Key date to remember

Official LCME site visit: Feb. 18-21, 2024

Overview of faculty participation

LCME Standard 1 — Mission, Planning, Organization, and Integrity
(Elements 1.3: Faculty Participation and 1.5: Bylaws)

What: The School of Medicine bylaws outline faculty membership, leadership structure and participation in the school's governance. The following groups, which meet on a regular basis, are involved in governance:

The dean/executive vice president for medical affairs delegates daily operations and oversight of undergraduate medical education to the senior associate dean of medical education and student affairs.
The Executive Committee shares strategy and operations information across departments and dean’s office units.
The Curriculum Council is charged with the design, management, integration and evaluation of the curriculum.
The Faculty Advisory Council guides and advises the dean on matters related to the school's function.
Faculty are elected by their peers (through a nomination process led by SOM Faculty Affairs) to serve on multiple committees, including the Faculty Advisory Council, Curriculum Council, and the Promotion and Tenure Committee.
The dean’s cabinet reviews and approves non-curricular policies and recommends changes to the dean.

Why: Faculty participation governance is critical to the health and success of the school. Faculty members are guaranteed the right to freely express opinions related to the welfare and functioning of the school in areas including admissions standards, graduation eligibility, educational policies and processes related to faculty appointments.

Call to action:

We encourage faculty to engage in governance by voicing concerns and suggestions directly to SOM leadership and participating in meetings (general faculty meetings occur twice a year), forums and committees.

LCME Element 1.3 — Mechanisms for Faculty Participation

A medical school ensures that there are effective mechanisms in place for direct faculty participation in decision-making related to the medical education program, including opportunities for faculty participation in discussions about, and the establishment of, policies and procedures for the program, as appropriate.

LCME Element 1.5 — Bylaws

A medical school promulgates bylaws or similar policy documents that describe the responsibilities and privileges of its administrative officers, faculty, and committees.

Source: LCME Functions and Structure of a Medical School 2023-24