Program Review for Pharmacy Technician
Program Review Framework & Criteria
I. Connection: From interest to application (Qualitative, program head and dean)
1) Please provide a description of any changes to the program since the last cycle and the appropriate updates to the catalog (general education changes, program requirement changes, ancillary program costs for students, hours/credits of credentials, etc.).
There have been minimal changes to the CSC since the previous program review. Due to the implementation of new math courses statewide, the MTH 126 Math for Allied Health has transitioned to MTH 133 Mathematics for Health Professions. The HCT 110 course Therapeutic Communication is now automatically substituted with CST 110 Introduction to Communication. The HCT 110 course has experienced low enrollment and the department felt that the CST 110 course offered communication dynamics and was a suitable substitute.
2) How do students find out about the program? Please provide examples of advising activities, marketing materials, or other outreach and engagement events designed to recruit students to the program.
Currently the Health Career webpage, www.patrickhenry.edu/healthcareers links students to program offerings in health fields at PHCC. The Pharmacy Technician page links to a brief description of the field, a link to the brochure, current career information, and the current college catalog. The Nursing and Allied Health department support 7th grade field trips and senior field trips and present material regarding PHCC health education programs to these students when they are on campus. In addition each area high school has a designated Career Coach which offers another point of contact for investigating program options.
II. Entry: From application to pathway entry (Qualitative, program head and dean)
1) Please provide a description of your program credentials and how they stack into one another.
Students who complete the pharmacy technician program are eligible to apply for state level certification. The graduates may apply to take the Virginia Board of Pharmacy approved ExCPT exam. The Virginia Board of Pharmacy does not track exam success per program.
Pharmacy Technician is a stand-alone educational pathway and profession and therefore does not link into another career field. There are some common courses in the CSC that will apply to other programs such as pre-nursing or nurse aide.
Questions for consideration:
1.a. What is the employability (or transferability) of each credential?
Students who complete the program and obtain state certification are eligible for employment as a Pharmacy Technician in pharmacies such as hospital, community, and retail settings.
1.b. Do all credits from a sub-credential transfer into the parent credential?
This is not applicable to this CSC.
1.c. What is the timeframe of completion for all credentials within the program (i.e. is the program setup to award sub-credentials prior to the parent credential)?
The program is a fall/spring two semester sequenced delivery. The program is not setup to award sub-credentials. Students who do not meet the entry level developmental requirements may exceed the two semester program completion model.
2) Program enrollment, if applicable, disaggregated by specialization (Quantitative, IE)
| AcadYear 2014-2015 | AcadYear 2015-2016 | AcadYear 2016-2017 | AcadYear 2017-2018 | ||||
| HC | FTE | HC | FTE | HC | FTE | HC | FTE |
| 30 | 14.13 | 16 | 6.57 | 16 | 9.13 | 2 | 0.57 |
During the 14/15 academic year 30 students were program placed, however 15 students initially enrolled in the core pharmacy course, however two withdrew. Eleven students completed the sequenced spring core course.
During the 2015/2016 academic year 16 students were program placed, however 13 students initially enrolled in the core pharmacy course, however one withdrew. Seven students completed the sequenced course in spring, 2016.
During the 2016/2017 academic year 16 students were program placed, 12 students initially enrolled in the core pharmacy course, however three withdrew. Six students completed the sequenced pharmacy course in spring, 2017.
During the 2017/2018 academic year two students were program placed. The pharmacy core courses were not offered fall/spring due to low enrollment.
This fall, 2018 there are five students pursing the core pharmacy course. The department is working with Workforce to transition this program to a non-credit offering. Pharmacies can offer this training onsite based on the Board of Pharmacy Regulations. The trending of enrollment and completion has continued to decline in comparison to 2010-2014 data. There is still an expected growth of this career by 12% from 2016-2026 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
a. Annual program FTE and HC over the last review cycle (To include SCHEV program ratios and SCHEV class ratios)
SCHEV program ratios are for associate degrees, thus not applicable for Pharm Tech.
Enrollment in HLT courses is still expected to be at a minimum of 10 students.
*******As you can see the program placed students who have selected this program of study has decreased tremendously since 2014.
III. Progress: Pathway advancement (Quantitative, IE)
1) Student learning outcomes data
2) Program credit attainment (15/12 in one semester, 30/24 for those who enrolled in two consecutive semesters)
| AcadYear 2014-2015 | AcadYear 2015-2016 | AcadYear 2016-2017 | AcadYear 2017-2018 | ||||||||||||||||
| N | One Term | Two
Consective Terms | N | One Term | Two
Consective Terms | N | One Term | Two
Consective Terms | N | One Term | Two
Consective Terms | ||||||||
| 12 | 15 | 24 | 30 | 12 | 15 | 24 | 30 | 12 | 15 | 24 | 30 | 12 | 15 | 24 | 30 | ||||
| 30 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
This program is 25 credits total. Most students who start this program take it on a part-time basis. This occurs for a couple of reasons, students may start classes in the spring semester and due to the fall/spring core pharmacy course sequence they are unable to complete in two semesters. The students then take general education classes until the fall sequence cycles again. Many students need developmental courses and that extends the number of semester until completion. Some students transition from other health education programs and have common classes already satisfied such as medical terminology, or math for allied health, or communications, thus reducing the total number of credits required at the time they are program placed.
