The College is committed to providing a quality educational experience for all students regardless of geographic location or mode of delivery. Students enrolled in distance education programs or participating in instruction at an off-campus instructional site (i.e., Knoxville or Nashville) have access to the range of support services and resources necessary to successfully complete their education. Necessary and sufficient practices are followed to assure the privacy of all students regardless of geographic location or mode of delivery.
The College began to use live synchronous two-way interactive video distance education with the initiation of its Knoxville-based program in August 2007. This has required the acquisition, placement, and maintenance of various types of equipment and technologies. The College currently has 4 staff members dedicated to insuring that a high quality, distance education program is delivered seamlessly and without problems. Lectures may originate from Memphis, Knoxville, or from Nashville. All lectures are video captured using MediaSite™ and are released within 24-hours to students who wish to review content. EdTech support is available for all software-related issues to Blackboard, which is used for the course delivery system, regardless of location, via email. For issues related to software, students on all campuses can access the UTHSC IT HelpDesk. All requests for support are tracked through a help ticket system. The College relies on computerized examinations across campuses. Students located in Memphis, Knoxville and Nashville must have a laptop computer or tablet for these computerized examinations. Although the software used for testing is housed on the ExamSoft™ server, IT staff insures that the computers are properly imaged and operational.
The videoconference technology has become an integral part of College communications and is used for college committee meetings, student organizational meetings, faculty and departmental meetings, and monthly Grand Rounds. Students have also used distance technology (MediaSite™; Skype™; Adobe Connect™) to facilitate tutoring sessions. These tutoring sessions are held face-to-face in Memphis and Knoxville and across the state, using videoconferencing connectivity between Memphis and Knoxville for select tutoring sessions.
The Graduate Medical Education library is available to students on the Knoxville Campus. The College of Social Work is adjacent to the Nashville facility, and the Social Work Library contains pharmacy reference materials and is available to College of Pharmacy students.
While on the Memphis campus for the P1 year students may apply for and gain approval for any accommodations deemed necessary and appropriate. The UTHSC Student Academic Support Services and Inclusion (SASSI) coordinates identifying appropriate accommodations for students, regardless of the campus on which they are completing their studies, with documented and approved disabilities. Tutoring sessions and academic coaching for students that qualify and for those experiencing academic difficulties or need remediation are available through video conferencing for students located outside of the Memphis community. Students may also use distance technology (MediaSite™; Skype™; Adobe Connect™) for within city and across state tutoring sessions. Academic advising occurs at a variety of levels. Student may meet with the course director, and/or a member of the College leadership team (academic affairs dean, associate dean Knoxville, associate dean Nashville).
All students, regardless of geographic location, register for courses on line or thru block registration. Tuition and fees bills are delivered on a secured website provided by the on-line server - Touchnet™ - for all students. Students are required to log in via Banner Self-Service. All students, regardless of location, can use web links, Skype, email or telephone to interface with the Office of Financial Aid. Off-campus students will often receive one-on-one financial aid counseling during their on-campus weeks/visits. Pertinent college-specific financial aid information is provided on the UTHSC financial aid website (https://www.uthsc.edu/finaid/). Periodic campus visits/presentations will be scheduled to allow for face-to-face interaction and counseling with Nashville-based students. Students can self-enroll in Financial Aid Literacy and Debt Management on Blackboard. UTHSC Financial Literacy Services are also available on Facebook. Periodic campus visits/presentations will be scheduled to allow for face-to-face interaction with Nashville-based students. Plus, booklets regarding access to financial literacy counseling and other pertinent information are provided to all students.
The Pharmacy Student Government Association has successfully implemented student professional organizations in Knoxville and Nashville. Since all students are in Memphis the first professional year, they have opportunities to join the organizations prior to a portion of the class moving. Each of the classes and organizations have officers on each campus and meet using the distance education technology.
Additional resources and information particularly pertinent to students pursuing degree requirements in a geographic location other than in Memphis are provided in the UTHSC overview portion of the catalog.
State Authorization to Participate in Out of State Experiences
The US Department of Education requires that states be responsible for all education offered to residents within their state boundaries regardless of where the educational program originates. As a result, states have instituted state authorization regulations governing all or portions of educational programs that are being completed in their states by out-of-state students (e.g., a UTHSC student wishing to complete a field experience in a state other than TN). These regulations encompass pharmacy practice experiences for UTHSC students completing practice experiences in states other than Tennessee. Students are advised to seek clarification from the Office of Student Affairs prior to arranging for field experiences outside of the state of Tennessee to ensure the presence of the necessary authorization. Additional information is provided in the UTHSC overview portion of the catalog .
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