“If it says the student must know how to do a physical exam of the abdomen then the student needs to show us that,” Behrns said.

A few of the concerns also involve the school’s affiliation agreements, which aren’t specifically named. SLU has a partnership with SSM Health, which in 2015 acquired St. Louis University Hospital. Top leaders from SSM are aware of the probation.

Specifically, the accrediting group says SLU and its affiliates “do not share responsibility for the learning environment.” There are no periodic evaluations to better understand how well the learning environment is helping students understand professional standards. Evaluators also criticized the fact that students in clinical settings may be supervised by physicians who are not medical school faculty members.