Report of the 2013-2014 Academic Affairs Committee

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND CHARGES According to the Bylaws of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the Academic Affairs Committee shall consider: the intellectual, social, and personal aspects of pharmaceutical education. It is expected to identify practices, procedures, and guidelines that will aid faculties in developing students to their maximum potential. It will also be concerned with curriculum analysis, development, and evaluation beginning with the pre-professional level and extending through professional and graduate education. The Committee shall seek to identify issues and problems affecting the administrative and financial aspects of member institutions. The Academic Affairs Committee shall extend its attention beyond intra-institutional matters of colleges of pharmacy to include interdisciplinary concerns with the communities of higher education and especially with those elements concerned with health education. To provide direction on how academic pharmacy should engage in technology-enabled education and to elaborate on AACP's role in the development of new educational resources, technologies and learning models, President Peggy Piascik charged the Committee to consider the following questions: 1. Is there a place for Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) in pharmacy education? If so, what are the opportunities and barriers for developing and implementing a platform for online courses across the academy? 2. What is the potential role of games in pharmacy education? How can AACP assist colleges and schools in developing and implementing this technology? In which areas of the curriculum, do games have the most potential for impact? 3. How can AACP educate and assist schools and colleges in adopting learning analytics to maximize the use of big data for programmatic and curricular priorities? 4. How can the Academy assist faculty in scholarship endeavors with regard to the following emerging technology issues? Potential areas may include: * Quality assurance methods in technology-enabled teaching and learning * Accreditation standards revision that supports innovation in educational technology learning and assessment models * Recognition within the promotion and tenure process to faculty who are innovators in advancing technology-enabled education In August 2013, Committee members were provided with resources and background literature to read prior to the standing Committee meeting. Members were also assigned to sub-groups to delve deeper into the literature pertaining to topics of the charge. Group one considered the topics of MOOCs and gamification of learning, while group two examined learning analytics and faculty scholarship regarding emerging technology issues. At the standing meeting on October 28-29,2013 in Washington, D.C., the Committee as a whole engaged in critical dialog while considering each of the charge questions and developed recommendations, policy statements, and suggestions as appropriate. At the conclusion of the meeting, Committee members were divided into four subgroups of two members each to write and elaborate on specific sections of the committee's work. The purpose of this report is 1) to provide requisite background literature and information regarding the charges, and 2) to provide recommendations to AACP and the Academy pertaining to these emerging issues. INTRODUCTION Higher education is facing a myriad of challenges due to a rapidly-changing technological environment. The 2012-2013 Argus Commission studied game changers likely to influence pharmacy education. (1) A major theme of their report was using instructional (information) technology to its fullest capability to create better instruction and to develop and use analytics for guiding and directing faculty and students. The New Media Consortium's (NMC) 2013 Higher Education Report (2) frames new and emerging technologies in a manner that allows education leaders, policy makers, and faculty to understand the potential impact on teaching, learning, and research. …