2024-2025 Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine Student Handbook and Academic Catalog

This Student Handbook and Academic Catalog is the official bulletin of the Kansas Health Science Center- Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KHSC-KansasCOM) and is intended to provide general information. The Student Handbook and Academic Catalog contains policies, regulations, procedures, and fee information effective July 1, 2024.  KHSC-KansasCOM reserves the right to make changes at any time to reflect current board practices, updates to administrative regulations and procedures, amendments by state and/or federal law, and fee changes.  Information provided in this document is subject to change without notice and does not constitute a contract between KHSC-KansasCOM and a student or an applicant for admission.  KHSC-KansasCOM is not responsible for any misrepresentation or provisions that may arise as a result of error in document preparation.

Students are responsible for observing the policies and regulations contained within the Student Handbook and Academic Catalog along with the online policy library.  This document does not contain all institutional policies for which a student may be responsible.  Other KHSC-KansasCOM sources for policies applicable to students may include, but not limited to, clinical education handbooks, the student intranet, and other designated locations.

Contact Information

Kansas Health Science Center-Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KHSC-KansasCOM)
217 E Douglas Avenue
Wichita, KS 67202
(316) 866.3482

Introduction

Institutional History

The Kansas Health Science Center (KHSC) is a non-profit organization established to create new and innovative means of preparing healthcare professionals who are uniquely equipped to transform modern healthcare delivery. 

Its historical roots began in 2017 when the Kansas Governor appointed a task force to deal with the increasing shortage of physicians in Kansas.  Simultaneously, the City of Wichita began efforts to revitalize downtown Wichita and saw the great opportunity of hosting the newest medical school in Kansas.  The proposed program began to move forward in 2018 when Kansas Health Science Center joins The Community Solution Education System, a non-profit system of higher education, to develop a plan for osteopathic training.   

The Kansas Health Science Center-Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KHSC-KansasCOM) has been awarded pre-accreditation status from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). Pre-accreditation status allowed KHSC-KansasCOM to enroll its inaugural class on August 1, 2022.

Board of Trustees

The Kansas Health Science Center Board of Trustees exercises fiduciary and strategic oversight of KHSC and acts to promote the best interests of KHSC and higher education.  It formulates and establishes the general, education and financial policies of KHSC in pursuit of its mission, vision and values.  A full listing of our Board of Trustees can be found here. 

Kansas Health Science Center Mission

KHSC is committed to providing exceptional programs that produce forward-thinking, empathetic health care leaders who are dedicated to innovation, research, and finding collective solutions to advance underserved communities.   

Kansas Health Science Center Vision

To positively transform communities through directly addressing the disparity in access to healthcare for Kansas and beyond.

Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine Mission

The Mission of the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is to train the Osteopathic physician of the future to provide effective, empathic, and innovative care to optimize the health of patients and their communities. 

Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine Vision

Utilize impactful educational methods and technology to train exceptional graduates that are known for service, empathy, and innovation to improve access to a highest standard of care for all.

Values

Diversity & Inclusion 

• Value differences and seek to understand before being understood. 
• Create a positive culture to safeguard equity, inclusion, dignity, and respect for all. 
• Strive to understand what other people are experiencing and use that understanding to solve problems and to drive positive change. 
• Act and lead in a manner that reflects inclusiveness, dignity, and respect for others. 
• Build a safe and inclusive environment that promotes diversity of ideas and people. 
• Solicit, seek, embrace, and adopt diverse thoughts and opinions. 
• Create a learning culture that promotes honesty, sincerity, reflection, awareness, and inquiry. 

Community 

• Overall health and well-being of a community, to which we are a part, is paramount. 
• Serve communities in which we work to the best of our ability.   
• Long-term community relations based on trust and promised action are essential. 

Humility 

• Act with civility 
• Treat people the way that you would want to be treated. 
• Approach difficult situations with respect and open-mindedness. 
• Build strong and healthy relationships with colleagues. 
• Be self-aware and admit mistakes. 
• Provide first-class stakeholder experience to all of those with whom you interact. 

Integrity

• Be responsible and do what you say you are going to do. 
• Act with honor and truthfulness. 
• Adhere to high standards of professionalism. 
• Consistently demonstrate ethical behavior in all interactions with employees, students, and external constituents. 
• Raise issues of concern in good faith. 
• Act as ambassadors at all times to ensure the positive reputation of the organization, its employees, and students.

Innovation

• Will embrace change when it holds the promise of a better future. 
• Work to create forward-thinking solutions. 
• Find ways to continuously improve what you are doing. 
• Identify and develop impactful technologies that improve the healthcare environment and/or student learning/patient/community outcomes. 
• Engage in quick experiments of evidence-based discovery that proves/disproves an outcome.  Learn quickly and pivot to a new change in direction based on outcome.  
• Experiments that disprove a hypothesis should not be seen as failure.  

Teamwork

• Create a learning culture that promotes honesty, sincerity, reflection, awareness, and inquiry. 
• Create a culture of community and connectedness, as that is vital to the health and well-being of all. 
• Collaborate with fellow colleagues with the goal of the team achieving success together. 
• Recognize the value in everyone you interact with and focus on improving the day for each person you encounter. 
• Listen to one another with respect. 
• Focus on shared goals and outcomes, not individual achievement.  
• Be accountable to one another and take personal responsibility for your part in a project/task. 
• Be inquisitive, share knowledge, seek input, and invite alternative opinions/hypotheses with the goal of improving product or outcomes. 
• Take a genuine interest in all others within and related to the organization. 

Excellence

• Excellence is paramount and we strive to evaluate, respond, adapt and seek to improve so as to best impact our community. 
• Strive to achieve the best outcomes in every detail and situation. 
• Create a responsibility culture and seek continuous quality improvement in all that you do.  
• Provide first-class service to all stakeholders.  
• Utilize innovation, data, and reflection to continuously improve what you are doing. 

Culture Statement

As the founding college of the Kansas Health Science Center, the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is dedicated to the practice of osteopathic medicine to improve patient wellness and health care, with special focus on Kansas communities that have been traditionally underserved. To that end, our team is passionate in their quest to prepare professionals of the future-empathetic osteopathic physicians who strive to connect with the human spirit of each patient they encounter - while using best practices in medicine to promote holistic wellness. 

Our learning environment is one of collegiality, collaboration, and mutual respect, grounded in a student-focused culture that fosters ongoing professional development, emphasizing intellectual curiosity, academic excellence and service to the greater good.  Our forward-thinking vision reflects the values set forth by both KHSC and KansasCOM and propels us forward as a leader in osteopathic medical education by leveraging the power of technology and continuous assessment.  We are focused on the importance of agility, which allows for meaningful improvement and enhancement of learning strategies necessary to achieve optimal student outcomes.

Diversity and Inclusion

KHSC-KansasCOM is deeply committed to cultivating diversity and inclusion on its campus and to challenging our students to embrace cultural proficiency and adeptness.  As future physicians, students must understand and embrace cultural diversity in order to be competent and successful in team-based healthcare delivery.  KHSC-KansasCOM's faculty and staff must do the same.  

KHSC-KansasCOM students and employees serve diverse, underserved, at-risk, urban and rural populations within geographically diverse communities within the State of Kansas and nationwide.  

Students wishing to know and understand more about KHSC-KansasCOM’s effort to cultivate diversity and inclusion on-campus can contact the Office of Student Affairs and Services.  

Accreditation, Approvals, and State Authorization

KHSC-KansasCOM has been granted pre-accreditation status from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). COCA is the accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (ED) for predoctoral education of osteopathic physicians in the United States.

Pre-accreditation, as distinct from full accreditation, permits the KHSC-KansasCOM to solicit applications and admit students, offer medical instruction within the approved osteopathic medical curriculum, and announce its pre-accreditation status. KHSC-KansasCOM can be considered for full accreditation status following the graduation of its first class, which it anticipates will occur in May 2026. The attainment of full accreditation status is subject to review and approval by the COCA.

Contact Information for COCA:

Secretary, Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation
American Osteopathic Association
142 Ontario Street
Chicago, IL. 60611-2864
(800) 621.1773 - Toll-Free
predoc@osteopathic.org

Kansas Health Science Center has obtained a “Certificate of Approval” from the Kansas Board of Regents, allowing it to legally operate a postsecondary educational institution in the state of Kansas.

Questions or concerns regarding KHSC’s approval by the Kansas Board of Regents should be directed to:

Kansas Board of Regents
1000 SW Jackson, Suite 520
Topeka, KS 66612-1368
(785) 430.4240