Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV School of Medicine earns preliminary accreditation

The upstart UNLV School of Medicine just cleared its biggest hurdle yet.

The school was granted preliminary accreditation today by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, paving the way for the school to teach its first class starting next summer.

Founding Dean Barbara Atkinson got the phone call this morning.

“I’m very relieved and very proud of what everyone has accomplished,” she said. “We crossed our fingers hoping for this outcome.”

The committee inspected the school’s facilities near University Medical Center this summer, looking to see if the school met the standards in areas such as finances, curriculum and student services. Preliminary accreditation status was the only thing standing in the way of the school opening its doors to its charter class of 60 students in July.

Atkinson and her team of administrators have been working to put the school together since late 2014.

“We’re ready to teach,” said Atkinson, who described the news as “one of the highlights” of her career.

The school is preparing to review student applications in the coming weeks and should have a class filled out by the end of March, Atkinson said. Thanks to a successful fundraising campaign, each student in the charter class will receive a full scholarship.

Classes will be held in a 20,000-square-foot space in an existing building used by UNLV’s dental school, but plans to build the school’s first building are already underway.

UNLV President Len Jessup hailed the news as proof the university “is undergoing a renaissance in so many areas.”

“The School of Medicine is an important part of UNLV’s role and relevance in the community and beyond,” Jessup said in a statement. “It’s been an exciting week for the university, its leadership, and the entire community and state.”

Reaction among state higher education leaders was just as cheerful.

“Southern Nevada should be very proud today,” higher education Regent Mark Doubrava said in a statement. “The new medical school is an important step toward improving the Las Vegas Valley’s stressed health care system.”

The accreditation process will kick back in during the inaugural class’s second and fourth years, after which the committee will decide whether to grant the medical school full accreditation.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy