For information regarding the UR SMD grading policies, please see the Medical Student Handbook Grading Policy Section.
What guidelines exist for the timing of assessment within courses?
Per the policy set at the June 14, 1999 Double Helix Curriculum Meeting:
Timing of Assessment
Some key features of the formative assessments:
Examination Assessment Preparation Guidelines
Students should be given their grades by the course directors directly either by mail or in person or they can be posted by student ID number. Never post student social security numbers.
The course directors should communicate final grades to students. Students must complete both a course and faculty assessment to receive their final grade for a course and until their assessment is received, an "I" will appear on the students transcript for the course.
EXAM REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
One of the important components of the new policy is monitoring the students’ exam performance. While the MSPRB in no way seeks to disrupt or usurp the role or authority of faculty in evaluating, monitoring and/or remediating student performance, it is concerned about putting in place a tracking system that will serve as an early warning system, for students who are experiencing academic difficulty. Consequently, each course director is required to submit the following information after each exam:
The raw exam performance data on all students, with the bottom 20% of the class along with the corresponding letter grade designated. The information should be forwarded to Beverly McChesney, preferably via e-mail, or on disk at box 601, using the Excel-based, grade rosters provided by the OME MIS Group. The exam performance should be sent to Ms. McChesney within 24 hours of the release of the grades to students.
The exam performance of the students in the bottom 20% will be tracked in the Student Affairs Office and shared with the appropriate Advisory Dean.
Advisory Status
Students who are in the bottom 20% on three or more consecutive exams or who earn one grade of Satisfactory Marginal or Fail will be placed on an "Advisory status". Advisory status is an intervention that provides special assistance to students via the Advisory Deans. Please note: Advisory Status is for internal tracking and support purposes. References to being on Advisory Status will not be included in any transcripts or external institutional documents. However, a record of the Advisory status will be maintained in the official non-circulating file in the Registrar's Office during the period of enrollment. All references to being on an Advisory status will be removed from the file upon graduating from the Medical School.
If the student’s performance is above the bottom 20% on three successive exams, he/she will be taken off Advisory status.
Copies of the final grades should be sent to the Registrar’s Office (Beverly McChesney).
In addition, the course directors are also asked to keep Dean Lee abreast of all concerns regarding inappropriate and/or unethical student behavior. Interpersonal behavior that cannot be adequately addressed within the context or time frame of a course will result in being placed on Advisory status until documentation of satisfactory behavior is available.
The course directors will be invited to attend the MSPRB meetings whenever performance in their courses is being discussed or whenever they can provide insight about a student whose performance is being discussed. For courses that have ended more than one week prior to an MSPRB meeting, Course Directors must submit final grades of courses to the Registrar no less than 72 hours before the next scheduled MSPRB meeting. Clerkship Directors must submit final grades to the Registrar within six weeks of completion of the clerkship.
The final grades should be sent to the Registrar’s Office (Carol Veltre) . For courses that end more than one week prior to a scheduled MSPRB meeting, the grades must be submitted not less than 72 hours before the MSPRB meeting.
MSPRB Meeting Schedule: See Student Course Schedule Booklet distributed by the CAO each year or contact the Student Services office
Other Academic Issues
Source: Medical Student Responsibility, Conduct & Academic Policies (MSRCAP) - See Student Handbook
Graduation of a student will be recommended by the MSPRB to MedSAC if he/she:
i) Has demonstrated the necessary ethical and professional qualities required of a physician,
ii) Has successfully completed and passed graduation requirements, including all required and elective courses and all required and elective clerkships taken by them.
Receipt of the diploma may be deferred by a period of one month if this additional time is required to complete these requirements. Students who can complete outstanding requirements within the one-month period will be permitted to participate in all commencement exercises. However, their diplomas will NOT be released until all graduation requirements have been completed.
When there are extenuating circumstances, students with more than one month of requirements may petition the MSPRB for permission to participate in the commencement exercises. If permission is granted, the students will be allowed to participate in all aspects of commencement.
However their names will NOT appear in the official graduation program, nor will their diplomas be released until all graduation requirements have been completed.
