Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee Bylaws

The Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee (EPCC) is responsible for the centralized oversight of the school’s medical education policies and curriculum, and for ensuring that the educational program is integrated, coordinated and designed to ensure that learners meet the curriculum competency domains.

The Board of Permanent Officers (BPO), who serves as the governing board of Yale School of Medicine has delegated responsibility for the oversight and management of the MD program curriculum and education policy to the EPCC. The EPCC has final decision-making authority for matters of MD program education policy and curriculum.

To achieve this, the EPCC will:

• Draft and approve education policy;
• Review and monitor the school's educational policies to ensure that they are effectively implemented, adhered to and are up to date;
• Provide careful and thorough oversight of the curriculum review process, including the curriculum as a whole and its various components;
• Promote the development of new ideas and consider recommendations for curricular changes made by its review committees as well as suggestions from students, faculty and departments;
• Regularly review and monitor LCME accreditation standards and implement changes as needed to ensure that the medical education program is in full compliance with all standards and elements.

Chair: Associate Dean for Curriculum

The EPCC shall consist of a total of 29 voting members (“Committee Members”):

1. Elected Members (20):
   1. At-large Faculty (6), selected by the YSM Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) as detailed in section IIIa.
   2. Faculty education leaders (6), selected from faculty in roles below; one from each category, selected as detailed in Section IIIb.
      1. Preclerkship Course Director or Associate Director
         
      2. Thread/Content Leader
         
      3. Clinical Skills or ILCE Faculty Director
         
      4. Clerkship Director or Associate Clerkship Director
         
      5. Elective/Subinternship Director
         
      6. Departmental Director of Medical Education (DME) or Vice Chair for Education
         
   3. YSM Alumni representative (1), selected as detailed in section IIIc.
      
   4. Elected Student Members (7)
      
      1. Students (5)– one from each year, including the 5th year; selected by students as detailed in section IIId.
         
      2. MD/PhD student (1)
         
      3. Medical Student Council President (1)
         
2. Appointed Members (9) – ex-officio voting members; appointed members may designate an alternate if unable to attend. All serve without term.
   
   1. Director of Student Assessment
      
   2. Director of Program Assessment
      
   3. Director of Educator Development
   4. Director of Pre-Clerkship Curriculum (rotating)
   5. Director of Clerkship Curriculum
      
   6. Director of Advanced Training Period Curriculum
      
   7. Director, Clinical Skills Curriculum
      
   8. Director, MD/PhD Program
      
   9. Academic Advisor (rotating)

The EPCC shall include a total of 8 non-voting ex-officio members (“Committee Members”):

A number of individuals will serve automatically by virtue and while holding their designated office. These individuals will provide their unique perspectives for the committee by attending meetings as regularly as possible and shall include (but are not necessarily be limited to):

1. Deputy Dean for Education
2. Associate Dean for Student Affairs
3. Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education
4. Associate Dean for Medical Student Diversity
5. Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning
6. Associate Dean for Student Research (rotating)
7. Director of Accreditation and Continuous Quality Improvement Strategy Development
8. Curriculum Support Librarian

1. At-large Faculty
   1. Eligibility: All YSM faculty are eligible to serve on the EPCC.
   2. Solicitation of nominations: There will be an annual solicitation by the Office for the Deputy Dean for Education for nominations for open committee positions to all YSM faculty. Candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by other faculty. Candidates will submit a statement of interest, a CV, and an attestation that they will be able to attend at least 75% of the EPCC meetings.
   3. Election procedure: Election of nominated candidates is conducted by the Faculty Advisory Council using their election process. Length of term: At large members are elected to a 4-year term with re-election permitted
2. Faculty Education Leaders
   1. Faculty holding roles listed above (II.a.ii) are eligible to serve as representatives of faculty education leaders.
   2. Solicitation of nominations: There will be an annual solicitation by the Office for the Deputy Dean for Education for nominations for open committee positions to all eligible education leaders. Candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by other faculty. Candidates will submit a statement of interest, a CV, and an attestation that they will be able to attend at least 75% of the annual EPCC meetings.
   3. Election procedure: Election of nominated candidates is done by vote of the representatives for each phase of the MD program curriculum.
   4. Length of term: Faculty education leader members are elected to a 4-year term with re-election permitted.
3. Alumni Representative
   1. Eligibility for membership: All YSM alumni are eligible to serve as EPCC Members
   2. Solicitation of nominations: An email to all YSM alumni will solicit interested candidates. Candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by other YSM alumni. Candidates will submit a statement of interest, a CV, and an attestation that they would be able to attend at least 75% of the annual EPCC meetings.
   3. Election process: The election should be open to all YSM alumni and is orchestrated through Association for Yale Alumni in Medicine (AYAM).
   4. Length of term: The YSM alumni representative is elected to a 4-year term with reelection permitted.
4. Students
   1. Eligibility for membership: All YSM MD students in good standing are eligible to serve as EPCC Members. There will be an elected representative from each year of the MD curriculum, including the 5thyear plus one additional student enrolled in the combined MD/PhD program
   2. Solicitation of nominations and selection: Students are selected by the student body at the start of each academic year, using the election process established by the Medical Student Council.
   3. Length of term: Student representatives are elected to a 1-year term with reelection permitted

The committee chair shall have the authority to establish and define non-voting categories of membership.

1. Frequency of meetings
   1. The committee will meet on average 1-2 times per month, excluding the summer months. Meetings may be cancelled at the discretion of the EPCC chair.
2. Meeting Agendas
   1. Agendas for meetings shall be set in advance by the Chair and distributed to all EPCC members before the meeting.
   2. The Chair shall seek regular input from the EPCC membership regarding topics for discussion at future meetings.
3. Meeting Minutes
   1. Minutes will be kept for all EPCC meetings.
   2. Draft minutes will be reviewed by members and approved by vote.
   3. Approved minutes will be posted.
4. Quorum and Voting
   1. A quorum of 12 voting members is required, and decisions will be based on a simple majority vote. In the event of a tie vote the chair of the committee has the deciding vote.
   2. Votes may be taken either at a scheduled EPCC meeting at which a quorum of voting EPCC members are physically in attendance, or virtually by way of email. The mechanics of voting in particular cases shall be determined by the Chair.
5. Resignation and Removal
   1. A Committee member may resign at any time by giving written notice of such resignation to the Committee Chair. If a committee member is unable to attend at least 75% of scheduled meetings or engages in conduct not conducive to the committee’s charge and function, the committee member may be asked to resign or be removed at the Chair’s discretion with the approval of the Deputy Dean for Education. A new member will be selected to replace them per the election procedures outlined above.

1. EPCC shall have the following sub-committees, chaired by an EPCC member:
   1. Pre-Clerkship Review Committee
   2. Clerkship Review Committee
   3. Elective Review Committee
   4. Policies Review Committee
   5. Mapping and Integration Committee
2. Working groups or ad hoc subcommittees may be constituted as needed by vote of the committee or the prerogative of the chair.
   1. Working groups or ad hoc subcommittees may be chaired and include individuals who are not members of EPCC or its subcommittees.