Addresses

It is the responsibility of the student to keep the College, through the Office of Admissions and Student Services, up to date on their mailing address, phone number, and emergency contact information¹. Addresses, phone numbers, and emergency contact information can be changed in the student’s ASIST account. OMS-III and OMS-IV students must also notify the Office of Clinical Education of any changes in mailing address, phone number, or emergency contact information in addition to the Office of Admissions and Student Services. It is required that the appropriate office be notified of any changes within 30 days to ensure that the student is available for information and emergencies. It is the responsibility of the student to inform the Office of Admissions and Student Services of the address to be used during their vacation periods. Non- compliance may result in disciplinary action.

Dress Code

Dress is a personal form of expression, which conveys how we see ourselves in the world. There are times when a different standard of dress is required for different activities. The form of dress shows respect for the people with whom we interact, their perspective of the world, and the role we play within it. As professionals, students need to understand and respect that their manner of dress sends a message to patients and other professionals. At all times, all individuals in the LUCOM community, including students, faculty and staff, are expected to show good judgment in their attire and grooming. Generally, everyday attire should be neat, clean, and conservative, neither too tight, nor overly revealing. Shoes and socks/stockings should also be clean and appropriate.

Students must maintain a professional appearance appropriate for students attending medical school. Therefore, attire should be clean, neat, and convey a professional appearance whenever the student is on the main campus or at any off-campus educational site.

The dress code is to be maintained at all times on the campus, including but not limited to, the administration building, classrooms, library, standardized patient and small group facilities, laboratories, whenever school is in session, generally from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The dress code also applies to all areas involved in providing patient care including clinical rotations when the student is on duty. Those failing to comply may be dismissed from the classroom and/or the campus resulting in him/her being reported to the Associate Director of Student Services for appropriate disciplinary actions.

For all students, the University issued identification badge must be worn at all times in addition to the acceptable professional or business casual attire noted below:

For male students:

• Slacks or pants
• Shirt with collar
• Sweater or sweat-shirts over a collared shirt
• Suit or sports coat
• Business, dress, or athletic shoes

For female students:

• Slacks, pants, dress, or skirt
• Professionally appropriate blouse/sweater
• Sweater or sweat-shirt over a collared shirt
• Scarf
• Athletic, dress or business shoes

For Classrooms and Laboratories:

Dress standards will be established by course directors. Classroom attire should convey awareness that the medical student is entering a profession that is held in high regard by the members of the public. This is particularly important for the student as it conveys to faculty and others an understanding of the role they will assume as practicing physicians. If patients or the public are present during class, then a white coat is required for all students (this includes working with standardized patients in the simulation center.) Course directors have the discretion to institute specific requirements for other activities as deemed necessary for the course.

For Clinical Settings:

Professional activities, such as professional activities in all clinical settings, require formal professional dress that is standard clinical education practice in healthcare organizations. Unless otherwise specified, a short student-length white clinical coat as issued by LUCOM, nametag/name identification and LU issued ID badge will be required to be worn over standard professional dress while the student is on all LUCOM assigned clinical assignments in healthcare delivery settings when students are interacting with patients and supervised by attending clinical faculty. Students on clinical courses will comply with the dress code of the clinical site and OSHA standards. Students may wear scrubs if appropriate and approved by their preceptor. At no time should a student present to a clinical site in jeans, shorts, t-shirts, or other clothing that is detailed as inappropriate. If a course director, clinical supervisor, faculty, Director of Medical Education at a community-based site, or their designee observes a “violation” in this dress code, the individual student may be requested to leave the clinical setting and/or clinical site. When returning to the LUCOM campus, third- and fourth-year students are expected to comply with the LUCOM dress code as outlined in the LUCOM Student Handbook.

Casual Dress:

Casual dress is permitted in settings where the public is not expected to be present. Dress should be appropriate to the event or dictated by safety protocols and OSHA requirements. Such settings may include but are not limited to the following: research laboratories, study groups, club meetings, recreational and social events.

