The purpose of this policy is to ensure students’ progress through the program in a timely manner and to ensure they become effective and safe practitioners.
This COP Academic Progression Policy applies to all students in the College of Pharmacy program during both the Didactic and Experiential portion of the COP program, including Electives.
Grades
The only grades that will be assigned to students at the COP pursuant to Department of Education standards for schools receiving Title IV funding are as follows:
Passing Grades:
A, B, C, RC (Successful Remediation), or Pass.
Non-Passing Grades:
Withdrawal (W), Incomplete (IC), Not Passing (NP), D, RF (Unsuccessful Remediation), and F
GPA Standard
Pharmacy students must maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.00 each semester, and for their overall GPA in the program. Any pharmacy student with a semester or cumulative GPA below 2.00 will be referred to and required to meet with the Academic Performance and Standards Committee (APSC). Consequences of a semester or overall GPA < 2.0 may impact the student’s progression through the program, including changing the overall cost of the program. Potential consequences for having a cumulative or semester GPA under 2.0 will be determined by the Dean and may include, but are not limited to, placement on probation, requirement of successful completion of an Alternative Progression Plan (APP) or dismissal from the program. Any pharmacy student with a term or cumulative GPA of 1.00 or below will be ineligible for federal aid.
Promediation
CHSU has established an early intervention program called Promediation pursuant to the CHSU College of Pharmacy Remediation policy. The Academic Affairs office monitors the academic performance of Pharm.D. students based upon the various academic assessments given in each course. If a student has an individual grade < 70% at any time during the semester or if the Course Director or Assistant/Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (or designee) determines the student is academically at risk, the student will be placed on Promediation. This mandatory process may involve tutoring services, structured support from the student’s Faculty Mentor and/or Course Director, and/or sessions with the College Learning Specialist for additional coaching and mentoring. Students that fail to complete the Promediation process or continue to have academic difficulties while on Promediation will be referred to the Academic Performance & Standards Committee (APSC) for review.
Below is a summary of the following roles of the parties involved in the promediation process:
-
Academic Performance and Standards Committee (APSC)
The APSC’s role and process is described in the COP APSC Policy in the General Catalog. The APSC reviews the academic performance of students and makes recommendations on academic progression to the Office of the Dean. -
Tutors Program
CHSU offers tutors for a variety of topics and subjects to all students seeking these services at no additional charge. The tutors are current, high-achieving CHSU students that are employed by the college to be a peer resource and offer an additional layer of academic support to any student, regardless of what their academic standing is. -
Learning Specialist
All students are encouraged to reach out to the Learning Specialist, at no additional charge, for additional support related to time management, study habits, goal setting, motivational support, and assistance in creating strategies to promote a greater chance of academic success. -
Student Affairs
Student are encouraged to reach out to the Office of Student Affairs for additional support related to life challenges such as personal concerns and life situations. The Office of Student Affairs can assist with connecting students to additional outside resources related to student needs. Student Affairs can assist students with disabilities with requests for reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and related California state law. -
Faculty Mentorship
Students are responsible for utilizing the support provided by their faculty mentor. By focusing on personal development, mentors directly influence their mentees, institutional, and professional success. Specifically, they help students become accountable members of their higher education community, think critically about their roles and responsibilities as students, and prepare to be educated professionals who are part of a global community.
Remediation
A student that receives any final individual course grade of D will be allowed to remediate the course in which the D grade was received. Remediation is a self-study process in which the student is given the opportunity to improve their grade typically by taking a comprehensive remediation examination at a later time (Remediation). During Remediation, students may seek faculty assistance, or utilize other resources listed in the Promediation section to help prepare them for the remediation exam. Satisfactory completion of remediation is determined by a grade of 70% or better on the remediation exam. Regardless of their score on the remediation exam, the highest grade for students successfully remediating a course is a grade of “C” and the student will be assigned a grade of RC on their transcript (Successful Remediation). Students who earn 3 “D” grades cumulatively at any time in the program, irrespective of whether those D grades have been successfully remediated, will be referred to the APSC for review and may not be allowed to remediate any future courses.
If remediation is unsuccessful or the student chooses not to remediate the course, the student is required to re- take the course the next time it is offered the following year. Unsuccessful remediation will result in a grade of RF (Unsuccessful Remediation) being reported to the Registrar. The RF grade is the equivalent to the original D grade in terms of computing GPA. An unsuccessful remediation will cause the student to have to retake the course the next time it is offered in the following year. This will impact normal progression through the program and may affect financial aid eligibility as well as may change the student’s total cost of attendance in the program. These cases require the student to meet with the Financial Aid Office so that a determination of their federal financial aid eligibility can be made.
