Standing Committees and Boards
The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) has numerous committees and boards encompassing administration, faculty and staff, students, and community members.
Purpose: The purpose of the Admissions Committee is to review and consider applicants for admission to the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine based on faculty interviews.
The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (ACOM) recently established advisory board offers a community leadership perspective to the ACOM Board of Directors concerning the strategic direction of the college and to serve as a liaison to the community.
Purpose: The purpose of the Affiliate Clinical Promotions Committee is to oversee all aspects of ACOM Affiliate Clinical Faculty promotions. The promotion of Affiliate Clinical Faculty is intended to recognize their tangible contributions to the teaching, scholarship, and service missions of ACOM.
Purpose: To facilitate an appeal of the actions or decisions outlined in the Academic Progress and Standing Report.
Purpose: The purpose of the Awards Committee is to oversee the selection process for awards presented to students, as well as to recognize outstanding achievements and contributions of faculty, staff, and alumni. The committee is responsible for identifying and selecting award recipients based on criteria that reflect excellence in academic performance, leadership, service, and professional accomplishments within the ACOM community. The committee ensures that the award selection process is fair, transparent, and aligned with the institution’s values and goals.
Purpose: The committee will ensure ACOM OMS-III and OMS-IV students reach the highest level of competitiveness in preparation for residency placement and performance.
Purpose: The purpose of the Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Rank is to consider faculty for recommendation of rank and promotion and assist faculty and administration with related activities.
Purpose: The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine Compliance and Policy Committee (“CPC”) assists ACOM in maintaining an effective compliance program by ensuring that College policies are reasonably designed, implemented, and generally effective in detecting and preventing risks or compliance violations. The CPC works collaboratively to ensure the coordination of compliance and policy activities across the College. The CPC will recommend necessary actions to promote a culture of ethical conduct and commitment to compliance with ACOM policies and with all laws, policies, and regulations.
Purpose: The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) Curriculum Committee (CC) will:
A. Evaluate the current curriculum for: 1. Curricular deficits. 2. Curricular redundancies. 3. Inadequacies of delivery. 4. Application of nationally accepted standards and best practices.
B. Establish curricular goals and data-driven endpoints unique to the ACOM community in light of regional and local interests as well as ACOM goals.
C. Establish procedures to evaluate the unique relationships of I.A. and I.B. as outlined above.
D. Facilitate implementation of curriculum content, timing, and delivery based on the forthcoming goals and endpoints.
Purpose: The purpose of the Faculty Handbook Committee is to review and revise the faculty handbook as needed.
Purpose: The Grievance Committee shall be utilized to review all grievances arising from a faculty member’s claim that an adverse action has been taken, affecting his/her term of appointment, promotion, or conditions of employment and which is (a) arbitrary and capricious; (b) discriminatory or otherwise in violation of the law; or (c) not in compliance with this Handbook or the Bylaws. In the case of an administrator who is also a faculty member, the review functions of the Grievance Procedure shall apply only to his/her faculty responsibilities. Failure to reappoint a faculty member at the end of his/her initial appointment shall not be subject to grievance. Resignations shall not be subject to the procedure.
Purpose: Through collaboration with key stakeholders, the committee will prioritize and allocate resources, evaluate technology investments, and recommend changes to the Information Systems infrastructure to support the school’s mission and strategic plan. The committee will also monitor emerging technologies and industry trends to ensure that the school remains competitive and up-to-date in the use of technology to enhance teaching, learning, research, and administration
Purpose: The committee will assess the safety of research involving biohazardous material.
Purpose:
The Institutional Diversity Council would function as an advisory council and recommending body to the Dean’s Cabinet and serve as a liaison to divisions across the College to promote awareness in the areas of diversity and inclusion. The Institutional Diversity Council advises the Dean’s Cabinet regarding ways to promote and maintain ACOM’s diverse population of students, faculty, and staff for the betterment and success of the College and its constituents.
Purpose:
The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) Institutional Review Board (IRB) functions to protect the rights and welfare of human research participants. The IRB reviews all research activities, regardless of funding, which involve human subjects for compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and institutional regulations, guidelines, and ethical research principles. All funded research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved under IRB procedures, prior to receiving funding. The IRB has the authority to approve, require modifications (to secure approval), and disapprove research proposals and to suspend or terminate research that is not conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or that has been associated with unexpected serious harm to subjects.
The committee will ensure ACOM OMS-I and OMS-II students reach the highest level of competitiveness in preparation for the Clinical years (OMSIII and OMSIV) and future residency placement and performance.
ACOM is committed to ensuring that its educational program occurs in professional, respectful, nondiscriminatory, and intellectually stimulating academic and clinical environments. ACOM also promotes students’ attainment of the osteopathic core competencies required of future osteopathic physicians. The purpose of the Professionalism and Ethics Committee is to ensure that the learning environment of ACOM’s osteopathic medical education program is conducive to the ongoing development of professional behaviors in its osteopathic medical students, faculty, and staff at all locations and is one in which all individuals are treated with respect. This includes exposure to aspects of patient safety, cultural competence, and interprofessional collaborative practice.
Purpose: The committee shall consider all matters pertaining to initiation, prioritizing, funding, the evaluating and auditing of intramural and extramural grant applications, post grant awards, funding opportunities, and community projects from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine. These matters shall consist of but not limited to faculty research, clinical research, drug trials, consortia projects both domestic and international, and community-oriented research with collaboration from members of the tri-state area.
The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine Strategic Plan Steering Committee (SPSC) assists ACOM in advancing and monitoring the Institutional Strategic Plan. The SPSC works collaboratively to provide support for and monitor the implementation and progress of the Institutional Strategic Plan. Committee members will serve as liaisons between the strategic planning process and the academic community, which principally will be the member’s division or department.
The purpose of the Subcommittee on Assessment, Evaluation, and Implementation (AEI) is to oversee all aspects of assessment and evaluation in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree program to implement best practices in testing and assessment throughout the undergraduate medical program.
The AEI supports the Curriculum Committee in fulfilling the charge in COCA standard 6.1 [“A COM must have in place a body (e.g., a faculty committee) that exercises collective responsibility for the education program as a whole, and has responsibility for the development, management, evaluation, and enhancement of the curriculum”].