/Institutions/University-of-Texas-Rio-Grande-Valley/json/som/policies-local.json

/Institutions/University-of-Texas-Rio-Grande-Valley/json/som/policies.json

EAA041 Student Selection and Final Authority of the Admissions Committee

Policy Number: EAA041
Policy Title: Student Selection and Final Authority of the Admissions Committee

A. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish the final authority of the Admissions Committee and to provide clear guidelines for the selection of students to the School of Medicine.

B. Persons Affected

This policy applies to the admissions committee chair and vice chair, admissions committee voting members, interviewers, and all administrators, faculty and staff in the office of admissions in their designated role in the selection process of students to the UTRGV SOM.

C. Implementation Date

This policy is effective with the UTRGV SOM inaugural class, the Class of 2020, and will remain in effect for future classes unless otherwise amended.

D. Policy

The School of Medicine Admissions Committee is an independent committee with the charge for processing, interviewing and accepting qualified applicants to the school of medicine. In accordance with LCME and AAMC guidelines and the SOM mission, the Admissions Committee reviews and approves the policies, procedures, and criteria for medical student selection, on a yearly basis.

The Admissions Committee (AC) as a whole has the final authority for making admissions decisions. The medical school bylaws document of the UTRGV SOM grants the authority for the admission of medical students to the Admissions Committee. Members of the Admissions Committee (including the chair and the vice-chair) are appointed by the Dean, consisting of at least ¾ faculty members and may include residents and medical students. Faculty members constitute the majority of voting members at all meetings. The Chair of the Admissions Committee reports selection decisions to the Office of Admissions for execution. The Admissions Committee has the sole mandate and responsibility to manage the acceptance, waitlist/alternate list and rejection of applicants without any influence from political or financial factors. To that end, the committee uses a "holistic" approach for admissions. The AC establishes criteria and procedures for admissions and reviews and amends these criteria and procedures, as needed, on an annual basis. These criteria are presented to the Central Curriculum Authority Committee (CCAC) for approval or modification on an annual basis.

It is the policy of the UTRGV SOM to seek to admit a diverse class, with respect to gender, race, ethnicity, cultural and economic background, and life experience. The SOM believes a diverse student body provides a valuable educational experience that prepares its medical students for the real world of medical practice in a multicultural society. Strongly motivated students from educationally disadvantaged and historically underrepresented backgrounds are actively sought. Within this framework, the SOM seeks to admit a diverse cohort of students who demonstrate the requisite academic readiness and humanistic attributes to become competent, compassionate, and culturally sensitive physicians. This selection process is guided by the principals of holistic review which incorporate a method of assessing an applicant's qualifications by which balanced consideration is given to the collective preparatory experiences, personal attributes, and academic metrics of each candidate. A candidate will not be denied admission on the basis of any legally prohibited discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability.