NSU College of Dental Medicine — Dismissal & Appeals

Written by Zachary Gaynor, attorney · The Florida Bar, admitted 2016 · court admissions. Reviewed 25 September 2026.

Who decides whether an NSU dental student is dismissed?

The Student Progress Committee (SPC) recommends and the dean decides at NSU’s College of Dental Medicine. A separate NSU CDM Appeals Board hears appeals from the dean’s decisions on repeating courses, program extension, suspension and dismissal. Legal representation is prohibited at every stage — including, in so many words, from helping prepare the written appeal. And the handbook gives two different appeal deadlines for the same appeal: five business days in one section, three in another. The three-day version is the one printed in the Appeals Board’s own rules, and it says late appeals “will be barred.”

The handbook’s own deadline conflict

Both sentences appear in the current 2025–2026 edition of the CDM predoctoral handbook:

• The SPC section states that students “have the right to appeal as described above, within five business days of notification from the dean or designee.”
• The Appeals Board section states that the appeal “must be in writing and submitted to the chair of the Appeals Board within three business days (excluding holidays and weekends) after the date of receiving notification of the dean’s decision,” and that appeals filed outside that window “will be barred.”

Nothing in the handbook reconciles the two. A student who relies on the five-day sentence and files on day four is asking the College to resolve its own drafting error in the student’s favor, with a seat in dental school riding on the answer. The only safe reading is the shorter one: treat the deadline as three business days, in writing, to the chair of the Appeals Board.

Legal help is barred — including from the written appeal

The CDM uses the same triple prohibition as NSU’s osteopathic medical college:

• At the SPC meeting: “The student may not have an adviser, legal representation, or any other form of representation during the personal appearance,” and no recording devices are permitted.
• At the Appeals Board: the hearing is “internal, private, and closed,” and “legal representation or any other form of representation during the hearing is prohibited.”
• And before either: “Participation by legal representatives with regard to preparation of the written request for appeal is prohibited.”

NSU is a private university, so Fla. Stat. § 1006.60 — the statute giving public-institution students a right to advisers in some proceedings — does not apply. The practical position is the one the handbook creates: the written appeal is the case, and the College says the student must produce it alone.

Procedural features worth knowing before the SPC meeting

• Notice is three business days. The student gets at least three business days’ written notice of the SPC meeting, and may waive it.
• Non-appearance is forfeiture. A properly notified student who fails to appear “has forfeited the right to appear,” and the committee decides on what it has.
• Witnesses only in conduct matters. Students may present witnesses only in behavioral or conduct cases, must submit the list in writing at least one business day before the meeting, and “will not be present during the questioning of any witnesses.”
• The dean is not bound. The dean may accept the SPC’s recommendation, depart from it, or send the matter back. The dean’s decision is final except for course repeats, program extension, suspension and dismissal — those may go to the Appeals Board.

The Appeals Board: who sits on it, and what it reviews

The Board is an administration designee plus six CDM faculty members appointed by the dean, one serving as chair, with no overlap with the SPC members who reviewed the same matter. The SPC chair, the associate dean of Academic Affairs and the assistant dean of Admissions, Student Affairs and Services may attend as non-voting advisers. The hearing is informal; “no rules of evidence will be used.” The Board’s stated decision criteria are only two:

• new, relevant evidence that was not available earlier and would substantially alter the outcome, or
• a failure to follow CDM or university procedures that would substantially alter the outcome.

Within that frame the Board has real power — it “has the authority to uphold, modify, change, or rescind the actions taken by the dean,” by majority vote. Its decision is “final and binding,” with “no further option for appeal.” The student is present only for the student’s own testimony and cannot question witnesses.

The academic stakes underneath all of this

• Every year is a prerequisite for the next. D1 courses are prerequisites for D2, and so on; a student with an incomplete, withdrawal or failure in a prerequisite cannot proceed to clinical assignments without written approval from the associate dean of Academic Affairs.
• Four years, five at most. Graduation requires completing all coursework within four years of matriculation; the dean may extend that to a maximum of five in extenuating circumstances.
• A 2.0 and the INBDE. Graduates need a GPA of C (2.0) or higher and must have “challenged” — that is, actually sat for — the Integrated National Board Dental Examination or a CDM-designated comprehensive exam.
• Probation has collateral costs. A student on probation or suspension is not in good academic standing and may be barred from, among other things, being approved by the dean as eligible to sit for national, state or regional board examinations.
• Professionalism is graded. The handbook treats professional behavior as an academic requirement; the SPC may review conduct as an academic deficiency and, “if a deficiency is found, may dismiss the student.”

Where the governing documents are

The operative document is the College-Specific Policies and Procedures: CDM Predoctoral Program Student Handbook, published as an online flipbook. In the 2025–2026 edition, the SPC meeting protocol runs at pages 130–132, the graduation requirements sit at page 132, the grievance path is at page 151, and the Appeals Board rules run at pages 151–154 — including the three-business-day filing rule and the “final and binding” language.

As of 25 September 2026 the published edition was 2025–2026. Confirm which edition governed on the date the College acted, and preserve page captures — a flipbook can be revised without leaving a trace.

• CDM Predoctoral Student Handbook — nova.edu

The D.M.D. program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), per NSU’s university accreditation listings.

Related reading

• Health-professional school dismissal, remediation and promotion committees
• Professionalism and fitness-to-practice findings
• Academic dismissal and suspension
• Nova Southeastern 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 health-professional programs:

• University of Florida College of Dentistry
• NSU Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
• NSU’s MD college and its separate SPAC process
• NSU College of Optometry
• Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine
• University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Common questions

Can a lawyer help me with an NSU dental appeal?

The College prohibits legal representation at the SPC meeting and the Appeals Board hearing, and separately states that participation by legal representatives in preparing the written request for appeal is prohibited. NSU is private, so Florida’s student due-process statute does not apply. Anyone considering legal advice at the CDM should discuss that provision directly and early.

How long do I have to appeal to the Appeals Board?

The handbook says five business days in its SPC section and three business days in the Appeals Board section, which adds that late appeals will be barred. File within three business days, in writing, to the chair of the Appeals Board.

Will I be in the room when witnesses are questioned?

No. The CDM excludes the student during the questioning of witnesses at both the SPC and the Appeals Board.

What can the Appeals Board actually do?

It reviews only two things — new evidence that was previously unavailable, and procedural violations — and either must be capable of substantially altering the outcome. Within that frame it can uphold, modify, change or rescind the dean’s action, and its decision is final and binding.

What happens if I miss the SPC meeting?

A properly notified student who fails to appear is treated as having forfeited the right to appear, and the committee decides on the information it already has. If you cannot attend, say so in writing before the date and ask for rescheduling in the same message.