Report of the 2018-2019 Student Affairs Standing Committee

INTRODUCTION AND COMMITTEE CHARGES

The Student Affairs Standing Committee, in accordance with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Bylaws, received charges from the Associaton President.¹ President David Allen focused his presidential year on leadership skill development for all members of the academy. During his address at the 2018 House of Delegates in Boston, he articulated the need for the committee to examine the institutional leadership models and professional development needs to improve student recruitment outcomes as part of his vision to “…grow the talent we need for the present times as well as our bright and exciting future.”

The 2018-2019 Student Affairs Committee examined institutional leadership models (assistant/associate deans, professional staff) and professional development needs to optimize achievement of AACP Strategic Priority #1 on the applicant pipeline.

President Allen charged the 2018-2019 Student Affairs Standing Committee to:

1. Determine the leadership skills necessary to develop and implement a successful student recruitment strategy in a competitive admissions environment.

2. Develop a summary of successful leadership development practices that improve student recruitment outcomes in terms of applicant volume, yield, or diversity.

3. Identify gaps in knowledge about student recruitment and potential resources to address them.

4. Identify strategies to better engage individual and organizational partners beyond the traditional admissions team in the student recruitment process.

5. Research and analyze recruitment, marketing, and communication plans to determine what strategies best appeal to the psychological needs and expectations of millennials and Gen Z students.

Committee members met by phone in August 2018 to begin a discussion on the charges and how to proceed with the committee work. Subgroups met separately by phone and developed initial strategies and reference lists to address their assigned charges in advance of the onsite meeting. The committee met in person in October 2018 to review the background information and literature review that had been gathered by each committee member. During the meeting, the committee identified the underlying challenges associated with the charges, existing resources and strategies to address them, and developed an outline for a survey to capture the breadth and perceived effectiveness of recruitment activities practiced across the academy. Following the onsite meeting, the committee finalized and released the survey instrument and refined its approach to the report. The entire committee met again via conference call in November 2018 and March 2019.

The current supply and demand of pharmacy applicants in relationship to Doctor of Pharmacy programs creates unique challenges and opportunities for the future of our profession.² The competitive admissions environment is one that demands individuals are performing at the highest level on an individual and team level. Leadership skills drive the effectiveness and efficiency of rising above your competitors.

This report, which addresses all five committee charges, describes the current culture and climate of pharmacy education relative to the charge and ways in which AACP and the academy can collaborate with each other and other stakeholders to better promote leadership development and enhanced outcomes in student recruitment.

CHARGE 1: LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Leadership can be found at all levels of professional and personal endeavors for which we all partake every day. However, when defining leadership or utilizing the terms, “leader” or “leadership” perspectives exist that only individuals with titles are leaders.^3-5 Concerns also exist with having “too many leaders and not enough followers” to assume non-leadership roles to effectively and efficiently “get the work done”.

AACP has developed, enhanced, and continues to provide leadership development programming in many areas for the academy including but not limited to leadership programming at AACP meetings, special interest group programming, journal articles on leadership, the Academic Research Fellows Program (ARFP), and the Academic Leadership Fellows Program (ALFP).^5-8 The following are recommendations for the development and implementation of leadership skills necessary for a successful student recruitment strategy in a competitive admissions environment.

Notable leadership expert, James Kouzes, stated “success in leading [is] wholly dependent upon the capacity to build and sustain those human relationships that enable people to get extraordinary things done…”⁹ Everyone can have a leadership role^3-5 and programming at the annual admissions workshop (Workshop) should speak to all stakeholders including both staff and those in assistant/associate dean (leadership) positions. A portion of the time at this workshop should be utilized for leadership development including a “train-the-trainer” session that individuals could take back and utilize at their institution for individuals (admissions advisors, recruiters, etc.) that may be unable to attend the workshop.^10,11 Sessions should address strategies for mentoring admissions personnel to recognize the potential for leadership in themselves. Suggested programming topics include role, alignment, change management, holistic thinking, external data, leadership, problem solving, delegation, technical knowledge, professional development, career ladder (paths for promotion), conflict resolution, networking, persuasive communication, and strategic planning. In addition to these programming topics, sessions highlighting best practices in pharmacy admissions would allow the open sharing of admissions successes and innovative practices.

