Students are responsible for all material presented in lectures and laboratories. Attending lectures is strongly encouraged as a component of professional development and academic preparedness.
Attendance is mandatory for the following:
- Lectures designated as *mandatory* on the course calendar
- Basic Science Laboratories
- Clinical Skills Laboratories
- Team-Based and Case-Based Learning Exercises
- Written and Practical Examinations
Students must follow all attendance procedures as specified by the individual course Syllabi.
A student may request an excused absence from a mandatory event, other than written examinations (see Examination section below). All student requests for an excused absence must be made in writing to the Office of Student Affairs. Upon written approval from the Office of Student Affairs, it is the student's responsibility to communicate and coordinate a make-up session. Some activities and points, for example TBLs, may not be able to be made up even with an excused absence.
Excused Absences may be approved for the following reasons:
- Medical necessity: illness of the student or member of the immediate family
- Death of an immediate family member (spouse, parent, grandparent, child, or sibling)
- Other qualifying absences (e.g., religious reasons, non-medical emergencies) as approved by the Office of Student Affairs.
LMU-DCOM reserves the right to require students to attend a meeting or activity on campus, in-person, as needed.
Examinations
Students must follow the examination instructions outlined on the LMU-DCOM Examination Instructions and Policy - DO Students located in the DCOM Student Handbook.
All students are permitted one absence without approval from any written exam, with the exception of the final basic medical sciences exam and the final clinical sciences exam of the semester. This absence will be considered as excused. Any exam missed must still be completed within seven calendar days as outlined in the paragraph below.
Due to the amount of material presented within each examination block, students cannot make-up more than one block exam per semester, unless approved by the Office of Student Affairs based on extenuating circumstances. If a student must miss two or more exams per semester, the student may be advised to pursue a different course of action, including a leave of absence or withdrawal.
Approved make-up examinations for students will be given on a date determined by LMU-DCOM, within seven (7) calendar days of the original exam date.
Students will not receive credit for any unexcused absences from examinations. Suspected unexcused absences will result in a student meeting with the Office of Student Affairs which will review each situation individually to determine if the absence will be considered excused or unexcused. If the Office of Student Affairs determines that the absence is unexcused the student will have a zero assigned for that exam. If the absence is determined to be excused, then the student may take the exam without penalty on the LMU-DCOM assigned make-up date.
Failure to follow examination policies and procedures may result in referral to the Community Standards Committee or Student Progress Committee for professionalism deficiencies.
If the final course grades must be submitted to the registrar prior to the date of the make- up exam, the student will receive a grade of "Incomplete" (I). Once the student takes the make-up exam, the final course grade will be calculated and submitted to the registrar. At that point, the "Incomplete" grade will be changed to the grade the student achieved in the course.
Attendance - OMSIII and OMS-IV
Refer to the Clinical Rotations Manual for all policies and procedures regarding attendance for third- and fourth-year rotations and exams.