Student Initiated Electives

In addition to the approved electives described in the OASIS Elective Catalog a student may take one or more electives in an activity of his/her own design in a sponsoring department of the School of Medicine or in an institution not affiliated with the School of Medicine. It is the responsibility of the student to identify such electives, contact the proposed sponsor, obtain tentative agreement for participation, and gain approval from the School of Medicine for the proposed experience.

Note: Student Initiated Electives will be approved only if they meet the stated criteria - the provision of a unique educational experience, that is not formally offered by our school or another school.

All Student Initiated Electives must have:

written goals and objectives
teaching and learning activities
a stated evaluation system
an identified elective administrator (faculty) when submitted to the Student Initiated elective administrator in the sponsoring department for their approval

All elective administrators will be asked to provide flexibility by allowing two-week electives to be expanded to three weeks, and four-week electives to be expanded to five weeks.

*More information found in Elective Scheduling

Student Initiated Elective Categories:

Select -985 Away/Extramural Elective	An elective at an LCME/ACGME-accredited program (VSAS or not). Medical schools and their departmental websites often include most or all the information that the Texas A&M School of Medicine requires for approval. However, any information required by the School of Medicine, which is not contained in the prepared description must be obtained by the student before approval can be granted
On - Campus Select -999 Student Initiated Elective	Opportunities in any academic department of the School of Medicine that are not formally approved electives. Experiences may include clinical research, basic science research, library research, other basic science department activities, or clinical activities that takes place on a COM campus. Students interested in developing an elective of this type should contact the head of the appropriate department for additional details.
Off-campus Select -999 Student Initiated Elective	Opportunities that are not formally approved electives. Included in this category are individualized experiences at another medical school or opportunities that are not associated with a medical school (a clinical externship on an Indian reservation). In these cases, the student should contact the proposed sponsor, and develop a proposal using the OASIS Student Initiated Elective Form. In addition, the curriculum vitae of the proposed sponsor should be included.

Student Initiated Elective Requirements:

1.	To be eligible for an off-campus Student Initiated Elective, the student must be in good academic standing with Texas A&M School of Medicine. Students on probation may be considered for an off-campus elective with the concurrence of the Student Promotions Committee. No good standing letter can be written, however.
2.	All Student Initiated Electives which are done at a location without a medical school affiliation must be approved and sponsored by an academic department of the Texas A&M School of Medicine with signature approval from the Student Initiated Elective administration in that department.
3.	It is the student’s responsibility to complete the online OASIS Student Initiated Elective form. Anything in bold is required and must be completed before the waitlist can be approved.
4.	Students must complete the online OASIS Student Initiated Elective form BEFORE starting the elective. A student who begins any elective without obtaining prior approval or completing the OASIS SIE form WILL NOT receive academic credit for that elective.
5.	No one-week Student Initiated Electives will be allowed with the exceptions of one week of Self and Culture, Indigent Health Care and one week of Medical Missions.
6.	Two-weeks prior to the last day of the SIE, student must provide the elective sponsor’s email address in the online OASIS Student Initiated Elective form. This will be used to distribute Texas A&M University Health Science Center Clinical Evaluation Form in Blue. An evaluation must be completed in order to receive elective credit.

Student Initiated Elective OASIS Submission Process:

Select - 985

STEP 1: Complete the online OASIS Student Initiated Elective form. Anything in bold is required and must be completed before the waitlist can be approved.

Course Title
Sponsoring Institution/Program
Location
Start & End dates
Student’s Academic Navigator
Evaluator’s email (needed for evaluation)
Away Admin Contact
Upload Documentation of acceptance from sponsoring institution
Upload syllabus
Answer three true/false questions

STEP 2: Once online OASIS SIE form is completed Navigator will give final approval and it will appear on your schedule.

On-Campus/Off-campus SIE - 999

STEP 1: Complete the online OASIS Student Initiated Elective form. Anything in bold is required and must be completed before the waitlist can be approved.

Course Title
Location
Is this on a COM campus (specify campus)
Start & End dates
Student’s Academic Navigator
Evaluator’s email (needed for evaluation)
Course Description
Learning Activities
Objectives
Upload Documentation of acceptance from faculty sponsor AND coordinator in the sponsoring department
Upload sponsor’s CV (if non TAMU faculty)
Answer three true/false questions

STEP 2: Consult faculty adviser (signature no longer required)

STEP 3: Once online OASIS SIE form is completed Navigator will give final approval and it will appear on your schedule.

Elective Scheduling

Students are advised to seek the expertise and guidance of their faculty adviser and other faculty members in preparing their fourth-year curriculum. The student's final plan for a fourth-year curriculum will be submitted by the student, in consultation with the student's faculty adviser, to the student affairs dean for review and final approval. Class meetings are arranged by the Office of Student Affairs to distribute the paperwork and review procedures for scheduling fourth-year curriculum.

Things to remember when scheduling electives:

1. All scheduling requests must be submitted by April

2. All students must follow the required rotations/course curriculum.

3. Students who plan student initiated electives should initiate planning as soon as possible. These requests must be submitted in OASIS in the outlined format and have a letter of approval by the Student Initiated Elective administrator of the department sponsoring the elective. A signature is not required if the elective is offered in a fourth-year elective curriculum of another LCME accredited medical school. All Student Initiated Electives (which include all off‑campus electives) must be approved by the Office of Student Affairs prior to beginning the elective.
Students who fail to complete all of the following will not receive credit for the elective:

Enter the SIE request in OASIS
Include an evaluator email and contact info
Submit a letter of confirmation of the elective from the host school or institution.

4. Proposed fourth-year schedules must be submitted on forms available from the Office of Student Affairs. Final computer generated schedules will be sent to each student. If a successful match is not obtained by the initial computer scheduling, the student will be asked to meet with the Office of Student Affairs staff to work out a schedule.

5. Perception of an elective's value are not valid reasons for altering schedules. The student is responsible for assuring that any proposed changes are feasible and acceptable to the departments concerned.
No schedule changes will be allowed after Dec. 15 of Year IV.

6. Student performance on all electives will be graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

7. Students will be asked to evaluate each elective through Blue within two weeks of completing the elective.

Completion of an evaluation is necessary to receive academic credit for that elective.

8. No more than 20 weeks may be spent off campus. Schedules at variance with this policy must be approved by the Phase IV Curriculum Subcommittee.
Remember: When taking any elective off campus, the student must notify the student affairs dean of an address and phone number where the student and a spouse or parent may be contacted so that important information can be conveyed.