The College of Medicine and Life Sciences has received continued accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
The LCME voted at its Oct. 1-3 meeting to continue the college’s accreditation for a full eight-year term. An accreditation team visited campus in late April for a thorough four-day review to examine compliance with its 134 accreditation standards.
“This award of continued accreditation for the next eight years and the positive remarks from the survey team affirm our belief that UT medical students are receiving a world-class education at our institution,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, chancellor and executive vice president for biosciences and health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
Gold, who held a town hall meeting Oct. 15 to share the news with campus, thanked all of the faculty and staff for their hard work to bring the college into compliance. The last accreditation visit eight years ago wasn’t as positive with a number of areas that needed to be addressed, but the most recent report described a rejuvenated medical college, he said.
Out of five broad categories LCME evaluates on each visit, the site visitors found no negative findings in the topics of institutional setting, faculty or educational resources. The accreditation team specifically praised the Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center, saying, “the investment in a greatly expanded new center with a focus on interprofessional education is laudable.”
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education also praised the Center for Creative Instruction, noting the department has been “instrumental in developing new technologies to enhance the educational mission of the college” and called “educationally innovative” the development of the virtual interactive cadaver dissection experience “Anatomy Revealed.”
There were several aspects that were in compliance but that the LCME noted ongoing monitoring is needed to ensure continued compliance. Those areas include observation data of students in their clinical experiences, and providing students effective financial aid and debt management counseling, as well as personal and career counseling services.
“This is a time to celebrate. We can take a breath and recognize our accomplishments, but then quickly get back to work,” UT President Lloyd Jacobs said. “We should all take pride in the overwhelmingly positive review and continue our efforts to address these few areas of note because there is always room to improve. This continued accreditation speaks to the strength of our medical college and the positive path we are on into the future.”
