(294) Fueling Student Success by Design and Deployment of the Student Achievement and Responsive Teaching Program

Objective : Characterize the impact of an early identification and intervention system on student remediation needs in a new PharmD program.

Methods: The University of California, Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences implemented the STudent Achievement and Responsive Teaching (UCI-START) program to enhance student success and reduce remediation. Using a software platform (eValue), an electronic questionnaire (UCI-START Form) was designed at UC Irvine and distributed automatically to course coordinators at weeks 4 and 7 quarterly. Course coordinators complete the UCI-START form to identify students for whom they have academic progress concerns. The Associate Dean of Student Affairs (ADSA) receives an automatic confidential notification for each student indicated. ADSA crafts a learner-centered action plan tailored to each student’s educational experiences, that entails appropriate resources and support. Aggregate data is also reviewed by the Office of Education and Office of Assessment. We performed preliminary analyses of data collected from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022 for first- and second-year student pharmacists.

Results: There was a reduction in students identified in week-7 compared to week-4 in all courses during fall 2021. In winter and spring 2022, 3 of 5 (60%) courses had fewer students identified in week-7 versus week-4. 14 discrete students were identified at highest risk for academic concern in 2021-22, with 3 ultimately needing remediation. In fall 2022, 2 of 4 (50%) courses had a lower number of students identified in week-7 compared to week-4. Of the 15 discrete students identified at highest risk, none required remediation.

Conclusions: The decrease in students of concern identified from week-4 to week-7 suggests that systematic, early identification and tailored support reduces the number of students who academically struggle in initially passing a course.