Student Involvement

The Independent Student Analysis (ISA) is a student-run survey required by the LCME for re-accreditation that evaluates different aspects of a medical school: curriculum, student services, faculty & administration, activities & student life, and facilities & campuses. The survey is a combination of questions required by the LCME and others created by students at HMS. Students on the Student Leadership Team are responsible for analyzing the survey and finalizing the report that is shared with both HMS and the LCME evaluators.

The original ISA survey typically takes between 15-30 minutes to complete, and the follow-up ISA² survey is typically shorter.

The original ISA primarily consists of multiple-choice questions that ask students to rate their satisfaction with different aspects of HMS. There are also opportunities to elaborate upon this feedback through free text responses. The follow-up ISA² survey is similar in that it relies on a satisfaction scale. However, the content differs in that students are asked to specifically rate their level of satisfaction with the findings summarized by each of the ISA Working Groups. There may also be a few additional questions regarding other concrete changes that do not necessarily fall under the jurisdiction of an ISA Working Group.

The ISA is distributed to all students, the HMS administration, and all faculty members on the numerous HMS LCME Institutional Self-Study Subcommittees. It is shared broadly early on in the self-study process in order to optimize the opportunity to learn from the student body and make improvements in response (not simply for the LCME but for our future peers). Ultimately, the ISA report - which is a compilation of both the original ISA survey and the follow-up ISA² survey - is included in the school’s required LCME documentation for the site visitors to review prior to their evaluation of the school.