3) Program retention and persistence relative to the start date of the program (subsequent term calculation)
| Fall 14 FTIC Cohort | Fall 15 FTIC Cohort | Fall 16 FTIC Cohort | Fall 17 FTIC Cohort | ||||||||||||||||
| N | Persistence (F2S) | Retention (F2F) | N | Persistence (F2S) | Retention (F2F) | N | Persistence (F2S) | Retention (F2F) | N | Persistence (F2S) | Retention (F2F) | ||||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | ||||
| 3 | 75.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 1 | 100.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | 3 | 60.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | ||||
This program technically should not have fall to fall retention since it is a one year, fall/spring, CSC. This data supports that first time enrolled college students who pursued Pharmacy Technician, were typically successful based on the original number, at 70% overall. The population however is a small sample size.
*******As you can see the program placed students who have selected this program of study has decreased tremendously since 2014 and thus impacted retention. Please see table above for program retention.
IV. Completion: Credential attainment (Quantitative, IE)
1) Sub-credential attainment and timeframe (are students completing sub-credential prior to or at the same time as parent credential?)
Pharm Tech has no sub-credentials.
2) Parent credential attainment and timeframe, if applicable, disaggregated by specialization
| AY 14-15 | AY 15-16 | AY 16-17 | AY 17-18 | ||||||||||||||||
| N | Grads | 150% | N | Grads | 150% | N | Grads | 150% | N | Grads | 150% | ||||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | ||||
| 30 | 9 | 30.00% | 7 | 77.78% | 16 | 6 | 37.50% | 6 | 100.00% | 16 | 5 | 31.25% | 4 | 80.00% | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
As noted in the entry information, while a certain number of students are program placed, they may not be on track to complete the sequenced two semester program due to many reasons, one being program start date and developmental deficiencies. The 150% completion rates support this assumption.
a. Are students completing within 6 semesters (150% of graduation time)?
The Pharmacy Technician program is two semesters, so 150% completion time would be measured as 3 semesters. The trend appears that overall enrollment is declining which is also reflective of completion declining. This trend is further supported from the program review data from 2010-2014 cycle.
*******For students who pursue this program about 33% are completing in two semesters. This again is justified by the number of folks who take greater than two semesters to complete which reflects entry point or developmental course requirements at time of program placement.
V. Transition: Employment or transfer post-credential (Quantitative, IE)
1) Transfer outcomes (students who transfer with associate degree, students who transfer without)
| AY 14-15 | AY 15-16 | AY 16-17 | AY 17-18 | ||||||||||||||||
| N | Associate Degree |
No Associate Degree |
N | Associate Degree |
No Associate Degree |
N | Associate Degree |
No Associate Degree |
N | Associate Degree |
No Associate Degree |
||||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | ||||
| 30 | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 100.00% | 16 | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 100.00% | 16 | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 100.00% | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 100.00% |
2) Student perspective/satisfaction
Graduating student survey is contained in capstone courses for associate programs. Beginning 18/19, all students will have the opportunity to take the survey.
VI. Sustainability: Future Program Outlook (Mixed methods, IE, program head and dean)
1) Program forecast (major expenditures, changes, personnel needs, etc.); any future costs should be explained in this section)
This program is a low cost to the institution when there is student enrollment. Five of the courses are unique to the Pharmacy Technician program this totals 11 credits which are currently all taught by adjunct instructors. Eight of the twenty five program credits are offered in other educational programs and are taught by full time faculty. The remaining six credits are taught by adjuncts but those courses are not exclusive to the pharmacy technician program. The program renewal fee occurs every two years and is currently $75. The other expenses are generated from classroom use and teaching supplies.
As noted previously, the Nursing and Allied Health office is working to transition the program to the Workforce Education Department aligning with career credit training options.
a. Any other pertinent information relevant to the review process should be provided here (e.g. community need, state/federal requirements, external accreditation, SCHEV low enrollment warning, etc.)
Health courses should have a minimum of 10 students. It is difficult to advertise a program of study and then cancel courses that lead to completion and credentialing. There is no substitute for the core pharmacy content as the course objectives align with the Virginia Board of Pharmacy Regulations.
b. Employment forecast for program (Analyst data)
Pharm Tech Employment Projections
According to the employment forecast data there is an expected growth of 9% which is a little less than the Bureau of Labor Statistics national growth of 12%. Regardless there is growth expected which supports continuance of the educational tract but again to streamline the program with industry training, this program will be offered in Workforce Development versus credit offerings.