The Associate Dean, MD Program, oversees the MD program and MD/PhD program (the latter managed in collaboration with the Director of Physician Scientist Training Programs). A team of senior academic and administrative leaders handles the management of these programs, supported by a strong committee structure that involves active student leader participation. Student representatives are elected by their peers and usually serve on the Medical Society Executive or their Class Council. 

Governance and Management: Separate but Linked

Temerty Faculty of Medicine—like the University of Toronto as a whole—is directed through paired governance and management structures.

In general terms, governance can be understood as the authority and responsibility to establish appropriate principles and policies for an institution, thereby setting the direction of its activities. By contrast, management is the authority and responsibility for running the day-to-day operations of an institution in accordance with the principles and policies established by governance.

In Temerty Medicine, governance is the purview of the Council of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine (commonly referred to as ‘Faculty Council’), while management is the purview of the Dean, the Vice Deans and Associate Deans (which together are referred to as the Decanal Team), the CAO, and the Senior Managers. Both the governance and management structures work closely with the Faculty’s Departments (via the Chairs), the Extra-Departmental Units (via the Directors), and programs (via the Vice Dean, Medical Education).

Faculty Council

The Temerty Faculty of Medicine Faculty Council is the senior body in the Faculty with responsibility for academic affairs. The Faculty Council has a broad membership base, with representation from the student body (undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate), faculty, Chairs, Deans, and administrative staff. Faculty Council reports to the University of Toronto Governing Council. 

Meetings of the Faculty Council are held three times a year and are open to the general public. Meeting dates are posted, along with the minutes of previous meetings, on the Temerty Faculty of Medicine website.

Faculty Council has a number of standing committees, the memberships of which are drawn from a combination of Council members and other individuals from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. The standing committees include Boards of Examiners for each of the health professional programs, two Boards of Medical Assessors (undergraduate and postgraduate), an Appeals Committee, an Education Committee, a Research Committee, and two procedural bodies: an Executive Committee and Striking Committee. 

Management Committees of the Dean

The Hospital University Education Committee is advisory to the Dean and serves to enhance the partnership between the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated teaching sites.

In addition, there are five committees of Department Chairs: the All Chairs Committee, the Basic Science and Rehab Chairs Committee, the Clinical Chairs Committee, the Rehabilitation Science Chairs Committee, and the Temerty Medicine Finance Committee. Together, these management committees serve as a forum for discussion and receive updates about procedural issues in the Faculty and at the University. The committees ensure consistent operations among the portfolios. Further information about these committees can be found on the Temerty Faculty of Medicine Councils and Committees webpage. 

Decision-making in the MD Program

The Associate Dean, MD Program, leads the management and governance of the MD Program.

The MD Program Executive Committee, chaired by the Associate Dean and comprising senior academic and administrative leaders, provides advisory support to the Associate Dean regarding the overall management and strategic direction of the MD Program. 

The MD Program Curriculum Committee has overall responsibility for the design, implementation, management, evaluation, and enhancement of the MD Program. The primary goal of the committee is to assure a learning experience that allows MD students to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will prepare them optimally for entry into postgraduate programs and, ultimately, into medical practice. Co-chaired by the Associate Dean and an education scientist, the committee is comprised of senior academic and administrative leaders, as well as broad representation from key stakeholder groups, including students. The committee is supported by various sub-committees - summarized below - each of which reports to the Curriculum Committee.

The MD Program Evaluation Committee (MDPEC) is responsible for the evaluation of each of the following elements of the MD Program: (1) Student attainment of the MD Program competencies, milestones and Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs); (2) The composition and integration of the program as a whole; (3) The effectiveness of individual courses; (4) The outcomes of the program.

The Student Assessment and Standards Committee (SASC) is responsible for reviewing student assessment and feedback methodologies used by individual courses, ensuring that suitable methods of standard setting are employed, and making recommendations on policy issues related to student assessment and feedback.

The Test Committee is responsible for managing the program's examination bank, establishing best practices in test item generation and examinations, and implementing the program's Progress Test and the integrated OSCE. 

The Foundations Committee and Clerkship Committee are responsible for enabling the coordinated and collaborative implementation of the Foundations and Clerkship curricula, respectively.

Each course in the MD Program also has a course committee. Course committees bring together students and teachers from the course, particularly those who are heavily involved in course content development/delivery.