Purpose and Authority
The purpose of this committee is to:
- Oversee the MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP), maintaining authority and responsibility for the overall curriculum design, management, integration, evaluation, and enhancement of a coherent and coordinated medical curriculum and program across all sites.
- Approve MDUP initiatives, and recommend to the Faculty Executive Committee initiatives also requiring Full Faculty and Senate approval.
- Ensure that the current MDUP and any future changes meet or exceed accreditation standards and can be feasibly implemented at all sites in a way that maintains comparability.
- Ensure educational objectives and exit competencies are being achieved and promote a positive learning environment.
Composition
This committee is composed of ex officio, elected, and appointed members.
The Faculty of Medicine’s commitment to equitable and diverse membership on its committees and advisory councils guides its nomination and selection process.
Voting Members
Ex officio
- Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education (chair) (1)
- Vice-Dean, Education (1)
- Assistant Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education (1)
- Senior Director, Education Programs and Services (1)
- Regional Associate Deans (4)
- Associate Dean, Fraser (1)
- Associate Dean, Student Affairs (1)
- Assistant Dean, Admissions (1)
- UGME Director of Assessment (1)
- UGME Director, Curriculum (1)
- UGME Associate Director of Curriculum, Years 1&2 (1)
- UGME Associate Director of Curriculum, Years 3&4 (1)
- Chair, Student Promotion and Review Board (1)
Elected
- Four Department Heads/School Directors (4)
- Two faculty members (one from each of foundational science and clinical disciplines) (2)
Appointed
- Four clinical faculty members (ensuring at least one from each program site) (4)
- Four MD students (ensuring at least one from each year and each program site) (4)
Non-voting Members
Ex officio
- Assistant Dean, Faculty Development (1)
- Faculty Lead, Quality Improvement and Accreditation (1)
- Director, Evaluation Studies (1)
- Administrative Manager, Fraser (1)
- Chair, Library Subcommittee (1)
- President, Medical Undergraduate Society, or delegate (1)
Appointed
- One member from Digital Solutions (1)
- One Administrative Director, rotating yearly among NMP, SMP, IMP, and VFMP (1)
Guests may be invited to join specific meetings or portions of specific meetings at the chair’s discretion.
Appointment Process
Ex officio members are members by virtue of their administrative appointment.
Elected members are elected by their peers through the annual process initiated by the Dean’s Office.
Appointed student members are appointed by the Medical Undergraduate Society (MUS) upon request from the Faculty of Medicine.
Other appointed members are appointed by the Dean through the annual process initiated by the Dean’s Office.
Term
Ex officio members are members as long as they hold their administrative appointment.
Appointed students are members for a one-year term and are eligible for renewal.
Other appointed members are members for a two-year term and are eligible for renewal.
Elected members are members for a two-year term and are eligible for renewal.
Chair
Chaired by the Associate Dean, UGME.
Meeting Schedule and Administration
Normally meets approximately every month and at the call of the chair.
All members are expected to attend all meetings in person or via videoconference or phone.
A staff member from the Office of the Associate Dean, UGME will capture meeting minutes. Minutes will be circulated to all members, as well as to the Medical Undergraduate Society President.
Records will be maintained in accordance with UBC and Faculty of Medicine records retention procedures.
Quorum and Decision Making Process
Quorum consists of 50% plus one of voting members.
Decisions are made by vote, requiring 50% plus one of voting members present to pass.
Lines of Accountability and Communication
This committee:
- Presents an annual report summarizing the year’s activities to the Faculty Executive Committee.
- Seeks advice from the Regional and Resource Advisory Council regarding feasibility based on resource availability, operability, and ability to implement in a way that maintains comparability across sites.
- Seeks input from the Department Heads and School Directors Committee before presenting recommendations to the Faculty Executive Committee, as appropriate.
- Makes recommendations to the Faculty Executive Committee regarding decisions that also require Full Faculty and Senate approval.
- May delegate responsibilities to subcommittees and/or a task force or working group to make recommendations on, or conduct, specific aspects of the committee’s mandate.
- Receives regular reports and recommendations from all of its subcommittees.
Representatives of this committee liaise with other academic and administrative committees and advisory councils, as needed.
Responsibilities
This committee:
General
- Is responsible for integrated institutional oversight of the MDUP and curriculum. Delegates operational responsibilities to subcommittees, which report regularly to the UGME Committee. Approves terms of reference for all of its subcommittees [8.1].
- Provides the common vision and oversees the strategic planning, policy development, implementation, management, and evaluation of the distributed MDUP.
- Establishes and regularly reviews and approves policies for UGME [1.3].
- Ensures that there is a communication strategy in place that allows UGME stakeholders easy and timely access to pertinent program information.
- Reviews its terms of reference on an approximately annual basis and recommends changes to the Faculty Executive Committee, as needed.
- Adheres to the FoM General Responsibilities of Standing Committees.
Curricular Management
- Oversees the process for curriculum design, review, revision, and monitoring for gaps and redundancies..
