Elective Review Committee (ERC) BYLAWS

The Education, Policy and Curriculum Committee (EPCC) delegates responsibility to the ERC for assessing each elective and sub-internship in the curriculum at least once every four years. The goals of the review committee are: 1) to ensure educational quality, innovation, and a supportive learning environment in each of the electives and sub-internships, 2) to provide the elective director information regarding themes of student feedback and the integration of content with other components of the curriculum, 3) to evaluate proposals for new electives and decide how best to incorporate them into the curriculum, 4) to bring process enhancements or recommendations from elective directors forward, 5) to ensure compliance with LCME Educational Directives for accreditation.

Elective and sub-internship review is a constructive process that aims to stimulate productive discussion among elective directors, staff, students, and leadership in order to support the highest quality educational experience. The review covers multiple aspects of the elective: organization, clinical and didactic teaching, patient care, the learning environment, feedback mechanisms, and the elective director's analysis and outlook. The process also identifies methods of curriculum delivery that are particularly effective, which can then be provided to other elective directors for continuous improvement.

The ERC serves in an advisory capacity to the EPCC by making recommendations regarding optimization of the electives and sub-internships.

The ERC will advise the EPCC on the following:

• The overall quality of the learning environment and learning experience for students within the advanced training period
• Strengths and opportunities for improvement for each of the electives and sub-internships
• Future need for innovation and development of educational strategies and areas of focus to maintain an effective and high-quality medical education within the advanced training periodlearning environment

The ERC shall consist of the following members (“Committee Members”):

1. Appointed Members [5]:
   1. Director of Electives, Chair (1)
   2. Manager of Electives, Administrator (1)
   3. Teaching & Learning Center Representative (1)
   4. Medical Curriculum Administrator (1)
   5. Registrar (1)
2. Elected Members [20 to 30]:
   1. Elective / Sub-internship Director (5 to 6)
   2. Elective / Sub-internship Coordinator (3 to 4)
   3. Clinical Faculty (2 to 10)
   4. Medical Students (10) {2 per class should include at least 1 MD/PhD Student}

1. Elective / Sub-internship Director
   1. Eligibility for membership:
      Any of the Directors from the # electives and sub-internships are eligible to serve on the ERC.
   2. Solicitation of nominations:
      Individuals may self-nominate or be nominated by department chairs, directors of medical studies, elective / sub-internship directors, elective coordinators, or central curriculum directors / administrators. Nominations will be solicited by email and/or at elective review meetings, in an effort to reach all individuals eligible for membership.
   3. Length of term:
      Members are elected to a 4-year term with re-election permitted. Re-elected individuals may serve one additional term. The second term may be consecutive or non-consecutive from the first one.
   4. Election procedure and appointment timeline:
      Election of nominated candidates is done by vote of the elective directors and appointed elective review committee members. Elections for open positions are held at the start of the academic year. A mid-year election may be held to fill positions vacated due to resignation or removal.
   5. Resignation and Removal:
      A Committee Member may resign at any time by giving written notice of such resignation to the Committee Chair. Such resignation is effective upon receipt of said notice or at such later time as may be specified in such notice. Members who resign from their position as an elective or sub-internship director will be deemed to have resigned from the Committee at the time they resign from their position in elective leadership. A new director will be selected to replace them, per the election procedure outlined above.
2. Elective / Sub-internship Coordinator
   1. Eligibility for membership:
      Any of the elective / sub-internship coordinators from the # in the advanced training period are eligible to serve on the ERC.
   2. Solicitation of nominations:
      Individuals may self-nominate or be nominated representatives by the elective coordinator group.Nominations will be solicited by email and/or at elective coordinator meetings, in an effort to reach all individuals eligible for membership.
   3. Length of term:
      Members are elected to a 4-year term with re-election permitted. Re-elected individuals may serve one additional term. The second term may be consecutive or non-consecutive from the first one.
   4. Election procedure and appointment timeline:
      Election of nominated candidates is done by vote of all fellow elective coordinators. Elections for open positions are held at the start of the academic year. A mid-year election may be held to fill positions vacated due to resignation or removal.
   5. Resignation and Removal:
      A Committee Member may resign at any time by giving written notice of such resignation to the Committee Chair. Such resignation is effective upon receipt of said notice or at such later time as may be specified in such notice. Members who resign from their position as a elective coordinator will be deemed to have resigned from the Committee at the time they resign from their position in elective leadership. A new elective coordinator will be selected to replace them, per the election procedure outlined above.
3. Clinical Faculty
   1. Eligibility for membership: Full-Time YSM faculty amongst the clinical departments are eligible to be representatives of their respective groups.
   2. Solicitation of nominations: representatives may be nominated by department chairs, directors of medical studies (DMS), course, clerkship or elective directors, and central curriculum directors
   3. Election procedure and appointment timeline: Election of nominated candidates is done by vote of all elective / sub-internship directors for clinical faculty representatives.
   4. Length of term: clinical faculty members are elected to a 4-year term with re-election permitted.
   5. Resignation and removal: A Committee Member may resign at any time by giving written notice of such resignation to the Committee Chair. Such resignation is effective upon receipt of said notice or at such later time as may be specified in such notice. Members who resign from the Yale faculty will be deemed to have resigned from the Committee at the time they resign from the faculty.
4. Students
   1. Eligibility for membership:
      All Yale School of Medicine MD students in good standing are eligible to serve as ERC members. There will be two elected representatives from each year of the MD curriculum (inclusive of representatives for the MD-PhD students)
   2. Solicitation of nominations:
      In a process determined by the Medical Student Council, students are able to self-nominate for a position on the ERC. A vote is conducted by class to elect the two students who will serve as representatives for each year of the MD curriculum.
   3. Election procedure and appointment timeline:
      Students are selected by the student body at the start of each academic year, using their election process.
   4. Length of term:
      Student representatives are elected to a 1-year term with re-election permitted
   5. Resignation and removal: A Committee member may resign at any time by giving written notice of such resignation to the Committee Chair. Such resignation is effective upon receipt of said notice or at such later time as may be specified in such notice. Should any of these student members leave their original class year, they will relinquish their committee membership, and a new student member will be selected by the student body.

