All offers of admission to the COM are conditional on meeting additional pre-enrollment requirements. All admitted students must meet the following criteria and deadlines in order to enroll in the COM:
Matriculation Deadlines
- Deposits paid prior to January 1, 2024 must complete matriculation requirements by March 15, 2024
- Deposits paid between January 1 and February 28th, 2024 must complete matriculation requirements by April 15th
- Deposits paid between March 1 and April 30, 2024 must complete matriculation requirements by June 15th
- Deposits paid after May 1, 2024 must complete matriculation requirements within 30 days of depositing
Health Insurance
As an institution dedicated to the study of health care, CHSU places a great emphasis on personal health and well-being. The CHSU requires that all students be covered by a comprehensive medical and prescription drug insurance plan as required by the CHSU Student Health Insurance Policy.
Students may secure insurance through a variety of options including insurance through parents, spouses, or health exchanges. To ensure students have access to a comprehensive plan, CHSU has implemented a student health insurance plan through Aetna Health. Prior to matriculation, students must provide Proof of Health Insurance through the Health Insurance Waiver portal or enroll in CHSU’s Health Insurance.
Through a dedicated CHSU website, https://app.hsac.com/CHSU, students are able to learn more about the benefits of the plan as well as the waiver process.
Criminal Background Check and Drug Screening
Accepted students will complete their Criminal Background Check via the AACOMAS portal. AACOMAS representatives will communicate with Accepted Students via email.
CHSU-COM applicants are required to self-disclose any charges, arrests, or convictions including misdemeanors, felonies, deferred adjudications, traffic violations, court martial, military nonjudicial punishments and general or less than honorable discharge from the military, (all hereinafter: “offenses”) with the understanding that non-disclosure/falsification may result in the revocation of the offer of admission from CHSU.
If prior offenses are not reported but are discovered after matriculation, a student may receive sanctions up to, and including dismissal from the program. If a student has any offenses pending final adjudication, it is the student’s responsibility to immediately inform CHSU Office of Student Affairs.
Additionally, in response to requirements in the professional practice environment, and to minimize the risk to patients, a criminal background check (completed through AACOMAS) will be completed on all accepted applicants prior to matriculation, and on any student whose actions could potentially be considered a risk to others at any time.
Should any offenses, including deferred adjudications, occur after matriculation, the student must report the incident to CHSU Office of Student Affairs within 30 days of the incident. Following review, disciplinary action may be instituted, up to and including dismissal from the program.
Clinical education sites require students to undergo a criminal background check and drug screening prior to participation in clinical education curriculum. Therefore, all admitted students must successfully complete a criminal background check and drug screening prior to enrollment in the COM. In addition, students must be able to pass the requisite criminal background check, drug tests/screens, immunization/tests, as these may be required by either California law and/or California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine affiliated clinical sites and their accrediting and/or regulatory agencies.
Admitted students will need to complete both the criminal background check and the drug screening through a designated third-party agency. CHSU will provide all students the relevant information to be able to complete both the criminal background check and the drug screening. Once completed, the third-party agency will release the background check and drug screening results to the applicant and CHSU. The COM encourages all applicants with potential issues on their background checks to communicate with the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to determine if they will be eligible to receive licensure by that agency. The College cannot guarantee all admitted students will receive such license.
Acceptance to the program will become final once the Office of Admissions verifies that all required information has been received and that the outcome of the background check and the drug screening is satisfactory. After enrollment, background checks and drug screenings may be repeated for each student annually before the beginning of each academic year as needed to ensure eligibility for participation in experiential education curriculum. The cost of initial and repeat background checks and drug screenings is the responsibility of the admitted or enrolled student.
Background checks revealing prior criminal activity may result in consequences affecting clinical rotations, acceptance into residency programs, future licensing, specialty board certification, and/or employment opportunities.
CHSU-COM cannot be held accountable for the clinical facility declining the student. If a student cannot be placed successfully in a clinical setting and unable to complete rotations due to the inability to pass background check requirements, the student will not be able to meet the requirements for graduation.
Drug Screening
Pre-Matriculation
In response to requirements in the professional practice environment and to minimize the risk to patients, a controlled substance screening must be completed by all accepted applicants prior to matriculation. This screening must meet CHSU’s standards, and be conducted by an agency approved by CHSU.
Any substance-related incident which occurs before matriculation, including, but not limited to, charges/arrests for driving under the influence, must be reported by the student to the CHSU Office of Student Affairs within thirty (30) days of the occurrence. Following review, the student’s acceptance may be rescinded.
If the test result is positive (i.e. evidence of a controlled substance) or shows other abnormalities including, but not limited, to excessively dilute urine, the Office of Student Affairs along with members of CHSU Dean will review the test results and the application for admission.
Controlled substance screening results is viewed in light of California and federal laws governing illegal or controlled substances. Depending on the review by the Office of Student Affairs and the Dean the student’s acceptance may be rescinded.
Post-Matriculation
By accepting admission to CHSU and matriculating, the student agrees that CHSU-COM may share controlled substance screening results as deemed necessary. Any substance-related incident which occurs after matriculation, including, but not limited to, charges/arrests for driving under the influence, must be reported by the student to CHSU-COM’s Office of Student Affairs within thirty (30) days of the occurrence. Following review, disciplinary action may be instituted, up to and including dismissal from the program.
A controlled substance screening is required prior to starting clinical rotations, and all results are shared with the clinical sites. Additional screenings may be required, at any time, at the discretion of CHSU-COM or partnering institutions. CHSU has no control over the content of third-party background checks, which may include charges of driving under the influence. Even expunged records may appear on these checks. Background checks revealing prior Offenses, even Offenses which may have been dismissed by the courts, could still result in consequences affecting clinical rotations, acceptance into residency programs, future licensing, specialty board certification, and/or employment opportunities.
If the test result is positive (i.e. evidence of a controlled substance) or shows other abnormalities including, but not limited, to excessively dilute urine, the COM Office of Student Affairs along with the CHSU-COM clinical Dean will review the test results and if necessary, refer the student to the Student Progress Committee for adjudication.
Immunization Requirements
All deposited CHSU students are required to provide the following:
- Completed medical history form
- Proof of immunization
- Completed drug screen (as described above)
- Completed physical examination conducted by a licensed physician using a CHSU COM form.
Students must obtain all CSHU required immunizations and corresponding titers, prior to matriculation and remain compliant with all immunization requirements through graduation. Students must maintain all immunizations as required by CHSU- COM in order to complete all required supervised clinical practice experiences in the osteopathic medical program curriculum.
A complete description of all immunization requirements is available in the COM Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Admission. Details of what is required is also provided in the admissions webpage.
Entering OMS I (1st year) students who have not completed all CHSU-COM immunization requirements by October 1 may not be permitted to participate in the White Coat Ceremony and will be called to the Student Progress Committee for review and adjudication. In addition, non-compliance will result in the inability to participate in any laboratory activities (included but not limited to Early Learning Service Projects, Osteopathic Manipulation, Standardized Patient encounters, OSCE’s and Clinical Rotations).
All students must provide proof of adequate immunization/immunity for the following:
- TB test (completed within 6 months prior to matriculation)
- Tetanus toxoid immunization (Tdap)
- Hepatitis B virus
- Measles (Rubeola), Mumps and Rubella
- Varicella
- Influenza
- COVID
In some situations, clinical sites may have additional immunization requirements above those required by CHSU-COM.
CHSU-COM may revise the immunization requirements at any time as deemed necessary, and all students will be required to comply with subsequent changes.