At the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, it's called the Medical Sciences Academic Support Board (MSAS). Caribbean Medical University refers to the Student Performance Assessment Committee (SPAC). Whatever your Caribbean medical school calls it, a progress committee is a crucial component of your graduate education.
You've invested an enormous amount of time, energy, and money to get to this point in your academic career. You've sacrificed; other people in your life have sacrificed; you've taken out student loans. It's not unusual for medical students to borrow $240,000 or more to pay for their education. That's all well and good if you earn your degree and go on to a successful practice. If something should go wrong, though, you can wind up trying to pay all that money back with nothing more on your resume than a BA or a BS.
Student progress committees play a huge role in determining whether you succeed or fail as a student. They review your academic record at the end of every semester, and they have the power to recommend remediation, impose sanctions, and even issue expulsions. That means it's in your best interest to know exactly how these committees work, including what can go wrong and what to do if it does.
You'll find answers to most of your questions about progress committees below. Before you read any further, though, it's important you know that the key to dealing with medical school problems is having someone on your side you can trust. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team are well-versed in educational law; they know how Caribbean medical schools work, but most of all, they're on your side and ready to protect your rights no matter what you might be facing.
Just What is a Progress Committee?
Whatever they may call it, all medical schools, including those located in the Caribbean, maintain some committee that's responsible for reviewing student progress on an annual or semester basis and making decisions about who is and isn't fit to move forward to the next year. Typically, this committee is made up of faculty, though sometimes students are invited to join as non-voting members.
Of course, every school's progress committee functions under its own policies and rules. However, they all play the same basic role. On the one hand, such groups serve a mentoring function. As American University puts it, the progress committee “functions to recommend a range of supports to invest in the academic success of AUC students.” Make no mistake, though. Such committees also serve an important gatekeeping function. In that capacity, they monitor student progress with an eye on who deserves to move forward and who needs to look for a new career field.
Ultimately, progress committees have the authority to recommend
- Remediation
- Probation
- A Leave of Absence
- Suspension
- Dismissal
From Mentors to Adversaries
Most Caribbean medical students believe their schools are on their side. And, for the most part, that's true. Your school wants you to do well. It went to the trouble of screening your application and granting you an interview, and admitting you is a sort of stamp of approval that you meet all its standards. Dismissing you at this point can be a bit awkward.
You may even have a good relationship with progress committee members. Some of them may even be mentors to you.
However, if that committee should have questions about your academic or professional performance, those same members are suddenly your adversaries. You can expect them to comb through your coursework and sometimes even your personal life with a fine-tooth comb and to put the worst possible spin on whatever they find.
In those circumstances, you need someone on your side. The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team are dedicated to the proposition that you deserve a medical degree, even if you've made a mistake or two along the way, and they're always ready to fight for your educational rights.
What Does the Progress Committee Review?
As a medical student, it's important you know just what the progress committee is reviewing. That way, you can anticipate problems before they arise and be prepared to defend yourself.
Again, schools differ in what they emphasize when it comes to progress. Most, however, consider
- Grades: All of your grades matter, including those for your coursework and any assigned for internships and externships. Your progress committee should offer you opportunities to remediate your grade, but consistent failures can result in more serious penalties.
- Competency: As the Ross University School of Medicine notes, you're responsible for demonstrating competency in eight areas defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME): patient care, medical knowledge, interpersonal skills and communication, systems-based practice, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, interprofessional collaboration, and personal and professional development.
- Exam Performance: You don't have to fail a class to trigger a progress committee review. Fail an exam, and you could face remediation requirements or worse.
- Step Exam Performance: USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam) Step exams are a crucial part of moving forward during medical school. Ordinarily, you're expected to pass this exam at the end of your second year. If you should fail, the progress committee will likely raise questions about whether or not you should continue in the program.
- Evaluations: You're being evaluated throughout your medical school career by faculty and clinical supervisors. The progress committee sees all of these evaluations and uses them to make decisions about promotion. If an evaluator should raise a concern about your performance, that could impact your promotion. It could also wind up on your permanent record.
- Incompletes: Life happens to all of us, and there are instances when it may force you to take an Incomplete for a course. Maybe you suffered a serious illness at the end of a semester and weren't able to take an exam. If your Incomplete is legitimate, you should have no trouble, but you can expect the progress committee to review it.
- Dropping Classes: Likewise, a dropped class can raise red flags for the progress committee. Again, there are legitimate reasons to drop a course, but it's not generally acceptable to drop just because you have a failing grade.
- Professional and Ethical Conduct: Academic issues generally result in remediation. Professional and ethical lapses can bring about much more serious consequences. Mistreat a patient or violate their confidentiality, and you could wind up on probation, suspended, or dismissed.
