Satisfactory Academic Progress - Pharmacy

Federal law and regulations require that all students receiving financial assistance maintain satisfactory academic progress according to both qualitative and quantitative measures. The following policy presents the standards adopted by the UCSF School of Pharmacy and the Student Financial Aid Office and applies to all students receiving financial aid, including Federal Direct (Stafford) Student Loans.

The academic requirements for the Pharm.D. degree include the satisfactory completion of the curriculum designated by the faculty. Once a quarter, the Student Welfare Committee will meet to assess the performance of each student. The review may include an assessment of any incomplete grades or any classes from which the student has withdrawn and their impact upon the student's progress.

Qualitative Measure
Students must have a 2.00 cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the end of each quarter of enrollment to be considered in good standing. If a student's cumulative GPA at the end of any given quarter is below 2.00, he/she will be placed on academic and financial aid probation for the following quarter. All students ending their second or subsequent academic year must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 or must have academic standing consistent with the school's graduation requirements. Students who do not meet this requirement will be placed on financial aid probation for the following quarter.

Quantitative Measure
The normal time frame for completion of required course work is four academic years or twelve quarters. Students occasionally take longer because of academic or personal difficulties. The Student Welfare Committee, the Associate Dean, and/or an academic advisor may then establish a schedule for the student which departs from the norm and which may require repeating all or part of a year of study (subsequent to incomplete or unsatisfactory course work or an approved leave). The committee or advisor will monitor the student's progress to ensure that he/she is making sufficient progress to complete the pharmacy program within the specified time. A student not doing so will be viewed as not making satisfactory academic progress and will be placed on financial aid probation.

Financial Aid Probation
A student placed on probation for not making sufficient quantitative progress may receive financial aid for one quarter. At the end of the probationary quarter, he/she must have completed enough course work to complete the pharmacy program within the four-year period or as specified by the advisor or Student Welfare Committee. A student who fails to do so is suspended from financial aid eligibility and may not receive additional funds. A student shall regain financial aid eligibility when he/she is again meeting the progress standard.

Students placed on probation because their cumulative grade point average falls below 2.00 may receive aid for the following quarter. As long as the quarterly GPA for that, and subsequent quarters, is 2.00 or above the student may continue to receive aid even though the cumulative GPA has not yet reached 2.00. Students who are on financial aid probation will be suspended from financial aid eligibility and may not receive funds for the following quarter anytime a quarterly GPA is below 2.00. The student will be removed from financial aid probation as soon as the cumulative GPA returns to 2.00 or above, and the School of Pharmacy has removed the student from academic probation.

Students enrolling for the first time may generally receive financial aid during their first three quarters of pharmacy school even if they do not meet the GPA requirements stated above. If the cumulative GPA for the first year is below 2.00 and the GPA is below 2.00 for each of the first three quarters, students will be suspended from financial aid and may not receive funds for the fourth quarter. If the GPA for winter or spring is 2.00 or above, students can receive financial aid for the fourth quarter upon the recommendation of the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. All students returning from a withdrawal or leave of absence will be handled on an individual basis.

Appeals
The school is ready to respond to mitigating circumstances which may arise in individual situations. Students may appeal loss of eligibility for financial aid to the Student Financial Aid Director, who will consider whether the mitigating circumstances offer justification for altering customary standards of academic progress.

Maximum Time
Students required by the School of Pharmacy to repeat course work or extend their program may receive financial aid for a maximum of five years or 15 quarters of enrollment. This limit includes any quarter the student was enrolled, whether or not the student received financial aid. If a student temporarily withdraws from school, the quarter in which (or after which) he/she withdraws will be considered a quarter of enrollment if the student attended long enough to keep his or her financial aid. If the student was not enrolled long enough to keep his or her financial aid, it will not be considered a quarter of enrollment. Students who voluntarily extend their program may receive a Federal Direct (Stafford) Student Loan for a maximum of five years of enrollment provided they are making satisfactory academic progress.

A student may be granted a leave of absence for a variety of reasons and is not eligible for financial aid during such a leave. The time period of an approved leave shall be excluded from the maximum time frame in which an individual student will be expected to complete the program.

Full-Time Enrollment
The normal Pharm.D. curriculum is a full-time program and students are expected to attend school on a full-time basis. Full-time attendance is generally defined as satisfactorily completing at least twelve units per quarter. Students who take six-11 units in a quarter may apply for a Federal Direct (Stafford) Loan but will not receive campus-based funding. During the clinical portion of the program, students complete Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) which are offered in two six-week blocks per quarter. Full-time attendance for the APPE portion of the program is defined as satisfactorily completing at least six units in a six-week block; 12 units for two blocks (or one quarter). Students who take only one block in a quarter are considered full time if they complete at least six units. In these instances, students may receive funding for living expenses for the six-week period of attendance only. In individual situations, fewer than twelve units may be considered a full-time load (for example, if there are health or serious academic problems). Students receiving a Health Professions Student Loan must always attend full-time in order to maintain eligibility for that loan.

Implementation
The Director of Student Financial Aid and the School of Pharmacy shall have joint responsibility for implementation and enforcement of the satisfactory academic progress policy. The Director shall provide in writing to each student at the time of initial enrollment a copy of the policy. The School of Pharmacy will monitor the student's performance and will notify the Student Financial Aid Director of any students who are on academic probation or are not completing the program within the required time frame. The Director will notify students of implementation of probationary status and suspension.