Committees

An objective of the Faculty of Medicine’s strategic plan, Building the Future, is to clarify governance accountabilities and simplify processes to enable effective and clear decision making pathways and operational efficiency. To advance this, we took a consultative approach to design the following renewed governance committee structure, which was approved by Faculty Executive, Full Faculty, and Senate in the fall of 2017.

Governance Committee Structure

Click the committees above to see their terms of reference. Scroll down for a list of these committees and their subcommittees

Academic Standing Committees

Reporting to the Faculty of Medicine (Full Faculty)

• Faculty Executive Committee

Reporting to the Faculty Executive Committee

• Graduate and Postdoctoral Education Committee
• Health Professions Programs Committee
• Postgraduate Medical Education Committee
• Professional Education Committee
• Research Committee
• Undergraduate Medical Education Committee

Back to top.

Academic and Administrative Standing Committee

Reporting to the Faculty Executive Committee and to the Dean

• Department Heads and School Directors Committee

Back to top.

Administrative Standing Committees

Reporting to the Dean via the Dean’s Executive Advisory Council

• Facilities and Capital Planning Committee
• Finance Committee
• Information Technology Committee
• Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee
• Organizational Development Committee

Reporting to the Dean

• Clinical Faculty Appointment and Promotion Appeals Committee
• Conflict of Interest/Conflict of Commitment Internal Review Committee
• Distributed Program Planning Committee
• Faculty Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee
• Nominating Committee
• Student Appeals Committee

Back to top.

Advisory Councils

Advising the Dean

• Clinical Faculty Advisory Council
• Dean’s Executive Advisory Council
• Medical Student Alumni Centres Advisory Council
• Dean’s Task Force on Respectful Environments

Back to top.

Academic Subcommittees / Advisory Councils

Reporting to the Postgraduate Medical Education Committee

• Postgraduate Medical Education Executive Subcommittee

Advising the Professional Education Committee

• Centre for Health Education Scholarship (CHES) Advisory Council
• Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Advisory Council
• Faculty Development Advisory Council
• Office of Education Innovation (OEI) Advisory Council

Advising the Research Committee

• Assistant and Associate Deans of Research Advisory Council
• Centre and Institute Directors Advisory Council

Reporting to / Advising the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee

**See a diagram of the UGME subcommittee structure here**

**Watch a video overview of the UGME subcommittee structure here**

• Curriculum Integration Advisory Council
• Learning Environment Advisory Council
• Library Subcommittee
• MD Admissions Subcommittee
  • Indigenous MD Admissions Subcommittee
  • MD/PhD Admissions Subcommittee
  • Northern and Rural MD Admissions Subcommittee
  • Black Student MD Admissions Subcommittee
• MDUP Awards Subcommittee
• Policy Advisory Subcommittee
• Regional and Resource Advisory Council
• Student Assessment Subcommittee
• Student Promotion and Review Board
  • Regional Student Promotions Subcommittees (IMP, NMP, SMP, VFMP)
• Student Transfer Subcommittee
• Year 1&2 Curriculum Subcommittee
• Years 1 and 2 Family Medicine Advisory Council
• Clinical Skills Advisory Council
• Year 3 Exceptional Site Placement Subcommittee
• Year 3&4 Curriculum Subcommittee
  • Integrated Community Clerkship Subcommittee
    • Integrated Community Clerkship Selection Subcommittee

Related to Undergraduate Medical Education

Back to top.

Administrative Subcommittees / Advisory Councils

Reporting to / Advising the Facilities and Capital Planning Committee

• Clinical Education Facilities Subcommittee

Reporting to the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee

• Local health and safety teams (contact your local health and safety team for its terms of reference)

Back to top.

Criteria for Standing Committees

Faculty of Medicine Standing Committees are:

• Focused on supporting the mission and strategic direction of the Faculty of Medicine;
• Responsible for a cross-departmental mandate;
• Accountable to the Faculty Executive Committee, Full Faculty, or to the Dean, Executive Vice Dean, or Executive Associate Dean;
• Intended to have a life of a minimum of five years (not temporary taskforce or ad hoc group);
• Made up of members who are elected, appointed, and/or ex officio; and
• Approved by the Faculty Executive Committee, Full Faculty, or the Dean, and seek approval for significant changes or dissolution.

Back to top.

Responsibilities for Standing Committees

Faculty of Medicine Standing Committees must:

• Advance the Faculty of Medicine’s mission and strategic direction;
• Act in accordance with their terms of reference;
• Review their terms of reference periodically (e.g., annually) and recommend any proposed changes to the committee or individual to whom they report (i.e., Faculty Executive Committee, Full Faculty, or the Dean);
• Submit and present a regular (typically annual) written report to the entity to whom they report;
• Participate in a review every five years by an ad hoc working group appointed by the Dean to ensure that they are current and relevant to the functioning of the Faculty;
• Follow the Faculty of Medicine’s records retention procedures; and
• Adhere to the Faculty of Medicine procedure for clinical faculty payment for participation on standing committees. 

Back to top.

Role of Chair

In general, the role of chair is to:

• Enforce and act in accordance with the committee’s terms of reference;
• Determine if quorum is present, if required, and open the meeting;
• Prepare and announce the agenda, including indicating whether each item is for discussion, decision, or information;
• Maintain an orderly discussion by inviting members to speak as appropriate;
• Communicate expectations of members;
• Adjourn the meeting when all business has been handled or when the scheduled end time is reached;
• Ensure that minutes are captured and circulated, and that members have an opportunity to request revisions;
• Follow up on action items to ensure that they have been completed and that the outcome is communicated to members, as needed;
• Ensure that actions, recommendations, and decisions of the committee are properly communicated to appropriate audiences, as needed; and
• Provide guidance and orientation to new committee members on their role.

Further, in most cases, the chair facilitates the role of the committee by guiding the conversation towards a group decision, drawing out different perspectives, and articulating conclusions by tying discussion threads together. Decisions are usually made by consensus; where consensus does not emerge, the group should still unite behind the outcome of the decision process.

In some cases, such as very formal committees like Full Faculty, the chair maintains order, enforces process, and ensures the committee completes its business appropriately, while remaining impartial to the outcome of decisions.

In the context of some Advisory Councils where the person to whom the council provides advice is also the chair, the chair seeks advice, input, and expertise from the group and considers it when making the decision.

To effectively implement the standardized chair roles, we must also ensure that all current and new chairs are introduced and oriented to their role.

Back to top.

Role of Member

For all committees, members are expected to commit to:

• Uphold the principles that underpin the Faculty of Medicine’s strategic plan: Excellence, Engagement, Equity, and Effectiveness;
• Act in the best interest of the committee and the Faculty of Medicine;
• Become familiar with the committee’s terms of reference and act in accordance with them;
• Attend scheduled committee meetings and arrive as prepared as possible (e.g., by reviewing materials in advance);
• Participate actively in committee meetings by engaging in respectful dialogue about the issues at hand;
• Openly expressing relevant opinions and perspectives, with a focus on enabling the committee to make informed recommendations or decisions;
• Support, or at least refraining from undermining, the outcome of a committee discussion, recommendation, or decision if proper process has been followed, even if the individual member does not agree;
• Declare any potential conflicts of interest to the chair of the committee;
• Obtain the chair’s approval prior to sending a delegate in place of a committee member; and
• Communicate committee discussion outcomes, as appropriate, while maintaining confidentiality, as required.

Back to top.

Updated July 18, 2024