Faculty & Staff

Curriculum Committee

Purpose

The Curriculum Committee has the central authority over the medical education program. The committee is charged to oversee the medical education program as a whole and has responsibility for the overall design, management, integration, evaluation, and enhancement of a coherent and coordinated medical curriculum leading to the MD degree. The committee includes faculty, students, and administration who collaborate in the best interest of our school, our students, our community and other stakeholders. It reports findings to the Dean through the Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs with regard to the overall design, management and evaluation of a coherent and coordinated curriculum.

Membership

The Dean of the School of Medicine appoints the membership and the committee chair on an annual basis. The membership
shall consist of:

  • Faculty course directors from all of the required courses in the pre-clerkship phase of the curriculum;
  • Two 1st-year student representatives;
  • Two 2nd-year student representatives;
  • One 3rd-year student representative from each of the clinical campuses (3);
  • One 4th-year student representative from each of the clinical campuses (3);
  • Faculty directors from of the required clerkships and rotations in the clerkship/rotation phase of the curriculum across
    campuses;
  • Curricular “thread” directors representing all of the threads approved by the curriculum committee.
  • At-Large faculty members who have voiced an interest in serving on the committee may self-nominate for membership and be considered for appointment by the Dean; and,
  • Administrators and staff representing units that play a role in the education of students.

A quorum for the Curriculum Committee is defined as having at least 15 members present for a meeting. Attendance is monitored and taken at each meeting and reported in the minutes. Each faculty member and student representative has one vote. The Curriculum Committee approves or adopts actions with a vote that represents a simple majority.

Student representatives are appointed by the Vice Dean for Education and the Associate Dean for Student Services and Curriculum. Student members may self-nominate by relaying a written request to the Associate Dean for Student Services and Curriculum. Students who are selected must remain enrolled and remain in good academic and professional standing to remain
on the committee.

There are no term limits for faculty and administration representatives. Course/clerkship/rotation directors and curriculum thread directors are appointed to the committee as ex-officio voting members Calls are communicated to faculty (e.g., spring faculty meeting) to self-nominate to serve as at-large members on the committee. Department Chairs may also nominate faculty to serve as at-large member. Nominations are considered and representatives are appointed to the committee through agreement by the Dean, Vice Dean for Education and the Associate Dean for Student Services and Curriculum. The Chair of the Curriculum Committee must be a faculty member and is appointed by and serves at the discretion of the Dean.

Duties and Responsibilities

The general duties regularly performed each year are consistent with leading, directing, controlling, planning, evaluating and reporting curriculum management. The agenda outlining specific tasks to be accomplished is stated at the beginning of each academic year. The duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Reviews and evaluates the constructive alignment of the six core competencies with appropriate learning events and
    assessment methods.
  • On an annual basis, approves learning objectives that are stated in outcomes-based terms that align with the program
    learning objectives for all courses, clerkships and rotations.
  • Evaluates the curriculum as a whole, including the pre-clerkship and clerkship/rotation phases of the curriculum, by
    aggregating data of outcome measures (nationally standardized assessments/surveys, internally-developed assessments,
    entering class demographics, match results and residency directors’ evaluations of graduates), evaluating the results, and
    taking appropriate actions based on the evaluations.
  • Utilizes curriculum mapping tools to monitor the horizontal and vertical integration of curriculum content, and
    determines whether sufficient content is included and appropriately placed in the curriculum related to each of the
    medical education program objectives.
  • Monitors the identification of omissions, redundancies and congruence of learning material.
  • Approves or rejects proposed curriculum tracks and threads.
  • Recommends or requires modifications based on the Assessment Subcommittee internal review and quality assessment of
    courses, clerkships, rotations, curriculum tracks and threads.
  • Judges the quality of elective proposals and approves or disapproves their inclusion in the elective catalog;
  • Monitors and evaluates the curriculum, including comparable educational experiences and equivalent assessment
    methods across the instructional sites and clinical campuses.
  • Provides expertise and resources to encourage innovations in curricular design, instruction and assessment methods.
  • Assigns ad-hoc groups to target specific tasks, such as revisit and modify the organization and charters of subcommittees
    of the curriculum committee.
  • Monitors and responds to students’ and our academic community’s concerns about the curriculum and the learning
    environment.
  • Approves major curriculum modifications and new or modified courses, clerkships and rotations.

Meetings

Meetings are generally held the first Monday of each month (Schedule changes will be provided in advance to Committee members). The other clinical campuses and divisions are connected via video conferencing for the meetings. Minutes of the meetings and other Curriculum Committee resources are kept on file in the Department of Medical Education and on the MD Curriculum Committee webpage in SOLE.

Organization

The Curriculum Committee has final authority and oversight to review and approve program learning objectives, determine curricular “threads,” ensure the use of appropriate instructional/assessment methods in the curriculum, approve curriculum tracks, ensure the longitudinal and vertical integration of curricular content throughout the curriculum, and monitor the overall quality of courses and clerkships. Accordingly, course/clerkship/rotation director subcommittees, the assessment subcommittee and the curriculum inventory management subcommittee report to the curriculum committee.