Student Government

Students must be in Good Standing to serve in a leadership position of the SGA. Any student who is not in good standing must immediately step down from their position.  

SGA leadership should represent our diverse medical school population.

Leadership in the SGA requires a significant and longitudinal commitment. To ensure a student’s academic success, students should consider specific roles and responsibilities and balance these with academic needs and priorities before accepting leadership positions. The Office of Student Affairs Deans are available for support when deciding if a leadership position is appropriate for a particular student. The Advancement Committee is charged with regular and holistic review of the overall performance and academic progress for each student; in some circumstances, they may provide a recommendation regarding a students ongoing eligibility to hold a leadership position.

Certain elected positions that have a greater time commitment and/or higher level of responsibility may have additional criteria for eligibility/selection (See Below).

Elected/Selected students are required to acknowledge the roles and responsibilities prior to assuming the position and annually to renew ongoing commitment. All newly elected positions are required to take leadership training offered by OSA or through the UMB Learning Institute (other trainings may be considered and approved by OSA).

General Process and Timeline

All elections/selections are organized through the Office of Student Affairs. Most selections/elections are held in Fall of the first year, after the second Foundations assessment (See Table).  Additionally, ad hoc selections/elections may occur when a student leader is no longer able to fulfill the role. Students will receive information about elected positions prior to the selection/election process. Self-nominations will be solicited for each position. All potential leaders will have brief advisory session with OSA to outline the roles and responsibilities of the position they are interested in and review how their participation will fit within their personal goals and priorities. Students who remain interested, will be enter into class election.  A class election will occur for ALL positions and will be one component of the Selection Process.  Elected positions will be determined by class vote alone.

*The Student Council, including the Selection/Election Process is described separately

Selection Process

While all student leader positions have a critical role in the SOM community, certain positions have a greater time commitment or higher level of responsibility. Leaders of these positions (noted above) are determined by a committee of faculty and senior student leaders through a holistic selection process. Students will be selected based on qualifications necessary to fulfill the outlined roles and responsibilities and will consider student application/portfolio, input from all students through class elections as noted above, and an interview.  Self-nomination, OSA advising, and the class election portion will occur as outlined above.

SGA CO-President
2 Positions; Selected in Year 1 for a 4-year term

Description: The Class Co-Presidents will demonstrate a standard of excellence in leadership and professionalism that classmates will model. The two presidents will work along with fellow officers, Treasurer, Secretary and Historian, as the primary liaisons between their class and the educational leadership. They are responsible for communicating the needs of their class as well as relaying important information to classmates. The Class Co-Presidents are also responsible for meeting regularly with other class offices to discuss the current needs of the class and plan for upcoming activities/fundraising. They will set the leadership style ensuring an appropriate distribution of responsibilities among all co-leaders. Additionally, the Class Co-Presidents work with fellow leaders to plan and organize various social and education related activities. Typical first-year activities include organizing Post Exam celebration activities, Winter Semiformal, Year I/II Sports Games, and the end of the year formal. Typical second-year activities include creating Little/Big Sibs and organizing social activities during orientation week for the incoming first-year class as well as planning the class auction. Typical clinical years activities include organizing events around Match Day and Graduation. Duties are likely to extend beyond those listed, with a great deal of autonomy built into the position to make it appropriate to classmates needs. 

Committee Membership: The Class Co-Presidents will attend the Student Leader’s meeting with OSA, OME, and the Dean’s Office Leadership.  The Co-President are voting members of the Curriculum Coordinating Committee (1 vote each) and the Medical School Council to the SOM Dean (1 shared vote).

SGA Treasurer
Elected in the First Year for a 4-Year Term  

Description: The treasurer is responsible for monitoring the class budget and for tracking and documenting the class funds and spending. In this capacity they will work closely with OSA. The Treasurer will work close with the Class President and other primary SGA leaders in fundraising, event planning, liaising with classmates and educational leadership, and promoting class unity.  The Treasurer has an important role in fundraising and making decisions about events and event planning.

Committee Membership:  The treasurer is expected to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership.

SGA Secretary
Elected in the First Year for a 4-Year Term 

Description: The Secretary has a diverse set of responsibilities. They are responsible for taking minutes at leadership meetings and distributing information in a timely manner to the class. The Secretary will work close with the Class President and other primary SGA leaders in fundraising, event planning, liaising with classmates and educational leadership, and promoting class unity. 

