Pharmacy Schools Cutting Class Sizes

[Digsbe]

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In response to poor application pools and saturation I know of 2 schools in my area cutting class sizes by roughly 20%. Has anyone else heard of schools doing this or addressing the poor application pool and saturation? Just curious. Seems like a few places are going in the right direction.

 

[Schwimmy]

I've heard my alma mater has taken to a procedure that, should a student fail/drop out of pharmacy school, the seat is not opened to an incoming graduate the next year.

While I do not see the logical sense in this policy, I am sure it is in response to their massively declining job acceptance rate after taking on 50% more students per class a few years back (this in itself being a compromise with the state, who wanted to open up an additional pharmacy school instead).

Edit: State school.

 

[PolarPop]

In response to poor application pools and saturation I know of 2 schools in my area cutting class sizes by roughly 20%. Has anyone else heard of schools doing this or addressing the poor application pool and saturation? Just curious. Seems like a few places are going in the right direction.

Private or state schools? The school I went to has dropped entering class size by almost 30% in the last few years. It’s one state school though so it only amounts to a reduction of 20-30 a year. I haven’t heard of private schools doing it but that would be good news.

 

[Digsbe]

Private or state schools? The school I went to has dropped entering class size by almost 30% in the last few years. It’s one state school though so it only amounts to a reduction of 20-30 a year. I haven’t heard of private schools doing it but that would be good news.

For my example it's a state school.

 

[AH.Rx]

Holy ****, that’s amazing.

 

[Modest_anteater]

In response to poor application pools and saturation I know of 2 schools in my area cutting class sizes by roughly 20%. Has anyone else heard of schools doing this or addressing the poor application pool and saturation? Just curious. Seems like a few places are going in the right direction.

This isn't self regulation. This is perception manipulation. I have spoken to two deans of pharmacy schools directly and both have said they are having SEVERE trouble filling all their seats. This is pharmacy schools trying to spin lack of demand as them being more exclusive.

 

[SoylentGreen]

It seems that, if they are cutting class sizes out of concern for the saturated job market, some other school run by con men who just don't care will pick up the slack and crank as many grads as they can. With our idiotic system, the schools and the lenders get paid whether the student ends up getting a job or not, so it's not economically rational for the schools to care, as long as they can find some sucker to go there.

 

[BidingMyTime]

It seems that, if they are cutting class sizes out of concern for the saturated job market, some other school run by con men who just don't care will pick up the slack and crank as many grads as they can. With our idiotic system, the schools and the lenders get paid whether the student ends up getting a job or not, so it's not economically rational for the schools to care, as long as they can find some sucker to go there.

The one thing holding them back is accreditation. As lax as the accreditation standards are, I believe schools do have to have a certain % graduation rate, as well as a certain % NAPLEX passing rate. So schools that let in anyone who can get a loan, and then graduate them no matter what.....when those students all flunk the NAPLEX, then the school can be put on probation and possibly lose their accreditation status. This is the real reason some schools are scaling back their classes, because they don't have enough "quality" applications (ie applicants that the think can reasonably learn the pharmacy curriculum and be able to pass the NAPLEX), so these schools are scaling back class size, rather than risk their accreditation.

 

[Corpseman]

I'm pretty sure my old school (Arizona) is still increasing class size.

 

[Pharmer1921]

I'm pretty sure my old school (Arizona) is still increasing class size.

I hear they are too. I think I saw some admin out on Speedway flipping one of those signs saying "Pharm School Easy Signup!" dressed as a pill bottle

 

[missdefiant]

My pharmacy school is a 6 year direct entry program that takes students from the first year. We had 900 applicants, 150 approved for the interview, and only 75 accepted. My P1 and P2 year (which is like pre-pharmacy), so many of my 75 classmates dropped out, and got replaced by students of other majors. By the time my P3 year came around (which is like P1 for most people), my class size was down to 60, and only 40% of us were from our original class. The classwork was hard, though, I don't blame so many people for leaving.

 

[VA77]

The one thing holding them back is accreditation. As lax as the accreditation standards are, I believe schools do have to have a certain % graduation rate, as well as a certain % NAPLEX passing rate. So schools that let in anyone who can get a loan, and then graduate them no matter what.....when those students all flunk the NAPLEX, then the school can be put on probation and possibly lose their accreditation status. This is the real reason some schools are scaling back their classes, because they don't have enough "quality" applications (ie applicants that the think can reasonably learn the pharmacy curriculum and be able to pass the NAPLEX), so these schools are scaling back class size, rather than risk their accreditation.

Schools care very little about accreditation and their graduation rate. At least the reputable schools do. The others such as Hampton with dismal scores for years just sue ACPE when they get put on probation and the students just keep coming. Someone on here said it best. As long as there is free student loan money out there then students are going to keep coming and walking into the fire.

 

[jjkz]

I cant understand why a pharmacy school would cut their class size! I mean its just an empty chair its not like their losing money on an empty chair. Dental school okay makes sense there is serious equipment...medical school okay there is residency spot that would be lost but pharm school doesnt take that much money to operate. You have your teachers in a lecture room and a lab room and thats pretty much it. So why would you want to cut class size it would make no sense from a business standpoint...in fact its amazing that they dont have classrooms with 500+ students sitting in the lecture rooms.

 

[PharmDBro2017]

I cant understand why a pharmacy school would cut their class size! I mean its just an empty chair its not like their losing money on an empty chair. Dental school okay makes sense there is serious equipment...medical school okay there is residency spot that would be lost but pharm school doesnt take that much money to operate. You have your teachers in a lecture room and a lab room and thats pretty much it. So why would you want to cut class size it would make no sense from a business standpoint...in fact its amazing that they dont have classrooms with 500+ students sitting in the lecture rooms.

Are you dumb? Or a troll?


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[jjkz]

Are you dumb? Or a troll?


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WTH.....can you name another bottleneck besides accredidation thats preventing these schools from increasing their class size?

 

[BidingMyTime]

Schools care very little about accreditation and their graduation rate. At least the reputable schools do. The others such as Hampton with dismal scores for years just sue ACPE when they get put on probation and the students just keep coming. Someone on here said it best. As long as there is free student loan money out there then students are going to keep coming and walking into the fire.

Well, it's not that easy. Ask the Hawaii School Of Pharmacy. Well, you could ask them, if they still existed. Schools that don't get accredited or that lose their accreditation are shut down, and that's the end of the money flow. So yes, schools absolutely do want to do, at least the bare minimum, to keep accreditation.