Compass Knowledge Group Welcomes New Students, Including Miss World Contestant to University of Florida's Distance Learning Pharm.D. Program

Orlando, FL (PRWeb) March 13, 2007 -- Compass Knowledge Group proudly recognizes the newest members of the Gator Nation. Compass salutes the 110 incoming students in the University of Florida's (UF) Working Professional Doctor of Pharmacy (WPPD) distance learning program who begin classes in the spring 2007 term.

"We would like to acknowledge this latest class of pharmacists who have taken the next step to enhance their education through the University of Florida's WPPD program," said Dan Devine, CEO Compass Knowledge Group. "Through hard work and determination over the next two years, they will be able to join the more than 1,000 previous who have earned their Pharm.D. degree through UF's WPPD distance learning program."

Since 1996, Compass Knowledge Group has provided operational support to the University of Florida to help the WPPD program become one of the top distance learning Pharm.D. programs in the world.

While this incoming class represents the best and the brightest in the field of pharmacy, one student also brings celebrity to the class. Tonoya Toyloy, Miss Jamaica 2004 and a Miss World contestant, begins study in the program this term.

Miss Toyloy earned her Bachelor's in Pharmacy from the University of Technology in Jamaica in 2003, before being named Miss Jamaica. Her accomplishments in the field helped lead to the prestigious Miss World Scholarship award which she received during the Miss World competition in Sanya, China in 2004. Miss Toyloy is applying the $10,000 scholarship to her education in the WPPD program.

Miss Toyloy currently resides in Edgewater, Jamaica. After taking a year off from pharmacy practice to fulfill her duties as Miss Jamaica and give back to her country, she re-entered the field. She is currently working as a Chief Pharmacist at Liguanea Drug and Garden.

The charitable work she was able to do while serving as Miss Jamaica and a Miss World contestant has helped shape her outlook on the future: "Having a Pharm.D. degree in Jamaica will make me a pioneer in the field," said Miss Toylor. "Pharmacy practice in Jamaica is years behind the U.S. For the most part pharmacists here just dispense drugs unless you work in a university hospital that has clinical pharmacy department. The role of pharmacist has yet to be fleshed out in Jamaica. I want to be part of the process to improve pharmacy care in this country. The first step will be in earning my Pharm.D. degree from the University of Florida"

Due to new accreditation guidelines and College of Pharmacy policy, the Summer 2007 semester will be the last time the University of Florida's WPPD program will be able to accept, enroll or register international pharmacists. Effective July 2007, this change in admissions policy will impact all licensed pharmacists whose primary residence is outside the United States or Canada.

About Compass Knowledge Group (www.compassknowledge.com)
The University of Florida has enlisted the help of Compass Knowledge Group to recruit students and market the online program for the university. Founded in 1993, Compass Knowledge Group Inc. (Compass) partners with higher education institutions to create successful distance learning programs. Compass' industry-leading consultants assess institutional readiness and degree program viability. Using best-in-class marketing, recruitment, and student retention services, Compass introduces degree programs to the world and enables colleges and universities to succeed in the competitive online education marketplace.

Recent UF Health Science Center news releases are available at www.news.health.ufl.edu/

The University of Florida Health Science Center - the most comprehensive academic health center in the Southeast - is dedicated to high-quality programs of education, research, patient care and public service. The Health Science Center encompasses the colleges of Dentistry, Public Health and Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and an academic campus in Jacksonville offering graduate education programs in dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy. Patient care activities, under the banner UF&Shands, are provided through teaching hospitals and a network of clinics in Gainesville and Jacksonville. The Health Science Center also has a statewide presence through satellite medical, dental and nursing clinics staffed by UF health professionals; and affiliations with community-based health-care facilities stretching from Hialeah and Miami to the Florida Panhandle.

###