Committee Membership:  The Secretary is expected to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership.

SGA Historian
Elected in the First Year for a 4-Year Term 

Description: The Historian collects pictures, stories, and memorabilia throughout all four years of medical school. The Yearbook (Terra Mariae Medicus): The yearbook is a compilation of moments and memories from your four years in medical school designed and published by the fourth-year class. The Class Historian attends and documents events for use in the class yearbook. Specifically, it is important to capture pictures of student life including parties, special events, the night before an exam, life in the labs and on the wards, special people, friends and vacations, or any other moments that seem yearbook worthy.

Committee Membership:  The Historian is expected to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership.

Curriculum Coordinating Committee (CCC) Representative
2 Positions; Selected in Year 1 for a 4-year term

Description: The Curriculum Coordinating Committee (CCC) Representatives will attend monthly CCC meetings and are active participants in discussions related to the curriculum. In their role, they represent their classmates by providing the student perspective during committee discussions and decisions regarding the curriculum and its effectiveness and are also expected to keep classmates informed of discussion topics, changes to programming, or implementation of new policies. Duties are likely to extend beyond those listed, such as organizing U-world descriptions and hosting focus groups with students, appropriate to classmates needs. 

Committee Membership: The Curriculum Committee Representatives are expected to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership and to attend monthly CCC Meetings. Pre-clerkship representatives will also attend the Pre-clerkship Committee CCC Subcommittee and Clinical Year Students will attend the Clinical Years Committees.  Representatives have voting rights on CCC, Pre-clerkship, and Clinical Years Subcommittees.

Medical Education Continuous Quality Improvement (MECQI) Representative  
2 Positions; Selected at the end of Second Year for a 2-year term

Description: In an ongoing effort to improve the M.D. program and the learning environment, the Medical Education Continuous Quality Improvement (MECQI) Committee will ascertain both long- and short-term goals, implement a systematic process to collect and review data, and disseminate outcomes to appropriate leadership and administration. The MECQI Committee will collaborate with leadership and administration to identify action plans to achieve goals as evidenced by measurable outcomes and will monitor compliance with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation standards and elements. While the MECQI Committee may make recommendations to other school committees, those committees have the final authority and responsibility to follow through on those recommendations/suggestions. The MECQI Committee meets bi-monthly, typically the fourth Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September, and November. All committee members are voting members. Student member responsibilities include attending regularly scheduled committee meetings, reviewing metrics for the UMSOM undergraduate medical education program, and participating in the LCME Student Independent Analysis during reaccreditation years for the MD program. 

Committee Membership: In addition to attending bi-monthly MECQI Meetings, representatives are expected to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership.

Wellness Representatives
2 Positions; Selected in Year 1 for a 4-year term

Description: The Wellness Representatives will be a liaison for the student government and their class. They will help to coordinate wellness programming and initiatives. 

Committee Membership: In addition to monthly Wellness Committee Meetings, Representatives are expected to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership.

SOM Representative of the AAMC Office of Student Representatives
4 total positions (1 primary M4, 3 alternates); selected in Year 1 (primary) for a 3-year term and Year 4 (alternate) for a 1-year term

Description: The role of the SOM OSR Representative is to represent SOM at the national level within the AAM Office of Student Representatives. The OSR Representative represents medical students at a national level by communicating the opinions of the entire SOM MD Program student body to national officers at OSR. Additionally, they bring AAMC OSR national priorities and objectives back to SOM.  In this role, the OSR Representatives must work closely with SOM SGA, Student Groups, and OSA to understand relevant activities and opinions to communicate back to OSR.  More Information Can be found at https://www.aamc.org/professional-development/affinity-groups/osr

Committee Membership: In addition to monthly Wellness Committee Meetings, Representatives are expected to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership. They will also attend OSR National and Regional Meetings (funded by SOM/AAMC).

