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Procedures for Review by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

Students will be notified in writing by the Office of Curricular & Student Affairs if their background check reports any offenses beyond minor traffic violations.

  • Students will have ten calendar days after receipt of notification to submit an explanatory statement. If a statement is not received within this ten-day period, the process will continue without consideration of an explanatory statement.
  • The Doctor of Pharmacy Criminal History Check Committee (Committee), composed of faculty and staff from the Office of Curricular & Student Affairs and the Office of Experiential Education, will review these reports and statements.
  • The Criminal History Check Committee shall notify individuals of its decision, in writing, within thirty calendar days of the submission of the explanatory statement.

Program Applicants

  • The Committee may rescind an offer of admission to the Program if an applicant’s criminal history check reveals that the applicant has committed a serious offense. Serious offenses include, but are not limited to, felonies, drug offenses, forgery, assault, abuse and neglect.
  • All determinations of eligibility or disqualification will be made in light of each individual case (i.e., no single type of offense will be used as an automatic rescission of acceptance or reason for dismissal).
  • The dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy shall have the sole authority to rule on any appeals by Program applicants regarding the decisions made by the Criminal History Check Committee. A decision of the Committee may be appealed in writing by the applicant, if done so within 5 business days of the receipt of the letter notifying them of the decision. The written appeal should be addressed and delivered to the dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

Enrolled Program Students

  • If at any point while enrolled in the program a criminal history check reveals a serious offense, the Committee may refer the student to the Honor Court System, when appropriate, or refer the student to the School’s Scholastic Achievement and Progression Committee in cases where the University’s Honor Code is inapplicable.

Pharmacy practice experience sites have the discretion to deny a request for a student to be placed at that site based on the results of a criminal history check. This discretion is independent of any decision made by the Criminal History Check Committee. The student shall provide the background check and his or her explanatory statement to the facility upon request.