The student affairs literature reflects the need for and challenges associated with ethical marketing models in higher education admissions, especially when the competition for students is high. Given that individuals in the areas of admissions and student affairs are often the first point of contact with one’s pharmacy program, they should be individuals who promote the profession with the highest level of enthusiasm, integrity and ethics, as well as provide clear communication of the requirements and expectations of all applicants.^12-15 To this end these individuals should receive training in best practices in students recruitment and admissions in higher education (Appendix A).

A significant amount of time at the Workshop is currently utilized for the delivery of standardized reporting (eg, PCAT data, PharmCAS data, etc.), which could be delivered in live and archived webinar format, before or after the Workshop. There is also the opportunity to provide this information in concurrent sessions or microsessions with WebAdmit training during the Workshop or the creation of short “how to” videos for on-demand viewing. This delivery method would allow the availability of multiple sessions for standard reporting and training to occur in a more efficient manner.

RECOMMENDATION 1

AACP should revamp the annual admissions workshop for better alignment with Strategic Priority #1. A significant portion of the workshop should be utilized for the development of leadership skills for admissions and student affairs personnel to assist them with successful student recruitment, provide training for the development of specific leadership skills to help student affairs personnel with the process of data sharing, and provide for the delivery of some of the routine reporting and updates via webinar before or after the workshop.

CHARGE 2: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES

Over the past six years, a majority of pharmacy programs have observed a decrease in the number of applications received.¹⁶ The dearth of applicants has resulted in an increasing number of programs competing for a smaller pool of applicants. As the pipeline shrinks in higher education, competition has increased for qualified pre-health profession students with the myriad of other healthcare degree programs such as medicine, physician assistant, dentistry, and physical therapy.¹⁷ Undoubtedly, these challenges place significant pressures on recruitment and admissions officers resulting in high burnout, attrition, and lack of professional advancement.¹⁸ Despite these realities, programmatic leaders and recruitment officers continue to be challenged and tasked with building a sustainable pipeline of quality pharmacy school applicants and ultimately, building thriving programmatic communities. These responsibilities, along with the challenges of declining pool of applicants, underscore the need and importance of investing in the professional development of recruitment officers within academic pharmacy. This report offers professional leadership development suggestions to those responsible for overseeing, planning, and executing recruitment efforts at colleges and schools of pharmacy.

SUGGESTION 1

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should integrate 360-degree feedback assessment and/or comprehensive Strengths Finder to identify the strengths of recruitment leaders and strategically align individuals with differing strengths.

SUGGESTION 2

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should integrate and/or adopt the AACRAO Professional Competencies and/or ACPA/NASPA Competency Rubrics to enhance the professional competencies and leadership development of pharmacy school recruitment officers.

SUGGESTION 3

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should develop formal mentorship programs for recruitment officers.

SUGGESTION 4

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should utilize their recruitment leaders to develop, improve, and extend partnerships and alliances with community colleges, minority-serving colleges and universities, industry, non-profit research or bridge programs, government agencies, and families.

SUGGESTION 5

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should strive to develop, promote, and support a comprehensive tracking and evaluation plan to measure progress and provide evidence of successful recruiting of underrepresented minorities, students from low SES, and first-generation students.

CHARGE 3: GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE

After a review of the scholarly literature, a number of gaps in knowledge about student recruitment have been identified. One of those gaps is the lack of knowledge regarding the depth and breadth of recruitment activities for pharmacy students and the perceived effectiveness of those activities. Limited information exists in the literature comparing types of activities utilized or perceived effectiveness. As an initial attempt to quantify recruitment activity, the AACP Student Affairs Committee developed and disseminated a survey to all 143 colleges and schools of pharmacy via the Student Services Personnel Special Interest Group (SIG), the Council of Deans (COD), and the CEO Deans communities via AACP Connect in November 2018. The survey identified 33 common types of recruitment activities and asked respondents to indicate whether they employ those strategies and to rank their effectiveness as ineffective, marginally effective, effective, significantly effective, or very effective. A total of 70 institutions responded to the survey representing a 49% response rate.

