Grades and Grading

PURPOSE/SCOPE:

Provide guidelines for course grading and timeline for grade submission.

DEFINITIONS:

COMAT: Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Achievement Test 
PAR Committee: Professionalism and Academic Review Committee

POLICY:

ICOM has developed a system, in keeping with the ICOM mission and objectives, to assess the progress of each student doctor toward acquiring the competencies essential to effective performance as an osteopathic physician. Throughout all four years, student doctors will be required to complete all required coursework and clinical rotations with passing grades. Student doctors who fail any part of the curriculum may be offered a one-time remediation. Under certain circumstances, student doctors may be brought before the PAR Committee for review of the circumstances and possible disciplinary action.

Additionally, ICOM will maintain longitudinal records marking achievements of graduates in a comprehensive assessment system. This assessment will include: COMLEX-USA Level 1, COMLEX-USA Level 2 (CE) and COMLEX-USA Level 3 passage rates; licensure; geographic area of practice; attainment and completion of a graduate medical education program; and AOA or ABMS board certification. ICOM publishes outcomes of student doctor performance in annual reports to the faculty and Board of Trustees. ICOM has adopted the following schema to determine grading.

For the first two years, most courses have a traditional letter grade (A, B, C, or F) and are calculated into the GPA.

Year 1 and 2 Preclinical Courses

Letter Grading

The grade a student doctor receives will be determined from their total points in accordance with the ICOM College Catalog. The student doctor’s final grade will be determined as a percentage of total points possible, as described in the table below.

Student doctors who have failed a course receive an “I” (Incomplete) grade until they successfully or unsuccessfully remediate the course. Students who successfully pass the remediation examination, as described in the course syllabus, will receive a “C*” grade. Alternatively, students who fail the remediation examination will receive an “F” grade.   

Incomplete grades (“I”) may also be issued for unforeseeable emergencies or extenuating circumstances that would, at a Course Director’s discretion, warrant additional time needed to complete a course. Upon completion of all course requirements, and/or at the deadline set forth by the Course Director, a grade change form will be submitted with the final course letter grade.

A student in good academic standing who withdraws from ICOM shall receive the designation “W” (withdraw passing) for each active course in which they were enrolled at the time of withdrawal. A student not in good academic standing who withdraws from ICOM shall receive the designation “WF” for each active course in which they were enrolled at the time of withdrawal. “In progress” (IP) courses that had not yet begun (short term) will be removed in totality from the academic record.

The PAR Committee may allow a student doctor to repeat a failed Gross Anatomy course with a course taken at another institution, when course equivalency has been established and that course has been deemed to have comparable and equal content to the ICOM Gross Anatomy course, as determined by the ICOM Anatomy Department. If a student doctor successfully passes the repeated course, a grade of F/C** designated as an approved grade replacement, will be entered as a final grade. A student doctor who does not successfully pass the repeated course will receive a grade of “F” for the course.

Pass/Fail Grading

The grade a student doctor receives will be determined from their total points in accordance with the ICOM College Catalog. The student doctor’s final grade will be determined as a percentage of total points possible, as described in the table below.

Student doctors receive an “I” (Incomplete) grade for failed courses in years 1 and 2, until they successfully or unsuccessfully remediate the course. Students who successfully pass the remediation examination or assignment, as described in the course syllabus, will receive a “P*” grade. Alternatively, students who fail the remediation examination will receive an “F” grade.

Incomplete grades (“I”) may also be issued for unforeseeable emergencies or extenuating circumstances that would, at a Course Director’s discretion, warrant additional time needed to complete a course. Upon completion of all course requirements, and/or at the deadline set forth by the Course Director, a grade change form will be submitted with the final course grade of “P” or “F.”

A student in good academic standing who withdraws from ICOM shall receive the designation “W” (withdraw passing) for each active course in which they were enrolled at the time of withdrawal. A student not in good academic standing who withdraws from ICOM shall receive the designation “WF” for each active course in which they were enrolled at the time of withdrawal. “In progress” (IP) courses that had not yet begun (short term) will be removed in totality from the academic record.

Year 3 and 4 Clinical Courses

Student doctors do not receive letter grades for any clinical courses. All courses are graded on a Pass/Fail basis, however, for clinical rotations which have an associated Clinical Subject COMAT, students can receive either an “HP” (High Pass), “H” (Honors), or “P” (Clinical Pass) grade based on their performance on the COMAT. 

For clinical rotations that include an end of rotation exam (COMAT), students who fail their COMAT are offered a chance at repeating this exam.  Students who are successful in passing the repeat COMAT exam will receive a P* on their transcript for this rotation.  Students who fail their second attempt at an end-of-rotation exam (COMAT) will receive a Failure (F) for this rotation. Failure of any clinical rotation will result in the student being referred to the PAR committee. Student doctors who fail a clinical rotation in years three and four may be offered the chance to remediate or repeat the clinical rotation, as outlined by the Clinical Clerkship Guide and/or the rotation syllabus. If the student doctor successfully remediates or repeats a rotation, the student doctor will receive a P*.  If the student does not successfully remediate or repeat a rotation, a grade of "F" is awarded and the student must appear before the PAR Committee. The details of how courses are graded during years 3 and 4 can be found in the annually updated Clinical Clerkship Guide and Rotation Manual.

Special Topics Courses and Enrichment Opportunity Courses

Special topics courses and enrichment opportunity courses throughout all four years are not credit-bearing, and do not contribute to a student’s GPA. These courses are graded on a P/F basis as outlined in each course syllabus. Enrichment opportunity courses are offered to facilitate student opportunities that otherwise do not fit into the category of special topics or credit-bearing courses (e.g., independent study and research opportunities). Upon successful completion of a special topics course or an enrichment opportunity course, the student will have the course listed on their transcript as “P” with zero credit hours earned. A student who does not fulfill the requirements for completing a special topics or enrichment opportunity course will be permitted to drop the course without penalty (i.e., no “I,” “W,” or “WF” grades will be applied). The course will be removed from their transcript.

Senior Associate Dean of Learner Outcomes & Assessments

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:

BOARD APPROVAL:

Effective: 10/16/19

Last Reviewed: 2/8/24

Review Requirement: 3 Years