Academic Review. Student academic performance is reviewed each semester by the Scholastic Standing Committee, which is composed of appointed faculty of the school. The faculty must ratify any recommendations made by the committee before a student's academic status is changed.
Standards. In general, students are expected to earn a GPA of 2.800 in the pre-professional years, 2.500 in the professional years, with no grades of D or F. Students failing to achieve this GPA and grade expectation will be evaluated as described below. Failure to maintain the school's academic progression standards is grounds for dismissal, suspension, or placement on academic probationary status. A dismissal recommendation also may be based upon poor academic performance during any single semester, regardless of any prior scholastic status, or after a student has spent prior semesters on probation. The review by the committee will look both at GPA and poor grades. Students
may be dismissed who are meeting the GPA requirement but have accumulated a
significant number of D or F grades.
Satisfactory academic progression is defined as:
1. achieving a minimum 2.8 semester and cumulative grade-point average at the end of each academic semester for the first two years of the pre-professional program;
2. achieving a 2.8 cumulative grade-point average at the end of the second year prior to progressing to the professional portion of the curriculum;
3. maintaining a minimum 2.5 semester, cumulative, and professional grade-point average throughout the professional portion of the program. The professional grade-point average is the average based on courses offered in Schools 30 and 31;
4. achieving grades of C or better in the core science courses and labs during the pre-professional years. Core science courses include general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, and integrated organ physiology;
5. achieving grades of C or better in Expository Writing I and a second approved writing course;
6. achieving grades of C or better in Introductory/Intermediate or Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience coursework;
7. not accumulating a significant number of poor grades (D and F).
Entry into the first professional year (third year) of the program requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 and completion of all coursework from the pre-professional portion of the curriculum, including humanities, social sciences, core mathematics, science, and writing courses. The School of Pharmacy does not allow E-prefixing unless a course is
designated as remedial. Thus both original and repeated grades and
credits are included in the GPA for repeated courses. Successful completion of an interview and writing assessment is required for entry into the first professional year.
Students who earn a grade of D or F in a course may be required, at the discretion of the Scholastic Standing Committee, to repeat the course; however, both the original grade and the new grade are included in the GPA and degree credit calculations. Grades in any repeated courses must be a C at minimum. Grades of D in any of the core science courses in the pre-professional years or Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences must be repeated for a grade of C at a minimum. Grades higher than a C in repeated courses may be stipulated by the Scholastic Standing Committee or be necessary to achieve the GPA progression standard. Students are generally only allowed to attempt repeating a course once. Accumulation of several grades of D or below may result in any of the actions listed below. Students are expected to meet the above academic progression standards at the end of each academic semester and by the end of the academic year. The above standards are applied to students based on courses completed and the sequence of courses outlined in the doctor of pharmacy curriculum. Students may be allowed to complete coursework in the following Summer Session at the committee's discretion in order to meet the above academic progression standards if equivalent summer courses are available at Rutgers. Students must have prior approval from the chair of the Scholastic Standing Committee before initiating summer coursework related to curricular deficiency (see the section below on Academic Progress). Students pursuing coursework during the summer are expected to meet the above academic progression standards.
Academic Progress.
Students are expected to follow the sequence of courses specified in the doctor of pharmacy curriculum approved by the faculty. Failure to follow the approved curriculum will result in a dismissal or placement on academic probationary status. Students may be allowed to depart from the curriculum based on placement exams, Scholastic Standing Committee actions, disciplinary actions, technical errors, and/or extenuating circumstances. Students must receive prior approval from the academic dean before deviating from the curriculum.
Probation.
Placement on probation means that the student is scholastically deficient and is continuing his or her education with the understanding that he or she must improve the level of work and must meet any conditions of probation set by the Scholastic Standing Committee and approved by the school faculty of the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, such as:
1. maintaining a specific term, cumulative, or professional average for one or more semesters
2. repeating certain courses
3. carrying a reduced load for one or more semesters
4. curtailing certain extracurricular activities
In addition, students on probation must attend all scheduled classes and laboratory sessions (unauthorized absences may lead to immediate dismissal) and carry no more than the normal class and curriculum course load. Students are removed from probation after they have achieved a satisfactory scholastic record.
Academic Suspension.
A student may be suspended for one or two semesters based upon academic reasons. This action may be used when a semester's academic performance requires that work be repeated before progressing in the program. Remaining out of school for the intervening period may be required either due to the lack of availability of professional courses or simply because it is in the best interest of the student. Through the readmission procedure, this student may return at the end of the designated period of suspension earlier described.
Dismissal.
Students are informed in writing of academic dismissal if they fail to meet the conditions of probation or if they have an exceedingly poor semester record even though they may not have been previously on probation. Dismissed students wishing to pursue a degree in another field at Rutgers may be allowed one "carry" semester during which they may take non-pharmacy courses and must apply to another unit by the School-To-School Transfer process.
Dismissed students who are not accepted by another unit at the end of
the carry semester will be permanently dismissed from the university at
the end of the semester.
Students dismissed may appeal to the Scholastic Standing Committee if there are documented, extenuating circumstances (see below).
Appeal.
Students dismissed from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy by the faculty may appeal by completing an appeal form available in the School of Pharmacy Office of Academic Services. Appeals must be received in the Office of Academic Services within five business days of the date of the letter notifying the students of the decision. Grounds for appeal include technical error, grade changes, documented extenuating circumstances, and/or additional information not previously available to the committee. Appropriate documentation must be included in the appeal. Students are notified of the committee's decision by mail. This formal appeal process is the sole and exclusive course of action for students dismissed from the program.
General guidance on grades, GPA, and repeating courses can be found on the school's School of Pharmacy Scholastic Standing website at: https://pharmacy.rutgers.edu/info-for/current-students. Students are also referred to this website for any updates to the above policy which may vary between university catalog updates.
