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News and Announcements

Announcements for Summer 2009:
Sixteen NTPD Graduates Join On-campus Celebration
Sixteen Nontraditional PharmD graduates receiving degrees from December 2008 or May 2009 joined on-campus students in the May graduation ceremonies. NTPD graduates came from as far away as British Columbia and New Jersey to participate in the focus groups, graduation dinner and awards ceremony, and commencement celebrations. Student photos and short biographies were included in a first-ever booklet for distribution to NTPD graduates.

The following individuals received academic and achievement awards from the NTPD program:

• Drug Information Rotation Award – Jennifer Danielson
• Ambulatory Care Rotation Award – Nancy Presti
• General Medicine Rotation Award – Kyla Bertschi
• Elective Rotation Award – Diem Dao
• Pharmaceutical Care Project Credit-by-Challenge Award – Holly Kortum
• Preceptor Award – Karen Riley (nominated by Monica Bagga)
• Highest GPA (4.0) – Caroline Warnock
• Lifetime Achievement Service Award – Dr. Carol Balmer, retired director of NTPD program and assistant dean, Postgraduate Professional Education

NTPD graduates celebrate!

Back row (L to R): Janet Phelan, Rachelle Miller, Amir Emamifar, Lorelei Slack, Diem Dao, Agatha Nwagwu, Jennifer Burgess
Front row: Edith Jolene Patterson, Kristen Arnold, Exie Rowe Robinson, Jennifer Danielson, Jeff Madison, Michael Ladd, Anne Mallin

 

New Director for NTPD Program Starts
We would like to welcome Dr. Shaun Ellen Berning as the new director of the Nontraditional PharmD program. Dr. Berning came to the University from Johnson & Johnson where she had worked for over 6 years in several leadership and training roles, including associate director of science and research liaisons for Tibotec Therapeutics, a Johnson & Johnson company. Her areas of professional interest include infectious diseases; distance-based education; global health and business.

Dr. Berning earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of the Pacific, then completed a residency in clinical pharmacy at the Denver VA Medical Center and a specialty residency in pharmacokinetics and infectious diseases at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. She continued at National Jewish as assistant faculty in the Mycobacterial Disease Service for 11 years, monitoring drug therapy, educating patients, and teaching and conducting research. Attending school part-time while working full-time, Dr. Berning earned a Master of Global Studies degree from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. When not working or studying, she enjoys road biking, skiing, and volunteering as a ski instructor for the disabled.

Upcoming Program Dates

• Registration for fall semester opens – Monday, July 27
• Fall semester classes begin – Monday, August 24

Link to more news about UCD School of Pharmacy: http://www.uchsc.edu/sop/SOP_News/ 

Updates to Academic Policies: Several academic policies that apply to NTPD students changed January 1, 2009, or during the spring 2009 semester. Please read the changes carefully.

Change in policy for incomplete courses (University-wide policy):

Background: Incomplete courses were previously assigned either Incomplete Withdrawal (IW) or Incomplete Failing (IF) grades. IW grades converted to Withdrawal (W) grades after one year if the course was not retaken, and IF grades converted to F grades.

Change: Effective January 1, 2009, incomplete courses will be assigned a grade of Incomplete (I). After one year, all grades of Incomplete default automatically to grades of Failing (F) if the course has not been successfully completed and an actual grade earned. Default grades can be modified under exceptional circumstances, on a case-by-case basis.

Change in course retake policy – applies to courses dropped after the drop/add deadline:

Background: Most course withdrawals for didactic courses that occur after the drop/add date are requested by learners because the course load was too ambitious or because unanticipated work or personal issues interfered with their ability to complete the course within the scheduled time frame. The NTPD program has had a very liberal retake policy for these late course drops in order to accommodate the complex scheduling needs of working pharmacists. Payment of a modest retake fee per credit hour has been required, rather than repayment of full tuition. Most students request one or no course retakes during the NTPD program, since they quickly determine the course load that is feasible for them. However, a few NTPD students have requested multiple retakes.

Change: The new policy permits each student to request retake of one didactic course, under a “no excuse, no penalty” provision. The first retake request requires payment of a modest retake fee (currently $100 per credit hour) and applicable fees. No tuition is charged. The second retake request requires payment of 3 retake fees per credit hour (total of $300 per credit hour) and applicable fees. No tuition is charged. Additional retakes require full repayment of tuition. This policy goes into effect January 1, 2009 with each student assumed to have a “clean slate” for retakes at that time. It will be applied forward from January 1.

Additional information: There is no change to the retake policy for courses that are not completed secondary to severe medical illness, bereavement, military deployment, or natural disasters (no retake fee applies) or to courses being retaken to improve an existing grade (full tuition applies) or to courses dropped online before the drop/add date (100% tuition is refunded). Please remember to contact the NTPD office prior to any course withdrawal after the drop/add date.

Proposed change policy for D-grades:

Background: At present, 70% is the passing grade for NTPD courses. Grades of “D” as well as grades of “F” are considered failing and must be retaken. A change to this policy has been proposed and approved by the NTPD Program Committee, but full faculty approval is required. For on-campus students, grades of D are acceptable if no more than one D is earned in one semester. Typical semester loads for full time campus students are approximately 18 credit hours per semester.

Proposed change:   Students in the NTPD program who earn one final grade of “D” within 15-18 consecutive credit hours of course work will no longer need to repeat the course with a grade of D unless their GPA is below the required level of 2.0. Students who receive more than one “D” grade must repeat all courses with grades of “D”. The consecutive courses are calculated on a rolling basis.

Additional information: This policy has not been approved, but is provided in advisement for students who currently have one or more grades of “D” on their transcript.