Md Admissions Subcommittee — Terms of Reference

Purpose and Authority

The purpose of this subcommittee is to:

• Decide which applicants will be interviewed, offered, and ultimately admitted into the MD program, considering recommendations from the Northern and Rural Admissions Subcommittee, Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee, and MD/PhD Admissions Subcommittee.
• Ensure quality and integrity of admissions policies and processes, in accordance with University of British Columbia and Faculty of Medicine admissions policies, the Faculty of Medicine’s social accountability mandate, and CACMS accreditation standards.
• Recommends to the UGME Committee improvements to MD Admissions policies, as needed.

Composition

This subcommittee is made up of ex officio, elected, and appointed members.

The Faculty of Medicine’s commitment to equitable and diverse membership on its committees and advisory councils guides its nomination and selection process.

Voting Members

Ex officio

• Assistant Dean, Admissions, MD Program (chair) (1)
• Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education (1)
• Regional Associate Deans (4)
• Associate Dean, Fraser (1)
• Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education (1)
• Director, MD/PhD Program (1)
• Indigenous Student Initiatives Manager (1)
• Black Student Initiatives Manager (1)

Elected

• One Department Head or School Director (1)
• Two faculty members who are practicing clinical MDs (appointed as either faculty or clinical faculty), ensuring at least one is from outside VFMP (2)
• Two faculty members who are scientists (2)

Appointed

• Two community members to represent the public and patient perspectives (2)
• One Rural Coordination Centre of BC physician member (1)
• One UBC President’s Office member, from either UBC Okanagan or UBC Vancouver (1)
• One University of Northern British Columbia member (1)
• One University of Victoria member (1)
• One Simon Fraser University member (1)
• One UBC MD alumnus/alumna who is also a UBC Faculty of Medicine faculty or clinical faculty member (1)
• One Health Authority member who is also a UBC Faculty of Medicine faculty or clinical faculty member (1)
• Two MD students (one junior and one senior) (2)

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.

Elected members are elected by their peers through the annual process initiated by the Dean’s Office.

Appointed students are appointed by the Medical Undergraduate Society at the request of the Faculty of Medicine.

Other appointed members are appointed by the Assistant Dean, Admissions, MD Program in conjunction with the represented organizations, where applicable.

Term

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

Elected members are members for a three-year term and are eligible for one renewal.

Appointed students are members for a two-year term and are not eligible for renewal.

Other appointed members are members for a three-year term and are eligible for one renewal.

Chair

Chaired by the Assistant Dean, Admissions, MD Program.

Meeting Schedule and Administration

Normally meets approximately six times per year (four standard meetings and two full-day meetings) and at the call of the chair.

All members are expected to attend the standard meetings in person or via videoconference or phone. All members must attend the full-day meetings in person.

A staff member from the UGME Office will capture meeting minutes. Minutes will be circulated to all members, and are strictly confidential.

All members are required to sign a Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Agreement at the beginning of each admissions cycle.

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

Quorum and Decision Making Process

Quorum consists of 50% plus one of voting members. UBC Faculty of Medicine faculty members must constitute the majority of voting members at all meetings, as per CACMS standard 10.2.

Decisions regarding candidate files are made by vote, requiring a two thirds (2/3) majority of voting members present to vote in favour in order to pass.

Other decisions, such as whether to recommend an admissions policy change to UGMEC, are made by vote, requiring 50% plus one of voting members present to vote in favour in order to pass.

Lines of Accountability and Communication

This subcommittee:

• Is delegated the authority to make final admissions decisions by, and is accountable to, the UGME Committee.
• Recommends improvements to admissions policies to the UGME Committee.
• Receives admissions recommendations from the Northern and Rural Admissions Subcommittee, Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee, and MD/PhD Admissions Subcommittee.

Representatives of this subcommittee liaise with other academic and administrative committees and advisory councils, as needed.

Responsibilities

This subcommittee:

1. Decide which applicants will be admitted to the MD Program by:
   1. Applying the criteria, policies, and procedures in selecting applicants for interview and admissions to the MD Program.
   2. Considering recommendations from the Northern and Rural Admissions Subcommittee, Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee, and MD/PhD Admissions Subcommittee, select prequalified and ranked applicants to be invited for interview.
   3. Following the interviews, reviewing in detail the high-ranked applicant files with flags and determining their continuing admissibility.
   4. Making final decisions on the applicants from all four streams to be offered admission to the MD Program, including reviewing for accuracy prior to the final offers going out.
2. Ensures the quality and integrity of admissions policies and processes by:
   1. Periodically reviewing the process and recommending changes to the Assistant Dean, Admissions, MD Program.
   2. Ensuring all admissions policies and processes, including the transition from final admissions decisions to final offers, is transparent, equitable, and legally defensible.
   3. Ensuring compliance with CACMS accreditation standards.
   4. Developing or recommending changes to the criteria, policies, and procedures that govern admissions for review by the Assistant Dean, Admissions, MD Program, for approval by the UGME Committee as needed and submission for approval to Faculty Executive, Full Faculty, and the UBC Senate as appropriate.
   5. With input from the Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee, the Northern and Rural Admissions Subcommittee, and the MD/PhD Admissions Subcommittee, determining the overall value of weightings for both academic and non-academic qualifications for admission each year to ensure the applicant pool is sufficiently large and diverse.
   6. Periodically evaluating recruitment and selection processes.
3. Reviews annually the terms of reference for the subcommittees that report to it (i.e., Northern and Rural Admissions Subcommittee, Indigenous Admissions Subcommittee, and MD/PhD Admissions Subcommittee).
4. Reviews its terms of reference on an annual basis and recommends changes, as required, to the UGME Committee.

Approval

This version of these terms of reference has been approved by the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee on October 18, 2022.

Version History

• Updated on October 18, 2022 to incorporate Black Student Initiatives Manager on the committee and add responsibilities surrounding the Black Student Admissions Subcommittee.
• Updates approved by the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee on July 16, 2018 to remove Appointed College of Physicians and Surgeons position
• Approved by the Undergraduate Medical Education Committee on March 19, 2018