Affiliation Agreements and External Learners

1. To initiate a new agreement, please complete the request form for the Educational Affiliation Agreement specific to Baylor College of Medicine’s Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) program or a program within the School of Health Professions (SHP).
2. All requests are directed to the Accreditation Coordinator for processing.
3. The Accreditation Coordinator will review the request and forward it to the designated department for the Dean/Program Director’s assessment.
4. Upon review and approval by the Dean/Program Director, the partially executed agreement will be sent to the General Counsel for their review and approval.
5. If General Counsel determines that adjustments are necessary to tailor the template to BCM’s requirements, these modifications will be made using "track changes". The agreement will then be returned to the affiliate for their review and approval/denial of the changes. Please note that a draft may have to go through some back-and-forth before it can be finalized. 
6. If no alterations are necessary and General Counsel approves the template as is, it will be forwarded to the Sr. Dean of the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions, Dean for the School of Health Professions, Program Director and/or Regional Campus Dean. 
7. Upon receiving the signed partially executed agreement from BCM representatives, General Counsel will return it to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu for further processing.
8. The Accreditation Coordinator will then send the partially executed agreement to the affiliate for their signature.
9. Once all parties have signed, copies of the fully executed agreement will be distributed to all involved parties for their records.
10. A copy of the fully executed agreement will be stored and maintained by the Office of Accreditation and Education Effectiveness.

Educational Agreements Documents

• UME & SHP Affiliation Request Form
• Orthotics & Prosthetics Clinical Affiliation Request Form

Educational Agreements Additional Links

• Negotiation, Approval, and Execution of Contracts Policy

How are educational agreements completed/signed?

Educational Agreements are processed through the office of OAEE. After a contract request is completed, the agreements are signed through DocuSign.

When is legal review required?  

Legal review is required for all contracts.

What is an Affiliation Agreement?

Affiliation Agreement: A document which describes the roles and responsibilities between an education program and its affiliates.

How long does it take to process an affiliation agreement?

Please refer to the Process Map and Timeline document.

Who do I inquire about an existing or new affiliation?

Office of Accreditation at EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu.

1. Fill out the Clinical Observership/Outside Learner Authorization form.
2. Email the completed Clinical Observership/Outside Learner Authorization form and any required documents to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu.
3. Ensure your sponsor completes the form fully before submitting it to EducaionalAgreements@bcm.edu. 
4. EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu will forward all forms and documentation to the Senior Dean's designee for processing (review and final approval).
5. If signatures or necessary documentation are not provided, your request will be returned until all required signatures and/or documents are included.
6. If approved, EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu will notify you via email, attaching the signed and approved forms.
7. Department administrators can provide additional guidance regarding Observer onboarding.

Refer to the Clinical Observers & Observerships Policy for more details.

• Clinical Observership/Outside Learner Authorization Form
• Observer/Outside Learner Checklist
• Observer Confidentiality Statement
• Observer Immunization Record Certificate of Compliance
• GME Observation Policy

For questions, please contact the Office of Accreditation and Education Effectiveness at EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu.

1. Ensure that Clinical Rotation Requests for Outside Learners are submitted to EducationalAgreements@bcm.edu no later than 90 days before the requested clinical start date(s).
2. Upon receipt, BCM’s Educational Agreements will acknowledge request(s). 
3. Request(s) sent (3) weeks before clinical start date(s) may be denied or may delay the proposed start date(s).
4. BCM’s Educational Agreements verifies that there is an Educational Agreement between BCM and Institution. 
5. If there is no existing EAA and the institution wishes to initiate a new agreement, please submit a request form. Please note that establishing an EAA with BCM is not guaranteed and may take up to 6 months.
6. If an EAA exists between both institutions, BCM’s Educational Agreements processes Clinical Rotation Addendum requests to SHP, UME and GME Dean’s for approval. (This approval is contingent on space at the affiliate site specialty departments.) 
7. You can expect a response to your request no later than 4 weeks before the clinical rotation begins.
8. Upon approval by all Deans, BCM’s Educational Agreements will forward Clinical Rotation Addendum requests for outside learners to BCM’s legal department for final approval and signature from the Dean of the School of Health Professions.
9. If the request is denied, BCM’s Educational Agreements will email the institution's clinical coordinator to provide an explanation for the denial.
10. If the request was approved, BCM’s Educational Agreements will send signed forms to the clinical coordinator at the requesting institution and to the affiliate for their records.

Clinical Rotation Documents

• Addendum A