Assessment of student competency is conducted primarily within the core courses and clerkships that have established minimum performance standards. Other outcome measures such as the external United States Medical Licensure Exam (USMLE) are designed to broadly assess student performance independent of a particular course. In most cases the outcome measures include minimum performance standards that students must achieve or accomplish (i.e., a minimum passing score on a course exam or passing USMLE Step 1).
Clinical skills assessments such as clerkship-based Objective Structured Clinical Exams (OSCE) are used to make summative judgments regarding student attainment of multiple competencies (for example: interpersonal and communication skills, medical knowledge, and patient care). Students must pass the end-of-third-year OSCE to be eligible for graduation.
The College of Medicine Student Promotions Committee reviews the performance of all students to assure they have achieved the standards established by the faculty.
For more information about assessment, grading, and promotion policies, please see Policy 401 and Policy 413 in the Policies and Procedures manual.
More information about the Grading Policy