Abstract

Clinical campus assignments are made prior to matriculation. A student may request to change their clinical campus assignment when the original assignment will require substantial personal or educational hardship. This policy does not apply to students requesting campus transfer that also involves a change in an assigned track.

Reason for Policy

This policy ensures a mechanism by which students may request campus change. It outlines the process by which campus change requests are adjudicated and meets the requirements set forth by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) accreditation requirements as follows:

Standard 10: Medical Student Selection, Assignment, and Progress
“A medical school establishes and publishes admission requirements for potential applicants to the medical education program and uses effective policies and procedures for medical student selection, enrollment, and assignment.”

Element 10.9: Student Assignment
“A process exists whereby a medical student with an appropriate rationale can request an alternative assignment when circumstances allow for it.”

Policy

The UAB Heersink School of Medicine assigns clinical campus prior to student matriculation. Assignments are based on student preference and campus capacity. Medical students may request a clinical campus change during the second year of medical school. A change in a student’s campus assignment is considered when completion of clinical coursework on the originally assigned campus will require substantial personal or educational hardship, there is capacity to accommodate the student’s change request without a negative impact on the education of other students, and when the campus change will not require that the student change tracks. Campus change requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Campus Change Committee. Decisions of the Campus Change Committee may be appealed. When students are granted a campus change, they become subject to expectations, regulations, and requirements of the newly assigned campus. Students requesting a campus change that requires a change to their track (e.g. transfer from the Primary Care Track to the Regular MD Track or vice-versa) must apply for advanced transfer to the alternate track through the Office of Admissions and Enrollment Management and receive approval from the Admissions Selection Committee for the change in track. Students granted the track change can then change campus. Students changing tracks are subject to the expectations, regulations, and requirements of the new campus and track.

Procedure

The Campus Change Committee is composed of the Associate Dean for Students, the Associate Dean for Admissions and Enrollment Management, the Huntsville and Montgomery Directors of Medical Education and Student Services, and the Tuscaloosa Director of Medical Student Affairs. The Campus Change Committee adjudicates campus change requests and makes decisions to grant or deny campus change requests.

Campus Change Request Process

Students may request an alternative campus assignment during their second year of medical school and prior to attendance on the originally assigned clinical campus. Students receive communication from the Office of the Associate Dean for Students during the second half of the Fall term (i.e. October-December) detailing the campus change request process. The communication outlines criteria for campus change requests and links to a campus change application. Students are provided a deadline for submission of a campus change request. Applications are reviewed by the Campus Change Committee. Students are then interviewed to better understand individual need for campus change. Students are notified in writing of the outcomes of their campus change request by the first week of the Spring term.

Extenuating circumstances necessitating campus change after a student has started attendance at a clinical campus are rare but when needed, are handled on a case-by-case basis by the Associate Dean for Students, the Associate Dean for Admissions and Enrollment Management, and the Directors of student services/affairs for campus(es) impacted by the campus change. Approval for campus change is granted when continued attendance on the assigned site will cause a substantial personal or educational hardship to the student.

Process of Appeal

Students have the right to appeal the denial of a campus change request. Students are made aware of this right and the process of appealing at the time that they are notified that their campus change request was denied. When a student chooses to appeal, they must notify the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education in writing and provide rationale for their appeal. The appeal should include a description of hardship incurred by requiring completion of coursework on the originally assigned campus and why the decision of the Campus Change Committee should be overturned. The appeal is reviewed by the Senior Associate Dean, the Regional Campus Dean overseeing the student’s originally assigned campus, and the Regional Campus Dean overseeing the campus to which the student is requesting a transfer, as relevant. They may choose to uphold or overturn the decision of the Campus Change Committee. This decision is final.

History 

Created: July 24, 2021
Approved: Aug. 1, 2021 by UA System Office
Revised: Aug. 1, 2021

University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine policies shall be reviewed periodically to determine whether revisions are appropriate to address the needs of the medical school community.