University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and University of New Mexico
Develop Successful Consortium for Nuclear Pharmacy Education
Nicki L. Hilliard, PharmD, BCNP, University of Arkansas College of Pharmacy, Little Rock, AR
Background
Nuclear Education Online (NEO) is
an educational consortium between
UAMS and UNM. The consortium
was formed to expand nuclear
pharmacy education to other
colleges of pharmacy and to
pharmacists across the U.S. and
around the world. NEO provides
instruction and/or course content
that individual colleges may use as
the basis for awarding course credit
to their own students.
The idea for the consortium was
developed in 2000. Two years of
planning and curricular development
were required before enrolling the
first students in 2001. Building an
educational consortium requires a
dedicated faculty and a supportive
administration.
Presented at the AACP 2003 Annual Meeting in
Minneapolis, MN. July 2003
Contracts
A Memorandum of Understanding between the
Universities was drafted during the developmental
stage, which was superseded by a formal
Consortium Agreement.
The contract was
written by University attorneys from both
institutions. The document covered the following
topics:
•Copyright and Cross-License: each institution
shall register the copyright of courses developed
by their faculty members. Each party agrees to
cross-license the course materials to the other
institution for educational purposes.
•Consortium Management – the agreement
outlines the authority and decision making process
of the organization.
•Dispute Resolution – outlines process in the
event of a dispute between the parties.
•Term and Termination – specifies the term of
the agreement and the process for termination of
the consortium.
•Financial & Reporting Requirements –
describes the process for budget, expenses,
revenue distribution, and financial auditing.
•Miscellaneous – parties agree to abide by
federal laws, agreement of liability limits, etc.
Faculty members who developed the NEO courses
signed an Intellectual Property contract with their
respective institutions.
Organizational Structure
Board of Directors
Dean Winters & Dean Gardner, UAMS
Dean Pieper & TBD, UNM
Executive Committee
Martha Pickett & Nicki Hilliard, UAMS
Jeff Norenberg & Buck Rhodes, UNM
Business Manager
Nicki Hilliard
Marketing, Finances, Contracts
Recruitment & Student Records
Administrative Assistant
Serena Stanfield
Student Records, & Faculty Support
Curriculum Manager
Jeff Norenberg
Course Materials, Objectives, Assessments
Programmatic Evaluations
Experiential Manager
Kristina Wittstrom
Experiential Preceptors & Students Materials
Admissions, Sales & Marketing Support
Program Coordinator
Kristina Wittstrom & Buck Rhodes
Student Progression & Communication
Student Grades & Documentation
Practical Considerations
There are several issues to consider when developing a
consortium agreement, some of which include:
•Good Planning – A Business Plan and Operations Manual are
necessary to the organization.
•Put it in writing – verbal agreements could lead to
misunderstandings.
Clear communications and financial
documents are important.
•Slow process – working with two sets of University attorneys, it
took over a year to complete the formal consortium agreement.
•Not legal entity - The Consortium cannot enter into legal
contracts itself. One arm of the consortium needs to be given
contracting authority.
Results
The faculty members from
each institution collaborated to
design an online didactic
curriculum and experiential
training materials.
The
didactic portion is delivered
via the Internet using WebCT.
The curriculum centers around interactive problem based
learning (PBL) cases with faculty instruction from UAMS
and UNM and experiential training directed by local
preceptors. NEO has trained over 60 students from 27
states and two countries since the program began in 2001.
Conclusions
The NEO Educational Consortium
is successful, both educationally
and financially.
By working
together each University was able
to pool together the faculty,
experience, and financial resources
to make this a reality. The NEO
Consortium may serve as a model
for future collaborative efforts
between institutions.
Revenue Projections
800000
700000
600000
500000
400000
300000
200000
100000
0
FY2002
FY2003
www.nuclearonline.org
FY2004
FY2005