Pharmacy, Doctor of (Pharm.D.)
Academic regulations
Matriculation in the School of Pharmacy implies a willingness on the part of students to comply with university rules and regulations and to conduct themselves in a manner befitting members of the profession the students seek to enter. The program of study and regulations regarding courses of study, student conduct, etc. are subject to modification without notice. All rules and regulations set forth in this bulletin, as well as other statements issued by administrative officers of the university, apply until further notice.
Probation
Students may be placed on probation by either the Admissions Committee or the Academic Performance Committee. Probation is a status indicating that the student’s scholarship is deficient and is expected to be improved to a level considered to be satisfactory by the faculty. Students who fail to meet probationary stipulations may expect to have their normal progress through school interrupted. They may be required to repeat a year or to withdraw. Students on probation during the first three years of the professional program are neither allowed to hold an elected office in a student association nor be eligible for nomination as an officer in a student association. Students are not permitted to represent the school in extracurricular activities (e.g., representation at a local, regional or national association meeting, or other professional event). Students are expected to discontinue any outside employment during the academic year. Students are not eligible to pledge a professional fraternity. Students are encouraged to avail themselves of special tutoring and counseling services for improving their academic performance. Additionally, students during the fourth year of the professional program must complete all required and elective advanced pharmacy practice experiential rotations at sites within the VCU School of Pharmacy system and the preceptor must have a current faculty appointment. Students are expected to discontinue any outside employment while completing advanced pharmacy practice experiential rotations. Expiration of probationary status occurs following the equivalent of an academic year (i.e., two consecutive semesters of successful academic performance during the first three professional years and upon the successful completion of all advanced pharmacy practice experiential rotations in the fourth year.
Outside work
In general, the faculty believes that students should give first priority to their school work. Students able to maintain academic standing are not restricted with respect to outside employment. Students in academic difficulty will be advised to cease or drastically curtail any outside employment.
Honor code
All students are governed by the honor code and regulations of the VCU Honor System. The VCU Honor System is based on the foundation that Virginia Commonwealth University recognizes that honesty, truth and integrity are values central to its mission as an institution of higher education. In a community devoted to learning, a foundation of honor must exist if that community is to thrive with respect and harmony. Therefore, members of the academic community are required to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity. Additional information is available at www.students.vcu.edu/judicialaffairs/honorfaqs.
Advising program
Students in the School of Pharmacy seek assistance with academic and personal problems through the school’s Office of Admissions and Student Services. Students are provided with information about accessing resources within the school, university and professional community. Also, faculty members serve as mentors to students throughout the four year curriculum.
There is a faculty adviser to the Interfraternity Council as well as an adviser for each of the professional pharmacy fraternities. Each of the student chapters of professional pharmacy organizations within the school also has a designated faculty adviser.
Attendance regulations
The following regulations apply specifically to students enrolled in the Doctor of Pharmacy program in all of their required and elective courses offered by departments in the School of Pharmacy.
- The faculty considers class attendance at lectures to be an important component in the successful acquisition of knowledge and skills required of the Doctor of Pharmacy candidate. Students are strongly encouraged to attend all classes and conferences. An individual faculty member may require attendance in his or her course and establish penalties for those who are absent without an excuse from the dean’s office.
- Attendance at laboratory and prelaboratory classes is mandatory. Students must complete all laboratory assignments before a passing grade can be assigned. An excused absence from the dean’s office is required for missing a laboratory or prelaboratory class with the ability to make up the work with credit. Students without an approved absence are still required to make up the work but will not receive credit toward their course grade.
- Students must take tests (e.g., quizzes, laboratory practicals, examinations) and complete all other assignments at the time designated by the course coordinator. Students must recognize that faculty may give unannounced tests at any time during a course, consistent with documentation in a course syllabus. Students who miss any test in any course without an excused absence from the dean’s office will receive a grade of zero for the specific test.
- Attendance during each assigned clerkship period is mandatory. If a student is unable to attend to required clerkship responsibilities because of illness or other exceptional circumstances, the preceptor must be notified immediately. It is the responsibility of the student to also notify the clerkship director concerning a plan to make up the absence, with the approval of the preceptor. Documentation of the absence and approval to make up the absent time will be maintained in the student’s record.
- Absences may be excused under certain conditions. Requests for excuses for unavoidable absences must be submitted to the dean’s office, on an Absence Record form, within 24 hours of returning to the School of Pharmacy. The student must complete the Absence Record form with an explanation for the absence. Further explanation, if necessary, may be provided to the associate dean for admissions and student services. It is a violation of the honor code to make false or misleading statements on the Absence Record form. In the event of an unexcused absence, the student is responsible for all work missed.
- A guiding principle in determining whether or not an absence will be excused is that the absence is caused by circumstances beyond the student’s control. The following are considered valid excuses for being absent from a class or clerkship.
- Illness, a medical emergency, a dental emergency. The school normally accepts the student’s judgment that the condition was serious enough to justify the absence from class; however, the school reserves the right to require a medical opinion, particularly if the period of absence is prolonged or is repetitive. The school will require a written medical opinion when a student is absent from taking a scheduled test or final examination. If the absence is a result of a medical emergency, the student will be required to sign a written release for the school to obtain documentation from their physician describing the exact nature of the illness or emergency. This record will be submitted to the associate dean for admissions and student services as a confidential document.