The data (Table 1) was analyzed to determine the prevalence (% of schools indicating they have employed the recruitment activity) and the percentage of schools who found each activity significantly effective or very effective. To classify activities that were perceived to be the most effective, those activities that >70% of schools rated as significantly effective or very effective were identified. Interestingly, only two activities were reported as significantly or very effective (use of current student pharmacists in recruitment and pre-pharmacy/pre-health professions club or society engagement). Both of these activities were highly used by pharmacy schools with 99% of respondents indicating they utilize current student pharmacists in recruitment and 93% of respondents indicating they work with pre-pharmacy/pre-health societies. Other activities reported between 60 and 69% perceived effectiveness were early assurance programs for high school students, recruitment visits to local or regional colleges, college or school open house events, and Enrollment Management Platform (EMP) software. Interestingly, there were several activities employed by schools but were not thought to be effective. These include both national and regional college fairs, high school career fairs, and online college fairs.

The survey conducted by the Student Affairs Committee reveals the perception of recruitment activity effectiveness by those doing the recruiting (admissions and/or student affairs personnel). Data should be captured to determine the effectiveness of our activities on our recruitment targets (student pharmacists). These data could help determine what are the most effective recruitment activities at both the national and school levels. To further quantify the role of student pharmacists as well as alumni and preceptors in recruitment, data should be captured through annual surveys to determine what graduating students, alumni and preceptors are relaying to prospective students, their level of awareness of the Pharmacy4Me campaign, and their perceptions of the intermediate future of the profession of pharmacy.

RECOMMENDATION 2

AACP should include questions in the PharmCAS application to determine what recruitment activities applicants participated in and the perceived effectiveness of the activities.

RECOMMENDATION 3

AACP should survey graduating students, alumni and preceptors to determine awareness of the Pharmacy Is Right for Me (Pharm4Me) campaign, and to determine their opinion of the profession that each group shares with prospective students.

Student affairs personnel in pharmacy schools may not have the marketing skills necessary for effective student recruitment. To further enhance recruitment/marketing efforts, colleges and schools should find and use local marketing resources. It is important to work with individuals/units (eg, enrollment management, business school, external agency, communications and marketing units, etc.) who have the marketing skills to help determine what is the most important in recruiting target students for the institution. One suggested project could be to develop a value proposition for potential applicants (ie, top 3 reasons why your student pharmacists chose your school). These messages will differ by school, but could generally highlight the profession and student opportunities in the profession.

It would be desirable if marketing efforts creates a consistent message across the country for the varied opportunities. A lack of consistent and professional brand for the pharmacy profession is negatively affecting student recruitment.³⁸ AACP is working with other national organizations to develop a consistent message about the evolving profession of pharmacy. In recent years, AACP launched a public awareness campaigns to promote the profession including #HealthyStartsHere to highlight how pharmacists help people to live better lives. The awareness campaign was recently expanded into ‘Pharmacists for Healthier Lives’ campaign in collaboration with other pharmacy and stakeholder organizations to provide a unified message about the role of pharmacists. A consistent message about pharmacy will facilitate other groups, such as faculty, pharmacists, alumni, students, to contribute to recruitment efforts. A consistent message could also lessen the impact of reports of negative attitudes of pharmacists who have been discouraging young students from pursuing pharmacy as a career.

The Student Affairs Committee has also identified a growing gap in knowledge amongst faculty and admissions committees regarding the depth of knowledge about pharmacy practice among pre-pharmacy students and how they prepare for admissions interviews. Students do not always conduct research about the profession and, as a result, not all students have pharmacy experience or have a great depth of knowledge regarding pharmacy before applying to pharmacy school. Schools should not exclude students lacking experience or depth of knowledge, but embrace the opportunity to shape students’ understanding and opinion of pharmacy practice. A student, who withdraws from a PharmD program, results in a financial loss to the institution due to a an unfilled seat in the pharmacy program and a financial burden on the student pharmacist who withdraws due to the educational debt that may be more difficult to repay without the benefit of a pharmacy degree or career. How can colleges and schools better prepare pre-pharmacy students to learn about contemporary pharmacy before committing to the career? Schools should consider surveying incoming P-1 students regarding their previous knowledge about the profession and the sources of that knowledge. Research demonstrated there is lack of understanding regarding the scope of the pharmacy profession and the role of pharmacists in public health among pharmacy students.³⁹ The academy should consider expanding general respurces it provides about the profession of pharmacy and school-specific sources of information for potential students and parents. Students will be better prepared for interviews and have realistic views of pharmacy school and the practice of pharmacy.

