Student Expectations & Attendance

Students are obligated to complete all assigned work promptly, to attend class regularly, and to participate in class discussions/group exercises.

Students must be physically present in class in order to receive credit for attendance, in-class quizzes, participation assignments, etc. In the case of synchronous web-based courses, students must be logged in prior to the start of class and remain present throughout the entirety of the class in order to receive credit for attendance, in-class quizzes, participation assignments, etc.. Students who utilize methods to receive credit for in-class assignments while being physically located outside the classroom or not logged into the web-based course will be referred to the USC Office of Academic Integrity and provided grade sanctions as per individual course syllabi.

Attendance is expected for all classes. The course coordinator may choose to establish a specific attendance policy in an individual course and this policy, along with consequences of violation of this attendance policy, should be presented to students enrolled in the class at the beginning of the semester, as part of the course syllabus. The course coordinator may choose to exact a grade penalty for excessive absences as defined in the course specific attendance policy.

Students are required to attend 100 percent of laboratory course meetings.

The Associate Dean for Student Affairs or Senior Associate Dean (or their designee) may excuse students for significant absences (usually related to health issues or family deaths). A medical excuse or other appropriate documentation is required to be submitted if the absence occurs on an exam or laboratory day unless preapproved through the Dean’s Office. All other class absences must be approved by the course coordinator. 

The College of Pharmacy follows the University of South Carolina policy on observance of religious days. Students may request approval from individual course coordinators to be absent from class for observance of a religious practice, holiday, or holy day. A student must submit a request to miss class in writing (e-mail is acceptable) stating the specific dates of the anticipated observance, reason for absence, and arrangements for missed material at least four (4) weeks in advance or on day one of the semester. Approval of absences for time that falls outside of the official date(s) of observance is at the discretion of the course coordinator.

Students may request approval from individual Faculty to be absent from class to attend a professional meeting or event. A student must provide at least 4 weeks’ advance notice to the Faculty member, who may or may not approve the request. 

Severe Weather Policy

In the event of an inclement weather situation which might affect P1, P2,or P3 didactic class/lab schedules on the Columbia campus, the College of Pharmacy will follow the guidelines as provided by the University of South Carolina.

Students should access the USC website at www.sc.edu to determine if there has been an official announcement that classes/labs have been cancelled or delayed. College of Pharmacy students may receive severe weather alerts from the university and should follow the guidelines of the university regarding cancellation or delay of classes.

College of Pharmacy Administration will determine the specifics of how the College of Pharmacy will operate under issued university guidelines. Students will receive an email from the College of Pharmacy, as well as postings on electronic avenues of communication such as the College of Pharmacy website and Facebook, for College of Pharmacy specific instructions. 

In the event of an inclement weather situation which might affect P3 didactic class/lab schedules on the Greenville campus, the College of Pharmacy will follow the guidelines as provided by Greenville County State Government Office Closings.

The Greenville Campus Director of Pharmacy Education will notify students via email and through additional communication mechanisms specific to Greenville Campus students about any changes in class schedules due to inclement weather.

In the event that inclement weather affects only one campus, then classes/labs will occur at the unaffected campus, if classes/labs were scheduled to originate from the unaffected campus on that day. Classes will either be recorded, provided via synchronous web-based instruction, or alternate arrangements made available to all College of Pharmacy students whose campus was affected.

The affected campus coordinator will determine class/lab make-up date(s) and time(s) for each affected class/lab. If an exam was scheduled for the day, then the exam will be delayed on both campuses until another regular class meeting time or, when possible, delivered as scheduled using virtually proctored examination technology.

USC procedures in the event of inclement weather do not apply during IPPEs and APPEs. Students are required to contact their preceptor to determine whether travel to rotation is safe and/or the rotation site is open. If inclement weather is predicted, the student should develop a plan with their preceptor in advance. Under no circumstances should the student ASSUME that they are not to report to rotation. 

Temporary Student Attendance at an Alternate Campus

Students may request to temporarily transfer to an alternate campus for a limited time period (less than 1 semester). Reasons for the request may be self/family health issues or personal issues. The student must meet with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs to discuss the circumstances. If the Associate Dean for Student Affairs deems the request valid, the alternate campus will be contacted to determine if any space or other applicable issues prevent the student from completing this temporary transfer. Upon approval, the student must submit in writing a request for the transfer as well as the time period involved to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

Greenville campus students may attend classes on the Columbia campus for an individual day at a time as needs may arise of which the student will be present on the Columbia campus for an extracurricular or co-curricular event that day. Individual day attendance in these situations does not require a written or pre-approval from the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. In cases where an exam is scheduled or group project presentation or other assessment is occurring, the student desiring to be present on the Columbia campus for the day is responsible for obtaining advance approval from both the Greenville campus Director of Pharmacy Education and affected Columbia campus course coordinator prior to traveling to the Columbia campus.  

Distance Education Policy

The College of Pharmacy may utilize distance education technology in the teaching of didactic courses during the professional program in regards to the third professional year offered at the Greenville Campus and any course-specific instances requiring such technology.  Use of distance education is not a substitute for in-class attendance as the USC College of Pharmacy is not an online Pharm.D. program. The USC College of Pharmacy may utilize synchronous web-based instruction to deliver course content when live course meetings cannot be held due to weather, public health, or other emergencies.

Student Honor Code Policy

Policies regarding honor code and academic integrity for students enrolled in the College of Pharmacy are defined in the USC Honor Code, Carolinian Creed, and USC Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity website.

Any reports of potential Student Honor Code violation by faculty, staff, or students may be sent to the USC Office of Academic Integrity. The USC Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity website will provide the guidelines for dealing with these situations.

Students who receive a “Responsible” finding from an incident that was dealt with by the USC Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity are also subject to sanctions at the College of Pharmacy level, which are described in the Professionalism Policy housed in this document. 

Copyright Policy

The College of Pharmacy seeks to aid enrolled students by offering limited (i.e. not offered for every course) electronic presentations and recordings of lectures as a study tool and to better meet individual learning needs. With the growing use of technology, students and faculty have the responsibility to understand and observe copyright law including educational fair use guidelines, obtain written permission, and to follow USC policy.

As supplemental tools, all material found in lectures is owned by the College of Pharmacy and is protected by United States Copyright laws. Lecture material is only available to students enrolled in the course where the content is available, and use is not permitted outside the scope of the course. Recorded lectures will only be posted to Blackboard and may not be distributed by students through any avenue (i.e., text, social media).

Material found in the lectures may not be photocopied, screen-shot, duplicated or distributed by any student without the express, written permission from the faculty member who created the material. Video, audio, or photographic recordings of course material are strictly prohibited. Recordings, course material, and lecture notes may not be reproduced verbatim nor uploaded to publicly accessible web environments. Recordings and course material may not be exchanged nor distributed to a third party for compensation. 

Recordings and course material may not be used for any purpose other than personal study and may not violate any policies herein. An individual may individually print copies of lecture material solely for personal use under the scope of the course. Duplication or dissemination of lecture materials without authorized use may violate federal or state law and USC University policies.

Failure to adhere to these policies is a violation of the College of Pharmacy Professionalism Policy and may result in disciplinary action under University guidelines. For any further assistance with copyright matters, faculty and students may seek guidance from the Library Staff or the Dean’s Office. 

Audience Response System Policy

Students are required to purchase a multi-year (3 years) access of the Top Hat Audience Response System prior to P1 Orientation. This system will be utilized throughout courses in the didactic curriculum.