Policies and Procedures For Students

Disability Accommodation

The Texas A&M Rangel School of Pharmacy complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in its admission, accessibility, treatment and employment of students in its programs and activities. The School is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified students to the extent that such accommodations do not fundamentally alter the School’s courses or create an undue burden. As defined by law, the Texas A&M Rangel School of Pharmacy provides academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to students with handicapping conditions who are otherwise qualified to meet the institution’s academic requirements. Any student, because of a disability, who may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements, must first request an accommodation or accommodations from the appropriate office. Students accepted to the Kingsville campus of the Texas A&M Rangel School of Pharmacy may request accommodations from the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Disability Resource Center, whereas students accepted to the College Station campus request accommodations from Disability Resources at Texas A&M University in College Station. For more information about requesting an accommodation and required supporting documentation, Kingsville students please visit the Kingsville Disability Resource Center website and College Station students please visit the Texas A&M University Disability Resources website.

Prospective and current students with questions about accommodations, and interested in attending the Kingsville campus of the School, are encouraged to contact the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Disability Resource Center at 361-593-3024. Prospective and current students interested in attending the College Station campus of the School are encouraged to contact Disability Resources at 979-845-1637 with their questions about accommodations.

Newly admitted students seeking accommodations should submit their accommodation request and supporting documentation (e.g., assessments, reports and/or letters from qualified evaluators, professionals, or institutions) to the appropriate office at least three weeks prior the first day of their first semester. Following a review of the request and supporting documentation by the Disability Resource Center or Disability Resources, students meet with an Accommodation Counselor who discusses possible accommodations. The student then meets with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to determine how the accommodations will be provided. This meeting may be in person or video conferenced depending on the location of the student (i.e., Kingsville or College Station) and the timing of the request (the Associate Dean travels periodically to College Station).

Students enrolled in the Texas A&M Rangel School of Pharmacy may request accommodations from the appropriate office at any time. Please note that accommodations, if granted, are for present and future activities, and cannot be made retroactive. Additionally, students are expected to follow the policies and procedures established by the Disability Resource Center (for Kingsville students) or Disability Resources (for College Station students) when requesting an accommodation.

Grading policy

Grading Rationale

A student’s grade in each course of the curriculum at the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy is based upon performance and/or participation in classes or clinical rotations, laboratory work, examinations, attendance, professional attributes, personal observations and other activities applicable to courses. Student grades are determined by the course instructor or the course coordinator. The proportionate weight of each factor is set by the course instructor or coordinator and the department administering the course. The basis upon which a final course grade is determined is explained in the course syllabus, announced at the beginning of each course, remains constant for the semester, and will be applied throughout each course.

Students enrolled in the school must complete all required coursework (including progression problems, remediation courses and withdrawal occurrences) in its entirety with grades awarded within six years from the date of initial enrollment in the professional program; the associate dean for academic affairs will withdraw the student from the professional program when coursework cannot be completed within the prescribed timeframe. The dean of the college, on a case-by-case basis, will consider exceptions to this policy.

Grading Scale

A 4.0 grading scale is utilized by the Rangel School of Pharmacy. The college grading system and quality point values are listed below:

 As written in the table, each semester hour with a grade of A carries four quality points; each semester hour with a grade of B, three quality points; each semester hour with a grade of C, two quality points; each semester hour with a grade of D, one quality point; and each semester hour with a grade of F, zero quality points.

The right and responsibility to evaluate student cognitive and noncognitive abilities rests with the faculty. A grade of A, B, C or, in certain designated courses, S, must be attained in all required courses of the pharmacy curriculum to satisfy the requirements of the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. In designated courses of the curriculum, a grade of S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory) shall be used. The course hours for which a student receives a grade of S will not be used to calculate the student’s cumulative grade point average (GPA). Should a student receive a grade of U in a course, the hours associated with that course would be entered as a grade of F (failure, no quality points) and these hours will be used in the calculation the student’s cumulative GPA. Additionally, plus or minus grade designations are not awarded and are not recognized by the school.

Grade Reports

End-of-semester grades are generally available after the end of the fourth working day of each semester. Students are responsible for viewing and downloading their grade reports from the Howdy portal.

Unsatisfactory Performance in Coursework

A grade of D, F, or U is considered unsatisfactory and students must repeat the course or engage in mandatory remediation as determined by the Credentialing Committee (see Credentialing Committee Hearing). Grades of D, F, and U will not be removed from a student’s transcript by repeating or remediating the course, or courses, in which the grade was earned (i.e., both grades will appear on the transcript) (see General Academic and Professional Rules and Guidelines).

Grade of Incomplete (I)

A grade of incomplete (I) is a temporary grade and is used to give students an opportunity to complete course requirements. A grade of I shall be awarded only in unique circumstances (e.g., illness, accident, etc.) that prevent a student from completing a segment of a course. Instructors shall issue a grade of I after receiving notification of an authorized absence from either the associate dean for academic affairs or assistant dean for student affairs. Additionally, students cannot have a grade of D, F or U in the course at the time an I grade is issued. I grades will not be used in determining a student’s grade point average or class rank.

Instructors assigning an I grade shall complete an Incomplete Grade Report form that is filed with the Office of the Registrar and this form includes a statement of the instructor’s reason for giving the grade.

Students who receive a grade of I should immediately contact the course coordinator to determine the assignments necessary to complete the course and the final date for completing it. The required assignments must be completed by the agreed upon date, not to exceed the end of the first month of the next semester.

