Body
Unit Policy
Title
Offices of Medical Student Education: Policy on General Responsibilities of Faculty Appointed to MD Degree Program Administrative Roles
Introduction
Purpose
This Policy establishes the expectations and responsibilities of Administrative Faculty within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("University") School of Medicine's ("SOM") Medical Doctorate ("MD") degree program ("Program").
Scope
This Policy applies to all Administrative Faculty across all phases (Foundation Phase, Application Phase, or Individualization Phase ("Phases")) of the Program curriculum ("Curriculum").
Policy
Administrative Faculty play a key role in the development and evaluation of Program Students ("Students"). Administrative Faculty must review and acknowledge their role-specific responsibilities and expectations annually, as listed in the attached Addendum. In addition to their role-specific responsibilities, Administrative Faculty must also meet these general expectations:
- Demonstrate a commitment to excellence in teaching. Qualities that exemplify excellence include mastery of the content area, interest in and availability to Students, enthusiasm for teaching, skills in organization and communication, and the ability to use multiple instructional strategies effectively.
- Maintain familiarity with the Curriculum as a whole and collaborate with other educators across courses/clerkships, Phases, and sites to ensure consistency, coordination, integration, and minimal redundancy.
- Design and deliver educational content appropriate for undergraduate medical education and aligned with School of Medicine competencies, enabling competencies, and curricular goals approved by the Education Committee.
- Select and implement teaching and assessment methods that accurately reflect course/clerkship content and learning objectives.
- Select content based on its teaching value according to prevalence, importance, general applicability, and illustrative value.
- Communicate course/clerkship structure, expectations, assignments, and evaluation criteria to Students at the beginning of each course/clerkship or learning experience.
- Hold Students to clearly stated standards of performance that are both realistic and achievable. When necessary, provide additional assistance to Students in meeting those standards through the Program's academic assistance programs.
- Grade Student assessments in a fair and timely manner using criteria communicated to Students at the beginning of a course/clerkship.
- Assess and report on Student performance accurately, including both strengths and areas for improvement.
- Use an array of data to assess teaching, including data on Students' learning outcomes in conjunction with peer and Student evaluation of faculty teaching.
- Complete and participate in program evaluation activities, including course/clerkship, Phase, and institutional evaluations, using multiple data sources to inform continuous quality improvement.
- Attend required Phase committee meetings, campus retreats, and other designated educational meetings.
- Contribute to and maintain a positive learning environment by modeling professional behavior and treating Students, staff, preceptors, and faculty with respect, consideration, and integrity.
Definitions
Administrative Faculty: Faculty members who are appointed to serve in any of the following educational leadership and/or administrative roles for the Program:
- Phase Director,
- Campus/Site Director,
- Course/Clerkship Director,
- Course/Clerkship Site Directors, and/or
- Coil Director.
Phase Director: Administrative Faculty member responsible for curricular oversight and management of a Phase, including:
- Horizontal integration within their Phase,
- Vertical integration across Phases,
- Ongoing quality improvement related to Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) standards, and
- Course/clerkship evaluation.
Phase Directors report to the appropriate Assistant Dean for Curricular Affairs.
Campus/Site Director: Administrative Faculty member who provides overall coordination and oversight of the educational program at a specific campus or site, serving as a key liaison between the Offices of Medical Student Education and site-based faculty to ensure effective Curriculum delivery, assessment, resource alignment, and compliance with LCME requirements.
Campus/Site Directors report to the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Student Education.
Course/Clerkship Director: Administrative Faculty member responsible for the design, delivery, integration, assessment, and continuous improvement of a course or clerkship, ensuring alignment with the Program's educational objectives and policies.
Course and Clerkship Directors oversee:
- Curricular content,
- Assessment strategies,
- Faculty preparedness,
- Administrative operations,
- Quality improvement, and
- Coordination with Phase leadership to ensure effective integration across the Curriculum and across all campuses and sites, as applicable.
Course and Clerkship Directors report to the Phase Director in which their course/clerkship resides.
Course/Clerkship Site Director: Administrative Faculty member responsible for overseeing the local implementation and day-to-day operations of a course/clerkship at an assigned campus or site. Course/Clerkship Site Directors serve as liaisons between site-based faculty and the primary Course/Clerkship Director to ensure that Students receive comparable educational experiences across sites.
Course/Clerkship Site Directors report to their Course/Clerkship Director for curricular matters and to their Campus/Site Director for local operational matters, including resource needs, faculty support, facilities, and site-specific logistics.
Coil Director: Administrative Faculty member responsible for delivering and integrating coil content within the Curriculum through high-quality, evidence-based instruction and aligned learning objectives and assessment materials.
Coil Directors:
- Collaborate with course/clerkship leadership to ensure curricular integration,
- Participate in Curriculum planning and review, and
- Engage in continuous improvement through feedback and professional development.
Coil Directors report to the Assistant Deans of Preclinical and Clinical Curriculum.
Related Requirements
External Regulations
- Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Functions and Standards of a Medical School
- LCME 2.4: Sufficiency of Administrative Staff
- LCME 3.5: Learning Environment
- LCME 8.2: Use of Program Objectives
- LCME 8.3: Curricular Design, Review, Revision/Content Monitoring
- LCME 8.4: Evaluation of Educational Program Outcomes
- LCME 9.0: Teaching, Supervision, Assessment, and Student and Patient Safety
- LCME 9.4: Assessment System
- LCME 9.6: Setting Standards of Achievement
- LCME 9.8: Fair and Timely Summative Assessment
Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures
Contact Information
Primary Contact
Title: Senior Director of Curricular Affairs
Name: Mary Hauser
Email: mary_hauser@med.unc.edu
Publication Details
- Issuing Officer: Heather Tarantino, Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs
- Effective Date: May 27, 2026
- Review Cycle: Vice Dean of Education and the Education Committee will review this Policy in even-numbered fiscal years.
- Next Review Date: May 1, 2028