Implementation of Labor‐Based Contract Grading in a Pharmaceutical Skills Course Series

ABSTRACT Graduate and professional education have been facing growing pressures to address student mental health and well‐being while also preparing trainees adequately for professional practice. Additionally, pharmacy education, like other areas of higher education, has been experiencing declining enrollment, providing the stimulus for adaptation and innovation in teaching and assessment methodology. Within the Pharmaceutical Skills series at the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy (USF TCOP), instructors noticed that students were focused on earning points rather than feedback, and therefore, not focused on developing the clinical skills necessary to be a practicing pharmacist. The concept of “ungrading” within higher education is an increasingly accepted approach to providing feedback on course assessments. Ungrading aims to promote intrinsic motivation in students, rather than the traditional extrinsic motivation of earning a letter grade or points throughout the course. Course instructors can approach ungrading in various ways, including a general pass/fail policy, complete or incomplete assignments, or labor‐based contract grading. Labor‐based contract grading focuses on a mutual agreement between the instructor and students as to the parameters needed to achieve each course grade. Studies have shown that this can facilitate intrinsic motivation and alleviate student stress regarding grades while maintaining standards with assignments and assessments. A key focus with labor‐based contract grading is to shift the attention from the points earned to the feedback provided, self‐reflection, and remediation opportunities for growth and development. Therefore, to ensure the courses are providing students with the level of feedback and development needed to practice in the evolving field of pharmacy, a labor‐based contract grading methodology was implemented in the 2023–2024 academic year throughout the Pharmaceutical Skills series at USF TCOP. In this paper, we will describe our approach to the implementation of labor‐based contract grading within the course series at USF TCOP as well as provide data on student perceptions of contract grading through quantitative and qualitative data collected following the 2023–2024 academic year. We seek to provide a framework and roadmap to other educators regarding our successes and pitfalls in implementation.