Pre-clerkship deficiencies and corrections are recorded internally, by the School of Medicine, in the Medical Education Platform (MEP) student record system, where students may view and track their academic progress. It is at the discretion of the course director to determine the best method for assessing student performance. Each course will outline requirements, assessments, and passing scores in their syllabi and/or individual course Canvas page, and it is the student’s responsibility to familiarize themselves with these for each course.

The following designations are used to report performance in pre-clerkship courses:

• Pass (P) (“+” in Axess) indicates that a student has demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the responsible department or teaching group, that they have mastered the material taught in the course.
• Fail (F) (“-” in Axess) indicates that a student has not met the minimum performance standards for the course and remediation is necessary to achieve a passing grade. There may be concerns about the student’s performance in one or more of the following areas: knowledge and/or competence as demonstrated through course assessments; professional behavior; in-class activities; and attendance and participation.
• Continuing (N) (“N” in Axess) indicates that the course has not concluded, and that the student is continuing the course or that a minor component of a course (as defined by the course director) is pending. A student has not completed all course requirements and/or did not perform satisfactorily on one or more individual sections of course assessments.
• Incomplete (INC) (“I” in Axess) indicates that extenuating medical or personal circumstances beyond the student’s control have prevented completion of course requirements. A student has satisfactorily completed a substantial part (but not all) of the course work. Students must request an Incomplete grade by the last class meeting after meeting with their Academic Advising Dean. The decision to grant an Incomplete (INC) is at the discretion of the course director.

• NOTE: Marginal Pass (MP) will no longer be assigned in pre-clerkship courses beginning Academic Year 2024-25.

Pre-clerkship deficiencies will ordinarily be reported within 10 days of the end of the quarter (the time frame may be extended for good cause at the discretion of the course director) and will be reviewed by the Committee on Performance, Professionalism, and Promotion (CP3). For additional information, see Section 6.5: Chart of Responses to Student Issues.

Fail (F) Grades

Students who receive a Fail (F) grade in a pre-clerkship course should communicate with the course management team to discuss next steps. As determined by the course director and/or the CP3, a plan of remediation may be offered, or the student may be required to retake and pass the course (including all required exercises and examinations) the following year. 

When a plan of remediation is offered, Fail (F) grades must be corrected within 45 days of the end of the quarter (the time frame may be extended at the discretion of the course director and/or the CP3). Students who do not satisfactorily complete this plan of remediation (as determined by the course director and/or the CP3), within the prescribed time period, may be required to retake and pass the course (including all required exercises and examinations) the following year. In the event that the remediation timeline is extended, it should be noted that all remediations must be resolved prior to promotion to second year pre-clerkship student for first year pre-clerkship students or promotion to clinical medical student for second year pre-clerkship students.

Students who receive a Fail (F) grade in a course that is part of a longitudinal sequence may not be allowed to continue unless provided special permission from the course director and/or the CP3.

Continuing (N) Grades

Students who receive a Continuing (N) grade in a pre-clerkship course should communicate with the course management team to discuss the requirements for achieving a passing grade. Continuing (N) grades must be corrected within 30 days of the end of the quarter (the time frame may be extended at the discretion of the course director and/or the CP3). Students who do not satisfactorily complete this plan of remediation, within the prescribed time period, will have their grade converted to Fail (F) and may be assigned additional remediation requirements by the course director and/or the CP3.

Incomplete (INC) Grades

Students who receive an Incomplete (INC) grade because of extenuating medical or personal circumstances should, as a general rule, be given the opportunity to correct the incomplete grade, in a manner specified by the department or responsible teaching group, and prior to promotion to second year pre-clerkship student status for first year pre-clerkship students or promotion to clinical medical student status for second year pre-clerkship students. Courses such as those in the Practice of Medicine (POM) sequence, where hands-on activities and small group interactions constitute a significant portion of the course, may require retaking of the course the following year.

All required pre-clerkship courses must provide students formal mid-quarter feedback of performance. Mid-quarter feedback must be provided early enough to allow a student the opportunity to improve their performance before the end of the course. Mid-quarter feedback should be provided by the mid-point of the course, and by the end of the 5^th week for standard 10-week courses. Mid-quarter feedback is recorded in the Medical Education Platform (MEP) student record system.

Narrative assessment is provided to medical students in pre-clerkship courses where the primary mode of instruction includes small group activities (typically up to 12 students per group), small clinical reasoning, clinical skills, and/or team-based learning where attendance is required and there is longitudinal direct contact with an individual faculty member for at least 10 hours during the course.   

In other pre-clerkship courses, where the primary mode of instruction takes place in lectures with occasional small group activities, narrative assessments may be provided at the end of the course if attendance for the sessions is required, and individual faculty have had at least 10 hours of direct contact time with the student during the course.  

In addition, faculty may provide narrative comments if they so choose when submitting mid-quarter feedback for each student via the Medical Education Platform (MEP) student record system.

The End-Quarter Period is a time of reduced social and extracurricular activity preceding final examinations. Its purpose is to permit students to concentrate on academic work and to prepare for final examinations.

During the End-Quarter Period, classes are regularly scheduled, and assignments made; this regular class time is used by instructors in whatever way seems best suited to the completion and summation of course material. Instructors should neither make extraordinary assignments nor announce additional course meetings in order to “catch up” on course presentations that have fallen behind. They are free, however, and even encouraged to conduct review sessions and to suggest other activities that might seem appropriate for students preparing for final examinations.

Students are expected to remain on campus during the end-quarter period and are advised to avoid planning activities that might conflict with course commitments and final exam preparation during this week.

No final examinations should be given during the End-Quarter Period except:

1. In classes where graded homework assignments or quizzes are routine parts of the instruction process.
2. In classes with laboratories where the final examination will not test the laboratory component. In such a case, the laboratory session(s) during the End- Quarter Period may be used to examine students on that aspect of the course.
3. In Practice of Medicine, in which previously scheduled standardized patient (SP) assessments are permitted during the End-Quarter Period.
4. In Science of Medicine, in which assessments may be maximally spread out in order to account for student wellness.

Major papers or projects about which the student has had reasonable notice may be called due in the End-Quarter Period. Take-home final examinations, given in place of the officially scheduled in-class examination, may be distributed in the End-Quarter Period. Although the instructor may ask students to return take-home examinations early in the final examination period, the instructor may not call them due until the end of the regularly scheduled examination time for that course. Such a policy respects the principle that students’ final examinations are to be scheduled over a period of several days.

For additional information, see Section 5.3 Exam Policy for Pre-clerkship Courses.

Please note: In the COVID-era and beyond, there may be marked changes to the above policies. Our procedures will need to adapt to the changing landscape of county, state, and university regulations.

updated August 15, 2024