Policy for Grades

Grade Distribution:

The Department of Medicine's grading policy is based first and foremost on the guidelines of the College of Medicine. These are enumerated in the Student Handbook. They are repeated verbatim here:

" Honors—Outstanding performance in the subject area, far exceeding the requirements of the course, limited to the top 10-20 percent of students.

High Pass—For performance significantly above expectations, up to the top 40% of students, but not qualifying for honors.

Pass—Successful completion of all requirements for the course." (Upstate Medical University Student Handbook 2005-2006: pg.93)

In conformance with the medical school's guidelines the Department of Medicine attempts to assign about 15-20% honors, 15-20% high pass and 60-70% pass grades for the Internal Medicine Clerkship. The Department of Medicine has a specific description of each grade classification.

Grade Assignment:

The Grades Committee determines a student's overall grade for the clerkship, based on the components outlined in the orientation packet. All of these components are weighted as described in the initial section on grading and are used to calculate a composite score. This composite score ranges from 0 - 100 and is used to rank the students' performances and compare students within a group. These scores (group ranking) are also compared to the preceding years' performance data. These scores (rankings) are the basis for the Grades Committee's assignment of grades.

Obtaining a grade:

Once the Grades Committee has determined all of the students' grades, students will meet with a member of the Grades Committee where their files will be reviewed and they will be informed of their grades. The list of students and their assigned Grades Committee members will be posted on the door to the Clerkship Office, on the bulletin board outside of the Medicine Office on the 6th floor, and they can also call the Clerkship Office (464-5380) to receive the name of their assigned committee members.

A student can also view his/her Medicine Clerkship grade online after he/she has met with a member of the Grades Committee.

Appeal of Grade

If a student has an objection to a grade, he/she should should meet with the Clerkship Director. If the concerns remain unresolved after that meeting, the grade should be appealed to the Chairman of the Department of Medicine.

Accessibility to students' files

The Grades Committee has determined that a student's clerkship file will only be made available to the registered faculty advisor with supervision by one of the Clerkship Directors (Tayloe Loftus, MD or John Langenberg, MD).

A student can view his/her Medicine Clerkship file with his/her faculty advisor or Drs. Loftus or Langenberg. The file is retained by the Medicine Clerkship Office and does not become part of the medical school record.

For letters of recommendation, the Committee has established that an individual faculty member can only obtain copies of his/her own evaluation.

Return to COMPONENTS OF THE GRADE