Scope and Purpose
The Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee (EPCC) serves as an independent body to provide oversight and governance for the undergraduate medical education program.
The committee oversees the design, management, integration, evaluation, and enhancement of a coherent and coordinated curriculum. This includes establishing graduation competencies (program objectives) and related outcome measures, regular review and updating of content, and evaluation of the teaching and learning environment through formal review of courses, phases and the curriculum as a whole to ensure the program is meeting its intended outcomes. The committee creates educational policy, oversees student appeals, and makes curricular decisions in accordance with the mission and vision of the School of Medicine and Public Health, and the accreditation requirements of the Liaison Committee for Medical Education.
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Membership
The number of voting members shall not exceed fourteen (14) nor be less than 10 (10).
The Chair of EPCC will be appointed from among the EPCC elected SMPH faculty members by the Associate Dean for Medical Education. The EPCC Chair will have a two-year term that can be renewed for an additional year at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Medical Education.
| Membership Category and Quantity | Appointment | Terms |
| Student Members – 4 | One student member representing each year of the curriculum chosen from each class by election from their peers. Should any student member leave their original class year, they will relinquish their committee membership, and a new student member will be selected by election of their peers. | 4 year term that begins during the first semester. |
| SMPH Faculty Members – 8 | Elected from the SMPH faculty body through call for nominations, vetting of nominations by the Dean and ballot vote by the entire SMPH faculty. All faculty are approved by the Dean based on election outcome. In the event that a faculty member needs to withdraw from the committee during their term, a replacement will be appointed by the committee chair to serve the remainder of the term. | 3 year term, with approximately one third of the membership rotating off each year. SMPH Faculty can serve no more than 2 consecutive terms, serving a partial term counts as one term if the service was for the majority ofthat term. No fewer than 2 elected members should be from the Basic or Applied Science Departments and no fewer than 2 elected members should be from the Clinical Departments. |
| SMPH Faculty at Large Member – 1 | Appointed by the Associate Dean for Medical Education. In the event that a faculty member needs to withdraw from the committee during their term, a replacement will be appointed by the committee chair to serve the remainder of the term. | 3 year term. SMPH Faculty can serve no more than 2 consecutive terms, serving a partial term counts as one term if the service was for the majority of that term. Membership will rotate to include other health professional programs and/or statewide sites to ensure the broadest representation. |
| Statewide Clinical Campus SMPH Faculty Member – 1 | Appointed by the Associate Dean for Medical Education. In the event that a SMPH faculty member needs to withdraw from the committee during their term, a replacement will be appointed by the committee chair to serve the remainder of the term. | 3 year term. SMPH Faculty can serve no more than 2 consecutive terms, serving a partial term counts as one term if the service was for the majority of that term. Membership will rotate through sites to ensure the broadest representation. |
Non-voting Ex-Officio Members:
- Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
- Associate Dean for Medical Student Education and Services
- Associate Dean for Medical Education
- Associate Dean for Student Services
- Assistant/Associate Dean for Multicultural Affairs for Health Professions Learners
- Ebling Library Director
- MD Program Phase Directors
- Director of Medical Education Assessment and Continuous Quality Improvement
- Director of Longitudinal Curriculum and Instruction
- Director for Student Services
- Chair of Curriculum and Assessment Subcommittee
- Chair(s) of Student Subcommittee for Curricular Improvement
- GMEC Resident Representative
Authority
Subject to the requirements of university governance, the Educational Policy and Curriculum committee is a SMPH faculty body with full authority and final approval1 over the undergraduate medical education curriculum leading to the Doctor of Medicine degree at The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH). It operates independently with authority delegated from the School of Medicine and Public Health Bylaws and does not report to the UWSMPH leadership or other standing committees. The Dean has final authority for any curricular decisions with financial implications.
Responsibilities
MD Program Oversight:
- Review and approve or reject all new courses proposed by medical school departments for students in the MD degree program as well as any substantive changes to existing courses.
- Determine graduation requirements for medical students.
- Hear student appeals for the MD degree program from the Student Promotion and Academic Review Committee (SPARC) and render final decision.
- Assure adherence to LCME accreditation and other regulatory standards.
- Establish program learning objectives for the MD degree program and review outcome data to demonstrate achievement (in aggregate) of the medical education program objectives.
- Establish the appropriate sequence of courses.
