Course Syllabus

 Course Details

Instructor: Julie Carmichael, FACHE, MBA

For office hours and contact information, please visit the Home Page.

We'll meet together on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:45 - 2PM in A335. Your presence and participation make our discussions richer and help everyone learn from each other's perspectives. I'm looking forward to our in-person discussions—your insights and engagement are what bring these ethical concepts to life!

 Course Description

This course provides an overview of the pharmaceutical industry, its stakeholders and the key policy issues facing this industry. The course will focus on firms that operate in the traditional chemical pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, and medical devices. The course perspective is global, with an emphasis on the U.S. as the largest and most profitable market.

 Learning Outcomes 

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Analyze the pharmaceutical industry by explaining how major stakeholders, incentives, and market forces influence industry behavior.
2. Explain how drug development and regulatory approval processes influence innovation, patient safety, and market access.
3. Evaluate how public policy influences pharmaceutical innovation, pricing, competition, affordability, and patient access.
4. Analyze complex pharmaceutical issues by considering ethical principles, stakeholder perspectives, and competing policy tradeoffs.
5. Apply systems thinking to pharmaceutical policy challenges by evaluating how decisions create intended and unintended consequences across the healthcare system.
6. Communicate evidence-based pharmaceutical policy analyses clearly and persuasively through professional written, oral, and digital communication.

How much time should you be spending on this class?

If this is a standard 3-credit semester-length course, you are expected to spend an average of 6 or more hours outside of class each week reading, studying, completing assignments, and preparing for class.

 Course Requirements 

Your final grade will reflect your efforts across several different areas, giving you multiple opportunities to demonstrate your learning. You can track your progress anytime by checking Canvas → Grades. Here's how everything comes together:

Attendance & Active Learning	20%
Homework & Reading Engagement	20%
Exams (2)	35%
Pharmaceutical Impact Policy Project	25%
TOTAL	100%

Here's the grading scale I'll use to determine your final course grade. These percentages show you exactly what you need to reach each grade level:

A+	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D+	D	D-	F
97%>	93%	90%	87%	83%	80%	77%	73%	70%	67%	63%	60%	<60%

Course Withdrawal

 See https://calendars.registrar.indiana.edu/official-calendar/ for dates.

After the auto-W deadline, withdrawal will be significantly limited, and you will need permission to withdraw and must meet requirements established by O’Neill.

 Our Text & Other Course Resources

Instead of a traditional textbook, we'll be working with an engaging course pack from Harvard Business Publishing that includes real-world case studies and current industry insights. A link will be provided for you during the first week of class.

Additional readings and videos will be listed in the course Schedule of Topics and always available for you on our Canvas site.

 Working Together

The best teams don't happen by accident. They're built through trust, preparation, curiosity, accountability, and a shared commitment to helping one another succeed. That's the kind of learning environment I hope we'll create together this semester. I'll challenge you, support you, and coach you as you develop as a healthcare professional. In return, I ask that you approach our work together with these four commitments.

Be Present

Learning happens when we're engaged—with the material, with one another, and with the work we're doing. Technology should support our learning, not distract from it.

Be Prepared

Come prepared, complete assigned work, and arrive ready to contribute. Preparation is one of the simplest ways to contribute to a team's success.

Be Curious

Healthcare leaders are lifelong learners. Ask thoughtful questions, challenge assumptions, seek evidence, and remain open to new perspectives.

Be Accountable

Take ownership of your learning, communicate proactively, contribute fairly to your team, and honor your commitments.

Practicing to Become a Healthcare Leader

Throughout this course, you'll practice thinking critically, communicating clearly, working effectively with others, making decisions with incomplete information, and learning from feedback. These are essential professional skills, and like any complex skill, they develop through practice.

That's why this course combines brief lectures, discussions, real-world stories, case studies, writing, teamwork, and authentic projects. Each learning experience is intentionally chosen because it helps you develop a specific professional skill you'll use throughout your career.

You won't master these skills overnight. You'll develop them through repeated opportunities to practice, receive feedback, reflect, and improve. My role is to create meaningful opportunities for you to practice, provide honest feedback, and coach you as you continue growing throughout the semester.

 Course Communication Policy

Important information or updates for the entire class will be posted on Canvas as an Announcement. Please check Canvas weekly to remain current.

 Assignments and Grades

Submitting Assignments

Please submit all assignments through Canvas—this helps me keep everything organized and ensures your work doesn't get lost in my email! You can always check Canvas for specific due dates, which I keep updated there for easy reference.

How Will I Know How I’m Doing in This Course?

You can always see how you're doing in the course by checking Canvas, which keeps all your grades organized and up-to-date. If you want to talk through your progress or need help calculating your current grade, I'm just an email away!

