Curriculum Committee

Terms of Reference

Purpose:
To ensure that the undergraduate medical education curriculum is designed, managed, evaluated and revised in a coherent and coordinated fashion, consistent with accreditation and current educational standards.

General Functions and Role in Governance Structure:
“There must be integrated institutional responsibility in a medical education program for the overall design, management, and evaluation of a coherent and coordinated curriculum.”

The Committee has three general areas of responsibility: the establishment of curricular content and design, curricular implementation and ongoing management, and ongoing evaluation and revision.  All these functions follow from and are informed by the overall mission of the School of Medicine and, specifically, the established Curricular Goals and Objectives.  

The Curriculum Committee is responsible for establishment of policy and procedures necessary to address its mandate.  Those policies require review and revision at Curricular Council, final ratification by the Undergraduate Medical Executive Committee, and implementation by Course Chairs.  

The Curriculum Committee thus reports to the MD Program Executive Committee which in turn reports to School of Medicine Council.  The latter body, which is composed of all Clinical and Basic Science Department Heads, chaired by the Dean of the School of Medicine and acts on behalf of University Senate, is structured and empowered to provide the faculty and material support required to ensure Curricular goals are achieved.
 
Specific Functions:

Curricular Content and Design:
The committee is responsible for ensuring that the design and structure of a curriculum meets the established Curricular Goals and Objectives in a manner that allows for appropriate coordination of objectives, content and logical progression of learning.

Curricular Implementation and Management:
The Curriculum committee is responsible for establishing an appropriate organizational structure is in place to lead and administrate all curricular functions.     

The Curriculum committee is responsible for ensuring that all aspects of the curriculum (eg. objectives, teaching methods and evaluation) are functioning appropriately, and for making any necessary adjustments. 

Curricular Evaluation and Revision:
The committee is responsible for the ongoing evaluation of all aspects of the curriculum, with the goal of ensuring that objectives are effectively achieved.

The committee is responsible for reviewing curricular objectives at least annually.

The committee is responsible for addressing curricular deficiencies and making revisions as required.

Membership
The membership will reflect the administrative structure of the curriculum, its administrative support and need for student input.  

Ex-Officio Members:  
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education
Director, Year I
Director, Year II
Director, Clinical Clerkship
Director, Clinical and Communications Skills
Director, Professional Competencies
Director, Accreditation and Quality Improvement  
Chair, Teaching and Learning Committee
Chair, Student Assessment and Evaluation Committee
Program Manager, Undergraduate Medical Education
Aesculapian Society President or delegate

Appointed Members:
In addition, the committee will be augmented by the following who will be nominated by the ex-officio members and appointed by the Undergraduate Medical Executive Committee:
Two Course Chairs, from different curricular years, at least one of whom should be from a scientific foundations course.
Up to three members of support staff or teaching faculty with interest and expertise in medical education

Appointed members will normally serve three year, overlapping terms.

Chairmanship
The Curriculum Committee Chair will be appointed by School of Medicine Council on the recommendation of the Associate Dean Undergraduate Medical Education and MD Program Executive Committee.  The Chair will be a member of faculty with particular interest and experience in curricular design and evaluation.  

Procedural Issues
The committee will meet at least monthly through the academic year (September to June).  Additional meetings may be called at the discretion of the Chair.

Agendas and meeting materials will be pre-circulated.

Minutes will be kept, pre-circulated before each meeting and approved by vote.

The chair may request the presence of non committee members of staff or faculty to address specific issues.

The Undergraduate Office will provide administrative support to the committee.  That individual’s duties will include, but not necessarily be limited to the following:
1.    Assisting the Chair with Agenda setting
2.    Scheduling of regular and supplemental meeting
3.    Meeting with the Chair in advance of meetings or as required to ensure appropriate follow-up and identification of relevant issues
4.    Background research and information gathering relevant to committee functioning
5.    Preparation and circulation of meeting material
6.    Ensuring that minutes are taken, reviewed by the Chair, pre-ciruculated, and amended as necessary.
7.    Maintaining all committee records.
8.    Maintaining a log of action points arising from the minutes and their status.
9.    Directing all communication to and from committee members to the Chair, requesting direction for distribution.

Accepted at School of Medicine Executive – October 21, 2008
Updated by  UGME Curriculum Committee - August 11, 2010