Report of the 2018-2019 Student Affairs Standing Committee

A Pre-matriculation Success Program to Improve Pharmacy Students' Academic Performance at a Historically Black University

Objective. The Pharmacy Biomedical Preview program is a five-week summer academic reinforcement program held for students entering the Howard University College of Pharmacy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the program and preadmission factors on pharmacy students' first semester academic performance.Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of students entering the preview program from 2012 to 2015. The primary outcome assessed was first semester grade point average (GPA). Descriptive statistics of all study variables were conducted. Bivariable analyses were used to compare students by program status. Pearson correlations and point biserial R were conducted to evaluate which factors were associated with the first semester GPA. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate whether participation in the preview program predicted GPA during the first semester in pharmacy school after adjusting for other factors. All analyses were conducted using SPSS, version 23, at an alpha of .05.Results. Incoming overall undergraduate GPA was the strongest predictor of students' first semester GPA in pharmacy school, followed by participation in the Pharmacy Biomedical Preview Program. After adjusting for other factors, mandatory participation in the program was associated with a higher first semester GPA, and voluntary participation in the program was also associated with a first semester GPA that was higher.Conclusion. Findings from this study indicated that implementation of a pre-matriculation success program at a college of pharmacy in a historically Black institution is a viable strategy to improve students' academic success in the first year.

Advancing Our Pharmacy Reformation - Accelerating Education and Practice Transformation: Report of the 2019-2020 Argus Commission

The Argus Commission examined changes that should be considered by colleges and schools of pharmacy to meet the bold aim of better integrating pharmacists' and physicians' practices articulated by President Sorensen. The Commission assessed the readiness of pharmacy educators to contribute to the acceleration of practice transformation. The primary focus of the report is on how the doctor of pharmacy curriculum and post-graduate training might be modified and better aligned to ensure that graduates complete their education ready to engage in roles partnered with primary care clinicians. The aim is to achieve comprehensive medication management and other pharmacist patient care services as standards of care. The Argus Commission provides preliminary recommendations for new or more intensified priorities by the 2020-21 AACP Strategic Planning Committee as they update the AACP plan. This includes the recommendation that AACP should create the Center for Academic Innovation and Practice Transformation, a hub to coordinate many current and emerging activities relevant to accelerating change in pharmacy education and practice.

Challenges to Pharmacy School Enrollment Management Caused by a Global Pandemic

Academic institutions work diligently each year to recruit, retain, and graduate Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students who will be positive contributors to our healthcare system. The immergence of a novel coronavirus in 2019 (COVID-19) has threatened these systems. This commentary is a discussion of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the enrollment management processes of PharmD degree programs, including recruitment, admissions, orientation, retention, and graduation. The authors highlight enrollment management processes that may forever be changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This commentary is intended to assist pharmacy administrators as they reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their own programs and develop strategies to minimize the negative effects.