 Assignment Return and Feedback Policy

I'm committed to getting your feedback back to you quickly so you can learn from each assignment and stay on track. You can typically expect to see your grades in Canvas within one week of turning something in. If I ever need more time due to the complexity of an assignment or other circumstances, I'll give you a heads up!

 Schedule of Assignments

See Canvas Modules for the course outline, reading list, additional materials, and assignments. Our schedule is subject to limited change as the semester progresses. I have been known to overestimate how quickly we can cover material. If we need to slow down at points, we'll adjust. We may also adjust the schedule if a current event or topics of interest to students materializes.

O'Neill School Student Honor Code

Introduction

The O’Neill School takes matters of honesty and integrity seriously.  We expect O’Neill students will, at all times, maintain academic integrity and civil and professional standards of conduct.

Scope

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code applies to all courses and programs offered by O’Neill, and to all students who participate in O’Neill classes and programs, regardless of whether students are admitted to O’Neill. Students studying at O’Neill are expected to continue their commitment to ethical behavior in all their endeavors, including, but not limited to, coursework inside and outside of O’Neill, internships, community service, and overseas study.

O’Neill’s Student Honor Code incorporates IU’s Code of Student Right, Responsibilities, & Conduct and extends to matters of civility and professional conduct, including, expectations about class attendance, punctuality, participation in class, and decorum in class and at other school functions.

O'Neill School Expectations of Civility and Professional Conduct

O’Neill requires that all students treat others with mutual respect and behave professionally in the classroom and during all academic and non-academic activities.

These civility and professional conduct requirements foster an appropriate atmosphere inside and outside the classroom:

• Students must act in accordance with the O’Neill School mission and values.
• Students must regularly attend and be fully prepared for class, including completing readings.
• Students must not behave in a way that interrupts or distracts from teaching or learning. For example, students must be punctual in their arrival to class and be present and attentive for the duration of the class. They must not sleep, do work for another class, or wander in and out of the classroom, pack up, or leave class early (unless an emergency exists).
• Students must abide by the course policy regarding use of electronic devices in the classroom, including a requirement that no electronics are allowed or that students are not permitted to use devices for non-class related purposes.
• Students must responsibly participate in class activities and during team meetings for course assignments.
• Students must attend scheduled meetings with faculty or staff, events for which they have RSVPed, interviews with prospective employers, and student organization meetings.  
• Students must address faculty members, other students, and others appropriately and with respect, whether in person, in writing, or in electronic communications.
• Students must show tolerance and respect for others.
• Students must practice respect and responsible stewardship of the physical resources of the school, refraining from destroying or defacing school property, integrating practices of sustainability, and contributing to a clean and orderly physical environment in all buildings, classrooms, offices, and meeting spaces.   
• Students must comply with the personal misconduct responsibilities within the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.

 Academic Integrity

Academic Misconduct

All students enrolled in O’Neill courses are subject to the academic misconduct provisions found in the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct.  

Academic misconduct is defined as any activity that tends to undermine the academic integrity of the institution.

The IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, & Conduct lists and defines many types of academic misconduct, including cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference, violation of course rules, and facilitating academic dishonesty.   

Academic misconduct includes the use of any technology or assistance, including AI, that is not permitted by the instructor.

Reporting 

Students must abide by the O’Neill Student Honor Code themselves and hold their peers to the same standards. Students should report suspected instances of academic, civility, or professional misconduct to the instructor of the course. Students should report suspected instances of personal misconduct to the IU Office of Student Conduct.

Course Materials - Instructor's Exclusive Rights

The faculty member teaching this course holds the exclusive right to distribute, modify, post, and reproduce course materials, including all written materials, study guides, lectures, assignments, exercises, and exams. While you are permitted to take notes on the online materials and lectures posted for this course for your personal use, you are not permitted to re-post in another forum, upload to AI, distribute, reproduce content from this course, or sell the instructor’s course materials (including notes and study guides) without the express written permission of the faculty member.

Violations of this policy will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct (violation of course rules). Sanctions for academic misconduct may include a failing grade on the assignment for which the notes/study guides are being sold, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities.

Additionally, you should know that selling a faculty member’s course using IU email, or via Canvas may also constitute a violation of IU information technology and IU intellectual property policies; additional consequences may result.

Note Selling

Several commercial services have approached students regarding selling class notes/study guides to their classmates. Selling the instructor’s notes/study guides in this course is not permitted. Violations of this policy will be reported to the Dean of Students as academic misconduct (violation of course rules). Sanctions for academic misconduct may include a failing grade on the assignment for which the notes/study guides are being sold, a reduction in your final course grade, or a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities. Additionally, you should know that selling a faculty member’s notes/study guides individually or on behalf of one of these services using IU email, or via Canvas may also constitute a violation of IU information technology and IU intellectual property policies; additional consequences may result.