Ok, I'm a fourth year at URSMD and know much, but not all, about the incident referred to in the survey.
First, the "top admin people" left Rochester for better jobs. The dean left to become the president of Case Western. I don't know anyone who would turn down that job. That's akin to being promoted from a Double A baseball team to the Majors. He then hired away the senior academic dean (number 2 at the school) to start a brand new totally research oriented medical school at Case Western in conjunction with the Cleveland Clinic -- a once in a lifetime job. I have heard nothing about admins stepping down, except those entering semi-retirement.
In terms of the other incident, it is the only real upsetting experience that I had with the administration of the school. As a class officer at the time, I became somewhat involved. In essense, the retroactively changed the remediation policy to require a students repeat the year for failing a course instead of merely the class. We only have 3 classes a year, so this isn't quite as bad as it sounds. The poster is correct that there is no objective standard for passing, however we lose only 3-4 people a year and most of these are those who have decided medicine isn't the right course. The school is very supportive. There is free peer tutoring. In my opinion, and that of many of my peers, the administration goes out of its way to help us. They are also very protective against med student abuse during rotations.
I think the administration made a mistake in the above mentioned matter. However, the overall tenor of the school is supportive. If you surveyed the students here, the vast majority would say they have no regrets comming.
One other note, remember that one who is dissatisfied is more likely to post on the AMSA sight. Counting current students, there have been over 500 under the new curriculum and only 7 have posted.
Finally, if you have real concerns I'd ask Dr. Hansen, the Dean of Admissions. He is the straightest shooter you'll meet (and one of the best teachers there is).
Feel free to PM me or post here with further questions,
Ed