- Establish educational policy for the SMPH Doctor of Medicine Program. Monitor and ensure adherence to all policies including, but not limited to policies regarding: contact/duty hour, narrative feedback, mid-point feedback, residents-as-teachers, timely posting of evaluations,and absences.
Teaching and Learning Oversight:
- Review and approve course objectives, ensuring that the components support the medical school program objectives.
- Monitor appropriate placement of content. Ensure that the curriculum is optimally integrated, both vertically and horizontally within and across courses, phases and the curriculum as a whole. Identify gaps and unwanted redundancies in topic areas. Review and approve content tagging for the curriculum mapping system.
- Establish required clinical conditions, encounters, procedures, and skills for Phase 2 and 3 students. Review and monitor the completion of required clinical experiences (in aggregate) annually.
- Monitor instructional and assessment methods, ensuring that methods align with research-based best practices, support learning, achieve intended outcomes, and produce a fair and equitable grading system.
- Approve any major changes to curriculum, including additions or deletions of content, course objectives, assessment methods and significant changes to instructional methods.
Outcomes and Evaluation:
- Monitor and assess the quality of required courses with respect to objectives, content, instructional activities, time allocation, assessment, outcomes, and to make decisions for improvement, including changes in curriculum delivery and course leadership. A formal review of each course occurs annually through the Course Improvement Plan (CIP) process.
- Ensure appropriateness and effectiveness of student evaluation procedures across the curriculum.
- Consider student/faculty grievances about curricular issues.
- Empower student representatives to present annually on topics related to student curricular concerns.
- Analyze outcome data related to curricular effectiveness and make recommendations for improvement. A formal review of each phase and a whole curriculum review occur at least every three years.
- Set priorities and charge subcommittees with oversight and review of specific components of the curriculum. Review reports from subcommittees and workgroups and approve, modify, or reject the recommendations.
- Review the quality of the education being delivered at each of the regional campus sites, ensuring comparable education experiences and equivalent methods of assessment.
Meetings
EPCC will have necessary administrative support provided from the Medical Education Office/Academic Affairs. Committee meetings are open unless it is in executive session or deliberating appeals from the Student Promotion and Academic Review Committee (SPARC).
Agenda: Meeting agendas are the responsibility of the chair of the EPCC with input from Administrative Co-Chair and committee voting and ex-officio members.
Minutes: Meeting minutes are drafted by the EPCC administrative support. Minutes are reviewed and approved by the EPCC at the next committee meeting. Voting and action items are documented and followed up on in a timely manner.
Frequency: The EPCC meets monthly.
Attendance: Members are required to attend the majority of all EPCC meetings. Voting members must inform the chair if they are unable to attend and the chair may arrange for proxy vote.
Quorum: A quorum consists of 51% of the committee voting members.
Voting: A majority vote is necessary to approve any motion. Positive recommendations made by EPCC on course proposals or substantive course changes will be forwarded to the University Curriculum Committee for approval.
Governance
The EPCC has authority to establish standing subcommittees, delegating responsibility to monitor specific aspects of the curriculum and receiving regular reports based on their areas of oversight. The committee can also specifically task a subcommittee, resulting in a bi-directional flow of information. Other ad-hoc workgroups may be established by vote of the committee and are charged to address a specific issue or need. Workgroups remain in existence until a recommendation is submitted or the EPCC determines that the need for the workgroup has been resolved. The EPCC receives and reviews all recommendations from subcommittees and ad-hoc workgroups. After review, the EPCC approves, rejects or modifies all recommendations from subcommittees and ad-hoc workgroups.
The EPCC chair selects the chair and members for all subcommittees composed of faculty. All student subcommittees are formed by nomination and vote by students, with approval by the EPCC chair.
Each subcommittee has a charter to define scope of responsibility and procedures, which is approved by EPCC.
Standing Subcommittees:
- Curriculum and Assessment Subcommittee (CAS)
Ensure horizontal and vertical integration for all competency areas within the four-year program, monitor and allocate curricular time, identify problems related to curriculum and assessment and propose solutions, develop standards regarding teaching, learning and assessment, and review and approve MD program course proposals.
- Student Subcommittee for Curricular Improvement (SSCI)
Collaborate with relevant stakeholders and propose solutions for curricular issues and challenges, lead communication between student leadership and student body regardingall curricular issues and review course evaluations and curricular policies to make suggestions for improvement.