Student Learning Environment

The University of Illinois College of Medicine is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and effective learning environment in which students, faculty, residents, fellows, healthcare staff, and university administrative staff work together to both educate and learn in a manner that promotes the highest level of patient care and research.

As an institution that trains the physician leaders and researchers of tomorrow, we expect members of our community to uphold an academic environment that encourages mutually respectful relationships, is conducive to learning, and is free of mistreatment, unlawful discrimination and harassment, and threats of retaliation.

All members of the medical education community have a shared responsibility to protect the integrity of the learning environment, have a right to work and learn free of unlawful discrimination, harassment and mistreatment, and have a right to report any incident in which that positive learning environment has been compromised.

Reporting Student Mistreatment/Concerns Heading link

Anonymous or Signed Reporting of Student Mistreatment Concerns

If you have experienced or witnessed mistreatment of any kind, or think you may have experienced it–including but not limited to abuse, sexism, sexual misconduct, racism, bias, discrimination, ableism, etc.–you are strongly encouraged to report it as soon as possible. This can accomplished using the blue button below. The report form behind the button allows for anonymous or signed reporting.

Consistent with the UI COM Positive Learning Environment Policy, reports of student mistreatment and other learning environment concerns are taken very seriously. Detailed information about the various methods for reporting, and the process that follows, is available in at this link and in these two Reporting Flowcharts (one pdf, chart on two pages).

Report Student Mistreatment

Reports submitted through this form will be reviewed by the UI COM Senior Director of Student Learning Environment (SLE)** within 2 business days to determine next steps. Because of this reply timeline, you should not use this form to report events presenting an immediate threat to the health or safety of any person, including yourself. If there is an immediate risk to health or safety of any person, please call 911 to connect with medical support or local law enforcement.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

(1) If you are unsure or hesitant about reporting, the SLE Director is available for a pre-reporting consultations by phone (312-413-9632) or email (timlacy@uic.edu).

(2) If you wish to consult anonymously with the SLE Director, you can mask your identity by either (a) creating an anonymous email account with which to write, or (b) calling and stating upfront the desire to remain anonymous.

(3) You can receive follow up about anonymously submitted reports by contacting campus student leaders (esp. Learning Environment Advisory Group (LEAG) members) or select UI COM administrative staff. Please consult with your campus medical student council/government representatives (CMSC, PMSC, RMSC) for more about your LEAG reps.

Discrimination/Harassment/Sexual Misconduct Heading link

Any reports of student mistreatment/learning environment concerns that include claims of sex or gender-based discrimination, harassment, assault and/or Sexual Misconduct will also be reported, by University of Illinois policy, to the UIC Title IX Coordinator.

Sexual Misconduct Reporting

Incidents/concerns containing claims of unlawful discrimination and/or harassment should be reported to the UIC Office for Access and Equity AND to UI COM as described herein.

Discrimination/Harassment Reporting

If you are unsure whether or not an incident involves sexual misconduct or unlawful discrimination/harassment, please report to both the UI COM and to the appropriate office as described above.

**Though all efforts will be made to respect the privacy of any person making a report, the Director may, in limited circumstances, be required by law or policy to share the report or information from the report with others. There are, however, confidential resources available on our campuses:

If you have general questions about the reporting process or the privacy of the reports, contact the SLE Senior Director, Tim Lacy, at timlacy@uic.edu or 312-413-9632 for more information.

Tim Lacy, Senior Director, Student Learning Environment Heading link

Tim Lacy

The Director’s overall mission is to support the College of Medicine’s strong commitment to identifying and addressing the mistreatment of medical and graduate students, and other learning environment concerns.

The Director’s duties include:

  • Building relationships with students, staff, and faculty at all UI COM campuses;
  • Teaching students about the circumstances of mistreatment–about how to recognize it, avoid it, report it, and rectify it;
  • Providing those who experience, witness, or become aware of student mistreatment with access to a neutral, impartial, and private resource to report and seek assistance with concerns;
  • Monitoring reports of microaggressions and implicit bias, and observations about systemic racism;
  • Assisting in fostering an overall feeling of safety and security for our students;
  • Receiving and monitoring student mistreatment reports from all campuses, and using those reports to identify trends or patterns involving a specific teachers, departments, or experiential sites;
  • Being a resource to teachers (faculty, residents and others in a teaching role), staff and administration in discussing, and resolving, learning environment concerns;
  • Developing and implementing Policy, Procedures and Guidelines for fostering a positive learning environment free from student mistreatment;
  • Relaying feedback to UI COM administration to improve the student learning environment; and
  • Creating and implementing educational activities, information, and resources to promote a positive student learning environment.

To report incidents of student mistreatment, racism, or safety, as well as general learning environment concerns, the Director can be reached directly via email (timlacy@uic.edu) or phone (312-413-9632). Reports may also be submitted–anonymously or with identifying information–using the Student Mistreatment Report Form.