Academic Standards
The faculty of the Duke University School of Medicine has the responsibility to define minimum acceptable standards for academic performance. In all courses, minimum passing standards are defined by the course director in collaboration with her or his department chairperson and faculty. These standards are communicated to the students at the beginning of each course. In clinical departments, acceptable professional standards of behavior and attitudes are included in performance evaluation.

Faculty have the responsibility to notify students who are not meeting minimal standards for passing a course early enough for the student to be able to work toward achieving the minimal standard by the end of the course. In most cases, this is at the midterm of a course. Tutorial help or guidance in correcting deficiencies should be offered to any student so notified.

Grading
Certification by the appropriate faculty member that a student has satisfactorily completed requirements for a course constitutes grounds for a grade of Satisfactory (S), Pass (P), or Pass with Honors (H). A grade of Satisfactory is used to rate performance in a course for which the award of Honors is prohibited. Pass with Honors is reserved for those students who have performed in an exemplary manner in the opinion of the faculty. Any qualification of plus (+) or minus (-) that is made to the grade by the instructor is not recorded upon the official transcript but may be referred to in the Dean's Letter and letters of recommendation and evaluation written by the advisory dean. All first year courses must be satisfactorily completed before a student can enroll in second year courses. Unless prior arrangements are made for special circumstances, all second year courses must be satisfactorily completed before a student can enroll in the elective curriculum.

An Incomplete (I) grade is reserved for those students who have not met all of the requirements within the allotted time frame of a course because of illness or other extenuating circumstance, or because of the inability to attain sufficient understanding of course material without additional study. An I grade that is not satisfied within one calendar year (unless an extension is granted by an advisory dean and the Registrar) automatically becomes a Fail (F). It is the departmental chairman's responsibility or that of the delegated representative of the departmental chairman to certify that an Incomplete has been satisfied and to so notify the Registrar. A passing grade shall be placed alongside an Incomplete (I/P) on the permanent and official transcript.

A grade of Fail (F) or Unsatisfactory (U) is recorded on the permanent record of a student whose performance in a course is viewed as inadequate by the individual faculty member. An F or U cannot be erased from the permanent record, but the requirements of the course may be fulfilled by repeating the course in a satisfactory manner. At that time a passing grade is recorded on the official and permanent transcript. A grade of Honors cannot be awarded to students in failed courses that are successfully remediated rather than retaken.

Promotion
Each student's record is reviewed at the end of the academic year to determine if qualitative and quantitative progress is being made toward graduation. Recommendations by the various promotions committees are made to the Dean for Medical Education who may: promote students whose work is satisfactory; warn students whose work is less than satisfactory that they must improve their scholastic endeavors and require such students to remediate, retake, or review specific courses, or to undertake other actions that may assist in the correction of deficiencies; place on probation students whose work is unsatisfactory; request the resignation of any student who is considered an unpromising candidate for the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

A student wishing to appeal a decision may do so to the dean of medical education within two weeks of notification.

The dean of medical education, with the advice of the Medical Center Policy Advisory Committee, reserves the right to require the withdrawal of any student at any time if, in his opinion, the student should not continue in the School of Medicine.

The promotions committees are comprised of the groups listed below. Ex-officio members to the promotions committees for the first, second, and third years are: the Dean for Medical Education, the advisory deans, the Director of Educational Development, and the Registrar.

First year. The first year course directors and the ex-officio group

Second year. The second year course directors and the ex-officio group

Third year. The third year study program directors and the ex-officio group

Fourth year. The Dean for Medical Education, the advisory deans, the Director of Educational Development, and the Registrar.

Due Process Guidelines
If a student decides to appeal a decision of any promotions committee, he or she must submit in writing to the Dean for Medical Education the reasons for the disagreement with the decision and any extenuating circumstances he or she wishes to identify within two weeks of receiving notice of the decision. Within a week of receiving the appeal, the Dean for Medical Education will appoint a Promotions Appeal Committee of three senior faculty, at least one of whom shall be from a basic science department. The Promotions Appeal Committee shall review the student's request, and meet with whatever other faculty or members of the DUMC staff who have pertinent information. The student may present her or his appeal in person and may bring a friend from the faculty or student body to assist. The Promotions Appeal Committee will report their decision to the Dean for Medical Education who shall present this to the student. If the student is still dissatisfied and wishes to appeal further, he or she may request a review of the whole process by the Dean of the School of Medicine, and all the documentation shall be provided to that office. The Dean's decision, with the advice and consent of the Medical Center Policy Advisory Committee (MEDPAC), shall be binding.

