College of Pharmacy
Menu

MS-AOR Assessment Plan

Mission Statement

The mission of the program is to train healthcare professionals and researchers in applied health outcomes research.

Mission Statement fulfills requirements of certificate accrediting organization:

Yes

Assessment Leader:

Rafia Rasu

Program Description:

Applied Outcomes Research (AOR) Master’s program consists of thirteen courses (30 credits) fully online with a duration of 1 year. This program is designed for new college graduates, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students, and other full-time or part-time students including working professionals seeking to enhance decision-making to improve patient and societal outcomes. This online master’s program The Master of Science in Applied Outcomes Research (MS-AOR) provides knowledge and understanding of evidence-based decision-making, including: (1) Assessment of clinical and patient-reported outcomes and patient satisfaction (2) Impact of non-clinical patient-level factors on patient health (3) The role of economic evaluation methods in assessing the cost-effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments (4) The intended and unintended consequences of health policy decisions (5) The skills to conduct empiric AOR projects with real-world data (6) Risk mitigation using pharmacovigilance practices. This program was approved in 2021 by the Board of Regents of the University of North Texas System. This online Masters program can be completed within one to three years, depending on individual student’s schedule and engagement level.

Program Goal:

The goal of the program is to train healthcare professionals from pharmacy, medicine and other backgrounds in the application of health outcomes research to enhance decision-making to improve patient and societal outcomes.

Accreditation:

SACSCOC

Assessment Responsibilities:

The program is overseen by an Academic Program Director (Dr. Rafia Rasu, Professor of Pharmacotherapy in the HSC College of Pharmacy) who coordinates all aspects of the program including development of an assessment plan and execution of assessments.

Program Outcomes

Assessment Method(s)

Student Learning Outcome 1
Students can evaluate findings related to healthcare access, quality, utilization, treatments, and health outcomes in real-world settings.

Is the outcome direct or indirect?
Direct

Description of Assessment
Performance in PHAR 7345, PHAR 7335, PHAR 7236, PHAR 5122 PHAR 7237 and PHAR 5324.  Course-embedded assessments tied to course-specific learning outcomes, including quizzes, exams and/or assignments and tasks in which students knowledge, application will be evaluated.

Criteria for Achievement
90% of knowledge level questions will be answered correctly and 85% of application-level questions answered correctly. A mean score of 80% will be achieved on all exams, quizzes, and homework in the following courses – PHAR 7345 – Evidence-Based Healthcare, PHAR 7335 – Economic Evaluation and Policy, PHAR 7236 – Patient-reported Outcomes, PHAR 7237 – Pharmacoepidemiology), PHAR 5122 – Seminar, PHAR 5324 Health Economics and Outcomes Research with real-world data).

Time Table
End of each course

Responsible Individuals
Dr. Rafia Rasu

Student Learning Outcome 2
Students can conduct AOR projects.

Is the outcome direct or indirect?
Direct

Description of Assessment
Based on performance in (Course: PHAR 5325 – Independent Research Project)

Criteria for Achievement
25% of students will be rated as exceeds expectations and 75% will be rated as meets expectations on the associated rubric indicating their able to apply their knowledge, analyze, and synthesize the findings from their chosen AOR topic area in PHAR 5325 – Independent Research Project course.

Time Table
End of each course

Responsible Individuals
Dr. Rafia Rasu

Student Learning Outcome 3
Students can drive healthcare policy decisions by applying evidence and data-driven practices.

Is the outcome direct or indirect?
Direct

Description of Assessment
Based on performance in (Courses: PHAR 7345 – Evidence-Based Healthcare, PHAR 7335 – Economic Evaluation and Policy, PHAR 5324 – Health Economics and Outcomes Research with real-world data). Course-embedded assessments tied to course-specific learning outcomes, including quizzes, exams and/or assignments.

Criteria for Achievement
90% of knowledge level questions will be answered correctly and 85% of application level questions categorized to this SLO will be answered correctly. A mean score of 80% will be achieved on all exams, quizzes, and homework in the following courses – PHAR 7345 – Evidence-Based Healthcare, PHAR 7335 – Economic Evaluation and Policy, PHAR 5324 – Health Economics and Outcomes Research with real-world data.

Time Table
End of each course

Responsible Individuals
Dr. Rafia Rasu

Program Performance Outcome 1
90% students successfully completing the program in one year

Is the outcome direct or indirect?
Direct

Description of Assessment
12-month post-program survey results

Criteria for Achievement
12-month post-program survey results of percent of students who successfully complete the program in one year

Time Table
End of each course

Responsible Individuals
Dr. Rafia Rasu

Program Performance Outcome 2
Graduates report career advancement within one year of completion of the MS-AOR program

Is the outcome direct or indirect?
Direct

Description of Assessment
75% of students will report enhanced career options or career advancement within one year of completion of the MS-AOR program

Criteria for Achievement
75% of students will report enhanced career options or career advancement within one year of completion of the MS-AOR program

Time Table
End of each course

Responsible Individuals
Dr. Rafia Rasu

This page was last modified on December 5, 2024