkship Manual 2026-2027 — lecom.edu

How dismissal works across osteopathic medical education

The rules at this programme sit inside a national framework that is the same everywhere: COCA accreditation requires every college of osteopathic medicine to publish and follow its promotion, dismissal, grievance and appeal policies; the NBOME caps COMLEX-USA attempts and your school usually caps them lower; and the degree must be completed within 150 percent of standard time. Osteopathic medical school dismissal: the rules every DO programme runs on explains the accreditation elements, the attempt limits, how progress committees are structured, and what the law gives a dismissed DO student at a public school and at a private one.

Related reading

Other Florida universities

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 universities:

Common questions

Does LECOM Jacksonville have its own student handbook?

No. It is an additional location of LECOM Erie, and one catalog and student handbook governs every LECOM campus.

How long do I have to appeal?

Three working days to appeal a committee decision to the Dean. The onward appeal to the President is stated as seven days in four inconsistent ways across the catalog, so treat it as seven calendar days.

What standard of proof applies?

Preponderance of the evidence, for all alleged violations of the Student Code. LECOM publishes this expressly, which most osteopathic programmes do not.

Can I keep attending while I appeal?

Generally yes during a Presidential appeal, but your work will not be scored or graded during that period and your transcript is held.