Innovative Models to Increase Student Retention and Progression Support in the Doctor of Pharmacy Curriculum

To design and implement innovative student support measures to improve academic progression and course completion across the first professional year 3 years.

A Dean's Progression Advisory program, based on midsemester academic warning data, connected academically at-risk students with School of Pharmacy administrators. A Competency Reassessment Initiative was designed to provide a postsemester assessment opportunity for students earning a final numerical average ranging from 65% to 69.4%, in a maximum of 2 courses per semester. Successful completion of the reassessment (score of ≥70%) yielded a passing course grade of C-.

A high level of participation has been observed in the Dean's Progression Advisory program. Qualitative information gathered through this process (eg, personal/family health concerns, financial insecurity, traumatic experience, etc.) has supported program continuation decisions for 20 students, avoiding dismissal. The program has yielded a potential benefit for persistence. The Competency Reassessment Initiative has yielded a 40% success rate based on the number of assessments administered (136 exams with a score of ≥70% out of 339 exams administered). Across 3 iterations, a total of 16, 9, and 6 students, respectively, were able to achieve Good Academic Standing without repeating any courses.

The implementation of the Dean's Progression Advisory program and the Competency Reassessment Initiative has demonstrated benefits in connecting at-risk students with administrators, providing deeper insight into confounding factors for academic difficulty, and offering an additional opportunity to demonstrate course mastery through a supplemental assessment.