Academic Progress and Graduation
University Policy
To obtain a bachelor’s degree, most students must have completed a minimum of 128 credits and 32 courses. As a guide for completing the four-year undergraduate program, students should keep in mind that sophomore status usually is attained by satisfactorily completing 32 credits of coursework; junior status, 64 credits; senior status, 96 credits. The number may vary depending on the college of enrollment.
The individual schools and colleges of the University have specific academic requirements and standards for determining satisfactory completion of a program of study (e.g., grades, concentrations, divisional studies).
To graduate, students must apply to their school or college by the deadline stipulated by the school or college.
School of Medicine Policy
Student Evaluation and Promotion Committee
The Student Evaluation and Promotion Committee consists of 12 senior faculty members and a chair appointed by the dean for renewable 3-year terms, as well as a fourth year medical student also selected by the dean. Eight members and the chair are appointed after consultation with the Associate Deans of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. The remaining two members, a Course Director and a Clerkship Director, are appointed after consultation with the chairs of the PCS and CCS, respectively. Faculty must represent all four years of the curriculum. It is their responsibility to determine which students are to be promoted, which students require remedial work, and which students should be required to withdraw from the School. A Subcommittee on Appeals for the Promotions Committees is appointed annually through input of both faculty and students. This Subcommittee receives, reviews, and acts upon appeals filed by students.
Rules Governing Promotion
- The faculty reserves the right to require the withdrawal of any student at any time when, in the opinion of the faculty, he or she is unfit to continue his or her course.
- Departments or course instructors use methods of examining and evaluating students that are most appropriate to their course content. For the first year, the student’s record contains for each course the appropriate (P) or (F) designation and, if possible, a detailed written narrative. For the second year, the designations are (H) or (P). For the third and fourth years, the designations are Honors, High Pass, Pass, or Fail.
- All medical students must take Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination in May – July of the second year. Passing Step 2 of the USMLE is a requirement for graduation from the School of Medicine.
- If the student is unable to achieve a pass in any given course, the Promotion Committee determines the action to be taken.
- Written guidelines concerning promotion to each academic year are distributed to each student annually and an outline of the due process of promotions and appeals is sent to each student in the first curricular year. Copies of these documents may be obtained from the Associate Dean for Student Affairs Office.
(Note that this is a DOC file and requires Microsoft Word.
