Admissions: The Changing Landscape Andrea Wall, Associate Dean for Pharmacy Student and Alumni Affairs University of Cincinnati Thomas TenHoeve, Associate Dean for Student Affairs University of Illinois at Chicago February 28, 2017

Background The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy 2013‐2015 Special Committee on Admissions was charged to: examine current admissions practices used by pharmacy schools evaluate innovative practices used by other health professions make recommendations as to how schools may holistically assess at admissions the types of learners who will become the confident practice‐ready graduates and future leaders/innovators the profession needs The committee was encouraged to examine pre‐pharmacy requirements, recruitment strategies, admissions requirements and strategic admissions practices, and support for evaluating and admitting non‐traditional and international applicants.

Outcome of Special Committee on Admissions White Paper on Pharmacy Admissions: Developing a Diverse Work Force to Meet the Health-Care Needs of an Increasingly Diverse Society Andrea L. Wall, Alex Aljets, Steve C. Ellis, Daniel J. Hansen, W. Mark Moore, Heather M.W. Petrelli, Marilyn K. Speedie, Tom TenHoeve, Cynthia Watchmaker, Janeen S. Winnike, and Stephanie D. Wurth American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2015 79:7 Recommendation to Schools and Colleges, AACP and ACPE

Recommendations of Special Committee on Admissions Recruitment Holistic Admissions Cooperative Admissions Guidelines (CAG) – “traffic rules” Research and Publication

Part I – Recruitment AACP Strategic Plan 2016-2019 incorporated the recommendations. Mission Driven Priorities Strategic Priority 1: Enriching the Applicant Pipeline Pipeline expansion Applicant Pool Increase Diversity Pharmacy is Right for Me National Campaign http://pharmacyforme.org/

PharmCAS Applications 2016-2017 Applications – 12,491 (as of Feb 3, 2017) Last Application deadline - March 1, 2017

Part II: Holistic Admissions AACP Holistic Admissions Institute - January 23-25 Collaborate with other health education associations in development of admissions resources and training Provide on-going admissions training

Part III: Cooperative Admissions Guidelines (CAG) Also known as “traffic rules” Guidance document for schools to work together with the common goal of admitting a diverse well rounded academically strong student body Provides the schools/colleges a standard approach for timing of admissions decisions and financial considerations Provides the students standard dates and deadlines so they can make the best decision for their pharmacy education Other professional and health professions school guidelines: AACOM, ADEA, AAMC, ACAPT, AALS, ASCO http://www.aacp.org/resources/studentaffairspersonnel/admissionsguidelines

Cooperative Admissions Guidelines (CAG) AACP Board approved the following at its November meeting: “The AACP Board of Directors endorses the proposed Cooperative Admissions Guidelines  (attached) and encourages its adoption by colleges and schools of pharmacy over the next three years. AACP will monitor adoption and evaluate the results on an annual basis.” Adoption/Implementation target 2019-2020

CAG Highlights Benefits to Students – multiple interviews with less financial burden, time for decision regarding best fit for their education, March 1 for decision Benefits to Schools- knowledge of acceptances earlier, market program, less “melt”, lessen issues regarding competition for smaller applicant pool Best Practices – mission driven, education and training of staff and faculty, research and scholarship

CAG Highlights Before March 1: After March 1: Applicants may hold multiple offers Applicants may be required to pay deposit of up to $200 per acceptance which may be non-refundable After March 1: Applicants may hold only one acceptance Schools may require a second deposit Schools can make offers after March 1 but applicant can only hold one acceptance Responsibility for applicants clearly stated in PharmCAS and school directions to applicant

Implications How are admissions applications fees used at your institution? How are deposits used? Are funds handled through university? Through college/school of pharmacy? Early decision – will there be increased costs associated with increased number of schools participating and applicants accepted? What changes/enhancements may need to be made to admissions office?

Part III: Cooperative Admissions Guidelines Implementation An Example University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Pharmacy

UIC Old Model Rolling Admissions Early Decision Admissions Interviews – September through October Regular Admissions Interviews – October through March Admission Offers – September through August Deposit - $1,000 due within two weeks of offer On-going Scholarship Consideration

UIC New Model Rolling Admissions Early Decision Admission Interviews – September through October Regular Admissions Interviews – September through March Admission Offers - September through August New Deposit Structure New Scholarship Structure

New Deposit Structure Early Decision Admission Offers         Full acceptance deposit ($1000) – due two weeks after offer Regular Admission Offers before March 15         Initial acceptance deposit ($200) – due two weeks after offer            Final acceptance deposit ($800) – due March 15 after March 15

New Scholarship Structure Applicants receive scholarship information when they are notified that the admissions committee is reviewing their file when the interview invitation is sent. Priority Scholarship Application Deadline: Feb 15 Scholarship Notification: March 1 – 7 (at least a week ahead of the final deposit deadline)

Goals To be more applicant friendly by allowing them more time to consider all of their options to promote making the best decision for themselves. To get applicants to consider UIC COP. To get applicants to apply earlier in the cycle. To give UIC COP more time to market/promote program – open the gates of communication. To move a good percentage of the melt into March rather than during the summer months.

2015 Acceptances Data 2016 92 Declined Interviews 49 Interviews by Month September 25 43 October 85 21 November 55 December 3 64 Total Fall Interviews 168 60 January 91 52 February 73 March 35 (scheduled so far) 19 April

Total Fall Offers Accepted 2015 Offers Data 2016 58 Total Fall Offers Accepted 147 172 Total Offers Accepted 221* Initial and Final Deposit Paid 111* 34 Total Offers Declined 32* 19 Reneged on Offer Accepted 14* 190 Target Acceptances * to date

Contemplations 110 Applicants haven’t paid final deposit (65 of them are out-of-state) Two weeks left before final deposit is due How high do you “stack the deck” during the cycle? How long do you hold offers after interviews while you’re waiting to see if outstanding offers come back accepted? Waitlist?

Conclusions This will be a new process for everyone. People want answers about how this is going to work. Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers! We’ll all have to use the trial and error process the first year or two, just like we did when we moved to rolling admissions.