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Repeat of Academic Year Policy

Professionalism Reporting

Policy Statement:

The Keck School of Medicine is dedicated to producing exemplary competent physicians with a strong academic knowledge base. Students who are not meeting academic milestones may be delayed in their progress through the medical school curriculum and may be required to repeat an academic year at the discretion of the Student Performance Committee

A repeat of the academic year does not extend the six year matriculation to graduation requirement.

 

Policy requirement:

The following criteria are typically used by the Student Performance Committee to delay progression and require a repeat of the academic year.

  1. If a Year 1 student fails three or more final summative course exams on the first attempt, the student will be ineligible for further retake exams and will not be eligible for promotion to Year 2 (Semester III of the Pre-Clerkship Phase).
  2. If a Year 2 student in the Pre-Clerkship Phase fails two or more final summative course exams on the first attempt, the student will be ineligible for further retake exams and will not be eligible for promotion to the Clerkship Phase.
  3. ICM, EPIC and HJSC must be passed for the student to be eligible for promotion. These courses are considered independently and are not part of the limits to remedial work criteria listed above.
  4. If a student in the Clerkship Phase fails two or more required clerkships the student will not be eligible for promotion to the post-clerkship phase.
  5. Failure to make satisfactory progress in the Required Scholarly Project.
  6. A student is allowed only one repeat of an academic year during his/her enrollment at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
  7. Any student who fails to take a scheduled makeup exam on a date scheduled by the Curriculum Office will receive a grade of “Fail” on that exam and will need to appear before the Student Performance Committee to request approval to repeat the academic year.
  8. When the Student Performance Committee determines that a student has failed to demonstrate sufficient progress as outlined above, the committee may recommend remedial work, repeating the year of instruction in part, or in its entirety, dismissal, leave of absence, or other action.
  9. All students repeating segments of the curriculum on which they have been previously examined who do not pass the first examination in the repeated segment will be allowed a makeup examination, but failure to pass on the first exam attempt will be noted as an F on the transcript.

 

Process:

  • The Student Performance Committee reviews all students at the end of each academic year (or earlier in some cases) determining their clearance for promotion or their need to remediate course work and/ or repeat an academic year.
  • Students who are required to repeat an academic year are placed on academic probation status until removed from probation by the Student Performance Committee.
  • Students may appeal the decision of the Student Performance Committee as outlined in the KSOM Promotion Policy

Reviewed and Approved:  July 12, 2017

Student Performance Committee