Pre-clerkship Curricular Unit Remediation Policy

It is the policy of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix that a remediation plan for pre-clerkship curricular units* will be addressed in the syllabus and follow the below specifications. A student can remediate only one curricular unit failure during the Personalized Active Learning block. See Enrollment, Sequencing and Grading for Pre-Clerkships Policy for information on timing when remediating an Incomplete curricular unit.

The following sections will detail the required elements of a failed curricular unit remediation and will be addressed in each curricular unit syllabus. Once the syllabus is approved by the Curriculum Committee no further review of the remediation plan will be required.

Remediation Director

The faculty of record for the remediation will be the curricular unit Director unless that person needs to designate another faculty member due to scheduling issues. In such case, another faculty member will be designated by the curricular unit Director to assist with or lead the remediation. This will be done in consultation with the Associate Dean, Curricular Affairs and Program Evaluation.

Pre-assessment

The student will meet with the Associate Dean, Student Affairs, the curricular unit Director, Student Development, and others deemed appropriate to determine as accurately as possible why the curricular unit was failed (e.g., test taking skills, volume or nature of the material, etc.).

Length of Remediation

The length of the remediation must be stated, and cannot exceed six weeks. Except in extenuating circumstances, the remediation time will be the same for all students remediating the curricular unit in the same year, regardless of circumstances of failure.

Curriculum

Every medical knowledge component of the failed curricular unit, including theme content, must be included in the remediation plan. All curricular unit material must be assessed at end of the remediation period regardless of how the student managed this material during the regular curricular unit.

Location of Remediation

1. Place where remediation is to occur will be specified.
2. A specified number (defined in the syllabus) of required, periodic meetings with the curricular unit Director or designated faculty member, other relevant faculty and learning resources staff will occur.

Study/Teaching Method(s)

1. Study/teaching method(s) or resources should be clear and defined.
2. Remediating students will not be required to repeat live lectures.
3. Lecture recordings, PowerPoint presentations, examinations (to be reviewed in a secure environment), case-based instruction cases and all other relevant materials from the failed curricular unit will form the basis for assessment of the remediation.
4. Relevant supplemental materials may be provided by the curricular unit Director to augment the learning process, but will not add to the depth or breadth of material to be remediated beyond that covered in the failed curricular unit.
5. Other non-graded assignments may be required at the discretion of the curricular unit Director.
6. Use of and/or requirement for additional resources (simulation center, library, BioPac, etc.) will be determined by the curricular unit Director and made available to students if scheduling allows.

Dates of Remediation

1. The proposed start and end dates, or window of start and end dates, will be specified.
2. The number of weeks of remediation will be predetermined by the curricular unit Director (see Length of Remediation, above​).

Assessment – Blocks

1. Examinations will be United States Medical Licensing Examination-style multiple-choice questions encompassing one or more examinations, not to exceed the original number of block examinations.
2. Assessment must cover all of the material of the block, recognizing that each question may encompass more than one topic (integrative questions); with no minimum, but maximum not to exceed total number of questions in the original block examinations.
3. Passing Grade: The student must score 70% cumulatively on the remediation examination(s) (total questions correct/total questions on all examinations x 100).
4. Challenges: The challenge policy will remain the same as for the regularly scheduled block; block Director rebuttals will be final.

Assessment – Courses

1. Course Director will stipulate type of required assessment (e.g., Objective Structured Clinical Examination), as well as the content coverage of the assessment portion of the remediation.
2. Passing Grade: The Course Director will stipulate the minimum assessment score required to pass the remediation.
3. Failure: If a failure is recorded for the remediation, the failure will be considered a second failure of the same curricular unit and the student will be automatically dismissed. See Dismissal and Removal from Academic Environment Policy.

Failed Remediation

No retake examination/assessment option will be offered for a failed remediation experience.

*Any component of the curriculum where a grade is earned.