Student Services & Advising

We’re here to help you make the most out of your pharmacy education.

The Office of Student Services is here to aid students throughout their time in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Doctor of Pharmacy program. Our staff provides support and a safe space for students to discuss a range of issues or questions that may arise, including the application and admissions process, referrals to other WSU resources, professional development, and CPPS processes and procedures.

Our Commitment to Student Pharmacists

Provide holistic student support regardless of where they are in the program and what’s happening in their lives. We see ourselves as a GPS for students throughout all four years of the CPPS program.

Course Enrollment & Resources

Electives

Class of 2027 and beyond are required to complete 5 credits of electives.

Class of 2024-2026 are required to complete 12 credits of electives.

Academic and Student Success Advising

The WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS) professional advising and faculty mentorship support model is designed to ensure each student pharmacist successfully progresses through the curriculum and receives appropriate support, advising and mentoring. Faculty still serve as mentors and resources for students on an informal basis.

Who is my advisor?

PY1-3 Spokane Students

PY1-3 Yakima Students

Advising Appointments

Please access the Microsoft Bookings pages for your advisor’s up to date availability.

Drop-in Advising Appointments

An advisor will be available every week day, virtually or in person, from Noon – 1:00 p.m. for Drop-In Advising. The advising team rotate coverage of the Noon – 1:00 p.m. drop-in appointments. Students can select to attend either virtually or in-person, depending on what is most convenient for them.

If you want to meet with your assigned advisor only, you will need to schedule a specific drop-in appointment through your advisor’s Microsoft Bookings link.

Drop-in appointments are meant to address quick concerns. We do our best to keep drop-in appointments to 15 minutes in length because of this. If you know you’ll need more than 15 minutes to speak with your/an advisor, please plan to set a different appointment type on Bookings.

In-person Drop-ins
Pharmacy students on the WSU Spokane campus can stop by the Student Services Front Desk in the Dean’s Suite 130, Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences (PBS) building.
Virtual Drop-ins
You can drop in via our virtual Zoom room. When you enter, you’ll be placed into a waiting room, then moved to a breakout room where you will meet 1-1 with an advisor.

Students using the virtual drop-in option should attend from a place where it is quiet and private in case sensitive information is shared.

PY1-3 Required Advising

PY1-PY3 students are required to meet with their academic and student success advisor each spring semester to discuss how they are doing in the program, review their Academic Progress Report, go over their Continuous Professional Development (CPD) plan and co-curricular activities, and discuss further opportunities to help them grow as professional student pharmacists.

Prior to spring advising you will maintain and complete your CPD plan, which includes your co-curricular activities, required reflections and assessments, and an updated CV. Please also see Co-curricular Areas, Expectations & Examples below for more information.

PY4 Required Advising

PY4 students are required to make an appointment with the advisor and coordinator in Experiential Services sometime throughout the academic year. This is to discuss how they are doing during PY4/on APPE rotations, go over and discuss their Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Plan and Continuing Education (CE) activities, and explore further opportunities to help them grow as professional student pharmacists nearing graduation.

Prior to advising you will maintain and complete your CPD plan in CORE CompMS, which includes your CE activities, required reflections and assessments, and an updated CV. You will be able to schedule your advising appointment after you have completed your third APPE rotation your PY4 year as long as these are complete.

Students who are unable to come to their home campus for advising may meet with their advisor electronically (e.g. Zoom, Skype, telephone). Make sure to select the meeting type that will work for you based on your rotation–phone or Zoom.

PY4 students who fail to complete their CPD and satisfy the annual advising requirement will result in delay of graduation verification (including verification of internship hours) to any state board of pharmacy.

Cancellations of Scheduled Advising Appointments

We understand that unexpected academic obligations, work commitments, personal circumstances, or illnesses can affect your schedule. However, please communicate to your Academic and Student Success Advisor of any circumstances that will affect your scheduled appointment and make necessary changes in Microsoft Bookings as early as possible. We have high demand for appointments and need to see everyone prior to registration, so your cancellation will allow us to offer your time slot to another student if cancelled early enough. Be sure to check your schedule carefully, consider your obligations, and ability to have everything completed one week prior to your appointment in order to avoid multiple appointment cancellations/no-shows.

