Students must receive a passing grade in every course to be recommended for yearly promotion. Any student with a deficient grade must complete the required remedial coursework with a passing grade and within the specified timeframe. Detailed remediation requirements by academic year and with reference to class rank are provided in the preceding sections. All remediation will be customized to address the specific course deficiencies identified by the appropriate course director, comply with remediation guidelines established by the Curriculum Committee and SPEC, and be approved by the Associate Deans for Medical Education and Student Affairs, or their designee(s), as appropriate. Remediation must be completed prior to progression to the next academic year unless the submitted plan for remediation is approved for continuation into the first months of the next academic year.

Remediation Requirements by Year

Failing an OSCE station with a final OSCE score of ≥70%. In the event that a student earns a total score of ≥70% for OSCE 1, but does not achieve the minimum passing score of 70% on one or more stations in the exam, the student will receive a provisional U grade until the station(s) is(are) successfully remediated with a score of ≥70%. This must occur within 60 days of the original exam. If the remediation is successful the U grade will convert to a UP in the student record. If the remediation is unsuccessful the student is given additional chances to remediate the station until the 60 day mark has passed. If remediation is not successful by 60 days the U grade converts to an UF, and the matter is reviewed by the SPEC. 

Failing OSCE 1 or 2 with a total score of <70%. The student is required to remediate the entire exam within 60 days of the original take. Successful remediation of the exam will be entered as a new grade in the student’s official record. 

Failing any course with the grade of F. Remediation is required when a student receives a deficient grade of F for failing a module numerically with an overall score <70%. 

The student should plan the course of remediation for a single failed course as soon as he or she receives written notification from the Division of Medical Education of the requirement for remediation. This notice will come from the Assistant Dean for Assessment and Evaluation. The length of time for remediating a single module should not exceed 6 weeks and is best started as soon as classes end in the spring semester. Remediation should typically be completed no later than the start of the next academic year. The student will schedule the remediation with the Assistant Dean of Curriculum Integration, in consultation with the director for the module to be remediated.  

Failing more than one module. The student is automatically referred to SPEC. 

Probationary status. Please refer to the section on “Probation” for more information on when probation would be applicable for a student.

The same provisions described for remediation of M1 courses or OSCEs apply to an M2 student who receives a grade of F in any M2 course.  At the discretion of the Associate Dean of Medical Education, the student may sit for the practice Step 1 exams held by the COM. However, the student will defer taking Step 1, and may not begin a M3 clerkship rotation until module remediation is successfully completed and Step 1 has been taken. 

When the conditions for remediation of M2 courses are met the student will be promoted to the M3 year.

Failing a clerkship miniboard with a clerkship score of ≥70%. A deficient grade received in the M3 year must be successfully remediated before a student can be promoted to the M4 year. All M3 clerkships must be taken and remediated as needed at USACOM. Students are notified in writing by the Division of Medical Education of the need to remediate a clerkship due to a deficient grade. For a student who fails only the miniboard by scoring <8%tile but otherwise scores ≥70% for the total clerkship, the provisional grade of U is assigned for a first-time miniboard fail. The recommended time for remediation of a miniboard for clerkships taken in the first semester is the first week of January, pending express permission of the January clerkship director. Remediation of a miniboard failed during the second semester should typically occur following completion of the clerkship rotation sequence.

Successful remediation will convert the U grade to a UP for the affected clerkships in the student’s record. 

In the event that a student again fails a miniboard for a clerkship designated with a provisional U grade, the official grade for that clerkship converts to a UF. 

The Final Clerkship Report of a student who successfully remediates a clerkship miniboard will indicate a miniboard subscore of 65 toward the final grade. 

Failing a clerkship with the grade of F or UF. If a student scores <70% for the clerkship, or if a student earns a UF due to an unsuccessful miniboard remediation, the student’s record will be reviewed by the SPEC to schedule a remediation of the affected clerkship. 

Failing 2 clerkships. Permission for a student to remediate 2 failed clerkships, including a UF grade, will require a review of the student’s progress and potential to succeed in medical school by the SPEC. If the SPEC determines that remediation is warranted, the student may be required to repeat the M3 year. 

Failing more than 2 clerkships. The student is subject to dismissal pending review of the SPEC. 

Every attempt will be made to provide the student with the option to complete all requirements for remediation within a time frame that does not delay his/her anticipated date of graduation. However, if more than one clerkship must be repeated, the student will not have sufficient time to complete all requirements of the M4 year. Therefore, that student’s graduation will be delayed. When the conditions for remediation of M3 courses are met the student will be promoted to the M4 year. 

Failing the Final OSCE. A student who does not earn a score of ≥70% on the Final OSCE is required to remediate any or all stations of the exam as determined by the Director of Clinical Skills. The student must successfully remediate for promotion to the M4 year. A student who refrains from remediating the Final OSCE as needed is subject to dismissal. 

If a student fails a M4 level course, he/she must successfully repeat that course in order to graduate (SPEC has discretion to require certain acting internships in the M4 year to enhance learning in areas of weak academic performance in the M3 year). A second failure of any M4 course, or a newly reported episode of unprofessional behavior or violation of the Honor Code occurring in the M4 year, may result in dismissal from medical school.