You Said…We Did
School-Wide Initiatives
This table presents a detailed account of all modifications and initiatives undertaken across Jacobs offices in direct response to student feedback. It serves as a transparent record of our continuous efforts to enhance the academic and campus experience through evidence-based, student-centered decision-making.
Curricular CQI: Please see the current course syllabi to track the evolution of each course and clerkship.
Office of Student and Academic Affairs
| Requestor | Submission Format | Action Taken | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | ASQ & GQ Surveys | Increased career advising support through the addition of a dedicated OSAA Career Advising Coordinator. | Ensures students receive the guidance, resources, and support needed to make informed career decisions, achieve their professional goals, and successfully transition to residency training. |
| All | ASQ | Hiring of Jacobs School full time, in-house financial aid advisor: Associate Director of Financial Aid | Increase student support and navigation through the financial aid process |
Office of Medical Curriculum
Please refer to the syllabi for course- and clerkship-specific revisions.
| Requestor | Submission Format | Action Taken | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| M2s | On the Fly | Creation of a peer-selected Phase 2 Student Work Group to directly inform curriculum planning in live time – shelf exams will not be taken at the same time | Student representation in curriculum decision-making |
| M2s | Student Working Group | Shelf exams will not be taken at the same time | Improved scheduling and emphasis on student well-being/reduction in burnout |
| M3s | On the Fly | Phase 2: Students will now have a protected day for the Clinical Skills Exam, be excused from overnight clinical duties immediately before and after the exam, and complete a streamlined assessment with the removal of the Sketchy DDx component. | Reduce scheduling conflicts and assessment burden, helping students perform at their best by providing dedicated exam time, adequate rest around clinical responsibilities, and a more focused evaluation experience. |
| M1s | Polity Feedback | Phase 1 Student Working group implemented | The phase-level student working group provides oversight and feedback to ensure course changes align with broader curricular goals, student needs, and integration across related courses. |
| M1s | On the Fly | Two Working Groups created for Pillar courses and Anatomy | Convene to implement student feedback during course development/revision |
Office of Accreditation and Quality Improvement
| Requestor | Submission Format | Action Taken | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | ASQ | "You Said, We Did" was created and implemented in class meetings. | Response to student feedback that concerns were not always acknowledged or addressed, providing greater transparency by communicating actions and improvements made based on student input. |
| All | ASQ & GQ | Creation of the EthicsPoint PDF template | Many students choose not to report learning environment concerns due to fear of retaliation. To address this, we created an EthicsPoint template that allows students to document incident details in real time and save the report for submission when they feel comfortable coming forward. |
| All | Other | The Student Information Portal (SIP) | Response to student feedback about the high volume of emails -- provides a centralized location for important information and announcements, reducing the risk of students missing key announcements. |
| All | Other | Partnered with students to streamline surveys and reduce evaluation burden by shortening forms, decreasing the number of evaluations, and creating the On-the-Fly Form as a simple way to provide feedback whenever needed. | Reduce survey fatigue while preserving meaningful opportunities for students to share feedback and help drive continuous improvement. |
| M3s | On the Fly | Updated policy on Student Exposure to Infectious and Environmental Hazards: | Provide clear expectations for students and hospital partners regarding needlestick and exposure policies, per LCME expectations. |
| All | ASQ | Enhancements to existing student lounge areas, including additional study space, improved furniture, and expanded quiet work areas to better support student learning needs. | Creates more comfortable and accessible spaces for studying, supporting student well-being, focus, and academic success. |
Office of Student and Academic Affairs
| Requestor | Submission Format | Action Taken | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | ASQ & GQ Surveys | Financial Aid Advisor | Supports financial wellness and academic success by guiding students through financial aid, scholarships and budgeting to promote inclusivity and reduce financial barriers. |
| M2s | Student feedback | Step Preparation Wellness Initiative - "Wellness at Every Step" | Supports medical students by promoting well-being, reducing burnout and enhancing academic performance. With accessible wellness resources, peer support and stress management strategies, students can use these tools as needed, fostering resilience and a healthier learning environment for improved success. |
| All | ASQ & GQ Surveys | Financial Wellness Curriculum | Equips medical students with essential budgeting, debt management, and financial planning skills, reducing stress and promoting long-term financial stability. |
| M3s | Feedback on Intersession | Remove session on burnout and ethics, was not helpful for students at this stage, make modifications to existing sessions, consider where this content will be built into the Well Beyond Curriculum | M3 Intersession is an important time to cover high yield topics, we want them to be useful and as we approach curricular changes, we want to identify where sessions will have the biggest impact. |
