Purpose and Responsibility

The purpose of the Educational Policy Council is to ensure the quality of the undergraduate educational program in order to enable SIUSOM students to become knowledgeable, competent, caring physicians. 

The EPC is responsible for establishing educational policy for the School of Medicine and for assuring the quality of the educational program by:

• overseeing the conduct of the curriculum;
• carefully and continuously evaluating the structure, content, purpose and length of the educational experience;
• proposing, considering and implementing curricular changes;
• carefully and continuously evaluating the student assessment process to assure accurate assessment of knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Organization

            Council Composition

Faculty with voting privileges on the EPC are appointed three ways. Up to seven appointments are ex officio and hold their appointments as year directors of the four years of the curriculum, Chair of the Student Progress Committee, Doctoring Director and Chair of Admissions.  Seven faculty members are elected by their peers from constituency groups in an election process defined and implemented by the Faculty Council.  The constituencies are comprised as follows:

Clinical Units (a maximum of 4 representatives)

One from any of the clinical departments (Family and Community Medicine, Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery (not to exceed one per department)

Springfield Non-clinical Units (a maximum of two representatives)

One from Pharmacology and/or Medical Education or Medical Humanities and Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology

Carbondale (a maximum of one representative) Department of Biochemistry and molecular Biology, Anatomy and Physiology

The Faculty Council appoints one additional faculty member with confirmation by the Dean. It is intended that Educational Policy Council composition should reflect a balance among the curricular interests in the School of Medicine. Faculty appointed to the Educational Policy Council should have demonstrated interest, experience and skill in education and have a broad understanding of all School of Medicine curriculum segments and evaluative processes.  Elected faculty members serve for staggered three-year terms. 

A voting student member from each class will be elected (four members) by their classmates and approved by the dean. 

Non-voting ex officio members include the Associate Dean for Education and Curriculum, the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs-Carbondale and the Director of the Academy for Scholarship in Education.

If any position entitled to vote is shared between two individuals the council should decide at the beginning of the year the number of votes allocated to the position.

Members of the EPC represent the School of Medicine, rather than their constituencies.  Decisions should be made in the best interests of the institution’s overall curriculum, rather than individual constituencies. 

Council Chair

The Chair of the Educational Policy Council is elected from among its membership by voting members of the Educational Policy Council and approved by the Dean for consecutive two-year terms.  The Chair:

• conducts monthly meetings, scheduling additional meetings as necessary;
• serves on and may attend the Curriculum Directors Committee meetings;
• creates standing and ad-hoc subcommittees, as needed;
• handles or delegates additional Council responsibilities as they arise.

Council Vice-Chair

The Vice-Chair of the Educational Policy Council is elected by the Educational Policy Council for consecutive two-year terms.  The Vice-Chair, in the absence of the Chair:

• conducts monthly meetings, scheduling additional meetings as necessary;
• handles or delegates additional Council responsibilities as they arise.

Staffing

In addition to staff support from the Office of Education and Curriculum, the chair may designate additional staff support as appropriate. The Chair will designate a recorder, either a member of the council or a designated staff. This person is responsible for preparing and distributing agendas; recording, producing and distributing meeting minutes; preparing reports as requested by the Council, and handling correspondence and follow-up necessary to Council business.

Regular meetings are held on the second Monday of each month from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Lincoln Conference Room at 801 North Rutledge Street in Springfield and Lindegren Conference Room 310 in Carbondale.  Members are expected to attend most meetings or to send a proxy on their behalf.  No member/attendee can have more than one vote.  Attendance at half or fewer meetings with no proxy representation is grounds for replacement.

Procedure

• Meetings are conducted using modified Roberts’ Rules of Order.
• Monthly agendas and minutes are distributed prior to each meeting.
• A simple majority of the voting members constitutes a quorum.
• Formal meeting business may be conducted in lieu of a quorum, but formal votes will not be taken.
• Any member of the faculty or student body may ask to have an issue put on the agenda for discussion.
• All motions must be seconded before they can be discussed on the floor.
• All members of EPC are eligible to make or second a motion, but ex officio members may not vote.
• Formal votes are taken and recorded.
• A topic or issue will not be voted upon the day it is introduced without the approval of the full Council or in unusual circumstances.
• Proxy attendance is permitted and proxy votes are counted (written proxy from the regular member should be given to the chair prior to the meeting.
• All faculty are welcome to attend meetings.

Relationship to Other Committees

The EPC is responsible for developing policies regarding the curriculum and for evaluating the curriculum. Curriculum delivery is more appropriately the responsibility of curriculum committees who oversee the daily operations of various curriculum segments. Curriculum year committees will make reports to the EPC on a regular basis as part of the regular EPC agenda. These reports and minutes of curriculum committee meetings will be forwarded to the EPC chair.

Curriculum Committees are established for each year of the curriculum.  Each Curriculum Committee shall have an operating paper that is reviewed and approved by the EPC.  Membership on these committees shall be as described in the operating papers of the individual curriculum committees but shall include the Year Director, who convene(s) the committee; the Course Directors; and the Doctoring Director. 

Amendments to the operating paper can be recommended by any faculty member or student and approved with a two-thirds majority of voting members present. Amendments cannot be voted upon at the meeting at which they are proposed.

Revised 03/17/2002

Revised 05/12/2003

Revised 12/06/2006

Revised 01/03/2007

Revised 11/12/2012

• Curriculum Governance Chart