(325) Retention Across the Curriculum

Objective : To retain students during the entirety of their academic career.

Methods: A progression task force was convened in 2020 to address contributing factors to increasing attrition trends. A review of the professional curriculum identified several transition points where students were at risk of not progressing and threatened retention efforts by faculty and administration. A comprehensive approach was taken to establish initiatives at each of these time periods with focus on fulfilling the students’ needs to enhance student success while balancing with faculty workload. Program-wide plans comprised the creation of a student success coordinator and an update of the remediation policy. First-year efforts included expansion of an early intervention program for high deficiency courses, implementation of pre-matriculation learning, and restructuring of the course load. Second-year strategies incorporated a clinical reasoning bootcamp prior to the first therapeutics course. Third-year efforts encompassed the implementation of an “APPE-Readiness” elective and opportunity for course remediation in May to avoid graduation delays. An early alert system was implemented in the midpoint APPE evaluation of fourth-year students to identify those who were “not on track” to pass a specific competency.

Results: Notable results for these initiatives include: decreased deficiencies in pharmaceutical calculations and human biochemistry; early interventions in APPE students at risk of receiving unsatisfactory scores; and increased confidence from the clinical reasoning bootcamp. Appreciation for the work of the student success coordinator has been demonstrated through recognition with a Student Advocate Award.

Conclusions: Continued improvement in student outcomes can lead to better academic performance and strategies should be focused on several key points throughout the curriculum and not on single courses or points in time.