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Policy on Deferral of Admission to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program

● Owner: School of Medicine

● Approver: UGME Admissions Council

● Approval Date: 2023

1. PURPOSE

The admissions process to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is centrally governed by the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) Admissions Council and administered by the UGME Admissions Office.

This policy communicates the processes for students to request a deferral of admission after an offer has been accepted and the requisite deposit has been made, the reasons a deferral may be granted, the limits of the term of deferral, and the process of future enrolment into the MD program.

2. SCOPE

This policy applies to students who request a deferral of admission after having accepted an offer of admission into the MD program by the UGME Admissions Council.

3. DEFINITIONS

Applicant: A person who applies to be accepted for studies in the TMU MD program through the standard Ontario application process.

Matriculant: A person who has accepted an offer of admission to the TMU MD program and has paid their deposit.

UGME Admissions Council (UAC): The council responsible for oversight and decisions directing the governance and operations of admission to the MD program and which creates, implements and monitors program admissions to improve processes and procedures while ensuring alignment with the mission, vision and values of the University and the School of Medicine.

UGME: Undergraduate medical education.

4. VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

4.1 Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: The University and School of Medicine support fair and equitable treatment of the University community by developing policies, procedures, and guidelines that attempt to remove barriers to address historical and current disadvantages for equity-deserving groups consistent with the University’s Senate Policy Framework, recognizing that fairness does not mean treating everyone in exactly the same way.

4.2 Access: The University is committed to facilitating an accessible educational environment through conscious planning, design, and efforts to assist students in meaningfully participating in teaching and learning environments.

4.3 Procedural Justice and Fairness: The administration of this policy will be based on principles of procedural justice and fairness, which includes transparency of decision making, the opportunity to be heard, and the right to impartial and unbiased decision makers.

5. POLICY

5.1 All matriculants to the MD program are expected to start studies in September of the calendar year following their application and offer of admission.The UGME Admissions Council, as the sole decision maker for all admissions to the MD program, may consider a request for deferral of admission by a matriculant on a case-by-case basis and where there are exceptional circumstances. Deferral will be considered for any one of the following reasons:

a. an unexpected change in the matriculant’s personal health or family status;

b. unexpected and documented sudden financial hardship.

In the case of an unexpected change in the matriculant’s personal health or family status, documents by a personal health care provider or other relevant professional(s) are required. In the case of an unexpected sudden financial hardship, attestation from the matriculant demonstrating financial hardship is required.

5.2 Requests for deferral based on the following reasons will not be considered by the UGME Admissions Council:

a. a request to complete a current or new degree program;

b. a request of personal leave for reasons not noted in points a or b in Section 5.1 above;

c. indecision on medicine as a career path.

5.3 A request for deferral must:

a. be submitted by the successful matriculant in writing before June 30th of the year they were offered admission and within seven (7) business days of the offer;

b. detail the reasons for the request for deferral and provide necessary supporting documentation (as stated above) to support the request;

c. include the acceptance deposit with the request.

5.4 A request for deferral will:

a. only be granted under exceptional circumstances;

b. only be extended for the upcoming academic year;

c. have no possibility of extension into a second year;

d. not be appealable if denied.

6. PROCEDURE

6.1 The matriculant will communicate in writing, via email, a request for deferral to the UGME Admissions Office. The request must include an appendix of applicable documents to support the request.

6.2 The documents will be screened by the Admissions Lead and the Admissions Manager to ensure they meet the requirements for a request of deferral. If documents are deemed to meet the requirements, the request will be reviewed at the next (or a special) meeting of the UGME Admissions Council. To the extent permitted by this policy, the matriculant’s privacy will be respected, protected and maintained throughout the process. All documentation received regarding requests for deferral of matriculation will be collected, securely maintained and disposed of in accordance with the University’s records management, records retention schedule, privacy, and information classification policies, procedures and standards.

6.3 Following a discussion of the request at the UGME Admissions Council, a vote will be taken, providing that quorum is achieved.

6.4 The decision will be communicated to the student by the Admissions Office within three (3) weeks of the submission of the request for deferral. If the request is granted, the student will have two (2) weeks to accept, or not accept, the offer of deferral. If the request is denied, the student will be expected to begin their studies at TMU as planned, or they may withdraw their acceptance to the program.

6.5 Students who are denied the deferral and withdraw will forfeit their deposit. They will be encouraged to apply in future years, although their application will be considered de novo with no guaranteed success of admission.

6.6 Those who are granted a deferral of admission and accept the terms will be registered into the class of the following academic year in the MD program. The applicants' admissions deposit will be held in their Student Fees account and applied towards their tuition when they enter the MD program.  Applicants granted a deferral of admission who subsequently elect to not enter the MD program other subsequent academic year, will forfeit their deposit.