Distributed Program Planning Committee — Terms of Reference

Purpose and Authority

The purpose of this committee is to:

Recommend to the Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine (FoM), allocation of Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (MAEST) funds held in trust at UBC for the distributed MD Undergraduate Program (MDUP) (known as the “Distributed UGME Program Budget”) to each of the collaborating universities for the MDUP and associated activities at the distributed sites.
Inform and secure approvals needed from the collaborating institutions, namely the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), University of Victoria (UVic), and University of British Columbia (UBC Okanagan and Vancouver Campuses), the UBC Faculty of Medicine, and others as required, in the spirit of academic collaboration.
Ensure that the highest standards of education and research continue to be incorporated into the distributed MDUP and associated activities at the distributed sites.
Liaise with the UBC Faculty of Medicine Finance Committee to ensure Faculty-wide financial alignment.

The DPPC was established through the affiliation agreements between UBC and UNBC, and between UBC and UVic. It replaced the Implementation Planning Subcommittee for Medical Education (IPSME), which was originally established at the direction of MAEST to approve the distribution of the government grant held in trust by UBC.

Composition

The DPPC is comprised of six members from UBC and three from each of UVic and UNBC. The UBC members include representatives of the Vancouver Fraser Medical Program (VFMP), based in Vancouver, and the Southern Medical Program (SMP), based in Kelowna. The intent of this composition is to ensure that UBC has the same number of voting members as the two collaborating partner universities combined.

This committee is made up of ex-officio members.

Voting Members

UBC

Vice Dean, Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine (1)
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine (1)
Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver Fraser, UBC Faculty of Medicine (1)
Provost and Vice Principal, Academic, UBC Okanagan(1)
Regional Associate Dean, Interior (1)
Comptroller and Senior Budget Officer, UBC (1)

UNBC

Vice President, Academic and Provost, UNBC (1)
Vice President Finance and Administration, UNBC (1)
Regional Associate Dean, Northern BC and Associate Vice President, NMP, UNBC (1)

UVic

Vice President, Finance and Operations, UVic (1)
Associate Vice President, Academic Planning, UVic (1)
Regional Associate Dean, Vancouver Island and Head, Medical Sciences, UVic (1)

Non-voting Members

Provost and Vice President Academic, UBC or delegate (chair) (1)
Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine, or delegate (1)
Managing Director, UBC Faculty of Medicine (1)
Senior Director, Education Programs and Services, UBC Faculty of Medicine (1)

Guests may be invited to join specific meetings or portions of specific meetings at the chair’s discretion.

Appointment Process

Ex officio members are members by virtue of their administrative appointment.

Term

Ex officio members are members as long as they hold their administrative appointment.

Chair

Chaired by UBC’s Provost and Vice President, Academic, or delegate. If delegated, the chair must be agreed to by all members.

The chair convenes this committee and is a non-voting member.

Meeting Schedule and Administration

Normally meets approximately quarterly or more frequently at the call of the chair.

All members are expected to attend all meetings in person or via videoconference or phone.

A staff member from the Office of the Vice Dean, Education will capture meeting minutes. Minutes will be circulated to all members.

Records will be maintained in accordance with UBC and Faculty of Medicine records retention procedures.

Quorum and Decision Making Process

Quorum consists of at least one representative from each of the four collaborating sites (UNBC, UVic, UBCO, and UBCV), other than a Regional Associate Dean. However, meetings are usually scheduled so that the majority of members are able to attend.

The intent of DPPC is to make decisions by consensus. Where this does not occur, the committee will decide by vote, requiring 50% plus one of voting members present to pass.

The DPPC receives resource allocation recommendations from the UGME Regional and Resource Advisory Council. DPPC considers the recommendations and decides whether to request changes or to recommend them to the Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine for final approval. If the Dean is not in agreement with the DPPC recommendation, he/she will request that DPPC further deliberate and discuss in an effort to bring the matter to resolution.

If any member is in fundamental opposition to a DPPC decision made by vote or if the DPPC cannot agree on a new recommendation following feedback from the Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine, the DPPC may strike an ad hoc working group with appropriate membership to develop a resolution and propose it to DPPC, which DPPC will consider and decide whether to recommend to the Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine.

If DPPC remains unable to reach consensus on a revised recommendation to the Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine any member may trigger the formal dispute resolution process, which requires the chair to refer the matter to the Inter-University Planning Council¹ (IUPC), which will establish a dispute resolution process for the DPPC and manage it, if required.

¹ In the event that the IUPC no longer meets, an ad hoc council with the same members and mandate as IUPC, as referenced inSchedule 4 of the Affiliation Agreements between UNBC and UBC, and between UVic and UBC, will be called.

Lines of Accountability and Communication

This committee:

Receives recommendations and items or reports for discussion from the UGME Regional and Resource Advisory Council.
Considers recommendations and decides whether to request changes or recommends them to the Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine for final approval. In some cases, recommendations or reports are also made to senior administration of the collaborating universities, as appropriate.
Makes its resource allocation recommendations to the Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine via the UBC Faculty of Medicine Finance Committee, which is chaired by the Dean, to ensure coordination of overall UBC Faculty of Medicine financial management.
Provides an annual report summarizing the year’s activities to the UBC Faculty of Medicine Faculty Executive Committee, for information, and each member is responsible to make any necessary reports to his or her institution’s governing bodies.
May delegate responsibilities to subcommittees and/or ad hoc groups to make recommendations on, or conduct, specific aspects of the committee’s mandate.

Responsibilities