1. All members of the ERC are voting members.

1. Frequency of meetings:
   1. The committee will generally meet once a month. The Chair reserves the right to call for meetings more or less frequently depending upon the amount of work of the committee.
   2. Meetings may be cancelled at the discretion of the Chair. There will be no less than 8 meetings in an academic year.
2. Meeting agendas
   1. Agendas for meetings shall be set in advance by the Chair and distributed to all members at least 48 hours before the meeting.
   2. The Chair shall seek regular input from the ERC membership regarding topics for discussion at future meetings and prioritization of existing topics.
3. Meeting minutes
   1. Minutes will be kept for all ERC meetings.
   2. Minutes will be suitably edited and formatted, reviewed by the Chair, and available to the ERC membership.
      1. Elective / Sub-internship review documentation, as well as summaries that are sent to Directors may serve in lieu of minutes.
      2. A record of new electives approved by vote of the ERC will be kept and distributed to the ERC, as well as the EPCC, annually.
      3. Minutes regarding evolving issues that require multiple discussions within the ERC will be kept.
         • These minutes will be approved by a simple majority vote at a subsequent ERC meeting and posted on the ERC shared file drive not more than 2 weeks following their approval.
4. Quorum and Voting
   1. The deliberations and decisions of the ERC are guided by the principles and values embodied in the YSM educational mission statement as well as the Yale System of education. A quorum of 11 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. All members of the ERC are voting members and therefore may participate in votes.
   3. Votes may be taken either at a scheduled ERC meeting at which a quorum of members are physically in attendance, or virtually by way of email or survey. The mechanics of voting in particular cases shall be determined by the Chair.
   4. Passage of a vote shall require an absolute majority of the voting members present (or of all members who respond within a pre-specified time window, in the case of an email vote).
   5. Votes shall be open (i.e. not secret ballot)
   6. The Chair may propose to hold other votes by secret ballot (in person or via email) in exceptional circumstances, when this seems necessary to ensure the integrity of the vote. Such a change must be agreed upon in advance by the full ERC.
   7. When votes that are not by secret ballot are taken by email, a list of all votes shall be made available to any ERC member upon request.

1. It is the expectation of the board that all members attend a minimum of two thirds of the meetings (not counting excused absences).
   1. Members who cannot meet this expectation are expected to reconsider their membership and may wish to step down
   2. Continued failure to attend greater than two thirds of the meetings in a given year will result in removal from the Committee.
2. ERC members are expected to be actively engaged in matters under discussion, and to educate themselves as needed on these matters.
3. Elected ERC members shall communicate regularly with their constituents to update them on ERC discussions and activities.

These Bylaws shall serve as a binding framework for ERC operations.

1. These bylaws may be amended when necessary.
   1. Any member of ERC may communicate proposed amendments or revisions to the chair.
   2. Revisions shall be presented to the ERC at a full meeting for discussion.
2. Proposed amendments will be sent out to the full ERC membership at least one week prior to the discussion and voting.
3. Revisions approved by a majority of voting members at a meeting shall be incorporated into the Bylaws.

There are no sub-committees constituted by the ERC.

1. OPTIONAL: Working groups may be constituted as needed by vote of the committee or the prerogative of the chair.
   1. Working groups are intended to be specifically task oriented and time limited.
   2. Working groups may include individuals who are not members of the ERC.
   3. Working groups will be expected to make recommendations to the ERC, at which time the ERC will consider such recommendations for approval.