UNC System’s Board of Governors granted UNCW permission to begin the planning process for its proposed medical school.
The motion passed with unanimous support at the full Board of Governors meeting today. 

The medical school was proposed in April at a Board of Governors Committee on Educational Planning, Policies and Programs meeting, where UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety outlined plans for a standalone four-year Doctor of Medicine program, with a three-year accelerated track.

Instead of following a traditional medical school model, which includes a teaching hospital, the proposed medical school would follow a distributed clinical model, engaging in multiple partnerships with local healthcare providers across the region. Following Board of Governors approval, UNCW launched a dedicated website for the program today. 

"It’s been over fifty years since the UNC System has authorized such an endeavor, despite that, our state population has more than doubled in the same time," Woody White, Wilmington lawyer and a member of the UNC Board of Governors, wrote on Facebook this week. "The needs for more affordable and accessible health care, and for more specialty services, are well known, as evidenced most recently in the UNC Health System announcement that it will compete for the new allotment of 225 hospital beds that are coming online soon."

"For people across the region, this moment is much larger than any process," said UNCW in a press release. "It signals momentum, both at UNCW and across North Carolina, to move quickly to address a critical shortage of doctors. Once opened, this program will become the state’s first new public medical school in more than 50 years." 

Now that the proposal has been greenlit, UNCW can begin a national search for a founding dean, who will lead the multi-year approval and accreditation process with the UNC System and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), a national accrediting body. 

According to Volety, UNCW’s proposed in-state tuition would be in line with tuition costs at medical schools at other public North Carolina universities, including ECU and UNC. Triangle Business Journal reported that UNCW is proposing in-state tuition of $27,500, above ECU’s in-state tuition of $22,200 and UNC’s of $35,000. 

While a budget for the proposed medical school hasn’t been announced, during a committee meeting on Wednesday, Volety said he has committed to raising $100 million in philanthropic support. 

UNCW is expected to return to the Board of Governors in one year for authorization on its Doctor of Medicine program, which undergoes evaluation from the UNC System Graduate Council and as well as an external expert review. 

To accredit the program, UNCW must submit a letter requesting applicant status to LCME, including a $50,000 application fee, and submit a self-study within 18 months of becoming an applicant. 

According to Volety, the entire process, from initial Board of Governors approval to the graduation of the school’s first medical students, could take around 10 years. 

“We are grateful that UNCW received approval from the Board of Governors," Volety said in the release. "The board’s support allows us to take an important next step toward addressing one of the most pressing healthcare challenges facing our region and state. Our vision is to build a future-focused, community-engaged program that strengthens the physician workforce while expanding patients’ access to high-quality care.” 

Check back for more details on this developing story.