Matriculation and Continued Enrollment Policies

College of Pharmacy Honor Code

College of Pharmacy Professionalism and Appropriate Behavior Policy

Campus Admission and Class Attendance Policy
When a student is admitted to a campus, the student is expected to matriculate to that campus and expected to attend classes on that campus. There may be instances where attendance in classes on the other campus will be allowed when approved by the course coordinator/Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Transfers between campuses will not be allowed. Any exceptions to this will need to be approved by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

UIC College of Pharmacy Name Badges
College Name badges are issued to students upon matriculation. Students are expected to wear these name badges at all times to identify themselves as members of the College community.

Immunizations
Students are required to have appropriate immunizations (to meet university and College of Pharmacy requirements) before they matriculate into the PharmD program and to keep them up to date after matriculation. The current list includes:

• MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) and titers
• Hepatitis B (series I, II, III) and titer
• Varicella and titer
• Meningitis (for students under 22)
• Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis (Tdap)
• Tuberculosis Test  – Two-step or QuantiFERON-TB Gold (Required annually)
  • Note: Any student who has tested positive for TB must provide copy of a recent chest x-ray
• COVID Vaccine
• Influenza (Required annually in the Fall beginning P1 year)

BLS Provider Training (completed as part of an experiential course)
All students are required to complete training and become certified in adult and pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation/basic life support (CPR/BLS ) for the healthcare professional prior to the beginning of advanced practice rotations.

Health Insurance
Health insurance is a requirement for all students participating in experiential rotations. The insurance must cover inpatient and outpatient services for injuries sustained or diseases contracted while on rotations. Proof of this coverage must be provided to the Office of Experiential Training prior to the beginning of advanced practice rotations.

Drug Screening
Drug screens will be required throughout the UIC College of Pharmacy educational experience. Scheduled drug screens are required once per year during P1 through P3 years (due by August 1**) and twice in the P4 year (due dates as per the Director of Experiential Education). Rotation sites may request (random) drug screens. Information obtained in drug screens may inhibit students from completing introductory or advanced practice experiences thus delaying or hindering graduation (see the last paragraph of Section 13, Technical Standards). Any student producing a positive drug screen will be required to submit to a fitness for duty evaluation.  Drug screens are done in conjunction with background checks (using CastleBranch.com, package code nv85).  Results of drug screens are submitted directly to the College of Pharmacy from CastleBranch.

Background checks
The College is required to provide information from background checks, drug screenings and/or social security, driver’s license, and employment verification on each student who participates in clinical rotations at our affiliate institutions. Some clinical rotation sites follow the Illinois Health Care Workers Background Check Code in terms of the disqualifying offenses that make it impossible to participate in any clinical rotation at their facilities. [See Illinois code Section 955.160 Disqualifying Offenses.] However, other clinical rotation sites have more stringent policies and may disqualify an individual from being considered to participate in any clinical rotation at such facilities if any offenses exist on the background check. Therefore, the College requires all PharmD students to maintain a “clean” background check to ensure placement at any experiential site. 

Students will have a background check run at the beginning of each fall semester P1 through P3 years (due by August 1**). P4 students will have two background checks run (due dates as per the Director of Experiential Education). Any disqualification of a student by a practice facility could prevent the student from undertaking clinical rotations that are required to complete the pharmacy program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Background checks are done in conjunction with drug screens (using CastleBranch.com, package code nv85). Results of background checks are submitted directly to the College of Pharmacy from CastleBranch.

Pharmacy Technician License
Students must be able to meet the State Board of Pharmacy Licensing requirements to obtain a valid Illinois Pharmacy Technician License which is required to complete experiential courses beginning in the Fall of the P1 year. Inability to obtain and maintain a valid license may prevent a student from continuing in the program and completing the requirements for graduation.

HIPAA (completed as part of an experiential course)
Students must be in compliance with HIPAA requirements.

Transportation
All students must provide their own transportation to off-campus pharmacy practice experience sites.

Technical Standards
The educational objective of the entry-level PharmD degree program in the UIC College of Pharmacy is to prepare students for the practice of pharmacy. Students admitted to the UIC College of Pharmacy must have the intellectual, emotional and physical abilities, with reasonable accommodations as needed for those with disabilities, to acquire the knowledge, behaviors, clinical and technical skills that they will need to successfully complete the curriculum in order to pursue any pathway of pharmacy practice. The ability, with reasonable accommodations as needed for those with disabilities, to meet the technical standards essential for the fulfillment of the requirements for the PharmD degree and the educational objectives established by the faculty are evaluated in all candidates for admission and graduation.  The technical standards, in conjunction with established academic standards, are followed by the Admissions Committee to select students who possess the intelligence, integrity, physical, and personal as well as emotional characteristics that are necessary to become an effective pharmacist. 

The academic and technical standards established by the faculty require that all students accepted by the UIC College of Pharmacy possess the physical, cognitive, and behavioral abilities that ensure that they will be able to complete all aspects of the curriculum. 

All applicants are held to the same academic and technical standards of admission and training, with reasonable accommodations as needed for students with disabilities. 

Although the UIC College of Pharmacy will engage in an interactive process with applicants with disabilities, the UIC College of Pharmacy reserves the right not to admit any applicant who, upon completion of the interactive process, cannot meet the Technical Standards, with reasonable accommodations. 

Additionally, those individuals who would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of others are not considered suitable candidates for admission. Current students who would constitute a direct threat to the health and safety of others, as well as to themselves, may be refused further registration. In such cases the UIC College of Pharmacy reserves the right to require a fitness for duty evaluation, treating the student in the same manner as a UIC Employee. The protocol is set forth in the UIC Policies and Procedures. The student is responsible for any costs associated with the fitness for duty evaluation and any required follow-up. All fitness for duty evaluations are handled through the University Health Services, 835 South Wolcott Ave, Room E-144, Chicago, IL 60612 (312-996-7420). Students are permitted to return to the classroom or to their experiential sites only after a release by the University Health Services is given indicating they are fit for duty.

Policy on Audio/Video Recording of Curricular Content for Distance Learning
Beginning Fall 2010, all core courses that are broadcast to the Rockford campus will be recorded. Recorded curricular content will be posted on a password-protected web site (for example Blackboard) in a variety of formats for students and faculty to view and use. The recordings will be available to students and faculty in the form of a password-protected web link. The instructor, in conjunction with the course coordinator, will be able to view, edit, and/or restrict content that is made available to students.
Recorded curricular content will be utilized for the sole purpose of enhancing the learning experience for UIC College of Pharmacy students; it will not be re-purposed by the College. Students are prohibited from using the recorded curricular content for purposes other than to enhance their own learning. Students found to have used recorded content, in part or in whole, inappropriately (e.g., copying, distributing, and posting on internet or social media sites) will be considered in violation of the College of Pharmacy Professionalism and Appropriate Behavior Policy and subject to discipline up to and including dismissal from the college. Recorded content will be retained for 1 year after which time it will be deleted from the protected web site.

WiFi-Enabled Device
All students are required to have a WiFi-enabled device. (See current Mobile Device Requirements for PharmD Students in the Student Tech Resources folder.)

*All policies are subject to change.

**Any student not meeting the August 1 deadline may not be permitted to continue in the program. The purpose of this deadline is to ensure that students can be placed at experiential sites in a timely manner.