Satisfactory Academic Progress
The minimum amount of time required to fulfill requirements for the M.D. degree is four years, with a maximum of five years allowed. Satisfactory progress for students in the School of Medicine is construed as the successful completion of all requirements necessary for the advancement from one year to the next. Any periods of time during which a student is: (a) on an approved leave of absence, (b) performing remedial work for no credit, or (c) registered for approved non-credit research work complementary to the M.D. degree are excluded from the minimum/maximum time frame in which a student is required to complete requirements.

First to Second Year. Completion of core basic science courses in one calendar year with grades of P, S, or higher.

Second to Third Year. Completion of core clinical science courses within fourteen months with grades of P, S, or higher.

Third to Fourth Year. Completion of 32 basic science credits with grades of P or higher within nine months.

Fourth Year to Graduation. Completion of thirty-two clinical science credits with grades of P or higher within one calendar year.

Although the sequence shown above is that followed by most students, in certain circumstances the Dean for Medical Education may, upon the recommendation of the advisory deans group or the appropriate promotion committee, approve of a change in yearly or course sequence because it is in the best educational interests of a particular individual. Further, students who are not able to meet the traditional standards of progress because of the need for more time to assimilate course material through remediation or for some other mitigating reason such as personal hardship may, upon the recommendation of the appropriate promotions committee to the Dean for Medical Education, be assigned a schedule of course work that deviates from the norm. In such instances, students are considered to be making satisfactory progress during any ensuing non-credit remediation or reduced course load periods and if grades of "P" or higher are earned in all courses for which subsequently enrolled.

For financial aid purposes, federal regulations establish the maximum time frame for completion of the program at 150 percent of the minimum time required to complete the program. Any student exceeding the 150 percent maximum time frame is ineligible for Title IV (Stafford) student financial aid funds.

Leave of Absence
A student, after presenting a written request to the Dean for Medical Education, may be granted an official leave of absence for personal or academic reasons for two or more consecutive terms but for no longer than one calendar year. If approved, the Dean provides written notification including applicable beginning and ending dates and the reason for the leave to the Offices of the Registrar and Financial Aid. The student must apprise the Dean in writing of her or his wish to return to the Medical School or to extend the personal leave at least sixty calendar days prior to the anticipated date of re-entry. The student desiring an extension beyond one calendar year may be required to apply for readmission to the School of Medicine. When a leave of absence is taken during the first or third year, the Dean may require the student to repeat some or all of that year's academic program. To be eligible for a voluntary leave of absence, a student must have met all financial obligations to the University.

Permission to take a leave of absence for medical reasons also must be sought in writing and is usually granted for thirty days. If additional medical leave time is desired, the student's physician is requested to submit documentation concerning the need for a continuation of the leave. A medical leave extending beyond ninety days requires a statement from the student's physician attesting to her or his fitness to return to the Medical School as a full-time student.

To be in compliance with federal regulations, the maximum time periods for leaves of absence is six months for those students receiving federal financial aid funds. Students should consult with the staff of the Financial Aid Office as soon as they determine that they may take a leave of absence.

In all cases of leave of absence, the student is required to complete the full curriculum to be eligible to earn the M.D. degree.

Commencement
Graduation exercises are held once a year in May when degrees are conferred on, and diplomas are issued to, those who have completed requirements by the end of the spring semester. Those who have completed degree requirements at the end of the suimmer or fall terms receive diplomas dated September 1 or December 30, respectively. There is a delay of about one month in the mailing of September and December diplomas because diplomas cannot be issued until they are approved by the Academic Council and the Board of Trustees.

During the spring semester prior to the senior year, a form letter is sent to each student inquiring as to when (semester and section - spring term, section 43, e.g.) he or she expects to fulfill degree requirements. Diploma forms requesting information such as current local address and how the name should be listed on the diploma are forwarded to prospective graduates as well.

Student records are reviewed by the Registrar's Office staff to ensure that, upon successful completion of the current courses, graduating seniors will fulfill degree requirements on schedule. Those students who are deficient are contacted by the Registrar's Office to inform them of the situation and to discover how they plan to rectify the problem, e.g., add a course, graduate in September instead, etc.

In mid-March, letters are sent to prospective May graduates asking them whether or not they plan to attend graduation exercises. It is extremely important that students wishing to be graduated in absentia inform the Registrar's Office of their intentions at this time. Diplomas are sent to such students at the permanent address.