Academic Standing and Progression

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Academic Standing and Progression

Good academic standing (GAS) does not ensure entry into the College’s professional programs.

College-wide

(Bachelor’s and Early Assurance Pre-Pharmacy)

PharmD and

Accelerated PharmD

Master’s

Must attain and maintain a semester and cumulative GPA of 2.0 in the first two years of the curriculum.

Specific for Bachelor’s in CLS:

Attain and maintain the college standard of semester and cumulative GPA of 2.0 in the first two years of the curriculum.

Starting in year three (the first professional year), students are subject to both College-wide standards and the CLS specific standards below:

  • Maintain a semester and cumulative professional GPA of 3.0.
  • Professional courses are defined as required courses bearing a CLS prefix. The professional GPA is calculated based on the grades from all professional courses taken.
  • Professional courses with a grade below C (73%) must be repeated.

In order to begin clinical practicum rotations students must have:

  • Passed all required courses numbered 399 and lower.
  • Completed all professional courses numbered 399 and lower with a grade of C or better. All grades below C must be repeated.
  • Have a professional GPA of 3.0.
  • Clinical rotations are considered professional courses and must be completed with a C or better. Any rotation below C must be repeated.
  • One grade of F results in program probation; two grades of F may result in dismissal from the program.

See Early Assurance Progression into the P1 year and Non-Progression below.

Professional courses are defined as all required courses in the P1-P4 and AP1-AP3 years of the Doctor of Pharmacy Program, including professional electives, regardless of whether taken during the P1–P4 years and AP1-AP2 or earlier.

Professional GPA is determined using grades earned in all professional courses.

Professional courses with grades below C- must be repeated.

Progression in Experiential Education:  Students in the PharmD program are required to complete two types of experiential education rotations:

  1. Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience(IPPE): Students must be in GAS to progress into their Community, Institutional, and Team Based Care IPPEs. Students who are not in GAS will use the summer and ensuing months to repeat coursework to attain GAS and will be rescheduled for their rotations, as determined by Experiential Education.  For student in both the Traditional and Accelerated Programs, rescheduled IPPEs may result in a delay in graduation. Note: For students in the Accelerated Program, delays may necessitate a transfer to the Traditional Program.

  2. Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE): Students must successfully complete the entire pre-APPE curiculum, including IPPEs, and be in GAS to progress in to the APPEs.

Note:  Violations of the Conduct Code, Professionalism Code, and/or Academic Integrity may prevent students from progressing into and through the Experiential Education curriculum. 

Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and be free of any probationary status;

Required Courses:  Students must earn a grade of B or better in all required graduate courses;

Elective Courses:  Students are permitted only one grade in the range of B- to C- in elective courses.  If less than a C- is earned, the student must remediate the elective course or take a different elective;

Demonstrate satisfactory progress in thesis research, capstone or clinical practicum as documented by recommendations from the thesis/faculty advisor and the grades of related thesis courses to be considered in good academic standing.

 

All courses, whether accepted toward graduation credit or not, are recorded on a student’s transcript and count in GPA calculations.
Early Assurance Pre-Pharmacy Progression into the P1 Year:

Students enrolled in the early assurance pre-pharmacy program automatically progress into the P1 year of the PharmD program after applying via PharmCas and if the following conditions are met:

  • In good academic standing;
  • Completion of the pre-pharmacy program with a cumulative overall GPA of 3.0 or higher;
  • Completion of all required courses in the pre-pharmacy curriculum plus meeting elective requirements.
  • Students entering P1 require a minimum of 9 elective credits, at least 6 of which must be liberal arts credits. Liberal arts credit requirements may be met by courses in history, civilizations, fine arts, literature, philosophy, religious studies, ethics, foreign language, cultural diversity, performing arts or visual arts. 
  • No un-remediated course failures.
  • Successfully completed the writing proficiency assessment.
  • Successful completion of an in-person interview, to take place during the semester prior to progression. The interview will include a face-to-face conversation with two faculty or staff members of the College. Only students who attain a GPA > 2.5 (after three semesters, or after the fall semester of pre-pharmacy year 2) will be invited for interview.
  • Self-reporting of conduct or academic integrity issues and successful completion, at the student’s expense, of a criminal background check.
Doctor of Pharmacy Non-Progression:

Review of Non-Progressing Early Assurance Students by the Pharmacy Admissions Committee (PAC)

  • The academic records of early assurance students not meeting the course or GPA requirements for automatic progression into the P1 year, outlined above, but who have met all of the other criteria are reviewed by the PAC in May for consideration to progress into the P1 year of the PharmD program. For consideration by the committee, students must have:
  1. A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
  2. Typically, students considered will have completed all required courses in the pre-pharmacy curriculum.
  • The committee reviews applications for special progression consideration. The committee may recommend one or more of the following conditions for progressing into the P1 year:
  1. Remediate one or more courses during the summer months prior to entering the P1 year.
  2. Students may be required to earn minimum grades in remediated courses or to take courses at ACPHS when available.
  3. Take a writing course, retake the writing evaluation or obtain ESL assistance prior to or during the P1 year.
  4. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the 2020-2021 application cycle, we are waiving the PCAT as an application requirement (it is optional). We will accept Pass/Fail courses or Credit/No Credit designations for pre-requisites completed during the Spring 2020, Fall, 2020, and Spring 2021 semesters. 
  • The committee makes a recommendation to the Dean, who makes the final decision and informs the student of the progression decision. Note that meeting the minimum requirements for this review does not guarantee progression into the P1 year.
  • Students in good academic standing at the College who do not progress into the P1 year by any of the mechanisms above may apply for transfer to another program at the College.  See Transfer to another Program below.
Doctor of Pharmacy Failure to Progress:
  • Students who have failed to meet all progression requirements due to extenuating circumstances, may submit a letter of appeal for an extension of one year to repeat course work in the pre-pharmacy curriculum.
Doctor of Pharmacy One-year Extension Appeal Granted:
  • Remain in the pre-pharmacy program during the remediation year and reapply for admission to the P1 year.  Note:  A student must accept the planned course of study for the appeal to be granted.
  • The Pharmacy Admissions Committee will re-evaluate the student after the one-year period to determine if the student has successfully met the requirements for progression into the P1 year. A student will not be allowed to progress (or be admitted into P1) if progression requirements have not been met at the end of the remediated year.

Students who fail to meet the progression requirements after this one-year extension, who are in good academic standing at the College, may apply for transfer to another program at the College. See Transfer to another Program below.