RECOMMENDATION 4

AACP should include information about clinical-based pharmacy careers including ambulatory care clinics and in-patient pharmacists. These career options should be listed first in Pharmacy4Me Career Pathways.

The changing demographics of the applicant pool for student pharmacists is altering how colleges and schools of pharmacy recruit and admit students. Most colleges and schools have transitioned to a holistic admissions process that assesses and values both cognitive and non-cognitive attributes of applicants. This new paradigm also altered how colleges and schools educate, train and mentor the next generation of student pharmacists. The Student Affairs Standing Committee identified a lack of recognition and value by chairs and deans of faculty service requirements necessary for student recruitment, retention, development, etc. Service is sometimes not valued in the same way as teaching and research in tenure and promotion decisions. If this gap is filled, faculty will be more willing to help in these areas. Robust student affairs orientation programs should be implemented to help on-board all new faculty, including seminars on interviewing, and rubric refreshers. Touch points and orientations can help faculty better understand the importance and role of student affairs in recruitment, classroom management, and wellness. It is important to provide faculty with specific guidance on how they can assist in recruitment efforts. Faculty need information from administration on the relationship between tuition funds and retention and its overarching impact on the budget.

RECOMMENDATION 5

Chairs and deans should recognize and value the efforts of faculty in the areas of recruitment and retention of pharmacy students for both annual reviews and in the tenure and/or promotion process.

The committee also identified a gap in knowledge related to the importance of the role of Student Affairs personnel in student retention and development. Faculty and upper administration need to better appreciate the importance of student affairs personnel in an increasingly competitive environment. Holistic admissions may lead to an increase of under-prepared students admitted to pharmacy school. Under-prepared students will require more support to be successful. Faculty and student affairs staff need to work together to ensure student success.⁴⁰ Some faculty become unrealistic about what students need to learn and do to be successful in the program and more guidance in this area would be helpful. It is encouraged that faculty and staff development programs should be implemented to correct the lack of appreciation for how the student pipeline has changed and challenges associated with student affairs work, including risk management. Faculty and others need to understand the challenges facing student affairs and how they can contribute to student success.

CHARGE 4: ENGAGE PARTNERS

The members of the standing committee discussed and identified several strategies to better engage individuals and organizations in student recruitment. Due to a decline in the applicant pool in recent years, the current admissions environment is considered very competitive.⁴¹ Therefore, many pharmacy colleges and schools are focusing on the competition rather than on the profession. Members of the committee found that colleges and schools are reluctant to share admission-related information with direct competitors, but more willing to share with counterparts, who are not regional competitors. In some cases, colleges and schools are not revealing their applicant pool nor reporting accurate decision codes in a timely mannerin the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS). These types of aggressive and secretive recruitment behaviors can negatively impact the effectiveness and equity of the Cooperative Admissions Guidelines (CAG), the overall student recruitment process, and would seem to violate our professional code of conduct. Overall, a winning strategy for student recruiters include increasing the applicant pool by primarily focusing on the profession and secondarily on their competing colleges and schools.

The second strategy includes reducing negative perceptions about job satisfaction and availability among some alumni, preceptors, and faculties. Some alumni and current practitioners feel insecure in the current job climate and they view new pharmacy graduates as threats. Some faculties also have a limited perception about career prospects for graduating students. According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, the employment of pharmacists is projected to grow 6% from 2016 to 2026. Pharmacist employment in nonretail settings such as hospitals and physician offices are projected for rapid growth.⁴² However, many older alumni and current students have limited or no exposure to residency training and institutional/clinical pharmacy. Therefore, pharmacists must embrace change to grow and survive in this profession. The role of preceptors and alumni in student recruitment, as ambassadors of the profession, is recognized. The committee suggested that colleges and schools need to empower new graduates to be the force of change in the profession. To achieve these goals, active participation from various pharmacy organizational partners at local and national levels are required. These organizations should increase provision of pharmacy career information to their members. In addition, national associations should continue to work together to devote additional resources to establish a positive public image of pharmacists.

