(17) Using Academic Improvement Plans to Enhance Student Performance and Retention in a Three-Year Pharmacy Program

Objective : Assess the success of the Academic Supervision Plan (ASP) process to improve student success and retention.

Methods: To improve academic performance and retention, an Early Identification and Intervention Policy is used. Course coordinators report students receiving a grade of D or lower on any exam to the Office of Student Success. Students meet with the Academic Counselor to identify academic, professional, or personal issues that may have contributed to poor academic performance. Students are then placed on an Academic Supervision Plan (ASP), which may involve mandatory tutoring, discussion of study skills and time management, journaling of study activities, office hour and peer study group participation. Recommendations for personal counseling, mental health counseling, and similar activities are recommended if poor performance is due to non-academic or personal issues.

Results: The number of ASPs, didactic term GPAs, prerequisite GPAs, and students dismissed or withdrawn from the program were collected to assess the success of the ASP process. There was a strong correlation between the number of ASPs students received and their overall didactic GPA (n=101). For students progressing through the didactic curriculum with >5 ASPs (n=21), 16 of 21 students showed improvements in their GPAs through the P1 year and 11 of 21 students showed improvement in the P2 year. Only 3 students showed declines in GPAs, that also continued throughout the P2 year. For students dismissed for academic performance (n=14), 9 of 12 students showed improvements in their GPAs, but not adequate to meet progression requirements of the School.

Conclusions: The use of early identification and interventions and the ASP process improves academic performance and retention in the majority of students using the process.