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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Medical Student Portal

The Graduation Questionnaire (GQ)

Unlike other surveys you’ve taken at IU School of Medicine, the GQ is the big kahuna: a survey that covers your entire four-year experience here.

As a result, getting you and your fellow seniors to take the GQ survey in large numbers is a critical factor in the school’s continued accreditation.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) administers the confidential and anonymous survey, which takes roughly 30 minutes to complete.

How can I take the survey?

Glad you asked. Beginning February 14, you’ll receive twice-monthly emails directly from AAMC — namely, the email address GQ@aamc.org. The link provided is private and unique to you.

Why should I take the GQ?

Beyond the obvious — you want to be a graduate of a medical school that retains LCME accreditation — we use your feedback to make real changes to the curriculum and overall medical school experience. As past generations’ GQ participation improved your time here, your GQ observations will help future IU School of Medicine students. You can shape the future.

Look, altruism is great. But we also have some nice incentives to thank you for participating.

When you complete the GQ, send a screenshot of the AAMC confirmation and submit it via the 2026 GQ Incentive Form. You'll enter a raffle for the VIP Graduation Packages, which includes reserved seating for up to four guests and one VIP parking pass at the Graduation Recognition Ceremony, happening May 15 at the Indiana Convention Center. We'll announce five new winners on February 23, March 2, March 9, March 16, and March 23.

A red box with yellow letters making a GQ logo

Video

Still unsure about taking the GQ?

Let Bradley Allen, MD, PhD, executive associate dean for educational affairs, explain why the GQ is the “granddaddy of them all.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Staff and faculty analyze the GQ to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Your responses are benchmarked to medical student responses across the country, allowing us to see how IU School of Medicine compares to other schools for each of the questions.

We use this to address challenges and build on successes as we continue to strive for excellence. We read every (anonymous) comment and truly appreciate your candid feedback.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accreditation body for medical schools around the country, uses the GQ to understand student opinions about IU School of Medicine. This impacts our accreditation and rankings.

The Graduation Questionnaire asks for your feedback on all four years of your time at IU School of Medicine, while the Strategic Student Survey questions you on your current academic year experiences.

While the AAMC administers the GQ, the S3 is unique to the IU School of Medicine — we run it. This allows us to create questions and ask for feedback on items more relevant to our School.

Because we run the S3, we get the data faster and can make quicker changes to needed items based on that feedback. And unlike the GQ, which we only get at the conclusion of your time here, the S3 enables yearly “check-ins” with you and your fellow students.

Program objectives: Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) that guide the entire medical education program and are included in every syllabus and shared at the start of each year via email.

Formative feedback: information communicated to a medical student about how they performed in order to improve subsequent performance (if needed). Examples may include performance on quizzes, sample questions, self-study questions, and clinical clerkship mid-rotation feedback.

Summative assessments mean the final grade and where appropriate, narrative comments.

Self-Directed Learning (SDL): This is confusing. It’s not the same as studying an interesting part of medicine on your own time. SDL is a defined pedagogical approach (like lecture or small group) that includes the following elements: the medical student’s self-assessment of learning needs; independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information; appraisal of the credibility of information sources; and the facilitator’s assessment of and feedback to the student on their information seeking skills. Further confusing the issue is a linkage between this pedagogy and the time necessary to do it. SDL exercises are included throughout all four years of the School’s curriculum.

Independent Learning Time (ILT): The unscheduled time each week where the student may do as they wish. The school’s policy (see Student Handbook) on Phase 1 ILT, for example, is that most weeks should include two four-hour blocks where a student doesn’t have scheduled class activities. Students can use this time to study, complete SDL, exercise, schedule appointments and attend to other wellness needs. ILT is not associated specifically with any one course.