Satisfactory Academic Progress

Policy 560.00

Policy Statement

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to remain enrolled as candidates for the M.D. degree. The Larner College of Medicine SAP policy includes both qualitative and quantitative standards. Academic progress for medical students is closely monitored by the Larner College of Medicine Advancement Committee. The specific standards by which the Advancement Committee operates are detailed within the Medical Student Handbook.

Policy Elaboration

Qualitative Standards
  1. The qualitative standards for academic progress are detailed in Policy 565.20 Review of Academic Performance and Policy 690.20 Review of Professional Performance, and each student’s progress is reviewed at least once each academic year by the Advancement Committee.
  2. Students must pass each segment of the curriculum to the satisfaction of the Advancement Committee before advancing to the next segment and must complete all requirements of the curriculum to the satisfaction of the Committee in order to graduate. Students must maintain academic standing consistent with the Larner College of Medicine’s graduation requirements, as outlined in Policy 565.45 Graduation Degree Requirements. Students are considered to have academic standing consistent with the College’s graduation requirements if they are progressing through the curriculum to the satisfaction of the Advancement Committee.
  3. As outlined in the level specific policies listed above, students who fail any course, clerkship, or Advanced Integration level rotation must establish a formal plan with the course director that must be approved by the Advancement Committee to address identified deficiencies. Clerkship courses and required Advanced Integration course failures require repeating and successfully passing the entire course. Satisfactory remediation of deficiencies in any curriculum level realigns a student’s academic standing to Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) consistent with the college’s standards for graduation, provided they continue to meet the quantitative standards.
  4. Students who fail to meet the qualitative standards are dismissed from the Larner College of Medicine.
Quantitative Standards
  1. The quantitative standards are monitored by the Advancement Committee.
  2. The Larner College of Medicine curriculum has three segments: Foundations, Clerkship and Advanced Integration. The standard lengths of these curricular segments are as follows:
    1. Foundations Level – 19 months
    2. Clerkship Level – 12 months
    3. Advanced Integration Level – 14 months
  3. In order to ensure timely progress toward their degrees and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), students must:
    1. Complete the Foundations Level within three years of matriculation to the Larner College of Medicine.
    2. Complete the Clerkship Level within two years
      1. Students who take more than the standard 19 months to complete the Foundations Level must plan for completion of the Clerkship Level on a schedule that ensures completion of the full M.D. program, including the Advanced Integration Level, by the end of the sixth academic year from their Larner College of Medicine matriculation date.
    3. Complete the Advanced Integration Level within two years, or by the end of the sixth calendar year following their Larner College of Medicine matriculation date, whichever is sooner.
  4. The maximum timeframe to earn the M.D. degree is six calendar years, including any granted leaves of absence.
    1. Applicants officially become Larner Medical students on the first day of classes; this is a student’s official matriculation date. Students shall not remain enrolled as candidates for the M.D. degree and shall not receive financial aid beyond six calendars years from their matriculation date.
    2. Pursuit and attainment of an advanced degree during medical education may allow enrollment beyond six years.
      1. The advanced degree(s) (master’s degree or higher) must be at a Title IV approved institution.
      2. Upon conferral of the additional degree, the number of weeks during which the student was actively enrolled in credit-bearing courses required to successfully complete the degree, as officially documented by the degree-granting institution, is excluded from the six-year cumulative maximum timeframe.
  5. Students who fail to meet the quantitative standards are ineligible for financial aid. However, students will be eligible for financial aid during periods of Financial Aid Probation which include: 
    1. The time between referral to the Advancement Committee for Academic Review for not meeting SAP and the scheduled review date.
    2. Or if the Advancement Committee has approved the student to continue in the curriculum under a formal written plan stipulating specific deadlines for the student to meet the quantitative standards, returning them to SAP.
    3. Or if a student is on an approved Leave of Absence that requires Advancement Committee review prior to returning to the curriculum.
Repeated Coursework

A student repeating a course, clerkship, or rotation with the approval of the Advancement Committee is considered to be making Satisfactory Academic Progress provided they continue to meet the quantitative and qualitative standards.

Grades of Incomplete and Course Withdrawals

Grades of Incomplete and Withdrawl may be made up with the permission of the Advancement Committee. A student completing a plan to address a grade of Incomplete or Withdrawal, with the approval of the Advancement Committee, is considered to have an academic standing consistent with the College’s graduation requirements and therefore to be maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress, provided they continue to meet the quantitative standards.

Grades of Incomplete due to a first failure of Clinical Skills Examinations may be remediated without authorization of the Advancement Committee as described in Policy 540.30 Grading: Foundations  Level and Policy 540.40 Grading: Clerkship Level.  A grade of Incomplete due to a first failure of a clerkship knowledge assessment may also be remediated without Advancement Committee authorization.

Incomplete

An Incomplete is a temporary grade, recorded by the Course Director when the student must complete a finite amount of work in order to satisfy the learning objectives without re-enrolling in the course.

A grade of Incomplete may be recorded on a student’s transcript in the following circumstances:

  1. Any level:
    1. An examination delay approved by the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students.
    2. Failure to meet goals and objectives of the course with approved absence.
  2. Foundations Level:
    1. Failure to pass the Clinical Skills Exam (CSE) on the first attempt.
  3. Clerkship Level:
    1. Failure to pass the assessment of medical knowledge on the first attempt but passing all other graded components of the clerkship and completing all clerkship assignments.
    2. Failure to pass the CSE on the first attempt but passing all other graded components of the clerkship and completing all clerkship assignments.
    3. Failure to complete all clerkship assignments.
    4. Inability to meet the clinical requirements of the clerkship due to absence or illness.
  4. Advanced Integration Level:
    1. Failure to pass a required end of rotation knowledge or clinical assessment on the first attempt but otherwise receiving passing evaluations on clinical performance.
    2. Failure to complete required coursework including but not limited to case logs, interaction tracker, writing assignments, or any other required rotation assignments by time of grade submission.

