Elective Grading Policy

1. Overall Grades for Fourth Year Clinical Electives at DGSOM at UCLA

   • (1.1) Fourth-year clinical rotations (400 level, 300 level and 200 level with the exception of global health) are graded using the 4-tier Clinical Grade system of Honors/ High Pass/ Pass and Fail.  The UCLA Clinical Grading Rubric will be used to arrive at the Clinical Performance Grade as follows:
     1. Total Evaluation Score 88-100% = Honors Clinical Grade Performance
     2. Total Evaluation Score 75-87% = High Pass Clinical Grade Performance
     3. Total Evaluation Score 48-74% = Pass Clinical Grade Performance
     4. Total Evaluation Score <48% = Fail Clinical Grade Performance
        
        As no written examinations are administered for fourth-year electives, the Clinical Performance Grade will be the Overall Grade for designated fourth-year elective rotations. Students must also meet the same minimum competencies as described in section 3.5 for core clinical clerkships to pass graded fourth-year electives.
   • (1.2) To achieve a Clinical Performance Grade of High Pass in a 4th-year clinical rotation, in addition to a total summative evaluation score of 75-87%, there can be no Clinical Skill evaluated at criterion level 1 on the summative evaluation, and the student must achieve a criterion level 3 or 4 in each applicable Professionalism Competency (Clinical Skills 10 and 11) as evaluated on the summative grade.
   • (1.3) To achieve a Clinical Performance Grade of Honors in a 4th-year clinical rotation, in addition to a total summative evaluation score of > 88%, there can be no Clinical Skill evaluated at criterion level 1 or 2 on the summative evaluation, and the student must achieve a criterion level 4 in each applicable Professionalism Competency (Clinical Skills 10 and 11) as evaluated on the summative grade.
   • (1.4) A narrative assessment of each student’s performance is compiled utilizing the individual comments provided by evaluators, and the most representative descriptions from the “comments” section will be incorporated into the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) letter for residency applications at the discretion of the Course Chair. The “feedback” section of the narrative evaluation will serve to provide meaningful feedback to the student about their clinical performance on the elective with recommendations for improvement.  Comments from the “feedback” section do not appear in the MSPE. 
     Based on review of the total evaluation scores and the evaluator comments, the Course Chair(s) have ultimate oversight of the final grades assigned for each course. As with clerkship grades, all narratives are reviewed by the course chair for bias prior to submission.
   • (1.5) Course Chairs are asked to meet with students whose performance is failing in order to provide the student with feedback and recommendations to improve their performance.  In addition, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs will also be notified by the Course Chair as soon as possible of students who have been determined to be at risk of failing the course.
   • (1.6) All performance evaluations and assessments must be submitted within four weeks of the conclusion of the course.  Students are alerted by email when an elective course grade has been finalized and submitted to the Dean’s Office. Students who feel there is an error in their clinical grade may request a review of their summary evaluation with the Course Chair to better understand the grade assigned. This request must be submitted in writing to the Course Chair within 14 days of grade submission.  Edits to the summative evaluations will be limited to errors such as incorrect name or pronouns, grammar, etc.  Clerkship Chairs do not add or delete comments from the MSPE section of the summative evaluation once submitted to the Dean’s Office.  Grades may not be revised by completing additional work with the exception of an incomplete. 

2. Clinical Experiences in Fourth Year that are Pass/Fail

   • (2.1) The following courses are graded Pass/Fail: Global Health, Research, Special Electives and 100 level non-clinical electives.  The transcript will indicate a grade of P  (Pass) or F (Fail).
   • (2.2) Students on away electives may be evaluated with the host institution’s evaluation system or with the DGSOM Elective Evaluation Form. The DGSOM transcript will report the grade as P or F.  The MSPE will include the evaluation narrative if submitted by the deadline for evaluations to be included in the MSPE. 

Policy Responsibility and References

1. RESPONSIBILITY
   Curricular Affairs Office
   Educational Measurement Unit
   Student Affairs Office
2. REFERENCES
   • UCLA Academic Senate | Grading Grievances
   • DGSOM Technical Non-Academic Standards
   • Phase 2 Attendance Policy
   • Examination Policies
   • Examination Procedures
   • Medical Student Professionalism Expectations
   • Academic and Professional Standing - APC
3. POLICY OWNER
   Curricular Affairs
4. APPROVED BY
   Medical Education Committee
5. REVIEWED BY
   Educational Measurement Unit
   Student Affairs Office
   Associate Dean, Curricular Affairs
   Associate Dean, Student Affairs
   Medical Education Committee
   Clerkship Curriculum Committee
6. REVIEWED DATE and REVIEW CYCLE
   May 2023, 3-year review cycle