MEC By-Laws

Medical Education Committee By-laws David Geffen School of Medicine University of California, Los Angeles

Revised version, approved by Faculty Executive Committee, 11/04/15

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 is charged to formulate and periodically review the mission statement and graduation competencies for undergraduate medical education; to review and recommend revisions of the Medical School 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

STANDING ORDER 105.2 Duties, Powers, and Privileges of the Academic Senate 
(b) The Academic Senate shall authorize and supervise all courses and curricula offered under the sole or joint jurisdiction of the departments, colleges, schools, graduate divisions, or other University academic agencies approved by the Board, except that the Senate shall have no authority over courses in the Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco Art Institute, in professional schools offering work at the graduate level only, or over non-degree courses in the University Extension. No change in the curriculum of a college or professional school shall be made by the Academic Senate until such change shall have been submitted to the formal consideration of the faculty concerned.

The Medical Education Committee is a standing subcommittee of the Faculty of the School of Medicine, is subject to its Bylaws, and reports directly to the FEC.

The Medical Education Committee is charged to formulate and periodically review the mission statement for undergraduate medical education; to review and recommend revisions of the Medical School curricula, including scheduling of courses; and to evaluate existing courses and clerkships.

ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 - Bylaws Specified by the FEC for the Medical Education Committee

1. The Chair(s) and members of the Medical Education Committee shall be appointed by the FEC.
2. The Chair and members of the Medical Education Committee shall be appointed for three year terms, renewable for a maximum of three terms, with the consent of the FEC.
3. The FEC Chair and Vice-Chair shall be ex-officio members of the Medical Education Committee without vote.
4. The Dean of the School of Medicine, or the Dean's designee, shall be an ex-officio member of the Medical Education Committee without vote.
5. The Medical Education Committee may appoint ad hoc committees as necessary. Ad hoc committees shall disband on completion of their charge. 

Section 2 - Specific Bylaws of the Medical Education Committee

1. This Committee shall be composed of 24 voting members and 3 non-voting members, as follows:
   
   
   1. Nineteen of the voting members shall be UCLA faculty, including the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education (or designee as determined by the Vice Dean for Education) and two UCLA faculty from the associated Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science College of Medicine (Drew) program. 
   2. The faculty representatives shall be chosen for their active interest and experience in undergraduate medical education, and shall collectively represent the broad range of the basic and clinical sciences. They are expected to be advocates for the curriculum at large rather than representatives of the interests of specific departments, divisions or courses. 
   3. This number shall include the Chair or Co-Chairs of the Committee. 
   4. There shall be two representatives per year chosen by the members of the first and second year classes and three representatives per year chosen by the members of the third and fourth year classes. Each class of the four years of medical school shall have one vote per class. 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, as specified in Section One of this Article. 
   7. The Associate Dean of Student Affairs shall serve as a non-voting member.
2. The Chair (or Co-Chairs) of the Medical Education Committee shall be selected by the FEC from among current or previous members of the Medical Education Committee. 
3. The MEC Liaison Committee is charged with advising and assisting the MEC Co-chairs in setting the MEC agenda, overseeing the work of the standing committees, and meeting all FEC reporting requirements for the MEC as outlined in the MEC Bylaws. An MEC Liaison Committee composed of the MEC Co-Chairs, the Vice Dean for Education, the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs shall meet monthly for the purpose of coordinating MEC functions with the DGSOM Dean’s office curricular functions.

ARTICLE III - DUTIES and PROCEDURES

Section 1 - Bylaws as Specified by the FEC

1. The Medical Education Committee shall review its Bylaws every three years and submit them to the FEC for review and approval. Any proposed changes to the Bylaws at any time shall be referred to the FEC for approval.
2. The Medical Education Committee shall circulate a meeting agenda and the previous meeting minutes to members at least one week prior to the next meeting.
3. The Medical Education Committee shall submit an annual report to the FEC.
4. The Medical Education Committee shall present recommendations for approval by the FEC in writing to the FEC Chair at least two weeks prior to the next FEC meeting so that they may be circulated to the FEC members. 

Section 2 - Specific Bylaws of the Medical Education Committee

1. A mission statement and set of graduation competencies for undergraduate medical education shall be developed and reviewed periodically by the Medical Education Committee. A summary of the review will be presented to the FEC Committee in a timely manner after the review.
2. The Medical Education Committee shall monitor the curriculum of the UCLA Medical School to assure that, as a whole, it is consistent with the educational mission of the School of Medicine. This responsibility includes the School's associated Drew program .
3. The Medical Education Committee shall evaluate existing courses, clerkships, and other programs that support the mission statement and graduation competencies, and produce periodic reports for the FEC that summarize these evaluations.
4. The Medical Education Committee shall develop and recommend educational policies related to curricular implementation and recommend and oversee revisions of the Medical School curriculum, including scheduling, addition and deletion of courses, or major curricular content. Before recommending revisions, the committee shall elicit an appropriately broad range of faculty and student opinion.
5. The Medical Education Committee may appoint ad hoc subcommittees to research, study and develop recommendations regarding specific issues. In general, each subcommittee will be temporary and serve only so long as necessary to complete its specific charge.
6. The Medical Education Committee may create and dissolve standing subcommittees without requesting FEC approval. A summary of the action should be presented to the FEC in a timely manner after the action.
7. The presiding Chair of a Medical Education Committee meeting shall vote only to make or break a tie vote.
8. No member may vote for a motion in absentia or without being present for the discussion that leads up to the vote.
9. A quorum shall consist of 50% of the non-excused voting members.
10. Regular monthly meetings shall be calendared in advance for the entire academic year, but may be cancelled by either Chair of the Medical Education Committee with the concordance of the chair for lack of sufficient business. 

The meetings shall be open to all interested parties in the School of Medicine community, but closed sessions may be held if required by the nature of the committee's business. Meeting time and agenda should be placed on the MEC website, preferably one week before the Medical Education Committee meeting. The Dean's Office shall provide staff for the Medical Education Committee.