USGA Representative
2 Positions; Selected in Year 1 for a 2-year term

Description: Serve as the medical school’s voting members at the University Student Government Association (USGA) Meetings. This group represents the professional schools at UMB and has a budget which is distributed to student groups on campus. This group also plans campus-wide social and community service events. Major issues are often discussed including construction plans, campus transportation, campus safety, etc. You will work closely with other student leaders on campus. In addition to attending USGA meetings, USGA Cyndi Rice, Director of Student Services, will be the contact (crice@umaryland.edu).

Committee Membership: In addition to requirements outlined by UMB, USGA Representatives are invited to attend monthly Student Leader’s meetings with OSA, OME and the Dean’s office leadership.

Judicial Board Representative
2 Positions; Selected at the end of the First Year for a 3-year term

Description: The Judicial Board implements procedures of peer review. In this spirit, the Board is composed of representatives of the community and shall function as an instrument of the Medical School Council and shall advise the Dean who will act upon its findings. The attitudes and performance of health professionals are taken quite seriously, and breaches of ethical behavior can result in the loss of career opportunity in the field for those found unable or unwilling to act in keeping with the principles expressed here. At the same time, we expect members of this academic community to be persons of integrity; we do not expect them to be perfect. They can be improved and be positively affected by counseling and guidance. The system shall permit punishments which allow continued progress, where it is appropriate.

Elections for the Student Council are held late in the Spring semester and the Office of Student Affairs manages the election process.

Students must be in Good Standing to serve in a leadership position of the Student Council. Any student who is not in good standing must immediately step down from their position. 

To ensure a student’s academic success, students should consider specific roles and responsibilities and balance these with academic needs and priorities before accepting leadership positions. The Office of Student Affairs Deans are available for support when deciding if a leadership position is appropriate for a particular student.

Certain elected positions that have a greater time commitment and/or higher level of responsibility may have additional criteria for eligibility/selection (see Student Government Association - Eligibility Criteria)

Elected/Selected students are required to acknowledge the roles and responsibilities prior to assuming the position and annually to renew ongoing commitment. All newly elected positions are required to take leadership training offered by OSA or through the UMB Learning Institute (other trainings may be considered and approved by OSA).

PRESIDENT
Description:
As Student Council President you will provide a standard of excellence in leadership and professionalism that your council and classmates will model. You are in charge of student activities and funding for the entire University of Maryland School of Medicine student body. The President leads the coordination of events including the student activities fair and other fun events. The President may be asked to attend certain events including freshman orientation, the student organization information meeting, student leadership meetings, and more.

VICE PRESIDENT
Description:
As the Student Council Vice President you are in charge of working closely with the President, Secretary and Treasurer in planning fun and informative events for the entire student body. The Vice President may be asked to attend certain events including freshman orientation, the student organization information meeting, student leadership meetings, and more.

SECRETARY
Description:
As Student Council Secretary you will work closely with the President, VP, and Treasurer in planning fun and informative events for the entire student body. The Secretary focuses on written communication to the student body regarding events. The Secretary may be asked to attend certain events including freshman orientation, the student organization information meeting, student leadership meetings, and more. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at meetings and informing the student body of information as needed.

TREASURER
Description:
As Student Council Treasurer you are in charge of student activities and funding for the entire University of Maryland School of Medicine student body. The Treasurer assists in the coordination of events including the student activities fair and other fun informative events. The Treasurer focuses on keeping track of the budget and spending. The treasurer will make sure that vendors are paid and that funds are being used appropriately. The Treasurer may be asked to attend certain events including freshman orientation, the student organization information meeting, student leadership meetings, and more.

1. The Student Council along with a representative(s) of OSA shall hold a "How to Run a Successful Student Group" meeting each year explaining the student group process, funding, alcohol policy, faculty advisor policy, fundraising advice, etc. The faculty advisors from the prior academic year are also welcome to attend, so they are aware of the policies. 

2. The Student Council is in charge of hosting the Student Activities Fair each fall (in-person or virtually), allowing Student Groups to showcase their missions and activiites and recruit from the student body.

3. In both the fall and spring semester, the Student Council will be in charge of reviewing each Student Groups funding request and allocating the shared funds between groups appropriately. Student Groups may contest their budget allocation in writing and present to the Student Council for a decision.

4. The Student Council, along with the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), shall have the power to allocate student organization funds. The Student Council shall allocate funds for its own operation, for class governments, for student groups, and for other events and activities it deems appropriate.