Cancellation/No-Show policy:
  • If you are more than 15 minutes late, your appointment will be marked as a ‘No-Show’ and you will need to reschedule.
  • If you are feeling ill or exhibiting any symptoms of illness, please reschedule your in-person appointment for another date or switch your in-person appointment to a virtual appointment. You can do this on your advisor’s Microsoft Bookings page, and through the confirmation email you receive from Microsoft Bookings 24 hours before your appointment.
  • If you arrive to your appointment and are ill or are exhibiting symptoms of illness, you may be asked to complete the appointment virtually or to reschedule your in-person appointment for a date when you are feeling better.
  • Two total no-shows and cancellations will result in the inability to schedule an advising appointment. Furthermore, it is up to the discretion of the advisor to provide additional guidelines for rescheduling this appointment.
  • Once two total no-shows and cancellations have been recorded, this may result in a Student Concern Form submission at the discretion of your advisor. You can learn more about Student Concern Forms by referring to the Student Handbook.

Co-curricular Areas, Expectations & Examples

PY1-3 student pharmacists are expected to engage in a specific number of high-quality co-curricular activities and to reflect on these experiences as part of mandatory academic advising during each spring semester.

What can Count as a Co-Curricular Activity?

  1. It is not an expectation and/or a requirement for a course.
    Note: IPPE and APPE rotations and their requirements are part of the curriculum and cannot be used as co-curricular activities.
  2. It relates to the co-curricular area for which you are hoping to use the activity.
  3. You can articulate how the activity enhances your development as a student pharmacist.
  4. The activity has occurred during the didactic year for which you are hoping to use it for.

The examples below are not exhaustive lists. They are provided to help you get an idea of what type activities you could engage in for each area. If you are unsure if an activity can count/or need ideas, please reach out to your advisor.

Public Health

In this area student pharmacists present health and wellness information and participate in community service that is directly related to support public wellness using strategies that respect individual patient needs, including culture and educational level. These activities may include assessing, advising and monitoring individual patient’s health or monitoring disease progression. Students advocate for patients by suggesting appropriate therapy as appropriate with other members of or aspects within the health care system. (Associated Student Learning Outcomes: 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 3F, 4A, 4C, 4D)

Example Public Health Activities
  • Students interacting directly with members of the community to positively impact wellness by providing health information or related service.
  • Suicide prevention poster presentation
  • OTC Medication safety
  • Stroke prevention
  • Smoking prevention
  • Providing care for underserved patients in the community
  • Work as an intern (paid or volunteer—cannot be an IPPE)
  • Providing direct patient care through education and screening.
  • Disease risk assessment (hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, HIV, cholesterol)
  • Disease prevention (vaccination outreaches)
  • Brown Bag events

Professional Development

Student pharmacists identify career interests and passions in addition to developing personal and professional strengths through interactions with pharmacists and other health care providers.  Through this domain, students should engage in activities that focus on exploration of the profession or personal professional development. (Associated Student Learning Outcomes: 3D, 3E, 3F, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D)

Example Professional Development Activities
  • Meeting with a staff member in the Student Success Center for personal/professional development, such as the Career Services Manager or Learning/ESL Specialist
  • Career Seminar Series presentation attendance
  • Active participation and engagement in professional student organizations (membership alone is insufficient)
  • Career Fair attendance
  • Local, regional, and national meeting attendance
  • Attendance at seminars focused on community health topics, professional development or personal enrichment.
  • Interaction with a professional mentor, such as through the Fred Meyer Alumni-Student Mentor Program
  • Actively pursuing a dual degree or certificate or the Research Honors PharmD program
  • Live CE programing
  • Participating in a competition, such as for counseling, clinical skills, compounding, etc.
  • Running for a leadership position locally, regionally or nationally
  • Legislative day participation

Leadership and Innovation

Student pharmacists engage in activities that allow for the expansion of leadership skills by working collaboratively with others to innovatively address problems, accomplish common goals, or engage in research and scholarship. Students must show that they have made a substantive creative contribution to the development or communication of a project or service either in collaboration with or having an impact on others. (Associated Student Learning Outcomes: 3A, 3D, 3F, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D)

Example Leadership and Innovation Activities
  • Hold a leadership position in a professional or student focused organization
  • Demonstrate impact through service on a college, university or professional organization committee
  • Involvement as a representative on the Pharmacy Student Advisory Council
  • Participation with a research project
  • Dissemination of findings from a research or scholarship (poster or presentation)
  • Implementation of a new or novel solution
  • Creation of a business plan
  • Creation of new knowledge
  • Organizing outreach programming or activities