Affiliation Agreements and External Learners

The Office of Accreditation and Education Effectiveness (OAEE) is responsible for reviewing and processing educational affiliation agreements for both the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions. The OAEE will be responsible for obtaining appropriate signatures as delegated by the President. OAEE assists in providing guidance regarding the process and management of the educational affiliation agreement database. OAEE has templates for common agreement types. Schools/sponsoring units are encouraged to use one of these approved agreement templates to expediate the review and approval process. Please contact EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu for the most recent versions of the approved templates.

Prior to submitting an agreement, it is crucial that the program/sponsoring unit works with the OAEE. OAEE plays a critical role in reviewing draft agreements to ensure the proposed collaboration is aligned with the College’s overall mission and strategic goal. The program/unit should be in close contact with the OAEE throughout the review process.

The common types of educational agreements processed by OAEE include:

  • Educational Experience Affiliation Agreement: Establish a relationship of continuing nature with an outside academic clinical or training site.
  • Program Affiliation Agreement: Dual Degree Programs
  • Visiting students: Visiting medical students who wish to register for a Baylor clinical elective.
  • Memoranda of Understanding (MOU)

  1. To initiate a new agreement, please complete the request form for the Educational Affiliation Agreement specific to Baylor College of Medicine’s Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) program or a program within the School of Health Professions (SHP).
  2. All requests are directed to the Accreditation Coordinator for processing.
  3. The Accreditation Coordinator will review the request and forward it to the designated department for the Dean/Program Director’s assessment.
  4. Upon review and approval by the Dean/Program Director, the partially executed agreement will be sent to the General Counsel for their review and approval.
  5. If General Counsel determines that adjustments are necessary to tailor the template to BCM’s requirements, these modifications will be made using "track changes". The agreement will then be returned to the affiliate for their review and approval/denial of the changes. Please note that a draft may have to go through some back-and-forth before it can be finalized.
  6. If no alterations are necessary and General Counsel approves the template as is, it will be forwarded to the Sr. Dean of the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions, Dean for the School of Health Professions, Program Director and/or Regional Campus Dean.
  7. Upon receiving the signed partially executed agreement from BCM representatives, General Counsel will return it to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu for further processing.
  8. The Accreditation Coordinator will then send the partially executed agreement to the affiliate for their signature.
  9. Once all parties have signed, copies of the fully executed agreement will be distributed to all involved parties for their records.
  10. A copy of the fully executed agreement will be stored and maintained by the Office of Accreditation and Education Effectiveness.

Educational Agreements Documents

Educational Agreements Additional Links

How are educational agreements completed/signed?

Educational Agreements are processed through the office of OAEE. After a contract request is completed, the agreements are signed through DocuSign.

When is legal review required?  

Legal review is required for all contracts.

What is an Affiliation Agreement?

Affiliation Agreement: A document which describes the roles and responsibilities between an education program and its affiliates.

How long does it take to process an affiliation agreement?

Establishing an EAA with our institution involves quite a few steps and can take up to six months to fully execute. Please keep in mind that starting the process of establishing an EAA between both institutions does not guarantee approval.

Who do I inquire about an existing or new affiliation?

Office of Accreditation at EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu.

Observers

The Office of Accreditation and Education Effectiveness (OAEE) is responsible for reviewing and processing Observer requests.

What is an Observer? An observer is a person invited by a Sponsor to enter the BCM premises (i.e., clinical area or facility owned or operated by BCM) for the express purpose of observing BCM operations to evaluate a potential interest in pursuing a career in the Sponsor’s job field.

What is an Observership? An on-campus, time-limited, observation-only experience that is intended to provide brief, rather than continuous or intermittent, access to the BCM learning and working environment. Observerships never include hands-on training or result in academic or professional credit for the Observer. 

  1. Fill out the Clinical Observership/Outside Learner Authorization form.
  2. Email the completed Clinical Observership/Outside Learner Authorization form and any required documents to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu.
  3. Ensure your sponsor completes the form fully before submitting it to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu.
  4. EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu will forward all forms and documentation to the Senior Dean's designee for processing (review and final approval).
  5. If signatures or necessary documentation are not provided, your request will be returned until all required signatures and/or documents are included.
  6. If approved, EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu will notify you via email, attaching the signed and approved forms.
  7. Department administrators can provide additional guidance regarding Observer onboarding.

Refer to the Clinical Observers & Observerships Policy for more details.

For questions, please contact the Office of Accreditation and Education Effectiveness at EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu.

Outside Learner Clinical Rotation Request

Due to the large number of outside learner clinical placement requests and the limited number of available spaces, Baylor College of Medicine has developed a formal application process for outside learner clinical rotation requests. Before joining a clinical rotation with a BCM Preceptor, outside learners must secure approval from the preceptor. Upon approval, outside learners are required to complete the most recent BCM clinical request addendum. This document should be completed and emailed to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu by the outside learner’s institution clinical coordinator. The completed addendum will be sent back to both the outside learner’s institution clinical coordinator and the affiliated training site. This process is not applicable to BCM students or visiting M.D. Students (VSLO) process.

A current Affiliation Agreement must be on record between your School and Baylor College of Medicine to request a clinical rotation with a BCM Preceptor. Please contact EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu to confirm the existence of an agreement between your School and Baylor College of Medicine.

  1. Ensure that Clinical Rotation Requests for Outside Learners are submitted to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu no later than 90 days before the requested clinical start date(s).
  2. Upon receipt, BCM’s Educational Agreements will acknowledge request(s).
  3. Request(s) sent (3) weeks before clinical start date(s) may be denied or may delay the proposed start date(s).
  4. BCM’s Educational Agreements verifies that there is an Educational Agreement between BCM and Institution.
  5. If there is no existing EAA and the institution wishes to initiate a new agreement, please submit a request form. Please note that establishing an EAA with BCM is not guaranteed and may take up to 6 months.
  6. If an EAA exists between both institutions, BCM’s Educational Agreements processes Clinical Rotation Addendum requests to SHP, UME and GME Dean’s for approval. (This approval is contingent on space at the affiliate site specialty departments.)
  7. You can expect a response to your request no later than 4 weeks before the clinical rotation begins.
  8. Upon approval by all Deans, BCM’s Educational Agreements will forward Clinical Rotation Addendum requests for outside learners to BCM’s legal department for final approval and signature from the Dean of the School of Health Professions.
  9. If the request is denied, BCM’s Educational Agreements will email the institution's clinical coordinator to provide an explanation for the denial.
  10. If the request was approved, BCM’s Educational Agreements will send signed forms to the clinical coordinator at the requesting institution and to the affiliate for their records.

Clinical Rotation Documents

Stand Alone Program

Stand-Alone Programs are clinical learning programs, sponsored by an unaffiliated third-party and/or hosted by an Affiliated Hospital, for which the Affiliated Hospital has assumed responsibility for program oversight. Stand-Alone Programs may involve hosting of Non-BCM Healthcare Providers, or students unaffiliated with BCM. Oversight of Stand-Alone Programs falls outside the scope of oversight responsibilities assigned to BCM academic leadership in the School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Education Programs, or School of Health Professions.  EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu is responsible for processing Stand Alone Program requests.

Refer to the Stand-Alone Programs Policy for more details.

If you require information on BCM’s Visiting School Program please visit the webpage for visiting medical students.