Clinical Curriculum Subcommittee (CCSC)

1: General

The following Bylaws govern the organization and procedures of the Clinical Curriculum Subcommittee (CCSC) and its related subcommittees at St. George’s University School of Medicine in both Grenada and the UK. The CCSC is a faculty committee responsible for overseeing and ensuring a coherent and coordinated medical curriculum during the latter two years of the MD Program at St. George’s University.

This subcommittee is responsible for overseeing curricular content and learning objectives; identifying opportunities for continuous curriculum improvement; and assuring evaluation of student performance, teaching effectiveness, and curricular quality of the clinical years. The subcommittee will assure that the clinical years curriculum is delivered as planned and that there is equivalency of the curriculum across all teaching sites.

2: Authority

The CCSC is a standing subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee, a delegated committee reporting to the dean of the SGU SOM and has accountability for oversight of a list of activities as outlined in the Charges section.  Decisions arising from this subcommittee will flow to the curriculum committee for final approval.

3: Reporting 

The Clinical Curriculum Sub-committee reports to and provides recommendations to the Curriculum Committee. The chair of this subcommittee will serve on the Curriculum Committee as a non-voting member. 

4: Charge

The CCSC is charged with the following responsibilities:

1. Oversee the design, delivery, integration, management, development, evaluation, and overall quality of the clinical Phase of the curriculum.
2. Assess curricular concerns of students, faculty, administrators, and external review bodies.
3. Approve and recommend to the Curriculum Committee new courses and course change proposals.
4. Review and evaluate the clinical curriculum of the SOM against internally developed and external standards and measurable curricular outcomes.
5. Ensure the components of the clinical curriculum include appropriate learning objectives and required self-directed learning experiences for students to gain the medical knowledge, clinical skills, and professional behaviors necessary to successfully fulfill the objectives of the MD program.
6. Review and monitor course and student performance outcomes during the clinical Phase of the Curriculum.
7. Plan and perform regular clerkship reviews and recommend curricular action plans to the Curriculum Committee.
8. Using a variety of outcome data, determine the extent to which students are achieving MD program objectives during the clinical phase of the curriculum and use this information to enhance the quality of the medical education program as a whole.
9. Determine the minimum level of achievement/competency students are expected to demonstrate upon the completion of individual courses and at the time of graduation.
10. Promote innovations and oversee curricular revisions/reform.
11. Follow the overall academic calendar defined by the Curriculum Committee.
12. Charge special committees as needed.

5: Guiding Principles

1. Governance procedures are consistent with the mission of SGU SOM.
2. The governance process encourages continuous improvement of the curriculum.
3. All SOM students have access to an equivalent curriculum designed to align with the MD program objectives, and the learning objectives defined for each course and clerkship.
4. Processes leading to decision-making are based on open discussion, transparency, shared governance, and iterative consensus-building.

6: Membership

1. Expectation of members:  Although members are selected to ensure broad representation of the clinical curriculum, members have the responsibility to function as “members of the whole,” working to optimize the curriculum, rather than to represent the interests of a particular constituency.
2. Faculty:  The Clinical Curriculum Subcommittee consists of 6 appointed faculty members.
3. Student: The Clinical Curriculum Subcommittee includes 2 student representatives from the clinical phase that are in good academic standing. They will serve 1-year terms and will be nominated by the SGA.
4. Terms:  Faculty committee members will serve three-year terms.  Members may serve two consecutive terms.  No person will serve more than two terms.  Student members will serve for a one-year term and will be renewed at the discretion of the basic sciences Curriculum Subcommittee chair.
5. The Chair of the Clinical Curriculum Subcommittee is appointed by the dean of SOM.
6. Resignation: In the event that a committee member chooses to step down from the CCSC prior to the completion of their term, their replacement will be nominated by the Chair of the CCSC.
7. Possible replacement for absenteeism: Members who miss at least three of the committee meetings in a six-month period (or more than 50% of the meetings held in that time period) may be dismissed from the CCSC. Their replacement will be nominated by the Chair of the CCSC.

7: Procedures

1. Meetings:
   1. Meetings of the CCSC will be called once a month by the chair.
   2. Each committee meeting will be chaired by the Chair.
   3. The CCSC will meet at least once a month for a minimum of ten months a year.
   4. The Chair of the committee may petition the Curriculum Committee to invite other members of the SGU faculty, support services, staff and students to serve as ex-officio non-voting members or as guests.
2. Parliamentary authority: The conduct of meetings will be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.
   1. Recommendations will be passed by 2/3 majority. 
3. Voting 
   1. Voting members: Voting members are the appointed faculty members designated to vote.
   2. Student membership has 1 collective vote.
   3. Quorum: A quorum will be considered to be half + one or greater of the voting members.

8: Communications, records and approval

1. The chairs of the CCSC will be responsible for ensuring that administrative staff keep accurate records of all meetings. Minutes of the meetings will be posted on the curriculum Sakai site within two weeks of the meeting.
2. The Chair of the CCSC will send the minutes of the CCSC to the Chair of the Curriculum Committee within two weeks of the last CCSC meeting and summarize any proposals that need Curriculum Committee ratification.
3. All decisions and recommendations made by the Clinical Curriculum Sub-Committee will be kept in the Curriculum Committee Sakai site, and access to all members will be provided.