The Student Evaluation, Promotions, and Awards Committee (SEPAC) at the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is a standing committee that monitors medical students’ progress throughout their training. They meet regularly—at least once each term—to review academic performance, professionalism, and readiness to advance in the program. While most of the committee’s work involves ensuring that students are meeting expectations, the SEPAC also makes decisions and recommendations about promotion, graduation, remediation, academic warning or probation, leaves of absence, and, in rare cases, dismissal. The committee also recognizes outstanding academic achievement through awards and honors.
The SEPAC consists of at least eleven and up to fourteen voting members, including the following:
- Faculty from both Pre-Clerkship and Clerkship
- Two Vice Chairs
- A Regional Campus Dean from each campus
- An at-large member from a regional campus outside Spokane
- Student representatives from Year 3 and/or Year 4 (appointed by the Chair)
The SEPAC also consists of the following non-voting members:
- Associate Dean for Assessment
- Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
- Assistant Dean for Student Learning
- Assistant Dean for Student Programs
- Vice Dean for the Office of Educational Affairs
- Vice Dean for the Office of Student Experience
Other guests, including Course Directors, may be invited to meetings to provide additional context prior to committee decisions.
SEPAC reviews every student’s progress at the end of each term and at the end of each academic year.
Conflicts of Interest on SEPAC are outlined in the Student Evaluation, Promotion, and Awards Committee (SEPAC) Conflict of Interest Policy.
The SEPAC’s decisions are based on a broad set of academic and professional standards, including grades, clinical skills, and professional behavior, through adherence to the appropriate College of Medicine and WSU policies and standards. The committee is dedicated to ensuring fairness and consistency in grading and promotion decisions among all students at all campuses. If concerns about student performance arise—whether academic, professional, or related to fitness to practice—the committee may require a student to complete targeted skills development or repeat coursework. The committee may develop and require additional supportive plans for the student as they progress through the program. The committee may require students to stop and return to the curriculum at a different point or may be dismissed from the curriculum entirely. A student with a case under review by SEPAC can request to meet with the committee to share their personal perspective by emailing medicine.sepac@wsu.edu.
| Potential Decision | Definition of decision | Recorded in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) | Can the decision be appealed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | Advancement to the next academic year/phase of the curriculum | N/A | No |
| Targeted Skills Development or Remediation | Any activity to address a gap in skills development prior to assigning a final grade for a course. | No | No |
| Academic Warning | Identifies a student as “at risk” for not meeting expectations in academic performance, including unprofessional behavior, to ensure focused resources are in place to support the student | No | No |
| Academic Probation | Identifies a student not meeting expectations in academic performance, including professional behavior, resulting in the need for additional requirements for successful progression in the MD program and to avert dismissal. Academic Probation is noted in the permanent academic record and MSPE. Students on Academic Probation are not in good academic standing. | Yes | Yes |
| Administrative Leave of Absence | This may be required for students to complete extensive remediation, address health and/or safety concerns, or ensure patient safety. | Yes | Yes |
| Adverse Ruling | A decision to academic probation, remediation, repetition, administrative leave of absence, dismissal, or to recommend that a student’s performance does not meet expectations for promotion or granting of the MD degree (graduation). | Yes | Yes |
| Failing Course Grade | A grade that indicates that the student was unsuccessful with remediation and therefore has not met the expectations of the course. | Yes | Yes |
| Failure to Progress to next Academic Year | A decision to prevent a student from continuing in their advancement through the program, based on course performance, professionalism concerns, or technical standards. This decision may result in course repetition, an LOA, or dismissal. | Yes | Yes |
| Course Repetition | Retaking part or all of an academic year due to student performance that does not meet expectations, including professional behavior. This usually occurs following unsuccessful remediation of defined expectations with the SEPAC determining whether the process requires concurrent or sequential repetition of other courses or clerkships. | Yes | Yes |
| Dismissal | Dismissed as a student from the MD program at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. | Yes | Yes |
| Referral to PEAC | The Professionalism Excellence Advisory Committee is responsible for investigating and making recommendations for students not meeting expectations for professional behavior. | No | No |
| Granting of exceptions to policies or procedures | N/A | No | No |
For more information, please see the Student Graduation, Promotion, and Dismissal Policy.