Professional Issues
Because professional issues can pose particular problems for medical school students, it's worth looking at this topic in more detail. Just what qualifies as a professional issue, and how can it cause problems during a progress committee's review?
Unprofessional behavior can include a wide variety of actions.
- Chronic lateness
- Inability to follow through on commitments
- Inability to accept blame
- Poor bedside manner
- Poor communication skills
- Aggression
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Disregard for patient welfare
- Unwillingness to respect patient autonomy
- Inadequate understanding of social justice
Most medical school standards of professionalism also include broad language about personal responsibility. St. George's University School of Medicine, for example, notes,
“Any conduct of students that can reasonably be interpreted as disgraceful, dishonorable, or unbecoming is a major component in the academic decision regarding retention and promotion.”
Statements like this suggest a school can accuse a student of unprofessionalism for almost anything and offer one important reason why it can be essential to have a team from the Lento Law Firm on your side. In addition, an allegation can come from almost anyone.
- Faculty
- Supervisors
- Staff
- Other students
- Administrators
- Patients
- Visitors
A patient can accuse you of a poor bedside manner just because they don't like the way you look. It's not uncommon for disagreements with clinical rotation supervisors to result in accusations of unprofessionalism. They sometimes even come up as the result of jealousy. Nevertheless, most progress committees take all allegations seriously, and if your committee should find you Responsible for unprofessional behavior, you can expect it to act quickly to sanction you. And again, sanctions for unprofessional behavior are typically much more severe than those for academic failings.
Misconduct Issues
Beyond its professionalism requirements, your medical school will also have a code of disciplinary conduct that governs how you generally behave on campus. Such codes include the sorts of prohibitions you might expect at any institution of higher education. The St. Martinus University Faculty of Medicine code, for example, includes restrictions against firearms possession, tampering with fire safety equipment, property damage, and trespassing, among many other rules.
One of the most serious misconduct allegations that can be leveled against any student is a sexual misconduct allegation. In the US, such allegations are actually regulated by federal law under Title IX. Caribbean medical schools aren't necessarily subject to Title IX unless they're located in a US territory. However, most schools have some policies regarding sexual misconduct. Some, like Ross University, do enforce the US law. Others, such as St. George's University, don't specifically mention Title IX but have adopted sexual misconduct policies that follow all the basic tenets of the US law. At most colleges and universities, suspension is usually the minimum penalty for a sexually-based offense. Dismissal is the more likely sanction.
You should also be aware that most medical school disciplinary codes prohibit all violations of local, state, or national law. This rule applies to conduct both on and off campus. Laws vary in Caribbean countries, and it's important you understand what is and isn't allowed in the region where you're attending medical school.
Progress committees don't usually conduct their own investigations into disciplinary misconduct. Instead, they focus primarily on issues related specifically to medical school students. In fact, if your medical school is part of a larger university, disciplinary misconduct may be in the hands of a university-wide conduct office. However, information about any violations you commit is forwarded to the committee and taken into account as an indication of your professionalism.
Who Serves on the Progress Committee?
Progress committees are generally made up of several members drawn from the medical school's faculty and administration. Membership might include vice deans and department heads. Some schools invite students to join the committee, though in most cases, these students are not voting members.
The American University College of Medicine committee, for instance, is chaired by the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and includes the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Director of Academic Support, in addition to five faculty members. The inclusion of high-ranking administrators ensures that the committee will take all business before it seriously. The number of members helps ensure a diverse range of viewpoints.
How does the Committee Make Decisions?
Most Caribbean medical schools don't publish their progress committee operating procedures. This can make it hard to prepare a proper defense. Here's what you can expect generally, though.
- Members usually vote on all decisions. In most cases, a simple majority is enough to pass a resolution, though some committees require a two-thirds majority.
- Progress committee chairs may have some authority to act on behalf of the committee as a whole. However, they shouldn't have the power to impose a severe sanction, like dismissal, without a full quorum of the committee.
- Progress committees take their responsibilities seriously. As a result, you can expect that your committee will conduct an in-depth review of your progress either at the end of the term or the end of the academic year. In addition, it devotes even more time to academic deficiencies, disciplinary misconduct accusations, and any professionalism concerns.
Confidentiality Issues
One of your chief concerns when dealing with your progress committee should be the level of confidentiality it exercises over your personal data. That's true no matter where you attend school, but students at Caribbean schools can face special challenges. Unless your school is located in a US territory, it isn't obligated to implement FERPA policies. In fact, depending on the particular country, you may have no specific privacy rights.
Obviously, some medical school personnel may need access to your academic information. That circle can include
- Student Progress Committee Chairman
- SPC voting members
- SPC non-voting members
- Student mentors
- Any staff members responsible for scheduling students in courses, helping deans and other faculty write letters of reference or maintaining academic files
- Relevant faculty
- Program directors
In fact, even if you are protected by FERPA, you must recognize that the law authorizes your academic information to be shared with “Anyone with a legitimate need to know as defined by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.”
