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Academic Standards and Regulations

Registration Process

All students are registered automatically via block registration (by the Registrar) for the pre- selected courses that correspond to their academic program. Students assume all responsibility for paying tuition and fees incurred via this registration process. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the Office of the Registrar of any circumstances that might likely affect registration by the established deadlines in order to avoid tuition and fee obligations incurred via block registration. Changes in registration that result in an adjustment to tuition and fee charges will be processed according to established and published policies (see Tuition Refund Schedule).

Credit Load

The Doctor of Pharmacy program is a structured program that specifies the specific courses that students are expected to take during each academic term. Except in unusual circumstances approved by the Office of Academic Affairs, the maximum number of credits allowed corresponds to the number of credits of coursework specified for the year and semester of study. A minimum of nine credits is necessary to qualify as a full-time student for purposes of financial aid. Students on probation may have limitations placed on their course load by the Office of Academic Affairs.

Academic Responsibility

Candidates for a Pharm.D. degree from the Touro College of Pharmacy are expected to know the graduation requirements set forth in this publication. It is the responsibility of the student to know and comply with the academic requirements and regulations of the Touro College of Pharmacy as well as those of Touro University in general.

All students must seek the counsel of an academic advisor. Students must also meet basic standards of performance established for each class with respect to attendance, promptness in completing assignments, correct English usage, accuracy in calculations, neatness and general quality of workmanship. All students must also meet the requirements established for co-curricular engagement throughout the program. Fulfillment of these fundamental responsibilities must be recognized by the student as an essential prerequisite to achieving satisfactory academic standing and to being recommended by the faculty for a degree.

Student Knowledge of Accreditation Standards

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) http://www.acpe-accredit.org/ accredits Doctor of Pharmacy programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. All first-year pharmacy students enrolled in the pharmacy program receive a general overview of the Accreditation Standards and Guidelines during the orientation. The accreditation standards and guidelines include standards in various areas such as mission, strategic planning and evaluation, organization and administration, curriculum, students, faculty and staff, and facilities and resources.

Participation in Assessment Activities

Touro College of Pharmacy believes in the importance of learning, and with that it endorses the need to assess teaching and learning. The value of assessment at TCOP is recognized as a constructive tool, to guide improvement—both at the individual student level and college-wide.

All assessment data will primarily be reported in aggregate and individual student identification will be protected.

Professional development of students encompasses the ability to provide meaningful, constructive feedback. Students are engaged beginning from their P-1 year in various types of assessments to help improve teaching and learning. These assessment activities may be college, and/or accreditation agency (ACPE) mandated. Assessment strategies incorporate formative, summative, direct and indirect measures. Student participation in assessment activities is required and it begins during orientation and continues every semester during PY1, PY2, PY3, and PY4 years. The results of these assessments may lead to programmatic changes that will bring potential value to you as an individual student, students who follow you in the program, and ultimately the pharmacy profession itself, therefore, it is expected that all students will take these activities seriously and will perform best to their ability.

The checklist below provides certain examples (not a complete list) of assessments in which students are expected and/or required to participate:

  • Student surveys to determine student satisfaction with College of Pharmacy curriculum, Co-curriculum, facilities, technology, services and educational resources.

  • Focus groups through the semester/academic year.

  • End of semester course, instructor, practice experience evaluations.

  • Up-to-date demographic information in student tracking software, such as Evalue, including current phone, address, resume information, employment or residency information.

  • Non-embedded knowledge and skills exams (such as Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) and Pre- APPE readiness examination; please see details below).

  • Self-assessment and reflection are important to student professional and personal growth. Students will be required to create and maintain a Professional and Personal Portfolio, beginning in the first professional year and continued through the program. Students will be required to self-assess on student outcomes, place reflections, examples of assignments, documentation of co-curricular activities, in a portfolio system. The students’ academic advisors will review and assess student portfolios using a rubric every semester during PY-1 through PY-4.

  • The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Graduating Pharmacy Student Survey will be administered each year to all graduating students to help identify strengths and areas for improvement within the pharmacy program, and to compare the responses of our students to the aggregate results of other pharmacy schools across the country.

  • Exit interviews of all graduating learners will be conducted during spring semester of the fourth professional year (PY-4). The data will be used to measure students’ satisfaction with their experience at the College of Pharmacy.

  • Peer Assessment

  • Job-Placement Surveys

Contact Hours

The standard unit for measuring a student’s course of study is the “semester hour.” For undergraduate classroom courses, one semester hour is equal to one academic hour (50 minutes) per week of classroom or direct faculty instruction and homework and assignments (estimated as two hours of out-of-class work) over a fifteen-week semester, or the equivalent amount of work distributed over a different amount of time. College-level lecture courses are normally assigned one credit per semester hour. Generally, lecture courses that include laboratory assignments will include additional contact hours (see below).

For graduate courses, one semester hour similarly represents one hour of class and two hours of out-of-class student work per week over a 15-week semester, or a total of three hours of time-on-task per week. Since, in graduate courses, the expectation for out-of-class work and research is enhanced, the ratio of in-class to out-of-class time may vary by program, with the total of approximately three hours of time-on-task maintained.

In accord with academic practice, Touro University will also award college credit for an equivalent amount of work as described above for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

For students taking developmental courses that carry no credit, contact hours with the associated homework and preparation are used to determine full-time status for financial aid purposes in a fashion identical to that used in credit courses.