Dean William Albritton announced March 2 the Liaison Committee on Medical Education’s decision to restore full accreditation to the program that had been on probation since 2003. The decision comes as a relief to the dean and college faculty who have worked diligently to remedy shortcomings in 12 areas of the program that were found wanting, he said. Probationary status “certainly affects morale…but now we can focus on our vision for the future.”

The undergraduate program is required to meet 124 standards, explained Albritton. The areas of non-compliance that resulted in probation included a lack of diversity among medical students, a shortage of library resources, too few professors and an outdated curriculum. When the probation was announced, the provincial government responded quickly with an injection of $13.2 million to address the shortcomings.

Although probation has been lifted, the accreditation cycle rolls on with the committee’s next visit to the U of S scheduled to take place in 2008-09.