ACADEMIC STANDARDS COMMITTEE
This committee is concerned with grading procedures, grades, grade distributions, evaluation of students, criteria for advancement and graduation, and related matters. In recent years it has also dealt with issues pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act and its impact on medical education at the LSU School of Medicine.
ADMISSION COMMITTEE
The LSU School of Medicine at New Orleans is dedicated to providing the opportunity for an excellent medical education to all Louisiana residents who are prepared to benefit from its curriculum and instruction. To this end, the Admissions Committee will strive to recruit and admit Louisiana residents from every geographic, economic, social, and cultural dimension of the State of Louisiana. The Committee on Admissions strives to evaluate all applicants in three major areas: humanitarian qualities, overall excellence, and experience.
APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS COMMITTEE
The charge of the Appointments and Promotions Committee is to recommend to the dean on proposed advanced rank appointments (associate or full professorial ranks) on any appointment track as they are received throughout the academic year. It also provides a recommendation to the dean on all proposed academic advancements and tenure granting. New appointments are handled through electronic committee meetings with a deadline for recommendations to the committee chair. Academic advancements and appeals to the committee are made in a traditional committee meeting structure, requiring typically three meetings (one of which is day long) each fall.
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
The Communications Committee originated from the Dean's Strategic Initiative and aims to improve communications at the School of Medicine, both internally and between the school and the public. The goal of the committee is to identify areas where communications are lacking, establish systems to address these shortfalls, and develop mechanisms to facilitate the acquisition and dissemination of information important to the life of the LSU School of Medicine.
COPPING COMMITTEE EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
The charge of the Copping Committee, comprised of faculty, residents and students, is to recommend to the dean nominees for the Copping “Excellence in Teaching” award that is presented each year at graduation. Materials for review are posted in advance of the committee meetings, held typically early in the calendar year, on a secure web site. One or two meetings are required each year normally scheduled at noon and lasting no more than two hours each.
COUNCIL ON PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
The Council on Professional Conduct is responsible for the review and investigation of allegations of unethical professional conduct for the LSUHSC School of Medicine. The Council is made up of twenty-seven faculty, student and resident members. Chairmanship is shared by one student and one faculty member. An adhoc committee initially reviews the allegations and determines whether a case should proceed to a formal hearing. The final results and recommendations of the formal hearing are submitted to the Dean for his review and final dispostion.
CURRICULUM EVALUATION COMMITTEE
This committee monitors the courses in all four years of the medical curriculum. The committee works closely with the Curriculum Oversight Committee and with the Aesculapian Society, which presents summaries of all of its reports to the committee. The committee may also conduct its own surveys of courses, as well as surveying the student body for other information about the curriculum, support services, and related topics.
CURRICULUM OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
This committee develops overall medical school curriculum goals and specific educational program objectives. It monitors many internal and external outcomes such as student performance on board exams, student performance in the residency match, student responses on the AAMC Graduation Questionnaire, surveys of residency program directors, and competency requirements in specific courses. This committee also proposes curriculum changes such as new courses, or new course content in order to remain in compliance with AAMC recommendations and LCME requirements.
FACULTY EVALUATION COMMITTEE
This committee is concerned with establishing the guidelines and forms used for evaluation of faculty, particularly the annual review of each faculty member by his or her department head. The committee's goal is to foster faculty development to help faculty members advance academically.
GME COORDINATING
The mission of the GME Coordinating Committee is to review the inter-relationships and general programmatic needs of the LSU School of Medicine residency and fellowship training programs located at the various sites across the southern part of Louisiana. It will meet only on an “as needed” basis to deliberate over matters that cannot be resolved at a departmental level or in conjunction with the affiliated hospital.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL COMMITTEE
The charge of this committee is to review international travel proposals from all members of the SOM community for academic or scientific merit. Recommendations are made to the dean regarding all international travel requests requiring reimbursement of expenses in advance of travel. Revisions to international travel proposals may be recommended by the committee to enhance the strength of the information presented validating academic or scientific merit. Most deliberations are done electronically on a monthly basis. Please see the attached related policy.
RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT FUND COMMITTEE
The Research Enhancement Fund Committee meets three times a year to review internal applications for intramural funding of scientific projects at LSUHSC.
RESEARCH SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The purpose of the Research Space Advisory Committee is to collect information on and evaluate changes in departmental and center research productivity and utilization of research space. This information will be used by the committee to make recommendations for the annual space report to the Administrative Council, and to guide the Dean in allocating space to the administrative units throughout the School of Medicine. This committee meets at least once annually with materials submitted to committee members in advance to review. The committee prepares a report to the dean annually.
RURALSCHOLARS TRACK SUBCOMMITTEE
The Rural Scholars Track Sub-Committee monitors the rural curriculum for the students enrolled in the RST. This includes their clinical experiences at University Medical Center as well as with their rural preceptorship. In addition, the group works to develop and improve the rural educational experience and ensure the students receive an education equivalent to that of the remainder of the students.
SABBATICAL COMMITTEE
The charge of the Sabbatical Committee is to recommend to the dean on sabbatical leave requests for the upcoming academic year. In the case of poorly justified requests, it also will recommend revisions to the applicant to strengthen the proposal. Review of materials is required in advance of a typically single committee meeting each year.
STUDENT PROMOTIONS COMMIITTEE (L1 and L2)
The Preclinical Sciences Promotions Committee considers academic problems of students enrolled in years one and two of the curriculum. The committee consists of the course directors and representative faculty of each course from the respective year plus five representatives of the Dean's Office. The Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Records provides logistical support, the list of students under consideration, and the records of each student to be discussed for all promotions committee meetings.