Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine receives excellent accreditation evaluation
The final site inspection for full accreditation by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) ended with an outstanding exit conference for the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM).
“We were extremely pleased with the results announced in our exit conference,” said VCOM President Dr. Jim Wolfe.
According to Dean Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, the report by the site inspection team noted that VCOM met all standards and received three commendations.
“We are very proud to have gone through every step of the accreditation process, including this very significant phase, having received zero deficiencies,” said Tooke-Rawlins. “This is something which is a tribute to our faculty, students, staff and quality of instruction here at VCOM and unprecedented in the osteopathic medical profession.”
This site inspection marks the fifth in a series of yearly accreditation site visits by the COCA to the medical school. VCOM will graduate its first class of osteopathic graduates this June. Up to this point, VCOM, like any college at its stage of development, was eligible for annual provisional accreditation only, a status VCOM has held for four years.
In its exit conference, COCA site inspection team members complimented the mission of VCOM in addressing the medical shortage and needs of patients in Southwest Virginia. They also noted excellence in the faculty and students, and boasted of the modern facilities and the services provided to students. Three commendations were noted for VCOM’s research initiatives, grants development program, and its medical missions program.
VCOM, a collaborative partner of Virginia Tech, works with Virginia Tech in medical research and VCOM has developed a significant medical missions program both in rural areas of Southwestern Virginia, as well as internationally in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and El Salvador.
The site inspection team will provide its team recommendation to the COCA at its meeting in April. VCOM anticipates receiving official notification of its final full accreditation status on April 21, 2007.
The Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine prepares osteopathic primary care physicians to serve the rural and medically underserved areas of Virginia, North Carolina, and the remaining Appalachian region and provides scientific research that will improve the health of all humans. The college enrolled its inaugural class in August 2003 and will graduate its first class June 2, 2007.
The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation is the accrediting body for the nation’s 25 colleges of osteopathic medicine which operates 28 campuses.
