Medical Education Committee By-laws

Approved by the Faculty Executive Committee on 8/18/2020 

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ARTICLE I -- GENERAL

The Regents of the University have vested the Faculty of the School of Medicine with the responsibility to authorize and supervise all courses and curricula offered in pursuit of the degree of Doctor of Medicine (Regent Standing Order 105.2b).

Section 1 – Purpose

The Medical Education Committee (MEC) is charged to formulate and periodically review the mission statement and graduation competencies for undergraduate medical education; to review and recommend revisions of the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) curricula, including scheduling of courses; to evaluate existing courses and clerkships and other educational programs that support the curriculum; and to develop and recommend educational policies related to curricular implementation for consideration by the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC).

 Section 2 – Source of Authority

The MEC is a standing subcommittee of the FEC of the DGSOM. The MEC is subject to the Bylaws of the FEC. The MEC is charged to formulate and periodically review the mission statement for undergraduate medical education; to review and recommend revisions of the DGSOM curricula, including scheduling of courses; to evaluate existing courses and clerkships, and to report regularly to the FEC.

ARTICLE II – MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 -- Bylaws Specified by the FEC for the MEC

1. The FEC shall appoint members of the MEC and designate its Co-Chairs from among current or previous MEC members.
2. MEC Co-Chairs and members shall be appointed for three-year terms, renewable for a maximum of three terms, with consent of the FEC.
3. The Dean of the DGSOM, or the Dean's designee, shall be an ex-officio member of the MEC without vote.
4. Appointment of new MEC members and reappointment of current members will be submitted to the FEC for approval within the first three months of the academic year. If a vacancy on the MEC occurs at other times in the year, a replacement faculty member will be submitted to the FEC for approval within three months. The first term of an MEC member or chair who is appointed off cycle will end in July of the third calendar year after they were appointed.

 Section 2 -- Bylaws Specified by the MEC

    1. This Committee shall be composed of 24 voting members and five non-voting members, as follows:

1. Nineteen of the voting members shall be UCLA faculty, including the Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs (or designee of the Vice Dean for Education), and two UCLA faculty members from the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, College of Medicine (Drew).
2. Faculty representatives shall be chosen for their active interest and experience in undergraduate medical education, and shall collectively represent the broad range of faculty engaged in basic and clinical research as well as clinical training. They shall act as advocates for the curriculum at large rather than representatives of specific departments, divisions or courses.
3. The number of voting members shall include the Co-Chair not presiding at a given MEC meeting. The presiding Co-Chair shall vote only to make or break a tie vote.
4. There shall be two representatives per year chosen by members of the first and second year classes and three representatives per year chosen by members of the third and fourth year classes. Each class of the four years of medical school shall have only one vote. Additionally, students in extended study programs outside of the traditional four-year curriculum shall be represented by individuals selected from each program in a manner to be determined by the Medical Student Council. This group of representatives shall have one vote.
5. A representative of the Biomedical Library shall serve as a non-voting member
6. The Chair and Vice Chair of FEC shall serve as non-voting members.
7. The Vice Dean for Education and Associate Dean for Student Affairs shall serve as non-voting members.
8. A quorum shall consist of 50% of the non-excused voting members, with a minimum of ten.

2. The MEC Liaison Committee shall meet monthly to set MEC meeting agendas, coordinate MEC activities with curricular functions in the DGSOM Dean’s Office, and ensure the MEC is adhering to its Bylaws. The MEC Liaison Committee is composed of the MEC Co-Chairs, the Vice Dean for Education, the Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs, and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

 

ARTICLE III - DUTIES and PROCEDURES

Section 1: Bylaws as Specified by the FEC

1. The MEC shall review its Bylaws at least every three years. Co-Chairs may propose Bylaw changes at regular or special meetings of the MEC. An affirmative vote by a majority of MEC members is required to accept Bylaws changes, which must then be submitted to the FEC for review and approval.
2. The MEC shall circulate a meeting agenda and the previous meeting minutes to members at least two days prior to the next meeting.
3. The MEC shall submit an annual report to the FEC and additional reports when requested.
4. The MEC shall present written recommendations for policy changes to the FEC Chair at least one week prior to the next FEC meeting so that FEC members have time to review this material.

 

Section 2: Specific Bylaws of the MEC

1. The MEC shall periodically review the mission statement and graduation competencies for undergraduate medical education. A summary of this review will then be presented to the FEC in a timely manner.
2. The MEC shall monitor the curriculum for alignment with the educational mission of the DGSOM.
3. The MEC shall evaluate courses, clerkships, and other elements of the curriculum on a regular basis to ensure consistency with graduation competencies. This responsibility includes the School's associated Drew program. The MEC shall summarize these evaluations in periodic reports to the FEC.
4. The MEC shall develop and recommend educational policies and oversee revisions of the Medical School curriculum, including scheduling, addition and deletion of courses, and major alterations in content. Before recommending any significant change in the curriculum, the committee shall elicit an appropriately broad range of faculty and student opinion. All academic policy changes must be approved by the FEC before implementation.
5. The MEC may appoint ad hoc working groups to research issues of concern and develop recommendations for their resolution. In general, each working group will be temporary and serve only as long as necessary to complete its specific charge.
6. To help meet its charges, the MEC may create standing subcommittees from the DGSoM faculty, staff and student body, as appropriate. Creation and dissolution of standing subcommittees of the MEC can be done without FEC approval, but such actions should be presented to the FEC in a timely manner. Subcommittees shall provide regular reports at MEC meetings, and subcommittee actions must be approved by a majority vote of MEC members. The four subcommittees and their charges are:

1. The MD-CQI subcommittee promotes Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) throughout the medical school curriculum and monitors adherence to LCME standards.
2. The HB&D subcommittee monitors the pre-clerkship Human Biology and Disease curriculum for alignment with relevant graduation competencies.
3. The Clerkship subcommittee monitors the clerkship curriculum for alignment with relevant graduation competencies.
4. The College subcommittee monitors the post-clerkship activities of 4th year colleges that advise students as they choose electives and plan careers.

7.      No MEC member may vote for a motion in absentia or without being present for the discussion that leads up to the vote.

8.      Regular monthly meetings shall be calendared in advance for the entire academic year, but may be cancelled for lack of sufficient business by either Chair of the MEC with concordance of the other Chair.

9.      The meetings shall be open to all interested parties in the DGSOM, but closed sessions may be held if required by the nature of the committee's business. Individuals not in the DGSOM may attend as guests at the invitation of the MEC Co-Chairs.

10. Meeting time and agenda shall be placed on the MEC website, at least two days before each meeting.

11. The Dean's Office shall provide staff for the MEC.

 

 

Approved by the Medical Education Committee on 8/12/2020

Approved by the Faculty Executive Committee on 8/18/2020