Course Information and Policies

Special Cases

Illness or family emergency:

Students are required to take exams at the scheduled times. Exceptions may be made for incapacitating illness or for serious family emergency. All such exceptions require the prior approval of one of the course co-directors. Whenever possible, the student requesting an exception should provide a written statement justifying the request. In the case of incapacitating illness, the student must provide a note from a physician or from the student health service. Students who are excused from taking an exam at the scheduled time will receive the Incomplete (I) grade for the course. To remove the Incomplete, the student must take the scheduled make-up for the missed exam during the following summer.

Conference presentations are to be given at the scheduled times, and attendance at Conference sessions is mandatory. Any requests for exceptions will be handled in the same way as requests for excused absence from exams. If an exception is approved and a student then receives an Incomplete (I) solely because of failure to complete the Conference requirements, the student should arrange with Dr. Maimone and with his/her Conference leader to make up the missed work.

Make-up exams.

Make-ups for Exams 1, 2 and 3 will be given in August in the summer following the course. Make-up exams are also used to remedy deficient grades C and F (see below).

Exam Content. The make-up exams will cover the same material as the regular exams, including subject matter covered in Clinical Problems sessions. Conference material will not be covered.

Format. The make-up exams will not be limited to multiple-choice or other machine-graded questions, and will generally include short-answer and problem-solving questions.

Schedule. All three exams will be given consecutively on one day in early August. Two hours will be allowed for each exam..

Prior to the summer make-up exams, all of the course materials from the fall will be available on Blackboard. The faculty may be contacted to arrange office hours to answer any student questions regarding their lecture material. Students who expect to participate in the summer remediation program and/or take any of the make-up exams should make arrangements with Dr. West prior to March 1.

Deficient grades and their consequences:

Students who receive a deficient grade (C or F) in MFM must make up that deficiency in order to pass the course. The MFM faculty will recommend to the First-Year Grades Committee that any deficiency be made up by passing the MFM make-up exams in the following summer. The actual decisions on remediating course deficiencies are made in June by the Academic Promotions Committee when the student’s record for the entire year is taken into account. Therefore, no assurance can be given before June that the MFM course faculty's recommendation for remediation will be followed.

Specifics of remediation: Failing grades and their consequences.

• A student who receives a grade of F may remediate his/her deficiency by passing the remedial MFM exam in the summer.

• A student who receives a grade of C because of very poor performance in a single course Segment may remediate the deficiency by passing the summer make-up exam for that Segment.

Students who receive a grade of F or C in MFM, and who therefore expect to participate in the summer remediation program and take one or more of the summer make-up exams, should consult with Dr. West prior to March 1 about the detailed arrangements.

Withdrawal and its consequences.

Withdrawal from a medical school course generally has grave consequences and should not be undertaken without thorough consultation. Any student who is contemplating withdrawing from MFM should consult with one of the MFM course coordinators, his/her advisory Dean, and with Dr. E. Gregory Keating, Dean for Student Affairs.

Students who withdraw from MFM (and receive a grade of W, WP, or WF, depending on the circumstances) will be required to take and pass the MFM course at this institution in the following Fall. Therefore, any student who withdraws from MFM can expect to take 5 years to complete medical school.