Prospective University students who hope to gain admittance to the Medical School through the Inteflex program may soon find that they no longer have that option. The program, which allows 35 first-year students to receive their bachelors' and medical degrees in eight years through one program, is currently facing elimination because of concerns that its existence keeps the needs of other pre-medical students from being met. It is currently under evaluation and faces an uncertain future - the decision on what to do with the program has been delayed. But the Inteflex program has been successful; although all pre-medical students deserve access to the same caliber education, if the program has faults, it should be reformed, not eliminated.
While Inteflex is one of the University's much-touted but academically restrictive living-learning programs, it differs significantly from most of its counterparts. Most of the programs require participating students to live in a designated residence hall, thus trapping them into a situation where they may be unable to grow academically and socially. Inteflex students, on the other hand, are not required to live in a particular residence hall - removing the most constricting component from the program. If an Inteflex student decided halfway through his or her first semester to major in English, he or she would not be trapped in the same manner that other living-learning students may be.
The Inteflex program has been quite successful in educating future physicians. Eliminating it would take away a great opportunity from students who hope to go into the medical profession, and the University should offer students as many academic options as possible. If there is a discrepancy between the education of Inteflex students and that of other pre-medical students, the solution should be to equalize the programs, not to eliminate one of them. Inteflex and non-Inteflex students alike would be hurt by the program's removal. In addition, the Inteflex program does not preclude a strong pre-medical curriculum for students outside of the program. It is possible to keep Inteflex and still take greater care to meet the needs of other pre-medical students.
The University has a vast array of medical resources that make it especially well-suited for a rigorous pre-medical program like Inteflex. It would be a waste not to take advantage of these resources for accelerated training and education. In addition, there are no significant advantages to eliminating the program. While some have claimed that the program is a poor use of University resources, it does offer a unique learning environment for students interested in an advanced pre-medical education.
It is important that the University offer as many academic options as possible to its students. Inteflex may serve an additional service by attracting high-quality students to the University - benefiting the entire campus's academic reputation. It may be helpful to change the pre-medical curriculum so that it would meet the needs of non-Inteflex students as well, but it is not necessary to eliminate Inteflex. Although it is also important that non-Inteflex students are not overlooked, retaining Inteflex would be more beneficial than eliminating it.
03-24-98
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