Dress Code Violations:

Students may not wear the following unless specified in the syllabus or required for laboratory experiences:

• Shorts or cutoffs
• Miniskirts
• Jeans or denim of any type (except on designated “Jean Day”)
• See-through clothing or halter tops
• Sandals, flip-flops, crocs, or any open-toed shoe
• T-shirts of any type may not be worn as the outer shirt
• Jogging, yoga, or other exercise clothing
• Inappropriately matched garments
• Garments with any offensive, suggestive, obscene, or unprofessional statements or gestures
• Hats, caps, or head coverings, other than religious cover, may not be worn in the classroom, laboratories, library, or other educational settings.

Scrubs may not be worn outside of the OMM, Anatomy or Clinical Medicine Laboratory.

Scrubs may not be worn on clinical rotations except on Surgery, OB, or ER unless directed by faculty or DSME.

Dress code violations will be reported by faculty and staff to the Office of Admissions and Student Services. The violations will be documented as follows.

Dress code violations reported from a student doctor about another student doctor will be reported to the Honor Court. Honor Court will notify Student Services of the violation so that it can be documented and addressed as follows:

• First violation: address in meeting with the Associate Director of Student Services
• Second violation: address with Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Life or designee
• Third violation: student is reported to Student Progress Committee

Acceptable use of Computing Resources

This policy provides guidelines for the appropriate and inappropriate use of the computing resources of LUCOM². It applies to all users of the College's computing resources including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests of the College. Computing resources include all computers, related equipment, software, data, and local area networks for which the College is responsible as well as networks throughout the world to which the University provides computer access.

The computing resources of LUCOM are intended to be used for its programs of instruction and research and to conduct the legitimate business of the College. All users must have proper authorization for the use of the College's computing resources. Users are responsible for seeing that these computing resources are used in an effective, ethical, and legal manner. Users must apply standards of normal academic and professional ethics and considerate conduct to their use of the University/College's computing resources. Users must be aware of the legal and moral responsibility for ethical conduct in the use of computing resources. Users have a responsibility not to abuse the network and resources, and to respect the privacy, copyrights, and intellectual property rights of others.

In addition to the policy contained herein, usage must be in accordance with applicable University Policies and applicable State and Federal laws.

Policy violations generally fall into five categories that involve the use of computing resources:

1. for purposes other than the University/College's programs of instruction and research and the legitimate business of the University/College
2. to harass, threaten or otherwise cause harm to specific individuals or classes of individuals
3. to impede, interfere with, impair, or otherwise cause harm to the activities of others
4. to download, post or install to University computers, or transport across University networks, material that is illegal, proprietary, in violation of license agreements, in violation of copyrights, in violation of University contracts, or otherwise damaging to the University
5. to recklessly or maliciously interfere with or damage computer or network resources or computer data, files, or other information

Examples of policy violations include, but are not limited to:

• using computer resources for personal reasons
• sending Email on matters not concerning the legitimate business of the University/College
• sending an individual or group repeated and unwanted (harassing) Email or using Email to threaten someone
• accessing, or attempting to access, another individual's data or information without proper authorization (e.g. using another's computing account and password to look at their personal information)
• propagating electronic chain mail, pyramid schemes, or sending forged or falsified Email
• obtaining, possessing, using, or attempting to use someone else's password regardless of how the password was obtained
• copying a graphical image from a Website without permission
• posting a University site-licensed program to a public bulletin board
• using illegally obtained licensed data/software, or using licensed data/software in violation of their licenses or purchase agreements
• releasing a virus, worm, or other program that damages or otherwise harms a system or network preventing others from accessing services
• attempting to tamper with or obstruct the operation of LU's computer systems or networks
• using or attempting to use LU's computer systems or networks as a means for the unauthorized access to computer systems or networks outside the University
• improper peer-to-peer file sharing
• viewing, distributing, downloading, posting or transporting child or any pornography via the Web, including sexually explicit material for personal use that is not required for educational purposes
• using University resources for unauthorized purposes (e.g. using personal computers connected to the campus network to set up web servers for illegal, commercial, or profit- making purposes)
• violating Federal copyright laws or the LU copyright policy

Inappropriate conduct and violations of this policy will be addressed by the appropriate procedures and agents (e.g., the Office of the Dean, the Office of the Vice President and Provost for Academic Affairs, or the Office of Human Resources) depending on the individual's affiliation to the University. In cases where a user violates any of the terms of this policy, the University/College may, in addition to other remedies, temporarily or permanently deny access to any and all LU computing resources, and appropriate disciplinary actions may be taken, up to and including dismissal.

Access to Computer Account

LU requires students to hold and maintain one official University computer account³ that is used to access major computing resources, including electronic mail. These University-assigned computer accounts correspond directly to LU email addresses (see below). All official electronic mail communications directed to LUCOM students will be sent exclusively to LU-assigned computer accounts to ensure timely and accurate delivery information. LUCOM students may forward their LU generated email to external locations, but do so at their own risk.

Relationship between LU computer account and email address:

If your assigned username is janedoe your email address will be janedoe@liberty.edu

Note: A computer account may also be referred to as an email name or a username.

Web Pages—Use of Material

You should assume that materials you find on the Web are copyrighted unless a disclaimer or waiver is expressly stated. You may not place any materials owned by others (i.e., copyrighted works) on your Web pages(s) without the expressed permission of the copyright owner (examples: graphic images from other Web pages, articles, video, audio, photographs, software, or images scanned from published works). You may include short quotations of text provided you identify in an obvious way (e.g., in a footnote) the author and the work from which the quotation is taken. If you want to include something from another Web page in one of your Web pages, then link to it rather than copy it. The occurrence of plagiarism on your Web page is subject to the same sanctions as apply to plagiarism in any other media.

Images in the LU graphics repository may be used on Web pages without permission. Clip art images provided with licensed software may be used if permitted in the license agreement for such software. You may not place any pictures or videos of people on a Web page without the expressed permission of the people in the picture or video. Every person has the right to privacy, which includes the right to restrict the use of their own image. In addition, the picture or video may be protected by copyright.

If you have received formal permission to use material owned by another, place the following suggested notice on the page that contains the copied material: Copyright 2005 by (name of the copyright owner). Used with permission.

Although a copyright notice is not required to assert a student’s rights to their own original material, a student may want to include a minimal notice of copyright in a Web page footer when appropriate. When used, the suggested copyright notice should appear as follows:

Web pages: Copyright 2005 (your name). All rights reserved.

Organization Web pages (examples): Copyright 2005 Cornell Law Review. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2005 The Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences. All Rights Reserved.

Policy for Use of Mobile Technology in Patient Care Areas

Students are expected to act appropriately and professionally in all learning and clinical settings⁴. The use of mobile devices may be appropriate, if respect for colleagues, faculty, the medical team and patients is observed, and clinical faculty supervisors permit the use of mobile devices in the context of the patient care being provided in the healthcare delivery system.  Students should seek clarification from faculty and their clinical supervisors related to the use of mobile technology and when devices can be used and must always comply with local clinical and hospital policies that will further define any permitted use of devices. Students are not permitted to use photography or videography in patient care or clinical settings.

During lectures, conferences, and patient care activities students should:

1. Turn all electronic devices including cell phones to silent/vibrate.
2. Refrain from text messaging, checking email, talking on the phone, using photography or videography or using the internet.

Social Media

Goal: To provide guidelines outlining how Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) student-doctors should interact on social media, both professionally and personally, as they represent the COM⁵. Conduct should be positive and productive and protects the future goals of the institution and the future of the students.

The administration of LUCOM recognizes that social networking websites and applications, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are an important and timely means of communication. However, students who use these websites and other applications must be aware of the critical importance of privatizing their web sites so that only trustworthy “friends” have access to the websites/applications. They must also be aware that posting certain information is illegal. Violation of existing statutes and administrative regulations may expose the offender to criminal and civil liability, and the punishment for violations may include fines and imprisonment. Offenders also may be subject to adverse academic actions that range from a letter of reprimand to probation to dismissal from school.

