Fundraising, accreditation work still ahead for CMED
College of Medicine Dean Ernest Yoder and his staff still have plenty left on their to-do list as the school prepares to open this fall.
Before summer's end they aim to gain accreditation and continuing to fundraise and breaking ground on the CMED East facility.
There is still plenty of work to be done on the 137th medical school in the United States.
We are putting the finishing touches on the first year curriculum, instructions and events," Yoder said. “We are just finishing up prep work for the students to arrive and making sure our faculty get a chance to have a bit of a vacation and have a break before things get rolling. With the arrival of the students, we are going to be very busy in a very good way."
LCME accreditation
CMED is in the preliminary stages of obtaining Liaison Committee on Medical Education accreditation.
The LCME is a nationally-recognized authority for medical education programs in the United States and Canada. Receiving accreditation from the LCME proves a medical school reaches the national standards and gives the school eligibility for federal grants and programs. With the LCME returning to campus in Fall 2014, many of the national standards must be met at that time.
Fundraising
CMED is also continuing as planned for the new school. According to Capital Campaign Officer Grant Elmquist, roughly $20.76 million, of the school's $25 million fundraising goal has been met.
“We are making really strong progress to be able to make it as close as we can to the $25 million goal." Elmquist said. "I don’t know if we will quite get there this summer, but we will be close.”
Elmquist says donations have been increasing as the opening of the college draws near.
“We have gotten a good swell after accepting the first class, and I think the excitement will only grow as we get closer to the school’s first day,” he said. “With CMED being the most Northern Med School in Michigan, communities feel this could be their chance to have some quality doctors practice in their area."
CMED East construction 'on schedule'
According to Yoder, construction plans for CMED East are almost complete. The school hopes to start construction later this fall.
“Our goal is a shovel in the ground this fall and right now we are right on schedule,” he said.
Other projects include releasing a full class roster and reviewing the acceptance process.
A roster has not yet been released because there is still a chance for student movement between schools.
“Hypothetically, there could be a student in our class whose first choice is actually the University of Michigan. If U-M somehow loses a student and our student is on the wait list, we would let them go to their first choice,” Yoder said. “There could be one or two of those, so we don’t want to publish an inaccurate list and make sure all of our students are really on board. Once they have paid their deposit and we know they are coming, we will have a list.”
According to Yoder, there could be a final class roster released in late July.
CMED will also begin reviewing the acceptance process for the second class. Though Yoder thinks the process is successful, he said they will revise the admissions process if necessary.
