I noticed that our school has changed the academic policy quite drastically some time during the middle of year in 2018. The school did have a change of power in academic affairs, so Im guessing the new boss wanted to make the adjustments. The school has a separate policy for folks graduating 2019-2021, but the 2022+ policy was highly modified. The incoming 2023 class will be affected by the new policy, but Im not sure why the school did not just make a new policy for 2023+ if they already have a separate policy for 2019-2021 class. So is it legal for them to change the policy for a currently enrolled class?
Can schools legally change the academic policy mid-year?
- Thread starter m3mann
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It's not especially nice to make major changes on a class that has already matriculated. But unless you signed anything while enrolling that said that a school can't change its policies after you matriculate, I find it highly unlikely that doing so would be illegal.
In any event, are you really going to sue your school over this to find out if it's illegal? Unless it's truly draconian, file this under stuff that isn't that big of a deal and move on.
In any event, are you really going to sue your school over this to find out if it's illegal? Unless it's truly draconian, file this under stuff that isn't that big of a deal and move on.
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No, it’s illegal. Call the police!
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They can change anything they want, anytime they want.
If you do not like it, I highly recommend your class of students bring it up with their student government. Perhaps you can negotiate a student position on the committee that your school has that makes these changes so that students can have some (likely minimal) input on future changes.
If you do not like it, I highly recommend your class of students bring it up with their student government. Perhaps you can negotiate a student position on the committee that your school has that makes these changes so that students can have some (likely minimal) input on future changes.
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As long as they follow policies, they can change policies. So yes, it's legal.
To quote a former Dean: No medical school has ever been successfully sued if it was shown that the actions were not arbitrary or capricious.
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Exactly. And if you read many of the judicial decisions handed down in these cases, it’s quickly apparent how no judge wants to step in and tell and entire institution that has been training doctors for decades that the judiciary now knows better how future physicians should be trained.
If a faculty experienced in teaching medical students decides to amend policies mid year, who am I to say they don’t know what they are doing? If I’m that uncomfortable saying such as a physician, you can be certain a judge who’s never set foot in medical school doesn’t want to make that assertion either.
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Doesn't mean ****
It does if they have voting privileges. Although I would say that, generally speaking, students do not understand the big picture when discussing policies.
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My school is very strict about not making policy changes during the class year. Our Dean has on several occasions denied faculty request to make changes to say grading, professionalism, or other policies.
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We have students as voting members on every academic committee. it's helped prevent a lot of blunders by well-meaning, but shortsighted Deans.
I definitely do think having students on any committee that discusses policies is important. I guess what I mean is that many students are irreverent to the mission of the school and are solely focused on residency placement and facilitating that placement.
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You can't sue just because they changed something on you, even if you think the change is unfair. If you think the new policy breaks a specific promise the school made to you then you could sue for breach of contract, eg if the new policy substantially changes your grades or makes you repeat a year or something you could potentially argue that this was not the contract that you agreed to when you paid tuition. But it's unlikely to be unsuccessful, would be expensive and likely not resolve in a timely manner, and word would get around and have a negative impact on your ability to match. So unless it's something really bad, it's not a great idea and you should just bite the bullet. If you think the policy is having a negative impact, better to file a complaint to the LCME.
