The program, considered by the BOT's University Affairs Committee, would be a joint venture between the two UNC-system schools, said UNC-CH executive associate provost Bernadette Gray-Little.
Once the program was established, Elizabeth City State undergraduate pharmacy majors would attend Elizabeth City State through their first or second years. Then students would begin taking courses at UNC-CH either online or on campus, Gray-Little said.
UNC-CH Provost Robert Shelton, who has been involved with the program since its inception, said videoconferencing also would be an option for classes.
Students in the program also could receive a joint degree, said Gerald McCants, assistant to the Elizabeth City State chancellor. "I think both university names would be on the diploma," he said.
Officials from both schools say the joint program will benefit northeastern North Carolina, where Elizabeth City State is located, because graduating pharmacy students eventually might seek jobs in the area, which has a much lower number of pharmacists than other parts of the state.
But so far, neither school has taken any official action. "We've been involved in conversation and coordination," McCants said. "Details are still being worked out in terms of implementation."
To go into effect, the plan must go through the boards of trustees of both universities. Then it must be approved by the UNC-system Board of Governors and gain final approval from the N.C. General Assembly.
The plan for a joint program hinges on the legislature's willingness to provide funding, Shelton said.
Lawmakers denied funding this past session for a pharmacy school at Elizabeth City State but included a provision in the 2002-03 budget that requires the UNC-system Office of the President to consider implementing a pharmacy program at Elizabeth City State instead of a new pharmacy school.
