University of Alberta Accreditation Overview
After successful accreditation in 2014 and the 2018 interim accreditation site visit, the medical school at the University of Alberta is preparing for its next full accreditation in 2022. The process will culminate with a site visit by an ad hoc visiting team from the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) October 17-19, 2022.
Contacts
Dr. Joanne Rodger
Director, Program Quality & Accreditation
Email: joanne.rodger@ualberta.ca
Susan Tomsics
Administrative Assistant, Program Quality & Accreditation
Email: tomsics@ualberta.ca
Dr. Ramona Kearney
Chair, Accreditation Steering Committee
Email: rkearney@ualberta.ca
2022 Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) site visit
Dates of Site Visit
The accreditation site visit is a two-step process. The first visit will take place virtually from Oct. 17-19, 2022. A second visit is scheduled for Nov. 28-29, 2022 and will take place in-person at the University of Alberta.
Schedule for Visit
The Accreditation '22 site visit schedule is now available.
Site Visit Team
- Dr. Jane Philpott, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University (Chair)
- Dr. Patricia Houston, Vice Dean, Medical Education, University of Toronto (Secretary)
- Dr. Aaron Chiu, Associate Dean, Quality Improvement & Accreditation, University of Manitoba (Faculty Fellow)
- Dr. Michael Lee-Poy, Chair, Program Quality, McMaster University (Faculty Fellow)
- Dr. Taryn Hearn, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education, Memorial University (Accreditation Advisor)
Mock Site Visit
Purpose of the mock accreditation visit
The mock accreditation provides faculty, staff, and students with an opportunity to go through a practice site visit with two mock accreditors. The results will help us identify areas of strength and weakness and address those weaknesses prior to submitting our final documentation in July and our site visit in October.
Dates of mock accreditation
The mock accreditation visit will take place February 7, 8, & 9, 2022.
Schedule for Visit
The schedule for the mock visit is now available.
Mock Accreditors
Dr. Ira Ripstein (University of Manitoba)
Dr. Sylvain Coderre (University of Calgary)
Purpose of the mock accreditation site visit
The mock accreditation provides faculty, staff, and students with an opportunity to go through a practice site visit with two mock accreditors. The results will help us identify areas of strength and weakness and address those weaknesses prior to submitting our final documentation in July and our site visit in October.
Dates of mock accreditation
The mock accreditation site visit will take place February 7-9, 2022.
Schedule for visit
The schedule for the mock visit will be made available closer to the date.
Mock accreditors
The names of the mock visiting committee will be shared closer to the date of the visit.
Accreditation Process
Accreditation is a peer-reviewed quality-improvement process that ensures medical schools provide the highest quality learning experience to students while meeting the latest national curriculum requirements. Made up of a Medical School Self-Study (MSS), a Data Collection Instrument (DCI) and the Independent Student Analysis (ISA), the process involves meetings with faculty and students to facilitate self-evaluation and improvement. The peer-review process helps to identify strengths and weaknesses, in order to ensure that our strengths continue to shine and any areas of weakness can be addressed.
In preparation for the site visit, all Canadian medical schools complete the following accreditation components:
- Data Collection Instrument (DCI): a comprehensive questionnaire (446 questions) that compiles information required by CACMS on all aspects of the MD Program and the FoMD
- Independent Student Analysis(ISA): a student-led survey of all medical students that leads to a report with analysis and recommendations written by a student task force
- Medical School Self Study (MSS): a review of all available data by a steering committee made up of faculty, staff, and students
As a process of evaluation, accreditation considers three general questions:
- Has the medical school clearly established its mission and goals for the educational program?
- Are the program's curriculum and resources organized to meet its mission and goals?
- What is the evidence that the program is currently achieving its mission and goals and is likely to continue to meet them in the future?
The medical school self-study process and the resulting findings are central to these aims.
CACMS
Accreditation of Canadian medical schools occurs through the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS), which “was founded in 1979 by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), formerly, the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges (ACMC) and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to act as the reliable authority for the accreditation of programs of medical education leading to the MD degree in Canada.
Canadian medical education programs were accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) since 1942 and from 1979 until the present, Canadian schools have been accredited by both the CACMS and the LCME using a joint process” (from: cacms-cafmc.ca). In 2021, it was decided that after a period of transition, Canadian medical schools will no longer be accredited by the LCME.
Accreditation Standards & Elements
As part of the accreditation process, Canadian medical schools must demonstrate compliance with 12 standards and 96 elements. The accreditation standards address items in the following categories:
- Standard 1: Mission, Planning, Organization, and Integrity
- Standard 2: Leadership and Administration
- Standard 3: Academic and Learning Environments
- Standard 4: Faculty Preparation, Productivity, Participation, and Policies
- Standard 5: Educational Resources and Infrastructure
- Standard 6: Competencies, Curricular Objectives, and Curricular Design
- Standard 7: Curricular Content
- Standard 8: Curricular Management, Evaluation, and Enhancement
- Standard 9: Teaching, Supervision, Assessment, and Student and Patient Safety
- Standard 10: Medical Student Selection, Assignment, and Progress
- Standard 11: Medical Student Academic Support, Career Advising, and Educational Records
- Standard 12: Medical Student Health Services, Personal Counselling, and Financial Aid Services