- Maintains independent oversight, authority, responsibility, and ownership of curriculum design, management, integration, evaluation, and enhancement across all sites.
- Reviews, approves, and recommends to the Faculty Executive Committee new courses and/or substantive changes to the MDUP that require Full Faculty and Senate approval.
- Approves and oversees the process and criteria for analyzing substantial changes to the curriculum that will have an impact on current and future students, finances, and resources.
- Centrally oversees education, curriculum content, and assessment at all sites to ensure comparability is maintained across all four years and all sites [8.7].
- Ensures the overall educational objectives and exit competencies of the MDUP are supported by the course and clerkship learning objectives, and are being disseminated and achieved [8.2, 6.1].
- Oversees and reviews periodically the objectives, content, pedagogy, and exit competencies of the MDUP curriculum and the implementation of pertinent changes [8.3].
- Through the appropriate individuals and subcommittees, is responsible for the detail of integrated design, content, sequencing, learning objectives for each required learning experience, instructional methods and evaluation of the individual learning experiences [8.3].
Student Assessment and Advancement
- Oversees the process that ensures student assessment is appropriately matched to curricular objectives and aligned with exit competencies [9.6].
- Regularly reviews the quality of student assessment, provides direction and feedback to the appropriate individual or subcommittee, and recommends to the Faculty Executive Committee any substantive changes to student assessment requiring Full Faculty and Senate approval [9.4].
- In collaboration with the Student Promotion and Review Board, ensures there is in place a fair and formal process for the assessment, advancement, and graduation of medical students, as well as for disciplinary actions [9.9].
- Review the process by which student scholarships and awards are assigned. Receives and reviews an annual summary of award funding from Student Affairs.
Teacher Assessment and Support
- Reviews aggregate teacher assessment data and reports from the Office of Faculty Development to ensure teaching in the MDUP is of high quality. [8.3]
- Collaborates with the Office of Faculty Development to enhance and improve the quality of faculty and residents teaching and assessment skills, including the Residents as Teachers program. [9.1]
Resource/Risk Management
- Considers resource requirements and implementation feasibility, based on advice from the Regional and Resource Advisory Council, before approving or advancing any proposal. Does not proceed with any proposal that is not feasible from a regional, operability, or resource perspective, unless the proposal also includes a reasonable path to make it feasible (e.g., a new funding source).
- Establishes and oversees a process for regular identification and resolution of key risks, considers impact on overall risk of all proposals, oversees the development of contingency plans, and ensures a structure is in place for communicating and resolving areas of risk with the appropriate internal and external stakeholders.
Quality Improvement Management
- Oversees the quality improvement program for UGME and ensures recommendations for improvement are implemented, in partnership with the Office of the Associate Dean, UGME [8.4, 8.5].
- Ensures that the MDUP meets or exceeds all accreditation standards, considers impact on accreditation of all proposals, and oversees the development of accreditation documentation and preparation for internal and external reviews and site visits.
- Oversees the development and implementation of action plans to address recommendations from accreditors.
- Reviews and approves evaluation reports on the MDUP and ensures program improvement recommendations are implemented by the appropriate individual, group, or subcommittee [8.4].
- Encourages and fosters innovation in the MDUP and in the dissemination of related data and findings. Approves and receives status reports on any new learning initiatives and pilots including opportunities for system and technological improvements.
Learning Environment
- Promotes a positive learning environment in all components of the MDUP and at all sites, by ensuring that all participants are aware of the policies and standards governing faculty/staff/students behaviours and interactions: UBC Respectful Environment Statement for Student, Faculty and Staff, and the Faculty of Medicine “Professional Standards” document [3.5].
- In collaboration with Student Affairs, ensures there is in place an effective system of academic and career advising [11.1].
Approval
This version of these terms of reference has been approved by the Faculty Executive Committee on November 8, 2022. Minor editorial changes to member titles approved by the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee on August 21, 2023
Version History
Terms of reference for the UGME Committee (formerly the Medical Undergraduate Education Committee) were:
- Approved by Faculty Executive Committee on November 8, 2022
- Revised by UGMEC on August 15, 2022
- Approved by Faculty Executive Committee on September 14, 2021
- Revised by UGMEC on August 16, 2021
- Approved by Faculty Executive Committee on September 17, 2019
- Updates endorsed by UGMEC on June 17, 2019
- Updates endorsed by UGMEC on April 23, 2018
- Approved by the Faculty of Medicine (Full Faculty) on November 14, 2017
- Approved by the Faculty Executive Committee on September 26, 2017
- Approved by Undergraduate Medical Education Executive on March 8, 2016
- Revised on November 5, 2015
- Received by Faculty Executive on September 15, 2015
- Approved by the Medical Undergraduate Regional Executive on July 28, 2015
- Approved by the Medical Undergraduate Regional Executive on February 24, 2015
Annual Reports
Undergraduate Medical Education Committee (UGMEC)
2018 – 2019 | 2020 – 2021 | 2022 – 2023