An I grade cannot be removed by repeating the course and a grade of I can only remain on a student’s transcript for one year, after which it is converted to an F. Instructors shall complete a Change of Grade form and submit it to the Office of the Registrar once the student has completed the agreed upon assignments. Note that Howdy designates the completion date.

Grade of Withdrawn (W)

A grade of withdrawn (W) is assigned to students who either request a withdrawal or are required to withdraw from the college. Students requesting a withdrawal must do so in writing. These requests must be submitted to the dean and the dean will notify the student in writing as to the status of their request.

Good Academic Standing and Minimum GPA

Students are considered to be in good academic standing if their cumulative GPA is 2.3 or above. Students with a cumulative GPA less than 2.3 are not considered to be in academic standing and are placed on academic probation (see Academic Probation). Additionally, students with a cumulative GPA of less than 2.3 may not be allowed to progress to the subsequent year of the curriculum (e.g., progress from the P1 year to the P2 year) (see Academic Progression). The minimum cumulative GPA a pharmacy student must attain to graduate with a PharmD is 2.3.

Grade Changes

Grades submitted to Howdy, can only be changed by submitting a Change of Grade form to the Texas A&M University Office of the Registrar. The Change of Grade form or a Letter of Explanation is not valid unless approved by the course coordinator, department chair and the associate dean for academic affairs. The instructor must initiate a request for a final grade change within 30 days after the end of the semester in which the questioned grade was earned.

A Change of Grade form must also be submitted to the Office of the Registrar when changing a grade of I to another grade.

Rounding Grades

The rule for rounding grade percentages will follow the method used by Microsoft Excel. That is, all .50 numbers and higher will be rounded up. For example, 89.49 rounds to 89 while 89.50 rounds to 90 for grade determination.

Methods used to facilitate learning

Student Communication

Texas A&M University, the Texas A&M University Health Science Center and the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy primarily use email to communicate information to students. Students are responsible for checking their email regularly to keep abreast of information sent by the university, the health science center and the school. Rangel School of Pharmacy students will be assigned a Gmail (YourNetID@gmail.tamu.edu) and a health science center (YourID@pharmacy.tamu.edu) email account. The Texas A&M Health Science Center and the Rangel School of Pharmacy will primarily communicate with students using the health science center account, whereas the university will primarily communicate with students using the Gmail account. Students may forward emails from their Gmail account to their health science center account by following the instructions in Gmail.

Students are responsible for keeping their college and university email accounts open and accessible. Students must also provide the Office of Student Affairs an email address from a vendor not affiliated with Texas A&M University or the Texas A&M Health Science Center (e.g., Yahoo). Students should view the college account at least twice a day and the university account, if not forwarded to the school account, at least once a week.

In addition to email, the Rangel School of Pharmacy also communicates with students by posting information on bulletin boards, distributing information in class, placing information in student mailboxes and on Blackboard. Students are responsible for routinely checking their mailbox, bulletin boards and Blackboard for information posted by the school.

Active Student Engagement

The Rangel School of Pharmacy is committed to active, lifelong learning, and strongly encourages its students to actively participate in their learning activities. A variety of active learning and pedagogical methods are used by the school faculty. The selection of an appropriate instructional method is at the discretion of the instructor(s), as deemed appropriate for a given course/topic.

Students are expected to be actively engaged in the learning process, and may be called upon by faculty in classroom learning activities. While advanced student preparation may be required in certain courses to augment their understanding of a given topic or subject matter, students should generally come prepared to discuss any assigned reading materials in class. Audience Response Devices may be used to facilitate learning as well as to monitor student attendance. Students are required to have their Audience Response Device available and functional at all times.

Recitation hours are scheduled for review and/or reinforcement of materials students may find difficult. Student attendance is strongly encouraged for all recitation sessions. Students are expected to meet their instructors during their posted office hours and are highly encouraged to make prior appointments to meet with their instructors outside of the office hours.

Audio/Video Recording and Student Assessment Activity Copying

Lectures may be video recorded and recordings may be offered as an adjunct to student learning. The decision to provide, or not provide, lecture recordings is at the sole discretion of the instructor, except in cases where the connection between the Kingsville and College Station campuses is lost during a lecture. In this case, the school requires the instructor to release the recording to students on both campuses. Due to occasional technical difficulties, provision of recorded lectures is not guaranteed.

Student audio or video recording, including photography, of any class session and/or materials (including exams) is not allowed without prior permission of the instructor. Online posting or other forms of electronic dissemination of any recording or instructional materials is strictly forbidden without prior specific written permission from the instructor.

If exam questions are posted or presented for student review, recording them is strictly prohibited, whether by photography, audio recording, note-taking or any other method. Possession or distribution of exam questions is strictly prohibited. 

Professional Attire

The Texas A&M Rangel School of Pharmacy expects students to be professional and to conduct themselves accordingly. Consistent with this expectation, students are asked to wear attire that is compatible with the pharmacy profession. When in buildings associated with the school between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., students are expected to wear business professional attire every Thursday and business casual attire on the other days of the week.

Business Professional Attire

Business professional attire consists of full-length dress pants, dress shirt with a tie, socks and dress shoes for men. For women business professional attire consists of skirt suit, pant suit, full length dress pants, full length dress or dress skirt with a blouse, socks or hose, dress shoes and limited accessories.

Business Casual Attire

Business casual attire includes full-length dress pants or casual slacks, dress shirt or polo with socks and dress shoes for men. For women business casual attire includes full-length dress pants, casual slacks, appropriate length dress or dress skirt, blouse or polo shirt flats or pumps with limited accessories.