The Changes in Students' Satisfaction Rates Between the Accreditation Cycles by the Accreditation Commission on...

Accreditation is a key quality assurance mechanism that promotes quality improvement. Evidence shows accreditation improves student outcomes, especially licensure exam performance for international medical graduates. Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine (ACCM) is one of the accreditation agencies in the Caribbean region whose accreditation standards are comparable to the accreditation standards of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which accredits the medical schools in the USA, and ACCM is recognized by the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME). This study examines changes in students' satisfaction rates between accreditation cycles using ACCM student surveys at Avalon University School of Medicine (AUSOM).

This retrospective quantitative study analyzed ACCM student survey data from 2021 and 2024 across AUSOM's basic science and clinical students. The survey assessed students' satisfaction across five institutional domains: dean's office, learning environment, library, student services, and medical education program, using a 5-point Likert scale. Mean scores were compared using the Mann-Whitney U-test (non-homogeneous variance).

A total of 76 (response rate 75%) and 62 (63%) basic science and 115 (90%) and 85 (88.5%) clinical students responded to the survey in 2021 and 2024, respectively. The mean values for all questions were above 3.5 in both surveys. Across all domains and questionnaire items, comparisons between 2021 and 2024 revealed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05), and the satisfaction rates remained stable for basic science and clinical students.

These findings, along with the study's results showing no significant decline in student satisfaction, differ from prior literature suggesting a dip in student satisfaction between accreditation cycles at other medical schools. Medical Schools are recommended to continue monitoring to identify subtle trends and guide targeted quality improvement initiatives, and to engage critical stakeholders, such as students, in the quality improvement process.