George Washington University's medical school has been given 24 months to get off of probation by its accrediting association, according to the school's Web site.
The school is the only medical school currently on probation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).
The order came in mid-October as the school was found to be deficient in "curriculum management, lounge and study space for students and internal administrative processes." While on probationary status, the medical school will remain fully accredited.
"Overall, there have been expressions of support and understanding that these issues are serious and will be fully addressed," said Deborah Hudson, assistant vice president of Media Communications and Marketing at GWU.
As for the students, Hudson senses a wide variety of reactions, ranging from concern to support to offers of help.
The school readily accepts the need to remedy the LCME's concerns and will work promptly and diligently to do so," Hudson said.
According to the LCME Web site, accreditation is necessary for medical schools to receive federal grants and benefit from federal loan programs. If the school fails to correct its issues within the 24-month period allocated, it can lose its accreditation. To date, no medical school in the United States has lost accreditation, but it is possible.
Committee Secretary Dan Hunt, M.D., MBA, characterizes loss of accreditation as "a prettybig deal, it puts them [the medical school] out of business."
Contrary to what has been circulating around, Hunt said GWU's medical school is actually the 6th school since 1994 to have been placed on probation by the LCME.
He said each time a school has been placed on probation, they have produced a positive response and end up becoming much stronger because of it.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!