(311) Maintaining On-Time Progression with a Student Driven Remediation Process

Objective : Failure of a required course in the curriculum can place a student in a yearlong hold until they are able to retake a course, thus affecting their on-time progression through the program.  Considering faculty workload, university policies, and student outcomes, a remediation policy was developed to provide a mechanism for students to remediate a course via a student driven remediation process that culminates in a faculty written comprehensive examination.

Methods: Students who receive a ‘D’ letter grade in a course and meet specific eligibility criteria are able to proceed into the remediation process. A date for the comprehensive remediation exam is predetermined based on the academic calendar and adequate time for student preparation. Preparation for the comprehensive exam is the responsibility of the student. Students are encouraged to utilize course exam strengths and opportunities reports, review missed exam questions with faculty, and review course materials to self-identify areas of deficiency in the course. Students who successfully pass the remediation exam will have their course letter grade changed to a ‘C’.

Results: Since the policy went into effect during academic year 2019-2020, a total of 205 students have met eligibility criteria for the remediation process in one or two courses. Due to this policy, 101 (49%) students were able to maintain normal progression. The number of students entering into the remediation process is highest in the first professional year with 127 (45%) exam attempts, followed by the second professional year with 121 (43%), then the third professional year with 34 (12%).

Conclusions: The remediation policy provides students an avenue to maintain normal progression by demonstrating their correction of knowledge gaps through a student driven remediation plan.