THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY March 25, 2021
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 150 Issue 43
College of Medicine gets provisional accreditation which again is the accreditor,” Balascuta said. “Students are asked questions regarding their satisfaction with educational programs, with student affairs, with faculty affairs, with academic affairs and with research.” Prior to analyzing and reflecting, Carle Illinois must also compose a Selfstudy report. Following the gathering of all this data, Carle Illinois analyzes the data and reflects on potential improvements. A summary is then written and submitted to the LCME. After the LCME has received and reviewed all these documents, a visiting team traditionally visits the campus to speak with students, faculty and staff in order to make a final verdict regarding accreditation. However, the survey visit occurred over Zoom last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 15 Carle Illinois students met with three representatives to discuss topics ranging from how Carle is addressing student wellness to how the engineering-enthused curriculum elevates students’ medical studies, according to Bailey Macinnis, a second-year student at Carle Illinois. “Our school has a great Student Affairs staff and is very focused on making sure that we are not only happy and healthy in our careers, but happy and healthy in our lives and in personal matters as well,” Macinnis said. “We also talked about how exactly engineering fits into our curriculum, and specifically elaborating that the engineering is not in any way getting in the way of our medical education.” Carle Illinois is now preparing for the full accreditation visit, which is anticipated to tentatively occur in 2022 with a verdict made in February 2023. Because accreditation is an ongoing process, it supports consistent improvement. “You want to continue to improve,” Balascuta said. “You want to continue to make sure that you’re providing a high quality of education to your students because, again, people’s lives depend on our graduates or graduating medical doctors.”
BY ALEXANDRA GERGOVA STAFF WRITER
CAMERON KRASUCKI THE DAILY ILLINI
A COVID-19 testing employee checks in a patient at the Church of the Living God on Feb. 20. Champaign-Urbana area Walgreens have been vaccinating community members to the point where C-U is on track to achieve herd immunity.
CU stays on track for herd immunity BY ALIZA MAJID ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
As COVID-19 vaccine eligibility widens its range, many individuals wait for appointments to become available as the demand for vaccines rises. According to Walgreens, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded vaccine eligibility to teachers and childcare works along with the current groups. These newly eligible individuals should receive their first shot by the end of March. “Walgreens is providing a limited number of vaccines per week,” said Awais Vaid, deputy aministrator of the Champiagn-Urbana Public Health District. “This combined with the current allocation for the County is still not enough to meet the demand. But we are expect-
ing allocations to increase in the coming weeks, and we will be able to meet the demand.” Walgreens has recently begun administering the COVID-19 vaccine at their locations with appointment applications available on their website. Many individuals took advantage of that opportunity as the CUPHD ran low on appointments. “There wasn’t any availability through the University, and I’ve been checking for a few weeks now because I have asthma,” said Scott Jung, freshman in LAS. “Once I started being eligible, I started checking (through Walgreens) and this was the first one that I was able to sign up for.” In order to receive appointments from Walgreens, individuals will have to create an account and submit a form
that will provide a list of locations nearby that have available appointments for those eligible. According to Vaid, Walgreens has also been recently allocated a small supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines earlier this month, and the CUPHD should receive a supply later this week. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 27 and has been supplied to various groups throughout the country. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has overall similar results with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, other than the fact that it is a one-dose vaccine. “All vaccines currently approved for administration in the U.S. are very effective
in preventing serious complications, hospitalization and death,” Vaid said. “A onedose vaccine is much more convenient for many. It offers immunity much quicker than the two-dose vaccines.” Overall, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available to the public as supply continues to be delivered to various groups along with the two other vaccines. Individuals can go to the Walgreens website or the CUPHD website to check future availability and appointments. “Almost a quarter of the County population is completely vaccinated at this time,” Vaid said. “We are well-positioned to achieve herd immunity if everyone gets a vaccine when it is available and it is their turn. alizam2@dailyillini.com
RSO calls for student debt cancellations
PHOTO COURTESY OF REDDIT USER SAVAGEAIR42
A sign made by the Young Democratic Socialists of America hangs from Alma Mater. The RSO is focused on holding president Biden accountable on his promise to relieve student debt. BY ALEX CHANG STAFF WRITER
A passersby on Saturday walking near Alma Mater saw her adorned with a banner stating “JOE BIDEN CANCEL STUDENT DEBT.” The banner was put together by the University’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America as part of a larger nationwide banner drop platform. Chapters across the nation draped
similar banners as a part of a national effort for student debt forgiveness. “We have many chapters from the east coast to the west, and obviously the midwest, and we are all trying to get this message out there,” said Dat Luu, president of the University chapter of YDSA. Each banner had a link to the YDSA petition listed underneath calling for President Biden to cancel all stu-
Following an in-depth process that included a virtual survey visit due to COVID-19 with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in August, the Carle Illinois College of Medicine received provisional accreditation this February, which served as a testament to the quality of the education provided, according to Iuliana Balascuta, assistant dean for accreditation and assessment at Carle Illinois. Accreditation is a process with various stages in which medical schools across the United States and Canada must demonstrate compliance with standards and elements delineated by the LCME, which is the accrediting body. “Provisional accreditation is really a stamp of quality that our institution is on track to continue to provide a quality of education for all our students,” Balascuta said. “And it’s also a step closer to achieving full accreditation.” According to the LCME website, the 12 standards consist of topics ranging from medical student health services, personal counseling and financial aid services to curricular content. There are additionally 93 total elements, which are components of the standards. In order for a medical school to receive provisional accreditation, it must demonstrate compliance with all 12 of the standards and 49 of the 93 elements assessed, according to Balascuta. In 2017, Carle Illinois received preliminary accreditation and had to demonstrate compliance with all 12 standards and all 93 elements. “(For provisional accreditation) we were responsible for fewer elements within the standards, but we still had to be in compliance with the entire standard,” Balascuta said. In order to receive provisional accreditation, Carle Illinois was required to submit a Data Collection Instrument, which was roughly 800 to a thousand pages including appendices. Additionally, Carle Illinois students had to submit an Independent Student Analysis, which is completed independently by the students without any influence from faculty and staff. “It’s roughly 40 questions gergova2@dailyillini.com mandated by the LCME,
the final results desired by YDSA. “It’s all about building pressure, building that momentum for real change to be implemented in government,” Luu said. “Banner drops and petitions help, but at the end of the day themselves, they are only good for raising awareness.” According to the Federal Reserve, around 43% of all adults ages 18-29 who attended college have some form of student debt, while 60% of people aged 18-29 with a bachelor’s degree have some form of student debt. The average amount of debt that each person holds is around $20,000 to $24,999. Across the nation, many calls have been made for student debt forgiveness, mainly from progressive and socialist-affiliated candidates and organizations. A key proponent of this movement was Sen. Bernie Sanders, an influential figure that attracted many due to his calls for Medicare for All, complete PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLE ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINE elimination of student debt The Carle Illinois College of Medicine’s first class poses for a and other similar policies. group photo in front of the University’s Alma Mater on July 3,
dent debts through executive action. “Sign our petition for Joe Biden to forgive ALL student debt via executive order in the first 100 days of his presidency. Join us in this fight!” the petition states. As of Tuesday, the petition had gathered 8,339 signatures out of the goal of 12,800 signatures. Luu stresses that banner drops and petitions are not alexrc2@dailyillini.com
2018. The college recently received provisional accreditation for the quality of their education program.
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