SUGGESTION 6

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should utilize student recruiters to increase the applicant pool by primarily focusing on the profession to reduce the negative perception about job satisfaction and availability and secondarily on their competing colleges and schools.

CHARGE 5: GENERATIONAL NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS

The members of the standing committee reviewed the recent literature published about the current generation of students entering college (born between 1996-2012), termed GenZ, iGen, post-millenials, and AppGen (will refer to as iGen for the document).⁴³ Learning more about generational characteristics is necessary to understand the individuals entering our classrooms and the impact of marketing, recruitment, communication and retention. This generation is the largest and most ethnically diverse in history with 60 million born in the iGen compared to 40 million Baby Boomers and 48 million Millennials.^44,45 According to the Census Bureau 2000-2010, the country’s Hispanic population grew four times the rate of the total population, those identifying as biracial White/Black rose 134%, and White/Asian rose 87%.⁴⁴ As a result, attitudes on social justice have shifted. For example, same-sex marriage transitioned from a political issue to a constitutional right, and is seen by iGen as a non-issue or simple fact of life.⁴⁴ Whereas Millennials’ innocence was lost after a ‘sunny’ childhood followed by 9/11 and the economic crashes of 2000 and 2008, iGen’s eyes have been open since birth to the horrors of terrorism on U.S. soil and financial devastation resulting from recession. iGens perceive the impact of terrorism and economic recession as an actuality of life, and as a result are more emotionally stable and financially astute compared with Millennials.⁴⁴ With this understanding, iGens are concerned and mindful about their financial futures, cost of college, and student loan debt.⁴³

iGens are more realistic and pragmatic compared with Millennials. They appreciate life will include struggles and view failure as an opportunity for growth. As a result, help-seeking behaviors for mental health interventions in schools are perceived as vital rather than stigmatised.^43,46 iGen individuals self-identify as digital device addicts expecting and receiving immediate access to desired information and absorb information instantaneously, while losing interest just as fast.^45,47 Members of the iGen have a very large video-gaming culture with incredibly advanced software. The proliferation of gaming is threaded throughout virtually all life and consumer interactions (ie, Tinder for dating).^48,49 As a result, institutions and professions use of various software and gamification in recruitment, admissions, and curriculum is encouraged. In electronic media, individuals in iGen have a preference for pictures and videos over words.^50,51 While researchers in the literature report iGens are better multitaskers (quickly and efficiently shift between work and play), they appear to be less focused than Millennials, as they have a continuous need for immediate updates. A great example is the proliferation of the use of ink Snapchat with brief information shared that disappears within seconds.^44,47,52 This generation does not remember a time before social media and perceive relationships developed through the lens of Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat as ‘real’ relationships compared with previous generations.^44,53 As a result, individuals in iGen are more comfortable talking online than in person.^43,54-56 However, individuals in iGen discern the fame and fantasy associated with online profiles and as a result, prefer realism in social media profiles.

Given that most students are influenced by family members, pharmacists, and/or pharmacy students to pursue a career in pharmacy,⁵⁷ engagement with parents and prospective students through social media was identified as another strategy to promote recruitment. Chen and DiVall reported that developing a social media strategy and applying best practices for social media can help engage prospective students and parents and thus contribute to the success of recruitment.⁵⁸ The possible influence of high school science teachers, guidance counselors, pre-pharmacy clubs in student recruitment should be investigated further as ways to encourage further exploration of pharmacy as a career.