| M3s | Feedback on Intersession | Incorporated student feedback to plan for intersession including adding individual career advising sessions with the deans, moving sessions to make them more convenient, moving days off to allow for holiday travel, adding sessions to enhance tools for clinical care | M3 Intersession is an important time to cover high yield topics now that they have had several months of clinical care. It's an important time to address wellness, next steps in their career and reinforce important topics useful for any clerkship. |
| ISA | Students requested improved access to psychiatric services | Made available 8 h/wk, access to two UBMD psychiatrists (who do not evaluate students), free of charge to all medical students | Student wellness is important to us. The costs of psychiatric care can be prohibitive. To ensure quick and easy access, without the hassle of insurance, we have reserved this time for our students. |
Office of Medical Curriculum
| Requestor | Submission Format | Action Taken | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1s | Clinical Immersions student feedback | Include sterile technique and surgical scrubbing training, provide students with engaging on-site talking points, improve communication with sites to ensure student arrivals and expectations are clear to support staff | Enhances students' preparedness, communication skills and overall clarity of expectations, leading to a more effective, engaging and smooth learning experience. |
| M1-M2 | Course evaluation, feedback from Polity representatives | Specific changes to courses made based on student feedback ("You asked, we listened," "Changes made since the last time this course was offered") | Responsiveness to student concerns, fostering engagement and trust while directly addressing curricular gaps. |
| M1-M3 | Course evaluations | Course reviews based on student feedback for improvement | Ensures iterative curriculum refinement, aligning content and delivery with student needs and educational best practices. |
| M3-M4s | ASQ Survey | Expansion of elective opportunities and elective revisions to meet student needs | Expanding electives directly supports students in making well-informed career decisions by offering exposure to various specialties early in their training. This helps them identify fields that align with their skills, interests and long-term goals. |
| M3s | Student feedback in Phase 2 subcommittee and Phase 2 review | Revision of assessment modalities used in the clerkships | Ensures assessments accurately measure competency and align with real-world clinical skills, improving validity and fairness. |
| M1s | Feedback on Brightspace organization | Standardization of course/Brightspace pages for clarity and consistency across Phase 1 | Ensures students can easily navigate materials and expectations, reducing cognitive load and increasing efficiency in learning. |
| M1s | Feedback from midsemester survey and M1 polity representatives | Streamlining of CBIL session scheduling in the WellBeyond Curriculum | Reduces scheduling conflicts and cognitive overload, allowing students to focus more on learning rather than logistical concerns. |
| M1-M2 | Feedback from student surveys and development of Well Beyond Curriculum | Further development and enumeration of attendance policies/exam attendance policies for clarity | Provides clear expectations and reduces ambiguity, leading to fairer enforcement and improved accountability. |
| M3s | More shelf preparation for Med/Sur clerkship students for shortened clerkships | Shelf preparation programming/resources (practice NBMEs, resources, curricular reviews, etc) | Enhances student preparedness and performance on national standardized exams. |
| M3s | Feedback on Clinical Orientation | Expansion of clinical reasoning session (Sketchy into MS3 Orientation, with plans for further incorporation) | Strengthens diagnostic reasoning skills early, promoting better integration of knowledge into clinical practice. |
| M3s | Feedback on Clerkship Grading | Changes to grading across clerkships (Honors, etc.) in order to improve equity; continued standardization and transparency efforts | Reduces grading variability and implicit bias, ensuring fairness in assessment and residency competitiveness. |
| All | Feedback from Polity and Curriculum representatives | Holding regular Curriculum Office meetings with Polity to discuss student concerns | Creates a structured feedback loop, allowing for timely identification and resolution of issues that impact student learning and well-being. |
| Focus Group | URM student specific orientation for Phase 2 requested. | Rising M3 URM students dinner/Q&A session with URM residents and rising M4 students | To facilitate connections, establish a support system, and impart wisdom to new M3s before they begin clinical rotations. |
Medical Education and Educational Research Institute (MEERI)
| Requestor | Submission Format | Action Taken | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | ASQ Survey | Faculty development on enhancing the learning environment, providing feedback, evaluation, etc. (Initiatives ongoing via MEERI) | Improves instructional quality and the effectiveness of feedback, directly impacting student learning and professional growth. |
| M1-M2s | Student feedback and course results | Processes and programming for working successfully with learners with deficits | Supports academic success for struggling students, promoting inclusivity and reducing attrition. |
| All | Step Feedback | Hired two full time Learning Specialists to work with learners through the step process | Supports academic success during the STEP preparation process by providing individualized guidance, ensuring learners are equipped with strategies and support |
Let Us Know What's Missing
Your work matters. Have you implemented a change based on student feedback that’s not listed here? Share it with us so we can highlight your contribution!