- Death of a relative or friend. Students will be excused from class to attend funerals. Absence beyond the day of the funeral will be excused for periods of mourning required by a student’s religious or cultural tradition, or when a student is too grief-stricken to return immediately to class.
- Mandatory court appearance.
- Mandatory religious observances. Students who anticipate absences from class because of religious obligations should submit a list of their anticipated absences at the beginning of each semester to the dean’s office. The student must also submit an absence form following each absence.
- Failure of private, public or university transportation. Students are expected to take reasonable precautions to assure that the transportation method used is fully functional (e.g., maintaining personal automobile, avoiding the last possible return airline flight to Richmond). Proof of transportation failure will be required.
- Attendance at professional meetings. Students in good academic standing may receive an excused absence from class to attend a meeting of a professional pharmacy organization. The student must complete an Absence Record form in advance of attending a professional meeting. A policy statement containing eligibility criteria is distributed to all students.
Tardiness is a form of absence that also may be excused using the criteria mentioned above. Students arriving late for a test may be given the test without an excused absence but will not be allowed extra time beyond the scheduled termination of the test. Once a student has completed the test and left the room, late-arriving students will not be permitted to take the test unless the absence is excused.
Absences that are not reported within 24 hours after the student returns to school will be considered unexcused. It is not the responsibility of a faculty member to determine whether an absence is excused. This determination will be made by the dean’s office.
Students are expected to make every effort to keep abreast of their assignments during an absence. They should also be prepared to take tests upon their return to the school or at the discretion of the faculty member after considering the student’s academic schedule. If, in the opinion of the dean’s office, the nature of a student’s absence made it impossible for that student to prepare for a test, the student will be granted an extension for taking the test.
A faculty member should not give a make-up test before confirming that a student’s absence has been excused. The faculty member usually provides an equivalent make-up test within a reasonable period of time. The type and format of the make-up exam will be determined by the faculty member. Within the framework of the honor code, it may be possible to administer the same examination no more than 48 to 72 hours after the originally scheduled examination. Any make-up examination should be scheduled as soon as possible to avoid impeding the student’s academic progress.
Promotion
Attending pharmacy school is not a right acquired simply by conforming with the entrance requirements and paying tuition and fees. For this reason the dean and the Academic Performance Committee require that marginal or failing performance be improved or that the student withdraw from school. D grades are indicative of marginal performance. Careful consideration is given during the promotions process not only to the student’s grades but also to his or her probity, industry and scholastic ability.
These guidelines delineate the course of action to be taken by the committee. Decisions regarding individual students will be made in accordance with these guidelines. Consideration will be given to pertinent information and extenuating circumstances for individual cases. The following statements present the prominent features of the promotions process.
- Students are evaluated for progress at the end of each semester. The Academic Performance Committee assesses student progress for each of these periods. At the end of the fourth year the entire faculty will decide whether or not students have satisfied all requirements for graduation. Promotion decisions are based on achievement during the year under review and on the student’s overall progress.
- Students who have passed the work of an academic year with grades of C or better in all courses will ordinarily be advanced to the next higher class.
- The Academic Performance Committee thoroughly reviews the academic record of each student who fails to pass a course, receives a D grade, does not maintain a GPA of 2.0 or better for the year or semester in question, or is on probation. Following this review, the committee may recommend promotion on a probationary basis, require a repeat of all or a part of previous work, or terminate the student’s enrollment.
- Students who fail two or more courses during the program will be dismissed.
- A student who earns D grades for six credits or more of class work in any year and/or a GPA of less than 2.0 in any year will be subject to academic probation, dismissal or may be asked to repeat the year.
Students will be subject to academic probation, dismissal or may be asked to repeat the year if they earn more than one D or F grade in any one of the following sequences of related courses: basic health sciences, medicinal chemistry, pharmacy and pharmaceutics, pharmacotherapeutics, and pharmacy administration.
Students who fail to meet conditions of probation will be required to withdraw or repeat a year’s work. Students will not be allowed to repeat more than one year of the curriculum.
A student must have passed all courses from the first three years of the curriculum to qualify for entry into the final year of the program.
Withdrawal
Students finding it necessary to withdraw from the School of Pharmacy must comply with the provisions for withdrawal set by the university.
The dean of the School of Pharmacy will not approve a request for withdrawal until the student has submitted a letter of resignation.
Students withdrawing without approval and failing to check out laboratory lockers will be assessed a fee and any charges resulting from the need to replenish the contents of the lockers.
Readmission
Students seeking readmission to the School of Pharmacy will be evaluated on their total academic record. Applicants for readmission to the first professional year will not be given priority over new applicants but must compete with them on an equal basis. Readmission in advanced standing will be considered on a space-available basis.
Graduation
Students are recommended and approved for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree by the faculty of the School of Pharmacy. Candidates must meet the following requirements:
- Be of good moral character
- Satisfactorily complete all the required work in a timely fashion, which will not normally exceed five years from the date of initial enrollment
- Pay all fees
- Complete the last year’s work for the degree in residence in this school
- Be present at the commencement-related exercises unless excused in writing and in advance by the dean
- Satisfactorily complete the minimum number of required advanced practice experience rotations and demonstrate the attainment of minimum competencies