Students must be thoughtful about how they present themselves in online networks. By virtue of self-identifying in such a network, students must be aware of how they are viewed by their peers, Liberty University (LU) and the LUCOM student body, its faculty and staff, future residency directors, future employers, and others who would be aware of their connection to the College.

LUCOM reserves the right to consider how a student presents themselves in online networks as a part of deciding whether or not that person is of appropriate ethical behavior for the institution or whether or not the person represents a threat to any student, staff member, faculty member, or administration member.

LUCOM offers the support of the institution in defining appropriate social media as a tool in communication goals, providing social computing guidelines for LUCOM students engaging in online discourse and identifying themselves with LUCOM.

The remainder of the policy below is not intended for internet activities that do not associate or identify a student with LUCOM, do not use LUCOM email addresses, do not discuss an affiliation of any type with LUCOM (on any location), and are purely about personal matters.

Definitions

1. Administrator and Owner. LUCOM Marketing will be the administrator and owner of official online social media platforms and groups that represent LUCOM. Students are not permitted to create their own social media pages, groups, handles, etc., that reflects an official connection/affiliation to the COM. Student organizations are invited to have their own private Facebook groups by official request and documentation; the director of LUCOM Marketing and the director of LUCOM Student Life will serve as administrators to said groups, with student organization leadership listed as moderators.
2. Content Moderators. Assigned by LUCOM Marketing/Student Services for moderating comments and postings by internal and external users, including deleting comments and posting that do not meet the criteria set forth in this policy.
3. Official Communication. Email serves as the official academic communication platform, social media posts may mirror said communication but will not replace it.

Social Media Platforms. Technology tools and online spaces for integrating and sharing user- generated content in order to engage constituencies in conversations and allow them to participate in content and community creation. Examples are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Official Institutional Web Communications

Because of the emerging nature of social media platforms these guidelines do not attempt to name every current and emerging platform. Rather, they apply to those cited and any other online platform available and emerging including social networking sites and sites with user-generated content. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• iTunes
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Blogs
• Social media content that is hosted internally and protected

Institutional representation via online social media platforms can only be initiated and authorized through the efforts of LUCOM Marketing. There can be no official LUCOM sites or pages on the Web, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. unless they are developed by or authorized by LUCOM.

Any sites or pages existing without prior authorization as required above will be subject to review when discovered and may be requested to be closed and/or removed.

Guidelines for Online Professional or Personal Activity

Online social media allow LUCOM faculty, staff, and students to engage in professional and personal conversations. These guidelines apply to students who identify themselves with LUCOM and/or use their LUCOM email address in social media platforms such as professional society blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. for deliberate professional engagement or casual conversation. These guidelines apply to private and password protected social media platforms as well as to open social platforms.

All professional and personal social media activity by students who use LUCOM or identify themselves with LUCOM must:

• Follow the LUCOM policies on professionalism and ethics standards
• Comply with all HIPAA, Conflict of Interest Policy, and Privacy policies of the College
• Not reveal proprietary financial information, violate intellectual property rights, or discuss patient care or similar sensitive or private content.
• When students identify themselves as a member of the LUCOM student body in any online forum and/or use their LUCOM email address, students must clarify that they are not speaking for LUCOM, what they stated is representative of their individual personal views and opinions and not necessarily the views and opinions of LUCOM. This statement however does not wave the responsibilities outlined above.

Offers to pay students for participating in online forums in their LUCOM role, offers advertising for pay and/or for endorsement, could constitute conflict of interest and are prohibited per LUCOM policies and guidelines.

All communications and/or requests from public and/or professional media and/or press to members of the student body requesting comments from LUCOM about policy, procedures, news stories, etc. are to be directed to LUCOM Marketing.

Violation of any of the above policies may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the COM.

This social media policy is extended to personal activity and/or professional activity where the student identifies him/herself as a LUCOM student either through a bio, comments, or by using their LUCOM email address. The following disclaimer should be added whenever you identify yourself as part of LUCOM while not officially acting on behalf of the College or University: The views and opinions expressed here are personal and not necessarily those of Liberty University or LUCOM, and in addition may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Additional Information

More information can be found on Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine website.

Academic documents and forms can be found on the LUCOM website.

---