Repeat of Courses or Rotations in Which a Student Has Received a Non-Passing Grade or Withdrawn from a Course
Students receiving grades of “RF” or “F” or “NP” or “W” will be required to re-take the course (or, if in an elective, an equivalent course) in which they received the grade. This may impact the student’s progression throughout the program and may affect financial aid eligibility (students should refer to the SAP Suspension section discussed later in this policy for impact related to financial aid). Students are allowed one chance to re- take any course, laboratory session or rotation. Students that successfully repeat the course, laboratory or rotation will have that grade noted on their transcript. For elective courses only, students will be allowed to retake another elective course that was different than the one in which they received a non-passing grade.
The student will be able to repeat each course, laboratory session or rotation, only one time. If a student receives any non-passing grade in any repeated course, laboratory session or rotation, they will be referred to the APSC and recommended for dismissal.
Alternate Progression Plan (APP)
An Alternate Progression Plan (APP) is a written agreement between the student and the institution that may extend the student’s timeline for program completion for one or more semesters during the designated probationary period and may change the student’s overall cost for the program. The APP specifies requirements, (e.g., minimum course completion ratio, GPA, reduced course load or enrolling in specific courses) that the student must meet or exceed each semester to maintain or regain federal financial aid eligibility and to be able to continue in the program. A student that fails to meet the progression standards or the terms of their APP will be ineligible for federal financial aid in future semesters until the student can meet the standards. See the General Catalog for more detail on the Alternate Progression Plan (www.chsu.edu).
Academic Probation
Academic probation is a conditional status indicating that the student is not meeting satisfactory academic progression. Students are placed on probation by the Office of the Dean for the following conditions:
- Failure to maintain a cumulative GPA > 2.0
- Receipt of any grade of “D”, “F”, or “NP”
- Failure to successfully remediate any course or laboratory in which a non-passing grade was assigned
Students on probation may be ineligible for receiving Federal Financial Aid (see Progression issues affected Federal Financial Aid below). Students on probation need to meet progression standards and may be removed from probation by meeting the following standards:
- Raising their GPA > 2.0 if cumulative GPA was < 2.0
- Successfully repeating or remediating a course or rotation in which a grade of “D”, “F” or “NP” was received
- Successfully remediating any course or laboratory in which a non-passing grade was received
Students that remain on probation because of failure to achieve the above will be referred to the APSC for review. The APSC may recommend the following actions, including but not limited to: be placed on an Alternate Progression Plan or dismissal from the program.
Time Limit
Students placed on an extended track must complete the PharmD program within a reasonable period of time, and in all circumstances in compliance with the COP Graduation Policy.
Experiential Education
Any student receiving a grade of “NP” on any rotation (either IPPE or APPE) will be referred to the APSC and will be required to successfully repeat that type of rotation in order to meet graduation requirements and will be placed in SAP Suspension that affects his/her ability to receive Federal Financial Aid (see SAP Suspension discussed later in the section).
Repeat rotations will generally be scheduled by the Experiential Education office during the next academic year (student’s OFF Block is generally not allowed to be used for a repeat rotation). Students that are unsuccessful in achieving a passing grade while repeating a rotation, or that receive 3 or more grades of “NP” on rotations will be referred to the APSC and may be required to repeat the APPE year or are subject to dismissal (See the General Catalog for more detail on the Satisfactory Academic Progression (SAP) (www.chsu.edu).
Academic Progression
Specific consequences for students that fail to meet the academic progression standards include but are not limited to the following:
TABLE A
|
Scenarios |
APSC Recommendations |
|---|---|
|
Up to 3 non-passing grades |
Remediate all courses graded D; mandatory Academic Probation; |
|
4 or more non-passing grades |
Recommended for dismissal |
|
1F |
Repeat failed course; mandatory Academic Probation plus APP |
|
2 or more F grades |
Recommended for dismissal |
|
1 NP (not passing) on IPPE or APPE rotation |
APP created; repeat the rotation |
|
3 or more NP grades (not passing) on IPPE or APPE rotations |
Recommended to repeat the entire APPE year or subject to dismissal |
Note: Each condition listed above will require the student to be referred to the APSC, and the recommendations will be sent to the Office of the Dean for a final decision. An APP will be developed for each student that is allowed to remain in the program.