Student Handbook 2012/13
SECTION SEVEN: Governance
| Governance of the School of Medicine | Committees | Student Body Committee |
2012/13 UMass Medical School Student Handbook: first posted date: 08/27/12.
* Revisions approved after this date will be noted in RED.
The primary governing bodies of the School of Medicine are the Executive Council and the Faculty Council. Student representation is provided by the President and Vice President of the Student Body Committee (SBC) serving as the student representatives to the Executive Council and the Faculty Council, respectively.
All committees, except the Educational Policy Committee, report directly or through appropriate channels to the Faculty Council and then to the Executive Council, which makes final recommendations to the Dean of the Medical School.
The Educational Policy Committee (EPC) has the responsibility for planning, implementing, supervising, evaluating, and continuously revising the program of general medical education for the training of physicians. The EPC will consult with the Faculty Council, the Executive Council, and, when appropriate, the faculty at large when new policies are proposed. Recommendations of the EPC will become policy unless disapproved by the Chancellor/Dean.
There are a number of committees at the Medical School and UMass Memorial Health Care that recommend policies, programs, etc., within their charge. Most of these committees have student representatives who are chosen through the Appointments Subcommittee of the Student Body Committee. The SBC Bulletin Board will have sign-up lists for students interested in serving on these.
Students sit on these committees as full voting members, with rights and responsibilities equal to those of the faculty members. As the list below indicates, student representation exists on essentially all committees whose business pertains in any way to student interests. In addition, ad hoc committees convened by the administration generally include one or more student members. Also, a student from this campus is elected annually by the students to serve on the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees. Only two student representatives from among the five University of Massachusetts campuses have voting rights in any given year.
The following is a list of the standing committees at UMMS along with the number of student representatives to be appointed and the Faculty Chair for each. Faculty Chairs are listed at the time of the printing of this handbook and are subject to change according to their respective appointment schedule. schedule.
| Committee | # of Representatives
| Faculty Chair
| Appt.
|
| Admissions | Two - 2nd yr. students | Dr. Mariann Manno | Spring |
| Biomedical Computing | One medical student | Dr. Lawrence Lifshitz | mid- Sept. |
| Clinical Years | One CCE med student
One AS medical student | Dr. Deborah Field | mid-Sept. |
| Committee on Committees | Two medical students | Dr. Luanne Thorndyke | mid-Sept |
| Council on Equal Opportunity & Diversity(CEOD) | One CCE medical student | Dr. Philip Dilorio
Valerie Wedge, LICSW | mid- Sept. |
| Educational Policy Committee (EPC) | Two medical students from 2 different classes | Dr. Robert Baldor | mid-Sept. |
| Executive Council | One student (SBC Chair) | Dr. Stephen Heard | late spring |
| Faculty Council | One student (SBC Chair) | Dr. Robert Weinstein | mid-Sept. |
| FOM 1 Curriculum | Two- 1st yr. students
One- 2nd yr. student
| Dr. Susan Gagliardi | mid-Sept. |
| FOM 2 Curriculum | Two- 1st yr. students
One 3rd yr. student | Dr. Thomas Smith | mid-Sept. |
| Learning Contract Advisory Group | one medical student | Dr. Deborah Hines | mid-Sept. |
| Library & Learning Resources | Two medical students | Dr. John Cooke | mid- Sept. |
| Student Affairs | Four medical students | Dr.Timothy Gibson | mid-Sept. |
| Student Health Advisory | Two medical students | Dr. Philip Fournier | mid-Sept. |
| Women’s Faculty | Two medical students | Elaine Martin, DA
Dr. Mai-Lan Rogoff
| mid-Sept. |
| Worcester District Medical Society | Two medical students | Contact:
Dr. Michele Pugnaire | mid-Sept. |
The Student Body Committee (SBC) is the official student representative body of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Its purpose is to represent the student body to the University of Massachusetts Medical School faculty and administration
and to the community. Another function of the SBC is the disbursement of student funds for student activities. Types of activities that have been funded in the past include a student newsletter, a student literary magazine, speaker fees for general
lectures, and student welcoming and graduation barbecues.
Any student requesting SBC funds must provide the SBC with a written proposal which should include an itemized budget, a demonstration of attempts to obtain funding from alternative sources, a description of the potential benefits to a majority of the student body and an estimation of interest in the activity from the student body.
Elections to the SBC are held once a year by each class. Membership is limited to one student per 20 students in each class, so there are generally five representatives per medical student class, four or five representatives from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and one or two from the Graduate School of Nursing.
Representatives also serve on one of several institutional committees as part of their SBC responsibilities. SBC meetings are held monthly. The meeting dates and agendas are posted and meetings are open to the public. Students are encouraged to
attend to present ideas, viewpoints and/or grievances.
It is our hope that student input on the above mentioned committees will serve the dual function of expressing the opinions of the student body, as well as providing a method of communication with the administration and the faculty. Committee members have certain responsibilities - voting privileges, expression of student viewpoints and opinions and communication of issues to the student body. Committee members will fill out a brief summary of any important issues that were discussed or voted upon and turn this into the SBC. This information will be compiled and posted on the SBC bulletin board. It is hoped that with more representation, students will at the very least be aware of the issues throughout UMMS and UMass Memorial and possibly influential in determining outcomes. On an individual basis, committee members will have the opportunity to closely interact with faculty members and physicians from throughout the Medical Center.
There are also various subcommittees within the above listed, for example Curriculum Subcommittees for FOM 1, FOM 2 and Clinical Years. The role of student participation on these committees is especially important.
A complete listing of all student groups can be found at the Student Affairs website at http://umassmed.edu/studentaffairs/studentgroups.aspx.
Student Trustee
Every year, the student body at UMass has the opportunity to elect a Student Trustee from UMass/Worcester to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees. This student is the sole student representative from UMass/Worcester and holds a very
important position. Of the five University of Massachusetts student trustees, three are voting members at any one time, on a rotating basis.
The only distinction between the voting Student Trustee and other Board members is the abbreviated term in office of the student. The Student Trustee’s term of office runs from July 1 to June 30. Elections for the Student Trustee are held in April. All
students are eligible to be on the ballot.
The Student Trustee is expected to (1) keep the students and the SBC informed of discussions and the decisions made by the Board of Trustees: (2) provide a UMass/ Worcester student’s perspective to the Board; (3) review tenure and faculty advancement within the University system; (4) review the allocation of funds throughout the University system; (5) assist in the selection of honorary degrees; (6) review the Hospital Management Board meetings; and (7) work with the Chancellor
on selected projects.
The position offers a student the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process that affects students on the Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell campuses as well as students here in Worcester.