Syracuse, N.Y. -- An accrediting organization has put Upstate Medical University’s medical school on probation because of concerns over the school’s governance, curriculum and other issues.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education — LCME for short — had recommended last fall that Upstate be put on probation. Officials of the SUNY academic medical center formally appealed the recommendation last week.

LCME made its final decision Thursday to go ahead with the sanction.

In a letter posted today on Upstate’s website, Dr. David Duggan, interim dean of the medical school, said the school remains fully accredited and is well on its way to addressing the accrediting group’s concerns.

“The LCME decision was not based on any shortcomings in the quality of our medical students or their accomplishments,” Duggan said in the letter. “Our students score at or above the national average on licensure examinations and are much sought after for residency programs across the country.”

The LCME is the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to a medical degree in U.S. and Canadian schools. The group is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association.

Accreditation is important because it shows a medical school meets national standards. Graduating from an LCME-accredited school is a condition for a medical license in most states.

The LCME has become stricter in recent years and is taking more serious actions against schools it believes are not meeting standards. Five other medical schools are currently on probation. From 1996 to 2000 only three schools out of 108 schools reviewed were recommended for probation, according to a recent report published by the American Medical Association. Between 2004 and 2009, 10 schools were recommended for probation and the number of schools facing sanctions has continued to increase since then, the report said.

Schools placed on probation typically get two years to correct problems.

The San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in San Juan, Puerto Rico became the first medical school to lose its accreditation in June. Its accreditation was reinstated in November at an appeals hearing ordered by a federal court. The school remains on probation.

Upstate’s medical school has 640 students.

Letter by Upstate Medical University to medical school faculty, staff, students

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Upstate Medical University's medical school put on probation