LMU-DCOM Orange Park — Dismissal & Appeals

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

Who decides whether an LMU-DCOM Orange Park student is dismissed?

Student Progress Committees recommend action to the CAO/Dean. The 2026–2027 Orange Park appeal policy requires the official form and evidence within five working days after receiving notification of the decision. Check the edition applicable to your matter.

A brand-new Florida campus governed by a Tennessee institution

LMU-DCOM Orange Park opened in 2026 as an additional location of Lincoln Memorial University’s DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, Tennessee. COCA approved it in December 2024 and the inaugural cohort matriculated in late July 2026, into an 82,068 square-foot facility at 335 Crossing Blvd, Orange Park, Florida 32073. (COCA’s directory misprints the postcode as 32703, which is Apopka.)

LMU publishes an Orange Park academic catalog for 2026–2027, effective July 1, 2026. It supplements the university graduate catalog. Save the edition and applicable policy pages with your notice; the existence of a newer edition does not by itself establish which rules govern an earlier matter.

Three committees, and none of them promotes you

LMU-DCOM runs SPC-I (matriculation through OMS-I), SPC-II (OMS-II, including COMLEX Level 1 benchmarks and failures) and SPC-III (OMS-III through graduation, including Level 2-CE and COMAT). A separate Community Standards Committee, made up of the Assistant and Associate Deans of Students from all campuses, handles professionalism.

A detail that matters: the progress committees do not promote students — “that is the job of the Faculty Assembly.” Knowing which body took which decision determines what can be appealed and to whom.

Read both statements of the appeal grounds

The appeal page limits review to procedural compliance but also identifies a gross misapplication of facts. It excludes a disagreement with a course or rotation grade. Preserve both passages when identifying the ground for your appeal.

The Board reviews the written record and may meet with the student; it does not meet with witnesses or other complainants. Its decision ends the stated internal appeal process.

The form requirement is a real trap

The appeal must be submitted on the LMU-DCOM Official Appeal Request form with supporting evidence. The online catalog states plainly: “No other appeals will be considered.” A well-argued letter that is not on the form is not an appeal. Request the form the day you are notified.

An older 2025–2026 PDF may describe a different submission method. Do not choose between editions simply because one is online. Check effective dates, program applicability, transition provisions, and the decision notice; request prompt clarification of any conflict.

Mixed units in a single process

• Notice of the SPC meeting: at least three calendar days, by University email.
• The committee’s recommendation reaches the Dean within five working days.
• The Dean notifies the student within five working days of receiving it.
• The appeal is due within five working days of receiving the Dean’s decision.

Notice runs in calendar days; everything else in working days. Over a holiday weekend those diverge.

An outside attorney cannot be in the room

“The only individuals allowed to attend an SPC meeting include the student, the student’s LMU-DCOM advisor (at the student’s request), the recording secretary, the committee members, and any pertinent faculty/staff members and/or Deans,” and meetings are “closed to anyone not in the University community.”

Confirm the attendance rule for the particular meeting and distinguish attendance from help preparing the written submission. The appeal policy addresses procedural compliance and factual misapplication; it should not be described as a purely procedural test.

One favorable rule, and one useful lever

The catalog says status remains unchanged during the appeal. Confirm what that means for your existing status, class attendance, clinical placements, and grading; it is not an unconditional promise of continued enrollment.

And a sequencing lever: “If a student has filed a grade appeal, the SPC meeting will be put on hold until the issue pertaining to the grade is resolved.” Where a disputed grade triggered the referral, filing the grade appeal first pauses the progress committee.

The rules that produce most dismissals

• COMLEX: three attempts per examination. Level 1 within one year of completing didactics; Level 2-CE within one year of completing OMS-III. Every failed attempt triggers a mandatory SPC appearance.
• COMAT: two attempts per discipline, all of which must be passed to progress to OMS-IV.
• Six years from initial program start, “regardless of the reason behind the interruption.”
• Failures are cumulative across all semesters and years. Dismissal is available at every tier: one failure plus professionalism concerns; two or three in a year; four or more in a year; or two or more across OMS-I and OMS-II combined.
• Automatic dismissal with no committee: “Failure to satisfactorily complete the recommended [drug] treatment will result in the student’s immediate dismissal.”
• A professionalism warning is effectively permanent: “A student remains on professionalism warning for the remainder of their time at LMU-DCOM.”

Where the governing documents are

Source links checked October 31, 2026. The Orange Park catalog identifies itself as 2026–2027, effective July 1, 2026. This source check is not a determination of which edition applies to an individual student.

• Orange Park 2026–2027 academic catalog
• Orange Park appeal process
• Student Progress Committees
• Earlier Orange Park PDF: 2025–2026

Related reading

• Medical school dismissal, remediation and promotion committees
• Professionalism and fitness-to-practice findings
• Grade disputes and grade appeals
• All Florida schools

Other Florida colleges

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 colleges:

• Med College Hialeah
• Melbourne
• Miami
• Miami Ad School
• Miami Dade College
• Miami Lakes Educational Center Dismissal

Common questions

How long do I have to appeal at LMU-DCOM Orange Park?

Five working days from receiving the Dean’s decision, and it must be on the LMU-DCOM Official Appeal Request form — the catalog states that no other appeals will be considered.

Can I bring an attorney to the Student Progress Committee?

No. Attendance is limited to the student, an LMU-DCOM advisor, the committee and relevant faculty, and meetings are closed to anyone outside the University community.

Can I appeal because the decision was too harsh?

No. The only grounds are that the College did not follow its own policies and procedures, or an error in process or gross misapplication of facts. Severity alone is not a ground.

Will I stay enrolled while the appeal is pending?

Confirm your specific status in writing. The policy’s unchanged-status provision is not an unconditional enrollment guarantee.

Does Orange Park have its own catalog?

Yes. LMU publishes a campus-specific 2026–2027 Orange Park academic catalog, effective July 1, 2026. Check its applicability alongside your notice and any transition rules.