Elective Application Procedure
It is the student’s responsibility to arrange his/her fourth-year elective schedule, obtaining all necessary paperwork and approvals prior to the beginning of each elective. Confirmation of all approved electives must be sent to the Office of Student Affairs prior to the start of the elective.  The Office of Student Affairs is available for assistance with any questions or concerns regarding this process.

Proposed Educational Plan (PEP)
The Proposed Educational Plan (PEP) is designed to assist students and their advisors/mentors in discussing the student’s goals and objectives for planning the student’s fourth year medical education.  A student and his/her advisor/mentor can revise the PEP at any time by mutual consent.  Once the Office of Student Affairs has a PEP on file, the advisor/mentor’s signature will not be required to add or drop an elective (Internal, External, International) that is listed on the student’s PEP. Students are encouraged to discuss any elective with their advisor/ mentor if questions/concerns arise (even if previously approved on the PEP).  See the policy on Changes or Withdrawing from an Elective.  The PEP form can be accessed electronically on the Student Affairs website http://www.umassmed.edu/studentaffairs/electives/forms/.  Complete Section A as you would like your fourth year to be ideally structured including any electives you are considering.  Schedule a meeting with your advisor or specialty mentor to review and discuss the PEP. When both student and advisor/ specialty mentor have agreed to the PEP, both should sign the PEP and forward the original to the Office of Student Affairs where it will be kept on file.  Both the student and his/her advisor/ mentor should keep a copy of the approved PEP.

Internal Electives/Elective Application
UMMS sponsors an array of fourth-year electives on the UMMHC campuses and other affiliated hospitals. A list of these electives can be found on-line at:
http://www.umassmed.edu/studentaffairs/electives/forms/.  UMMS Students are able to apply for and/or drop UMMS sponsored electives by completing the electronic Internal Elective Application Form.  This form is available on the Student Affairs website http://www.umassmed.edu/studentaffairs/electives/forms/. If the elective is on your approved PEP, forward the application form to the coordinator of the elective you’re requesting to add or drop. If the elective is not on an approved PEP, forward the elective application to your advisor/ mentor for approval before sending it to the elective coordinator.  Be sure you forward the e-mail headers when you receive the attachment.  The e-mail header will suffice as evidence of approval for all necessary parties.  When the elective application has been approved by the advisor /mentor [if necessary] and the elective coordinator, the elective application form should be sent electronically to electives@umassmed.edu-- which is listed in the Outlook Global directory as electives – 4th year.

External Electives/Elective Application
UMMS students are encouraged to apply for fourth year electives at any of the AMMC accredited schools throughout the country. If you’re interested in applying for any of these external electives, you will be required to fill out the away school’s paperwork as well as a UMMS External Elective Form.

Students are able to access the External Elective Application form on the Student Affairs website http://www.umassmed.edu/studentaffairs/electives.  Print the completed elective form and bring it to the Office of Student Affairs together with your completed visiting school’s application and any required documentation (health forms, check, etc.). If you do not have paperwork from the away school, you can send the completed external elective application electronically. To do this, save the file using your name as the file name (e.g. joesmith.doc) to your hard drive, create an e-mail; attach the updated form to the e-mail. If the elective(s) is on your PEP, forward this form to the Office of Student Affairs using the following e-mail address: electives@umassmed.edu. If the elective(s) is NOT on your PEP, forward the updated form to your advisor/mentor who will complete section 2 and return it to you via e-mail. Forward the approved form to: electives@umassmed.edu. An External Elective Form must be completed before Student Affairs can send a “Good Standing Letter” to the visiting school; evidence that you are a student in good standing here and have malpractice insurance, health insurance, training in HIPAA and Standard Precautions is required by most schools before they will process your elective application.

Before the elective can be added to your schedule, you must also send written confirmation either electronically to electives@umassmed.edu or hard copy to The Office of Student Affairs from the coordinator who will be evaluating you at the location of the elective.

The Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS)
VSAS is the on-line elective application service launched by the AAMC in April of 2008. VSAS is designed to streamline the application process for medical students applying to away electives at LCME schools within the US. By using VSAS students are able to complete one application in a central location and send it to any host school participating in VSAS. VSAS allows elective coordinators and students to communicate easily by e-mail saving time and lost communication.  Students are also able to track the status of their electives through VSAS.  During the Pilot Year [AY 08/09] 10 schools were selected to participate as host schools.  The number of host schools is expected to grow each year.  Please visit the VSAS website at www.aamc.org/programs/vsas/ for additional information on VSAS and Host Schools. If you’d like to use VSAS, please e-mail Judy Holewa to obtain authorizations and log in instructions.

International Electives/Elective Application
UMMS offers an array of opportunities for UMass students to participate in International electives. These electives can range from language and/or cultural immersion to research and clinical rotations. Many are in third world countries, but are also available in all regions of the world. For more information on International Electives and possible funding sources, UMass students should contact Mick Godkin, PhD by e-mail (Michael.Godkin@umassmed.edu) or phone him at 508-856-3917.

UMMS Students are able to access the International Elective Application on the Student Affairs website http://www.umassmed.edu/studentaffairs/electives/forms/. Save the file to your hard drive. Open the document, complete Section 1, save the file to your hard drive. Use the top three blocks of the form to add an International/ Indian Health elective. Use the bottom blocks if you need to drop an approved International / Indian health elective. Create an e-mail, attach the saved International/Indian Health elective form and forward it to Dr. Mick Godkin (Michael.Godkin@umassmed.edu). Dr. Godkin will complete Section 2 and return the form to you via e-mail. If the elective(s) is on your PEP, send the completed form to electives@umassmed.edu. If the elective(s) is NOT on your PEP, forward the updated form to your advisor / mentor who will complete Section 3. Ask your advisor / mentor to return the form to you via e-mail once he / she signs off. Send the approved elective form to: electives at umassmed.edu. Before the elective can be added to your schedule, you must also send written confirmation either electronically to electives@umassmed.edu or hard copy to The Office of Student Affairs from the coordinator who will be evaluating you at the location of the elective.

Please Note regarding Tuberculosis Testing: Students traveling to areas endemic for tuberculosis who do clinical work are REQUIRED to have a repeat Tuberculin Skin Test performed 8-12 weeks after they return. For more specific information see the Student Health Services section of this handbook.

Changes or Withdrawing from an Elective
It is recognized that occasionally during the Elective Program it may be necessary for a student to change his/her schedule. However, changes can only be made if requested at least two months in advance of the elective’s start date, and for a valid reason. Withdrawal from an elective must be approved by the coordinator of the elective before the elective will be removed from the student’s schedule. If the request to drop the elective is denied, the elective will remain on the student’s schedule and the student will be required to complete the elective or receive a failing grade for that elective. Dropping an elective is by mutual consent only.

Please note: if you are dropping or adding an elective the paperwork must be completed and submitted to the Student Affairs office BEFORE the start date of the elective.  Also see Section Three fo the student handbook: “Withdrawals, Rescheduling Required Activities; Changes or Withdrawing from Electives.”

REMEMBER:
1. All approved elective requests must be on file in the Office of Student Affairs BEFORE beginning the elective. If you are not officially registered for an elective, you will not be covered by malpractice insurance and may not receive credit for the elective.
2. Electives are assigned on a first come, first served basis by elective application form only. Reserving electives by telephone with the elective coordinator does not guarantee a student the elective.
3. It is the student’s responsibility to check his/her elective schedule to insure that an accurate elective program is on file in the Office of Student Affairs. Students must verify that they are not double booked for elective months and that they have enough credits to graduate. Students individual elective schedules are available for review on (Peoplesoft) Student Self-Service.