(324) Remediation Strategies at Temple University School of Pharmacy

Objective : Improve retention at Temple University School of Pharmacy (TUSP).

Methods: A remediation policy for didactic courses and high-stakes exams within the PharmD curriculum was developed by Assistant Deans and approved by TUSP faculty.

Results: Students are eligible for course remediation (excluding electives and experiential education) with an “F” if they are in good academic standing. One course may be remediated per semester, with a maximum of two courses remediated in the curriculum. Students may remediate to a maximum of “D”. Remediation is facilitated by the course coordinator after having signed a contract by the student, course coordinator, and Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs. Conclusion of remediation must occur prior to the start of the following semester or by the second block of APPE. Based on prior years academic performance, this policy would be applicable to up to three students per semester per professional year. Additionally, a single “Top 300” exam was changed to multiple exams during the second and third professional years. Remediation for these exams is required for students failing the exam on the first attempt and consists of review of ExamSoft reports. Remediation decreased the number of failures from 118 to 5 between attempts for the first exam. Students are also required to take nine post-rotation exams (PREs) during their APPE year. First-attempt failures on these PREs requires meeting with faculty and re-taking the exam. Subsequent failures may result in delayed graduation. Remediation data collection is ongoing for the PRE program.

Conclusions: TUSP has provided strategies to offer remediation to students in didactic courses and high stakes exams in the PharmD curriculum. Further evaluation of the effectiveness of these remediation strategies is required.