Accreditation

Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) is fully accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

COCA is the only accrediting agency which is recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) for accrediting institutions regarding predoctoral education of osteopathic physicians in the United States.

Higher Learning Commission (HLC)

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Statement on Academic Professional Ethics

One of several requirements of COCA is that institutions adopt a statement on academic professional Ethics. The WVSOM Board of Governors approved this statement at its meeting on June 25, 2011. 

• Statement on Academic Professional Ethics

Accreditation

The Clinical Evaluation Center at West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine became the first center in West Virginia to be accredited by the Accreditation Council of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

The Society for Simulation in Healthcare is the largest healthcare simulation accrediting body in the world with over 100 accredited programs from 10 countries.

Professional Licensure Disclosure

Graduates from WVSOM with a D.O. degree meet the medical school education requirement for licensure of osteopathic physicians in all states in the United States. WVSOM students are eligible to sit for the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensure Examination (COMLEX) Level 1, Level 2-CE exams. WVSOM graduates are eligible to sit for the COMLEX Level 3 examination. To obtain licensure in the United States, all components of COMLEX must be successfully passed. In addition, all graduates must complete graduate medical education (residency) to become licensed to practice in the United States. Each student should check the specific requirements from the state’s licensing board from which they intend to seek a license.

National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA)

WVSOM is an approved member institution of NC-SARA, and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) is the Home State SARA Portal Entity for West Virginia. NC-SARA membership ensures that all distance students have access to a complaint process should they encounter issues that cannot be resolved within the academic institution in which they are enrolled.

Students with NC-SARA complaints may, after exhausting WVSOM’s internal complaint procedures set forth in WVSOM Institutional Policy ST-16: Student Complaints, contact the West Virginia HEPC for further investigation into the complaint.