In theory, none of those people should be able to share your information with anyone outside that circle. The truth is, though, that once these many people know your grades and other academic facts about you, it can be hard to keep that information from spreading more broadly. Rumors can spread by word of mouth or through social media and follow you around for your entire professional career.
The Lento Law Firm has experience helping students keep their information confidential. They know how to remind progress committees and other administrators of their responsibilities to protect your confidentiality.
Conflicts of Interest
You must also be alert any time you're facing a Progress Committee investigation or hearing of any potential conflicts of interest. Can you trust everyone on the committee to take an unbiased view of your situation and to treat you fairly?
Keep in mind that a medical school is a community, and depending on your school's size, that community can be very closely connected. It's almost a certainty that committee members know you and have experience with your work. You must be especially careful, though, if a member is connected to you.
- As a mentor
- As a supervisor
- Through a familial relationship
- As a doctor or patient
Most students worry about committee members who might have some bias against them. You certainly need to be aware of anyone who might deliberately try to do you harm from a committee position.
However, members with whom you are on close personal terms can also cause you problems. Often, such members are anxious to avoid any perception of favoritism and will over-compensate by being too hard on you.
The Lento Law Firm can help you evaluate your situation and identify any potential SPC members who might compromise your ability to move forward in your program.
What Can Go Wrong?
Why is it so important to understand your school's SPC and how it operates? Why do you need to worry about how the committee makes decisions and whether or not someone on the committee might have a conflict of interest? Simply put, because a great deal can go wrong.
- Dismissal: The very worst possible outcome of an SPC decision is dismissal. Dismissal means the loss of all the progress you've made up to that point. Beyond this, though, it likely signals the end of your medical career. Dismissal always comes with a transcript notation about the specific nature of your offense, and that will usually prevent any other school from admitting you. In short, you can find yourself trying to pay back loans with no degree.
- Remediation: Even if you aren't dismissed from your Caribbean medical school, a sanction can hamper your progress and impact your career. If you get saddled with a remediation plan that is too complex, it can mean you must repeat a year, separating you from your cohort and adding more time to earn your degree. In addition, though, remediation then becomes a part of your medical school record. That can impact residency opportunities, licensing decisions, and ultimately that all-important first job out of medical school.
In short, you must take all SPC decisions seriously. You may sail through every review with high marks, but it's impossible to tell when some lapse on your part—perhaps even a mistake you didn't realize you made—could serve as grounds to hold you back.
What does taking decisions seriously mean?
- It means showing up for any meeting to which you're invited and being on time.
- It means preparing for such meetings by considering what questions might come up and how you will respond.
- It means assembling any evidence you think will help your case.
Taking it seriously also means having the Lento Law Firm and their Student Defense Team with you. They can help you prepare your defense, work with you to identify evidence, draft documents on your behalf, suggest any places where there might be a conflict of interest, and give you practice in responding to questions. More importantly than anything else, though, they can make sure your rights are protected from start to finish. The Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm know the law, and they'll make sure your medical school abides by that law.
Can you appeal an SPC decision that goes against you? Of course, you can. But you're far better off avoiding having to do that in the first place.
Appealing Progress Committee Decisions
Of course, if the worst should happen and you should be sanctioned—even dismissed—the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team are also well-versed in filing appeals of SPC decisions.
That process can vary, depending on your specific school. At Avalon University School of Medicine, for example, you appeal up the chain of command, first to the Associate Dean of Basic Sciences or the Associate Dean of Clinical Sciences, and if that doesn't resolve the matter, to the Executive Dean.
Appeals almost never afford you the right to a hearing. Instead, decisions are made behind closed doors after reviewing your documents, your evidence, and your record. It's important, then, that you know how to construct written arguments. The Lento Law Firm knows how to make you look your best on paper. They give you your very best chance of a successful resolution to your case.
Hiring the Right Attorney
Two things should be clear at this point:
- Defending yourself from adverse Student Progress Committee decisions can be a complex process. You have to know the rules and procedures, you have to know how your school operates, you have to know what personalities are involved, and that's all aside from the complexity of actually developing a defense.
- You cannot afford any sort of sanction from the Student Progress Committee. Remediation might not be enough to put your actual career in jeopardy, but even a remediation decision can significantly limit your future opportunities as a professional.
Given these conditions, you need the very best help you can find. You need the Lento Law Firm and their Education Law Team. They know what you're up against; they know what the stakes are, and most importantly, they know how to handle the situation. They've worked with hundreds of students just like you to get them the justice they deserve. Don't trust your medical future to anyone else.
To find out more about exactly what the Lento Law Firm and their Education Law Team can do for you, contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-555-3686, or use our automated online form.
