Accreditation
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The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is the organization that accredits medical schools in the United States and Canada. The UTRGV School of Medicine was granted provisional accreditation by the LCME in June 2021.
The LCME Survey Visit for Full Accreditation is scheduled for the 2022-23 academic year.
Visit SOM Accreditation SharePoint Website
What is LCME?
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) is officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit medical schools in the United States and Canada. It has joint oversight by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Medical Association (AMA) but is an independent organization. LCME accreditation is a voluntary, peer-reviewed process of quality assurance that determines whether the medical education program meets established standards. This process also fosters institutional and programmatic improvement. To achieve and maintain accreditation, a medical education program leading to the MD degree in the United States and Canada must meet the LCME accreditation standards contained in the LCME document Functions and Structure of a Medical School. Read More about LCME
What is the purpose of Accreditation?
Accreditation serves the important general purpose of assuring the public, current students and applicants, government agencies, and professional groups that educational programs and institutions meet or exceed nationally accepted standards of quality for educational process and student outcomes. Accreditation by the LCME serves two specific purposes: (1) to determine if a medical education program is in compliance with accreditation standards and associated elements and (2) to promote programmatic improvement.[1]
[1] Liaison Committee on Medical Education. (2021). Retrieved June 24, 2021, from Guidelines for the Planning and Conduct of Accreditation Survey Visits
Accreditation Standards and Elements, Categories of Performance
The LCME has 12 accreditation standards, each with an accompanying set of elements specifying the components that collectively constitute the standard. For performance in the standards, the LCME uses the following terminology: compliance, compliance with a need for monitoring, and noncompliance. An element is judged to be satisfactory, satisfactory, with a need for monitoring, or unsatisfactory. The compliance status for a standard is based on the performance in the individual elements that together constitute the standard.
Helpful Links
Contact
Muriel Warren, MBA
Assistant Dean for Accreditation
Survey Visit Coordinator
Email: Muriel.Warren@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1704