Academic Programs Committee Reports

RECOMMENDATION

To: University Council

Date: Jan. 27, 2000

Re: College of Pharmacy and Nutrition - Revisions to the Pharmacy program

Summary of proposal:
Pre-Pharmacy program: MATH 110.3 and 3 credit units statistics deleted; requirements will be BIOL 110.6, ENG 110.6, CHEM 111.3 and 251.3, and 12 credit units in social sciences, humanities or fine arts electives.

Pharmacy Year One: CHEM 252.3, BIOCH 200.3 and 211.3, NUTR 120.3, 3 credit units of calculus, PHARM 200.1, 216.2, 201.5, 203.5, 280.2 and 6 credit units in PHSIO/ANAT introductory course.

Pharmacy Year Two: MICRO 224.3, PATH 205.3, PHCOL 350.6, PHARM 301.1, 303.4, 307.2, 365.5, 372.2, 380.4, 3 credit units of statistics, 3 credit units social science or humanities electives.

Pharmacy Year Three: PHARM 400.1, 408.3, 409.3, 417.3, 418.2, 455.7, 456.7, 465.2, 472.2, 480.4.

Pharmacy Year Four: PHARM 500.1, 518.2, 557.6, 565.2, 580.16.

The new courses are described in the attached documentation.

Rationale:
Since the 1987 revision to the Pharmacy program, which introduced a one (pre-Pharmacy year) plus 4 (years of study in Pharmacy) program of study leading to the B.S.P. degree, only minor curricular changes have occurred. In 1995, the program received full accreditation by the Canadian Council on Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs, one of the first three Pharmacy programs in the country to be accredited. Some of the revisions to the program are in response to the educational outcomes that have recently been identified in the Accreditation standards of the profession in Canada. Revisions to the program are focussed on three major objectives:
1. to improve the integration and application of material throughout the curriculum;
2. to increase the amount of time available for structured practice experiences in the program, and to provide earlier practice experiences; and,
3. to change the delivery of material in the program to more actively involve students in the teaching-learning process and to develop appropriate self-directed habits for lifelong learning.

Impact and Relationships
These changes will not affect students in other majors or colleges.

Two new courses to be developed in other academic units are proposed, i.e., a new course combining material from Anatomy 105.3 and Physiology 212.6, and a Statistics course designed for Pharmacy students. The Academic Programs Committee is satisfied with the extent and the quality
of the collaboration between Pharmacy and the other units in the development of these
courses. Further, the Committee is satisfied that the few concerns raised by other units have been adequately addressed and that there are no adverse impacts of the revisions to the Pharmacy program on other academic units.
Additional resources required:
The proposal requests an increase of $94,500, primarily in salaries for clinical and lab instructors and a coordinator for practicum training. The proposal also requests a reduction in the admissions quota, from 80 students per year to 75 students per year. The proposal noted it might be possible to change in the tuition category for Pharmacy courses, from Category 2 ($107 per credit unit) to Category 3 ($112.10 per credit unit)

Committee Comments and Recommendation

Academic Programs Committee:
The Academic Programs Committee agreed that the academic quality of the revised program, with the increased structured practice experience that is required, is dependent on the availability of Clinical Instructors in hospital and community pharmacy sites throughout the province. The Committee was satisfied that the Pharmacy program has and will continue to exercise due diligence in working with hospital pharmacists and the provincial Department of Health to ensure that an adequate number of Clinical Instructors is available to provide quality clerkship training experiences for students.

The Academic Programs Committee recommends approval of the revised program in Pharmacy. It also recommends to the Planning Committee that the quota reduction be approved. In recommending approval of the program, the Committee wishes to commend the Pharmacy program for an exceptionally well-organized and well-presented proposal for revisions, and for a carefully thought-through set of revisions to its program. (Sept. 22, 1999)

Budget Committee:
The Budget Committee provided an report showing an analysis of alternative scenarios, including a reduction in quota and a change in tuition category. Reducing the quota and leaving the tuition category as is would produce a budget shortfall of $103 thousand Reducing the quota and moving to a higher tuition category would produce a shortfall of $64 thousand. Leaving the quota as is and moving to a higher tuition category would produce an increase of $14 thousand. Leaving both the quota and the tuition category as is would produce a shortfall of $28 thousand.

The Budget Committee recommends that its report be forwarded to the Planning Committee along with Dean Gorecki�s report. The budget increase requested should be considered along with other submissions in the annual budget process. (Dec. 15, 1999)

Planning Committee:
The Planning Committee had two concerns following its review of this proposal and of the recommendations from the Academic Programs Committee and the Budget Committee.

First, professional demand for pharmacists and student demand for the program are both too high to justify reducing the number of admissions to pharmacy at this time. However, the college should request adjustment if sufficient clinical placements are not available for senior students. The Committee noted that a change in tuition category could be considered, though only as part of an overall review of such categories.

Second, the Planning Committee is concerned that the new entrance requirements for Biology, Chemistry, English and 12 credit units in social science and humanities courses will be too limiting for students in life science programs, particularly for those first-year students whose choice of a major cannot be confirmed until they know whether they will be admitted to a professional college. The Committee recommends that a statement should be added to the Pharmacy section of the Calendar that students who are considering entrance to Pharmacy should also consult with faculty advisors in life science departments or in the Dean�s Office in the College of Arts and Science to ensure that their choice of courses will enable them to pursue other majors if they are not admitted to Pharmacy. The Planning Committee agreed to request that the Academic Programs Committee review the entrance requirements and program requirements in life science programs to identify requirements which create difficulty for students, and report back to the Planning Committee with suggestions on how such requirements could be coordinated for students interested in several programs.

The Planning Committee agreed that the revised Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy program should be approved, to be effective July 1, 2000, and that the admission quota for the program should be 80 students.

cc: College of Pharmacy and Nutrition