Within the grading policies set by the Curriculum Steering Committee, the assignment of grades to students is the authority and responsibility of course and clerkship directors. Stipulating how grades in individual courses should be remediated is also the responsibility of course and clerkship directors. It is the responsibility of each course director to communicate all marginal or failing grades to the students and the Registrar in a timely fashion. The Registrar will refer all such grades to the MSPRB chair/co-chair. The grading system to be applied is the responsibility of the Curriculum Steering Committee (another committee that reports to MedSAC). Course Directors may determine that a student meets most course requirements, but is slightly deficient in one or more areas, and that this deficiency may be remediated in a short time. In that instance, a grade of Pass Marginal (Pm) may be given. A grade of "Pass Marginal " must be remediated. The course director will develop a remediation plan and present it to the MSRPB for their approval. Once the deficiency has been remediated, the grade becomes Pass (P) on the permanent transcript.
A DHC course grade of "Fail" (F) can not be remediated. The course must be repeated. Successful completion of a failed course will be noted by a F/P on the student's permanent record. A grade of Incomplete (I) may be given if unfinished course work or requirements remain at the completion of a course. The notation of an Incomplete grade will be stricken from the permanent record, if it resulted from an illness or emergency. Otherwise, it will generally appear as I P, although it may be stricken at the discretion of the Course Director.
In the clinical clerkship grading system for the Classes up of 2002, grades of Poor and Fail must be remediated to a Satisfactory grade. A grade of Poor may be remediated by the student taking extra work during scheduled vacation time (at the discretion of the Course Director) in the deficient subject, and the grade of P/S will appear on the permanent transcript. Course failure in the clinical years will usually be remediated by re-taking the course during scheduled vacation time; the grade of F/S will appear on the student's transcript. (Note: a grade of Satisfactory (S) is the highest grade that can be assigned for any remediated or repeated course).
To provide a mechanism to identify Double Helix (Class of 2003 and higher) students who have significant deficiencies requiring remedial work but not needing to repeat the entire clerkship, the grade of Pass marginal (Pm) will be established. A Pass marginal can only be remediated to a grade of Pass, and must be remediated for promotion. Pass marginal will not appear on the final transcript, it is for internal tracking/monitoring purposes. In a typical year, 0-5% of students will achieve this grade. For the DHC clerkship grading system grades of Pass marginal (Pm) and Fail must be remediated to a grade of Pass. The grade of F/P will appear on the student's transcript. (Note: a grade of Pass (P) is the highest grade that can be assigned for any remediated or repeated course).
Clerkship directors retain the option of assigning grades of Incomplete (I) for students who are doing fully satisfactory work and who cannot complete the course requirements for compelling reasons. At the clerkship director's discretion, after the clerkship requirements are fulfilled, the Incomplete may remain on the transcript, be struck through next to the final grade, or may be removed from the transcript if the circumstances were beyond the student's control (e.g., health, an excused absence, personal emergency, etc.).
The MSPRB should monitor students' performance on USMLE I and II. In the event a student fails, the MSPRB is responsible for taking appropriate action (e.g., recommending tutoring, special course, or a Leave of Absence) to improve the student's performance.
All students who have not failed a course for the second time, and whose behavior has not been judged to be unprofessional, will be considered to be making satisfactory progress and will be considered in good standing. Satisfactory progress requires that a student complete all first year subjects during two full years as a matriculated student. Students must satisfactorily complete the first two years of course work during four calendar years as a matriculated student, and must take no longer than six calendar years as a matriculated student to complete the requirements for the M.D. degree. Time spent on Leave, as a Student Fellow, or in another degree program does not count in this calendar.
Students must receive fully Satisfactory grades in all courses before being promoted to the next level. Students may repeat a course, clerkship, or a year only once. If a student fails to earn full Satisfactory grades (S or Pass) in a re-taken course, clerkship, or entire year, the student will be dismissed from the school by the MSPRB.
Unless a student is considered by the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education to be a danger to patients or others, he/she may continue to attend classes and clerkships through his/her appeal of an adverse MSPRB action to the MedSAC Appeals Board if such an appeal is made by the student.
For courses that have ended more than one week prior to an MSPRB meeting, Course Directors must submit final grades of courses to the Registrar no less than 72 hours before the next scheduled MSPRB meeting. Clerkship Directors must submit final grades including written comments to the Registrar not later than four weeks after the end of the basic science block for each clerkship.
The final grades should be sent to the Registrar’s Office (Beverly McChesney) . For courses that end more than one week prior to a scheduled MSPRB meeting, the grades must be submitted not less than 72 hours before the MSPRB meeting.
Course rosters are distributed by the Registrar's office. If you need students randomly assigned to small groups, the Curricular Affairs Office can assist with this. Please note that PBL groups for all courses are pre-assigned by the OME for tracking purposes. Copies of these group assignments will be sent to course directors one month prior to the start of their course.