Remediation and Supplemental Assessment Policy

Remediation Policy (printable)

The purpose of the Undergraduate Medical Education Remediation and Supplemental Assessment Policy is to establish the guiding remediation practices within the undergraduate medical education program (UME) at the University of Saskatchewan.

The College of Medicine requires students to successfully complete all individual course components, as outlined in the course syllabus and assessment plan. In the event that a student has failed a course component as outlined in the syllabus, a student may be offered remediation and supplemental assessment.

Remediation: process where students are provided with feedback on their performance and engage in additional learning to address deficits in their knowledge/skills/attitudes in order to meet the objectives of the course/module component(s) in which they were unsuccessful

Supplemental Assessment: following remediation, assessment completed by  the  student  to demonstrate they have achieved the objectives of the module/course

Director: for the purpose of this policy, Director refers to the module/course/rotation director

Academic Support Team: led by the Academic Support Specialist, to include as many of the following as possible:

• Director
• Faculty Consultant for Academic Support Team (relevant campus orsite)
• Administrative Support, as needed

This policy applies to all undergraduate students applying to or registered in the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program at the University of Saskatchewan irrespective of the geographically distributed site to which they are currently assigned.

1.0 When Remediation and Supplemental Assessment Will Be Offered

In the event of a course component failure, a student may be offered remediation and supplemental assessment. Criteria that would constitute failure of a course component are outlined in each course syllabus.

If remediation is being offered, the student will meet with the academic support team to develop an academic support plan to address areas of deficiency.  Students may be strongly encouraged to seek non-academic support during the remediation process from the Office of Student Affairs.

With the goal of supporting student success, the academic support plan will be individualized for each student and may be comprised of various modalities, including, but not limited to, assigned readings, assignments, meetings with assigned mentors, and supervised clinical experiences. The Director retains the right to determine the specific type of remediation, in coordination with the student.  The student is responsible for adhering to the academic support plan.

After completion of remediation, the student will complete a supplemental assessment. The Director retains the right to determine the specific format of this assessment, which may not be in the same form as the original assessment.

Where the assessment is in the form of a subjective assessment (oral examination, essay, assignment), every attempt will be made to try to ensure that the assessor will be different from the original assessor.

Students who successfully complete the supplemental assessment will receive the minimum pass requirement for those elements covered by the remediation and supplemental assessment.

For each course component that must be passed in order to pass the course, there will only be one remediation and supplemental assessment per component.

2.0 When Remediation and Supplemental Assessment will NOT be offered

Individual course syllabi specify conditions (maximum number of failed components and/or degree of failure) where remediation and supplemental assessment will be permitted. Failure in excess of these conditions will result in failure of the course, with no remediation or supplemental assessment being offered.

Failure of a supplemental assessment will result in failure of the course. No further remediation or supplemental assessment will be offered.

Where the failure is on the basis of unprofessional conduct, remediation and supplemental assessment may be offered, but if the conduct is deemed egregious, it may result in direct failure of the course.  

Where there have been multiple failures across courses, remediation and supplemental assessment may not be offered in any of the courses, as outlined in the Promotions Standards.

All decisions regarding promotion will be adjudicated by SAMC.

3.0 Remediation and Supplemental Assessment Period

Students who fail a course component or module early in an academic term will meet with the academic support team to create a remediation plan (academic support plan) to be carried out during the term, where deemed appropriate and reasonable. In most cases, supplemental assessment will be offered after the end of the final examination period.  Students who fail a course component or module late in an academic term will meet with the academic support team after the final exam period to create a remediation plan (academic support plan).  Supplemental exam windows will be provided to students at the beginning of each academic year and specific dates will be provided as early as feasible in the term.  In the event that remediation and supplemental assessment of any part of a course, rotation or final examination is required, students must be available in an appropriate site for up to 6 weeks post completion of the course in order to complete the remediation.

It is strongly recommended that any travel be carefully planned with this in mind, including researching cancellation policies and careful consideration of non-refundable items. Exceptional, unforeseen circumstances will be considered on an individual basis.

4.0 Exceptions

Any exceptions to the policy must be approved by the Curriculum Committee, and will be outlined in the course syllabus.

The Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, is responsible for providing oversight to the overall administration of the Undergraduate Medical Education Remediation and Supplemental Assessment Policy at the University of Saskatchewan.

The Academic Director, Undergraduate Medical Education, is responsible for the implementation, monitoring, maintenance, and evaluation of the Undergraduate Medical Education Remediation and Supplemental Assessment Policy at the College of Medicine.

Instances or concerns of non-compliance with the Undergraduate Medical Education Remediation and Supplemental Assessment Policy should be brought to the attention of the Vice-Dean, Education or the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, within the College of Medicine.

Standard Operating Procedure, Student Remediation outlines specifics around the remediation process.

This policy will be housed on the College of Medicine SharePoint, in the Undergraduate Medical Education Administration common folder.  It will also be housed in SAMC SharePoint folder. 

This policy will be posted on College of Medicine website, under the Policies tab of the Students dropdown menu and under the policies tab of the Faculty Dropdown menu. 

Any updates approved by SAMC will be distributed to the Year Chairs and all administrative coordinators/support staff responsible for supporting student progress through the program.

Academic Director, UME
Phone: 306-966-2750
Email: medicine.ugme@usask.ca