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St Christopher Iba Mar Diop College of Medicine (SCIMD-COM) is a branch campus located in Luton, England. The parent medical college is Ecole de Médecine St Christopher Iba Mar Diop (EM-SCIMD) which is a college within the Universite El Hadji Ibrahima Niasse (UEIN) in Dakar, Senegal.

The school lacks accreditation in the UK and achieved prominence when BBC coverage led to an investigation by the General Medical Council resulting in the withdrawal of registration of at least one doctor, and the publication of a list of schools deemed unacceptable for registration, including St. Christopher.

History

Instruction began at SCIMD in 2000. The branch campus and administrative offices located in England and the United States operated under the name St. Christopher's College of Medicine from 2000-2006. Degrees are now issued from the parent university through SCIMD-COM.

Programs and curriculum

SCIMD-COM offers two English-language curricula at the Luton school: a four-year curriculum for students who have previously completed the necessary premedical coursework and a six-year curriculum for those that have not.

The college's programs award the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree after successful completion of the required curriculum.

Accreditation

The school claims accreditation through the Senegalese parent institution. It lacks accreditation in the UK and the USA, though it is listed in a number of directories such as The Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) International Medical Education Directory (IMED) database of medical schools with contact addresses in Dakar, Senegal; Luton, UK; and McDonough, Georgia, USA. It is listed as such based on its accreditation by the Senegalese Ministry of Education through its issuing of a charter in February 2000, which was reaffirmed in April 2006 after a reorganization of the school. The college is also listed by the World Health Organization in the updated 7th edition of the World Directory of Medical Schools. The Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC), a private UK-based accrediting agency, has included SCIMD-COM on their list of organizations which the ASIC suggest students undertake detailed research before embarking on a program of study.

Licensing

In the United Kingdom, currently the General Medical Council (GMC) does not register graduates with degrees from "private, UK-based medical colleges that claim that the course of study undertaken substantially or wholly in the UK leads to a Primary Medical Qualification awarded by an overseas University," nor does it recognize such qualifications for the purposes of sitting the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board test. In the United States, the college is not approved in Alabama, Maine, Oregon and Texas .

Visas

SCIMD-COM's Luton campus is not listed in the Register of Education and Training Providers published by the British Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Home Office will not grant anyone permission to enter or remain in the UK as a student, unless he or she plans to study at a college on the Register. "The Register does not quality assure the services offered by providers," rather, "the purpose of the Register is to help the Home Office tackle immigration abuse in the education sector."

Media coverage

In 2003, the BBC local news program Look East visited the campus, noting that no private medical college has ever been given full accreditation in the UK, and that St. Christopher hoped to be the first. It also noted that fees were between 2/3 and 1/2 of the fees charged by US medical colleges, and that this attracted a significant US and Canadian student body.

In 2005 the BBC investigation highlighted the school as an example of a loophole allowing essentially unregulated medical schools to operate in the UK. This prompted the General Medical Council (GMC) to launch an investigation, which resulted in the withdrawal of registration for one doctor that was a graduate of St. Christopher's and the GMC Website was subsequently amended to include a list of schools deemed unacceptable for registration, including St Christopher by name as unacceptable

External links

• Official website

References

1. ^ Some medical degrees 'worthless', BBC News, 6 November 2005
2. ^ GMC Today, July/August 2007 (p18), see list
3. ^ Foundation for the Advancement of International Education and Research. "International Medical Education Directory: St. Christopher Iba Mar Diop College of Medicine". Retrieved 2006-07-27.
4. Senegalese Charter of SCIMD from stchris.edu
5. Senegalese recognition letter by Minister of Education
6. Cite error: The named reference scimd hx was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/WDMS/WDMS_Updates_131201.pdf
8. List of organizations about which ASIC suggest students undertake detailed research before embarking on a program of study
9. ^ General Medical Council. "Acceptable primary medical qualification". Retrieved 2006-07-27.
10. UK based medical colleges: General Medical Council statement of non-recognition of UK-based "satellite" colleges.
11. Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. "Medical Education Requirements". Retrieved 2006-08-27.
12. Maine Higher Education. "Unaccredited Schools" (PDF). UnaccreditedSchools-042706.pdf. p. 48. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help)
13. http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx
14. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. "Institutions Whose Degrees are Illegal to Use in Texas". Retrieved 2007-05-05.
15. DFES Provider Register of Education and Training
16. UKVisas requirements for student visas
17. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/providersregister/faq-general.cfm#a1
18. RealAudio file, BBC Look East, February 2003
19. GMC launches inquiry into private medical schools, The Guardian, November 7, 2005
20. Credential Watch