School of Pharmacy Finishes First Year of New Curriculum

For the Class of 2024, gone are the days of block exams and pass/fail grading. The fall 2021 semester launched the start of the new curriculum at Pacific University School of Pharmacy. With the new curriculum students are enrolled in 6-7 individual classes that are coordinated among faculty to integrate concepts. To better align with the increasing number of graduates pursuing residency, students are also assigned letter grades for their classes. 

The fall semester contained classes you would typically see in a pharmacy program such as pharmacokinetics, pharmaceutics and pharmacy calculations, however introduced as a part of the integrated curriculum was a course called practical connections. This course was designed to help apply all of the concepts learned in the other courses, again in different ways. This is just one of the many ways faculty have utilized bringing important concepts together across the courses.

Pacific maintains its usual student-centered approach throughout the changes and offers opportunity for feedback on the curriculum through “town hall meetings” where students are able to speak to administrators confidentially about any concerns or to make suggestions. Students are also encouraged to submit feedback about each course to faculty during the semester.  

As a student, it has been exciting to see changes happen in real time as we work out some of the small hiccups in the new program. We are able to give meaningful feedback through our experiences in the new curriculum to help mold the program into the best model for all future students, as well as ourselves. It has been a unique experience with our faculty and peers, of trying these new learning styles and bettering them for classes to come.