When it comes to colleges and schools of pharmacy creating strategies and plans for marketing, recruitment, communication and retention for the iGen, the following should be considered:

• – Individualized to the potential student for all components (marketing, recruitment, and retention).^52,59-61

• – Personal customization, choice and flexibility; including the ability to create their own schedules.^43,62-65

• – Expectation of offering plenty of choices before the student makes a decision while make it a learning game (gamification) about the program.^48,49

• – Connectivity to a cause bigger than oneself. A major factor when the student decides where to work (or study) is the organization’s corporate social responsibility (they are willing to take a pay cut to work at a more socially responsible company).^51,66

• – iGen-zers “…are emerging as self-reliant…” but meeting their emotional needs are as important as academic needs.^43,67-70

A critical factor to consider with this generation, which will likely have an impact on recruitment and retention is the perception of the ability to obtain a good education outside of going to college.⁷¹ Individuals in iGen are early starters, often forgoing college education to begin employment as they are not willing to create debt without assurance they will be successful with a degree.^43,52,59

Considerations for this generation as it relates to career professionalism and entrepreneurial factors include:

• – iGen has learned from the experiences of Millennials and reintroduced the value of privacy through Snapchat, Secret, Whisper, while also creating multiple accounts (aka fake accounts to hide their identity).^11,44,55

• – They are more private, cautious and want sensible and stable careers. In this area, they are being compared with the Silent Generation.⁴⁴

• – As a result, it is expected individuals in iGen will not be inclined to career hop as long as the work is fulfilling, stable and allow for work-life balance.^43,47

• – Individuals in the iGen are skill focused; building skills at a young age, tend to be more productive, and look for creative opportunities in their free time.^43,47

• – They recognize the importance of paying dues by starting at the bottom and working their way up, while being loyal and staying at a company.¹¹

• – They are willing to work hard, save towards the future, and value security and respect.⁴³

• – iGen has the potential to build and lead their own company (more entrepreneurial), also in part due to the potential retirement of GenX in the near future.¹¹

SUGGESTION 7

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should adapt, as part of their recruitment strategies, enhanced social media with a focus on storytelling with narratives utilizing realistic themes, the use of pictures and video over words, immediate access to college and school news and information, and perfer a mobile platform.

SUGGESTION 8

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should explore collaborations with their home institutions and involve student pharmacists to redesign, develop, obtain, or enhance real-time software applications, especially gamification, to better support recruitment efforts and effectively connect with prospective students at every level.

SUGGESTION 9

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should enhance branding that considers how the institution looks and feels reflective of the applicant population, with attention to the individual (customization), appealing to a mission that contributes positively to society, promotion of diversity and inclusion.

SUGGESTION 10

Resulting from the expectations for immediate information and instantaneous updates, colleges and schools of pharmacy should give attention to infrastructure to assure fast connectivity.

SUGGESTION 11

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should enhance marketing at the middle / high school levels with a focus on career opportunities.

Pharmacy schools must deliver on and be consistent with the promises they made as part of their outreach efforts. Therefore, colleges and schools may consider as part of their orientation and curricular plans:

• – online or hybrid orientations to support the self-directed learner,

• – the use of gaming in the courses with a strategic purpose to help in the development of self-awareness and decision-making,

• – development of concentrations or certificate programs, including self-paced workshops or courses, to assist with customization and enhanced learning, and

• – development of professional certificate programs outside of required curriculum to increase attractiveness to external employers (ie, immunizations, Six Sigma, medication therapy management, cardiovascular disease risk management, etc.).

It is essential to remember that current students’ experiences are communicated to prospected students what can be expected once matriculated.

SUGGESTION 12

Colleges and schools of pharmacy should understand that recruitment continues after matriculation occurs when current students and faculty communicate their experiences with the world.

CONCLUSION (or CALL TO ACTION)

This committee has identified leadership skills that are necessary for the development and implementation of successful recruitment strategies, as well as a summary of successful leadership development practices to better equip admissions personnel in the student recruitment process. While the survey conducted by the committee identified recruitment activities currently employed by colleges and schools of pharmacy, as well as the perceived effectiveness of each activity, data should be collected from PharmCAS applicants to determine the perceived effectiveness from the applicant’s view. Strategies were identified to better engage individual and organizational partners in the pharmacy student recruitment process. Significant information was compiled on generational needs and expectations and a comprehensive list of suggestions were made for creating strategies and plans for marketing, recruitment, communication and retention for the iGen, as well as considerations for this generation related to career professionaliam and enterepreneurial factors. The committee acknowledges the challenges involved in recruiting pharmacy students in an environment where the applicant pool has decreased and the demand for pharmacist has declined and recommends that future AACP Committee work address these issues further as they relate to student recruitment.