COP Academic Performance and Standards Committee Policy

Download as PDF

Purpose & Scope

The Academic Performance and Standards Committee (APSC) is a COP faculty committee charged with being the primary body responsible for review of the totality of COP students’ academic progression. For matters involving academic progression, as a part of a comprehensive review, the APSC will make decisions as to whether a student should be granted remediation after an academic failure and/or establish alternative plans for students to progress through the program (Alternate Progression Plans or “APPs”). APSC shall be responsible for ongoing review and tracking of remediation plans and APPs.

The APSC has broad authority to review students’ records, decide how best the University can assist the student in getting back on track academically, and recommend a broad number of options for consideration as part of any final decision. APSC is authorized to recommend to the Dean suspension or dismissal of students from the University for failure to adequately progress through the program. In the event of suspension or dismissal, the student must receive a hearing under Section III.B., below.

APSC Membership & Regular Meetings

The Dean shall appoint a total of five (5) members to serve on APSC and shall designate one of these members to serve as the Chair of APSC. All of the members will be comprised of faculty from the College. The APSC members shall adequately and reasonably reflect the faculty representation from the College. All voting members of the APSC must be full-time CHSU COP faculty and may not be adjunct faculty unless approved by the Dean’s Office. A quorum of at least three (3) committee members is required to finalize any decision of APSC. All voting members shall have one vote. APSC meetings shall include the voting members of APSC and may include others invited by the Chair or Dean who may serve as resources in accomplishing the work of the committee. APSC student hearings discussed below in section III.B. shall be attended only by the voting members of APSC, the student, the student’s support representative, and the College’s appropriate administrative support personnel. APSC shall meet as often as necessary to conduct its business, which shall generally be at least monthly, as determined by the APSC Chair.

APSC Progression and Conduct Discipline Procedures

APSC procedures for academic progression matters and referrals are outlined below.

  1. Level 1 – Academic Progression Matters Involving First Course or Experiential Education Failure
     
    1. Notice to Student and Faculty Mentor/Advisor: The student is notified by the APSC Chair via CHSU email of the student’s failure and the date, time and location of a mandatory meeting with the APSC to determine a remediation plan. The student’s assigned faculty mentor/advisor will also receive notice of the meeting and may, at the faculty mentor/advisor’s discretion, choose to attend.
    2. Remediation Plan: At the meeting, a remediation plan for the failed coursework or experiential education will be formulated by a subcommittee. The remediation plan may include, but is not limited to, the following items: a study plan, options for fulfilling the outstanding requirement and timeline for same, regular meetings with academic affairs personnel and/or learning specialists, and/or regular meetings with a psychologist. The remediation plan shall include timelines as well as expected outcomes and behaviors of the student during remediation. The remediation plan will be in writing signed by the APSC Chair and the student.
       
  2. Level 2–Academic Progression Matters Involving Second Course or Experiential Education Failure, Failure to Comply with a Remediation Plan or Alternate Progression Plan, and All Matters Involving Potential Suspension or Dismissal: Required APSC Hearing.

As a threshold matter, APSC hearings are informal proceedings – they are not formal judicial or administrative proceedings. Accordingly, the rules of evidence do not apply, the student is not entitled to present or cross- examine witnesses, and audio/video recordings of the hearing are not permitted. Unauthorized video or audio recording may subject a student to discipline, up to and including dismissal.

The following procedures shall apply to the APSC hearing:

  1. Notice to Student: The student is notified by the APSC Chair via CHSU email of the failure, and of the date, time and location of the APSC hearing. Generally, notice shall be at least three business days in advance of the hearing. Exceptional circumstances or emergencies may require the hearing be held with less notice. In cases of academic progression, the student will already have received information regarding prior failures and remediation plans, so additional notice of those matters is not required. Students are not entitled to the full investigation file.
     
  2. Recommended Pre-Meeting with Academic Affairs: Generally, prior to the hearing the student will meet with the College Academic Affairs Dean (or designee) prior to the hearing. The College Academic Affairs Dean’s (or designee’s) role is to help the student better understand the APSC hearing process, to answer the student’s related questions, and advise on how the student can prepare for the hearing. The student may decline the assistance of the College Academic Affairs Dean.
     
  3. APSC Materials for Review and Pre-Meetings: Prior to the hearing, APSC will receive a copy of the student’s academic file, including any disciplinary documents. Additionally, the student may submit a written statement for APSC’s review and may submit written statements from others which have information relevant to the proceeding. The APSC Chair shall determine whether any such statements are or are not relevant to the proceeding. Prior to the hearing, APSC may, but is not required to, meet to discuss the matter, and may request additional information from the administration, members of the faculty or the student, prior to the hearing.
     
  4. Appearance at Hearing; Support Representative: Students are required to attend the APSC hearing in- person unless they are on an IPPE or APPE at a substantial distance from campus, in which case remote conference technology may be used to attend the hearing. The student may bring a faculty mentor/advisor or other support representative to the APSC hearing. The support representative may not participate directly in the hearing, even if that person is a lawyer. Support representatives may not disrupt the hearing; if a disruption occurs or attempts to directly participate are made, the APSC Chair will dismiss the support representative from the meeting.
     
  5. APSC Deliberation & Recommendation: After the student is excused from the hearing, APSC will discuss the case and vote on a recommendation to be submitted to the Dean (or Dean’s designee). Recommendations are determined by a majority vote of the APSC members attending the hearing. If more time is needed, APSC may choose to continue deliberations to another meeting time without notice to the student.
     
  6. Basis for Dismissal: The APSC may determine that dismissal is warranted when there is (a) a failure to meet the requirements for academic progression or graduation from the program; (b) failure to meet the terms of a prior remediation plan or APP; or (e) any other circumstance that calls into serious question the student’s ability to graduate or practice pharmacy.
     
  7. Notice to Student of Final Decision: Upon receipt of APSC’s recommendation, the Dean (or Dean’s designee) will review the recommendation and prepare a written final decision. All academic decisions made by the Dean’s office is final. A copy of the decision will be placed in the student’s file, and a copy provided to the College Student Affairs Dean, College Academic Affairs Dean, and Chair of APSC. In cases involving the dismissal of the student, copies will be sent to the Registrar, Financial Aid Office, and the Provost. The final decision may be considered in the issuance of letters of recommendation.
     
  8. Appeal Rights: The student may appeal the final decision of dismissal only to the Provost in writing via email within five (5) business days from the date of the final decision. The written appeal must state the basis for why a different decision is appropriate. In the event the Provost has a conflict of interest, the appeal shall be to the President. The written decision on the appeal request shall be issued in writing to the student, generally within fifteen (15) business days from the date the appeal is received. The decision of the Provost or President after review of the appeal will be final.