New Assessment Concludes That Increase in Pharmacy Programs Has Not Affected Educational Quality

August 23, 2012 – An article authored by Lucinda L. Maine, PhD, Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Executive Director Peter H. Vlasses, PharmD, DSc (Hon), BCPS, was published in the July/August issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA). The article provides a historical assessment of the increase in number of pharmacy education programs and graduates and applies quality measures based on available objective and subjective metrics. The authors conclude that, to date, increases in the number of pharmacy programs and graduating students have not affected educational quality.

“The goal of this study was to utilize available measures to evaluate the quality of pharmacy education during a time of expansion in the number of programs and the number of graduates,” said Vlasses. “The available data do not support concerns that there are decreases in academic performance as a result of these changes in market forces.”

ACPE and AACP have expressed an ongoing commitment to gathering profession-wide input into the evolution of quality measures and accreditation standards for Doctor of Pharmacy programs. This process will continue through a consensus-seeking conference that will be convened by ACPE in September 2012. Invited participants to Advancing Quality in Pharmacy Education: Charting Accreditation’s Future will provide guidance and feedback to ensure that the standards and accreditation process for Doctor of Pharmacy degree programs include both competencies currently required of pharmacists and competencies that will be needed by future practitioners. In addition, participants will share ideas for how the profession can ensure that the standards and accreditation process are aligned with evidence-based practices in assessing the quality of educational programs.

Maine noted that “AACP is enthusiastic about the work unfolding to increase the availability of measures to assess program quality and what’s called graduate fitness for practice. We will continue to work with our members and other professional partners such as ACPE to meaningfully measure and assess quality within pharmacy education.”

The abstract with the option to access the full text of the article is available on the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association web site at http://www.japha.org/article.aspx?articleID=1216881.


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About the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) is the national agency for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education. The mission of the organization is to assure and advance excellence in education for the profession of pharmacy. ACPE is an autonomous and independent agency whose Board of Directors is derived through the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), and the American Council on Education (ACE).

About the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP)
Founded in 1900, AACP is a national organization representing the interests of pharmacy education and educators. Comprising 127 accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy including more than 6,400 faculty, 60,000 students enrolled in professional programs and 5,100 individuals pursuing graduate study, AACP is committed to excellence in pharmacy education. Visit www.aacp.org to learn more about AACP and stay connected with the Association on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.