Oregon · Health Sciences Institution
Oregon Health & Science University Student Conduct & Academic Misconduct Defense
Facing a School-Specific Progress & Conduct Committees proceeding? AdvocatED advisors know OHSU's specific process, not generic advice, but guidance built around how your institution actually works.
⏱ At OHSU, professionalism and progress findings become part of a permanent record that follows you to licensing boards, and appeals to the Provost are limited to narrow procedural grounds — not a re-hearing of the facts. The strongest opportunity to shape the outcome is at the school committee stage, so involve us as early as possible.
If you just received notice
What to do right now at OHSU
- 1Note the exact date on your notice letter and calendar every deadline it lists. OHSU's response and appeal windows are short, and missing one forecloses your options.
- 2Do not respond substantively yet. Before you reply to the School-Specific Progress & Conduct Committees, read OHSU Code of Conduct + Chapter 2 Student-Affairs Policies (02-30-050) so you know the specific procedure that applies to your case.
- 3Preserve everything related to the allegation: emails, drafts, timestamps, citations, and messages with classmates. This evidence often decides the case.
- 4Confirm your right to an advisor. Most schools, including Oregon Health & Science University, allow you to bring an advisor to a School-Specific Progress & Conduct Committees proceeding. AdvocatED can serve in that role.
- 5Contact AdvocatED for a free case review before your OHSU meeting. We will explain how the School-Specific Progress & Conduct Committees approaches cases like yours and what response gives you the strongest position.
Oregon Health & Science University's Academic Integrity & Conduct Process
OHSU has no single university-wide conduct tribunal. Each school runs its own body — the Medical Student Progress Board (MD), a Graduate Council Course of Action Committee (SOM graduate studies), the Student Progress Review Committee (Nursing), and the Student Performance Committee (Dentistry) — beneath a university-wide Code of Conduct and Chapter 2 student-affairs policies. Suspension and dismissal decisions are made by each school's dean, and final appeals go to the OHSU Provost on three narrow procedural grounds.
This specific institutional knowledge is what separates AdvocatED from generic advisors. We provide guidance tailored to how OHSU's actual process works, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Key Things to Know About OHSU's School-Specific Progress & Conduct Committees
- →No single conduct tribunal — each school (medicine, nursing, dentistry, graduate studies) runs its own committee
- →Suspension and dismissal are decided by the school's dean; in most schools the committee only recommends
- →Final appeals go to the OHSU Provost under Policy 02-30-050 on three narrow grounds: procedural error, new material information, or conflict with law or OHSU policy
- →The SOM graduate professional-conduct policy uses the preponderance standard; other schools decide by majority committee vote
- →Professionalism is adjudicated alongside academics (Professionalism Concern Report in medicine; Honor Code and Professionalism Monitoring Form in dentistry)
- →The PharmD is a joint OSU–OHSU program governed largely by Oregon State University's rules, not OHSU's conduct process
How AdvocatED Helps OHSU Students
Academic Misconduct Defense
OHSU Code of Conduct + Chapter 2 Student-Affairs Policies (02-30-050) violations, plagiarism, cheating, AI use, collaboration issues
Learn more →Conduct Hearing Preparation
Coaching and preparation for presenting your case before School-Specific Progress & Conduct Committees
Learn more →Academic Dismissal Appeals
Building a compelling appeal through OHSU's appeals process
Learn more →Title IX Defense
Navigating Oregon Health & Science University's Title IX investigation and hearing procedures
Learn more →Medical School Defense
OHSU Medical Student Progress Board (MSPB)
Learn more →OHSU Resources & Guides
Frequently Asked Questions: OHSU Students
Which OHSU body will hear my case?
It depends entirely on your school. Medical students go before the Medical Student Progress Board (MSPB); SOM graduate students before a Graduate Council Course of Action Committee; nursing students before the Student Progress Review Committee (SPRC); and dental students before the Student Performance Committee (SPC). Each has different composition, timelines, and rules — there is no one-size-fits-all OHSU process, so the defense has to be built for your specific committee.
Who can suspend or dismiss me at OHSU?
In most schools the committee only recommends; the school's dean makes the actual suspension or dismissal decision (the Dean of the School of Medicine, for example, gives final approval on MD dismissals). Because the committee's recommendation heavily shapes what the dean does, the committee hearing is the pivotal moment — which is why preparation at that stage matters most.
What standard of proof does OHSU use?
It varies by school. The School of Medicine's graduate professional-conduct policy expressly uses the preponderance-of-the-evidence ('more likely than not') standard. Other schools — MD, nursing, dentistry — decide by majority vote of the committee without a single published proof standard for the merits. We do not assume a standard that a given school hasn't stated; we hold each committee to its own written rules.
Can I appeal an OHSU dismissal?
Yes — final suspension and dismissal decisions can be appealed to the OHSU Provost under Policy 02-30-050, but only on three narrow grounds: the school failed to follow its procedures and that prejudiced you, genuinely new material information has emerged, or the decision conflicts with applicable law or OHSU policy. It is a process review, not a re-argument of the facts, and the Provost's decision is final. We frame appeals squarely around those grounds.
Can I bring an attorney to an OHSU hearing?
You may bring an attorney as an advisor, but you generally must give advance notice (five business days in several schools), and the attorney typically may not actively address the committee except at the chair's invitation. In practice the attorney's value is in preparation and strategy behind the scenes. We prepare students to present their own case effectively within that limitation.
I'm a pharmacy student — does OHSU handle my case?
Probably not directly. OHSU's PharmD is a joint program with Oregon State University, and academic standing, progression, and conduct are governed largely by OSU's College of Pharmacy handbook and OSU student-conduct rules — not OHSU's committees. The first step in a pharmacy case is confirming which institution's process actually applies, because it changes the rules, the deadlines, and the appeal path. We sort that out immediately.
Related guides for OHSU students
Topic-specific guides that cover the situations OHSU students most commonly face.
Facing a OHSU Conduct Issue?
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