A student who receives a grade of Incomplete for failure to pass a Foundations Level CSE on the first attempt must remediate and retake the CSE within two weeks of notification of their CSE grade. For the Clerkship Level, a grade of Incomplete may be updated to a Pass by successful retake of either the medical knowledge exam, the assessment of clinical skills examination, or completion of other assignments. (whichever applies). For the Advanced Integration Level, a grade of Incomplete may be updated to Pass by successful retake of the end of rotation knowledge or clinical assessment and/or submission of missing required coursework.

When entering a grade of Incomplete into a student’s record, the Course/Clerkship Director may specify a deadline for the student to address the Incomplete not to exceed one calendar year from the end date of the original course/rotation. In the absence of an alternate deadline, as established by the Director, all grades of Incomplete will be automatically updated to a final grade of Fail effective one year from the end date of the course, clerkship, or rotation, unless the student has received an approved extension in writing for extenuating circumstances, as determined by an Assistant or Associate Dean for Students. Any extension cannot exceed the maximum timeframe for degree completion (Quantitative Standards, above). Any exception to the policy requires a request, review and approval from the Advancement Committee.

Course Withdrawals

A final course grade of Withdrawn may be recorded on a student’s transcript in the following circumstances:

  1. Any level: An important distinction, especially if considering a leave of absence, a final course grade of Withdrawn will be recorded if a student wishes to “step out of” a learning activity after the first meeting of the course, clerkship, or clinical rotation. A grade of Incomplete may be recorded only if the criteria noted under the Incomplete section of this policy (Policy 560.00) is met.
  2. Foundations Level: A student may withdraw from a Foundations Level course following the review and approval of a request submitted in writing. Requests to withdrawal must be approved by the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students in consultation with the Course Director. The request must be made prior to the onset of the final examination in the course. The transcript grade for such a course will be recorded as Withdrawn unless the student’s cumulative grade in the course is failing at the time of withdrawal. In that event, a grade of Fail will be recorded. A student must enroll in a remediation or full future delivery of the course or equivalent of the course if/when the course no longer exists in order to complete the course requirements. All plans for course remediation must be approved by the Advancement Committee prior to enrolling in the course and/or remediation Requests to return to the curriculum following course withdrawals will be reviewed by the Advancement Committee.
  3. Clerkship Level: A student may withdraw from a Clerkship Level rotation by submitting a request to withdraw in writing to the Assistant/Associate Dean for Students. This request must be made prior to the final day of the rotation. Only the Assistant/Associate Dean for Students can approve a request to withdraw in consultation with the Course Director and the Assistant Dean for  Clerkship Curriculum.  The transcript grade of Withdrawn will be recorded for such a rotation. A narrative assessment of the student’s performance prior to the withdrawal will be submitted for incorporation into the student’s permanent record. Requests to return to the curriculum following Clerkship Level withdrawals must be reviewed and approved by the Advancement Committee.
  4. Advanced Integration Level: A student may withdraw from an Advanced Integration level rotation by submitting a request in writing to the Assistant/Associate Dean for Students.  This request must be made prior to the final day of the rotation. Only the Assistant/Associate Dean for Students can approve a request to withdraw in consultation with the Course Director the Assistant Dean for Advanced Integration.  The transcript grade of Withdrawn will be recorded for such a rotation. A narrative assessment of the student’s performance prior to the withdrawal will be submitted for incorporation into the student’s permanent record. Requests to return to the curriculum following Advanced Integration level withdrawals will be reviewed and approved by the Advancement Committee.

Medical students who wish to permanently withdraw from the College should refer to Policy 593.00 Withdrawing from the Larner College of Medicine.

Transfer Credits

The Larner College of Medicine does not admit transfer students with advanced academic standing. 

Academic Amnesty

All coursework completed as part of a student’s M.D. program at the Larner College of Medicine shall be evaluated when determining whether the student is making academic progress. Academic records are never altered or expunged after students remediate or retake courses and degree requirements.

Financial Aid Implications

Students shall reference the University of Vermont Student Financial Services Financial Aid Handbook for related policies. Unless permanently dismissed from the Larner College of Medicine, student loans remain available to utilize during periods of credit-bearing academic enrollment through a maximum duration of six calendar years.

Institutional Scholarships

The Larner College of Medicine has the right to terminate any institutional scholarship funding in the instance of failing grade(s) and/or any evidence of unsatisfactory academic progress. Scholarship recipients shall have the right to appeal for scholarship reinstatement following successful remediation and/or academic plan approved by the Advancement Committee.

Applicability of the Policy

All Medical Students

Related Larner College of Medicine Policies

Related University of Vermont Policies

University of Vermont Student Financial Services Financial Aid Handbook

History

  • 7/16/2013 Policy Adopted/Affirmed [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/19/2018 Policy Revised: Incompletes and Withdrawals [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/19/2018 Policy Revised: Quantitative Standards [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 9/18/2018 Policy Revised: Quantitative Standards [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/18/2019 Policy Revised: Academic Amnesty [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/20/2019 Gender Neutral Language Edit: Notification and Right to Appeal [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/16/2020 Policy Revised: All sections combined into one policy [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/6/2020 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 9/30/2020 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/14/2021 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/19/2023 Policy Edit [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 3/19/2024 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/18/2024 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 1/21/2025 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]

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

  • 9.6 Setting Standards of Achievement
  • 9.9 Student Advancement and Appeal Process
  • 10.3 Policies Regarding Student Selection/Progress and Their Dissemination

Policy Oversight

Associate/Assistant Dean for Students (Director of Academic Achievement)

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