Clinical Campus Site Assignment

Policy 518.00

Policy Statement

During the admissions process, the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) offers two campuses for clinical level training, one in Vermont and one in Connecticut. After students interview at the Larner College of Medicine, they complete a form indicating their clinical campus preference and are accepted to one of these two clinical campuses. Students can request a change in clinical campus after acceptance and prior to matriculation through the Campus Assignment Appeal process contingent upon available space at the requested campus. During the pre-clerkship curriculum (Foundations Level), there is a process for a medical student to request a change of clinical campus when circumstances support a change. Note that all final decisions will be dependent on clinical capacity considerations. Thus, there is no guarantee that campus change requests will be accommodated.

Policy Elaboration

The Office of Medical Student Admissions will be responsible for clinical campus assignments prior to a student’s matriculation.

Formal requests for reassignment to an alternate campus will be considered by the Office of Medical Education (OME).

Clinical Campus Change Requests

To be considered for a clinical campus change, the student must file a Clinical Campus Change Request Form and submit it through OASIS no later than noon on the first day of September of Foundations Level Year Two. Campus change considerations will be made for students who meet one of the following categories:

  • When a student has a significant medical condition or disability that requires ongoing treatment in a specific location or limits their ability to travel to their current clinical campus and changing campuses would positively address the issue.
  • When a student’s ability to be placed at their current clinical campus is inhibited by a responsibility to provide care to a family member with a significant medical condition and where changing campuses would positively address the issue.
  • When a student is experiencing an articulable hardship that would make it impossible to continue in medical school if required to change campuses.

A change may not be possible unless there is a vacant learner position on the desired clinical campus to accommodate the request.

  • When the number of students desiring to change to a specific clinical campus exceeds the number of vacancies on that campus, a lottery system will be used to determine which students are able to make a campus change.

If the clinical campus change request is based on a documented disability, students must contact Student Accessibility Services at the University of Vermont (SAS). An in-person or phone narrative plus documentation that meets the SAS guidelines is required. Requests for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) site exemption eligibility must be communicated to SAS, with complete documentation, no later than noon on the first day of August to allow for processing relative to the clerkship scheduling. Note: this process could take up to four weeks; also note that incomplete requests for ADA accommodations received by SAS after the annual August 1 deadline are not guaranteed to be processed by the annual September 1 OASIS request form deadline. Please reach out to SAS for additional information on deadline and documentation requirements.

IMPORTANT: Documentation to support a medical request should not include any personal medical information. When working with SAS, medical information should be submitted directly to SAS, and only the SAS accommodation letter should be uploaded to OASIS with the Clinical Campus Change Request Form. If space is not available, the student can meet with the Director of Student Support or the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students to discuss alternative options.

Upon receipt of the electronic request, including any supporting documents, the Office of Medical Education in conjunction with the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students or designee, will review and may reach out to the applicant for a meeting if additional details are needed to process the request.

Requests will be reviewed and approved or denied by the Clinical Campus Change Committee, the membership of which will include the following:

  • an Assistant/Associate Dean for Students
  • a student representative who is a third- or fourth-year member of student council assigned by that group,
  • an Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) representative appointed by that office
  • a member of the admissions team appointed by the Associate Dean of Admissions

The committee will meet once per year, after the close of applications, and will render a decision no later than the 15th of September.

Any requests not approved by the committee will be included in the lottery if there are vacancies to accommodate additional clinicaL campus changes. If no availability for changes exists, the lottery will not be held.

Temporary Clinical Campus Reassignment Requests
In cases where an unexpected issue arises during the Clerkship Level that would be mitigated through temporary reassignment to the other clinical campus, students have the option to request a temporary reassignment for an upcoming clerkship. To apply for a temporary reassignment, students will need to complete and submit the request form through OASIS. Note, if the temporary request is related to an illness or disability, students must go through the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office for documentation as described below.

 

Applicability of the Policy

Clerkship Level Students

Related Larner College of Medicine Policies

Related University of Vermont Policies

Not Applicable

Related Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Standard(s)

10.9 Student Assignment

History

  • 2/18/2020 Policy Adopted/Affirmed [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/16/2020 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 9/2/2021 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/20/2023 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 11/21/2023 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]

Policy Oversight

Associate Dean for Admissions; Associate/Assistant Dean for Students; Assistant Dean, Clerkship Curriculum

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