Review of Academic Performance:
Clerkship Level

Policy 565.30

Policy Statement

The Advancement Committee will review the cumulative academic progress of each medical student at least twice within each curricular segment, including the Clerkship Level, to assure that students are meeting both quantitative and qualitative standards in accordance with Policy 560.00 Satisfactory Academic Progress. Criteria for advancement will include grades, narrative comments by Clerkship Directors, and completion of requirements including global assessments.

Specific to the Clerkship Level of the Curriculum:

  1. Students must satisfactorily complete the requirements of Foundations Level Years One and Two to progress to the Clerkship Level by vote of the Advancement Committee.
  2. Students must pass the End of Clerkship Level Clinical Skills Examination (CSE) to graduate. To be eligible to take the CSE, all Clerkship Level clinical requirements must be completed successfully. A student failing the CSE after one attempt must retake the exam. A student failing on the second attempt may, on a vote of the Advancement Committee, be allowed to remediate their performance or may be subject to dismissal from the Larner College of Medicine for unsatisfactory performance.
  3. A student failing two or more clerkship rotations will be dismissed from the Larner College of Medicine for unsatisfactory performance.

All unsatisfactory academic progress in the Clerkship Level will be reviewed by the Advancement Committee at its earliest scheduled meeting, provided that the meeting date is no sooner than seven days from notification of unsatisfactory performance.

Policy Elaboration

Procedures under which the Advancement Committee operates for Clerkship Level students follow.

Informal Review

The following may prompt an informal review by the Advancement Committee:

  1. Any grades of Incomplete
  2. Two cognitive clerkship examinations (shelf exams) failures on their first attempt in two different clerkships
  3. Unsatisfactory academic progress despite a passing grade (i.e., Clerkship/Level director referral)

An informal review is appropriate when the Advancement Committee is made aware of concerns regarding a student’s academic progress as indicated above. The Committee may review a student’s complete academic record and may require action steps or plans to support their return to Satisfactory Academic Progress. If stipulations are not met by specified deadlines, the student may be escalated to a formal review of their academic performance. Students have access to the same rights of representation and evidence presentation as stipulated in Policy 565.50 Advancement Committee Meeting: Student Appearance Procedures; however, students are not at risk of dismissal during an informal review.

Formal Review

The following may prompt a formal review by the Advancement Committee:

  1. A clerkship failure
  2. Unsatisfactory academic progress despite a passing grade (Clerkship/Level Director referral)
  3. Subsequent unsatisfactory progress after previous referral to the Committee (additional grades of Incomplete or Fail, or Clerkship/Level Director referral)

In the case of a formal review of academic progress the Advancement Committee may require a student to take certain actions including, but not limited to, remediating/repeating one or more clerkships or the Committee may dismiss the student from the Larner College of Medicine. All procedures and rights stipulated in Policy 565.50 Advancement Committee Meeting: Student Appearance Procedures apply to a formal review.

Unsatisfactory Academic Performance Despite Passing Grades

As noted above, the Advancement Committee may determine that a student has not satisfactorily completed the work of the Clerkship Level even if there are no clerkship failures. Such a determination may reflect consistent or collective marginally acceptable performance with failure to achieve expected competencies or successive failures in summative assessments of medical knowledge. In such instances, the Clerkship Director or Curriculum Level Director will prepare in writing the specific allegations giving rise to the review and submit the statement to the chairperson of the Advancement Committee. Upon receipt of the statement, the chairperson shall inform the student in writing of the Committee’s pending review, the membership of the Committee, the specific allegations giving rise to the review of the student’s performance, and whether the review is formal or informal. The Advancement Committee may require a student to take certain remedial actions.

Remediation

A student failing a clerkship rotation may, on a vote of the Advancement Committee, be permitted to remediate.

Only the Advancement Committee can approve an official clerkship remediation plan. Remediation is considered a contract between the Clerkship Director and the student in which the Clerkship Director stipulates:

  1. The requirements the student must fulfill to achieve the clerkship objectives
  2. The student agrees to allow the stipulated requirements to substitute for a full version of the clerkship.

If a student fails a clerkship and wishes to remediate it, it is their responsibility to seek a remediation plan from the Clerkship Director prior to appearing before the Advancement Committee. The content and requirements for a successful remediation plan must be consistent with the objectives of the original clerkship and are determined solely by the Clerkship Director. It is the student’s responsibility to abide by the Clerkship Director’s determination of what is required for successful remediation. If the student does not agree to this plan, remediation is not an option. Students may not remediate two clerkships simultaneously.

Failure to successfully complete the formal remediation plan will result in dismissal from the Larner College of Medicine for unsatisfactory performance.

Note that a student may withdraw from a clerkship in accordance with Policy 560.00 Satisfactory Academic Progress (please refer to the Course Withdrawals section).

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)

  • 8.6 Monitoring Completion of Required Clinical Experiences
  • 9.4 Assessment System
  • 9.6 Setting Standards of Achievement
  • 9.9 Student Advancement and Appeal Process

History

  • 5/20/2014 Policy Adopted/Affirmed [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 11/18/2014 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/17/2015 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 3/21/2017 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/20/2017 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/19/2017 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/20/2019 Gender Neutral Language Edit [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/17/2019 Reformatted [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/18/2020 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 2/16/2021 Policy Edited [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 1/17/2022 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]

Policy Oversight

Level Director of Clinical Clerkship; Associate/Assistant Dean for Students

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