The American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) is the national accrediting agency for undergraduate degree programs in pharmacy. The ACPE is an autonomous agency substantially funded by the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, a philanthropic foundation dedicated to the improvement of the quality of pharmaceutical education.
The Council was established in 1932 by the three organizations most concerned with pharmaceutical education--the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). The Council was established in 1932, an outgrowth of a survey committee created by the NABP in 1927 to obtain information for establishing standards for colleges of pharmacy. The establishment in 1932 of a minimum requirement of a four year bachelor of science degree, along with disparities in quality and organization of pharmacy education, the rapid advances in scientific knowledge, and the evolution of state licensing requirements precipitated the formation of the ACPE. Standards have continued to progress. In 1962 the minimum requirement for graduation was changed to a five-year baccalaureate in pharmacy degree. The doctor of pharmacy degree, usually requiring six years, is becoming more common.
Its Board of Directors consists of three appointees each from the AACP, APhA, and NABP, and one from the American Council on Education, the latter a generalist not connected to the pharmacy profession. The appointees, who serve six-year terms, do not serve as delegates of their organizations, but act independently. The Council also employs a professional staff, including a Director of Educational Relations who conducts much of the work in the accrediting process, and is available for consultation on problems and developments in pharmaceutical education.
The Council's first accreditation standards were published in 1937. In 1939 the ACPE was incorporated as a nonprofit organization, with formal authority to accredit colleges of pharmacy. Initial inspection of colleges had begun in 1938 and was completed in 1941. After World War II it conducted its first thorough evaluation of schools.
The ACPE holds annual meetings, joint meetings with the AACP Executive Committee representatives, and may hold special meetings. Annual reports are made to the three sponsoring organizations and published in the Proceedings of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. The annual reports have included special surveys on some phase of the pharmacy programs, such as aims and objectives, and libraries. The Council also publishes a Directory of Accredited Professional Programs of Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy, and the Accreditation Manual, containing its principles, standards and guidelines, policies and procedures, a guide to the self-study report, and other pertinent information.
The process of accreditation is meant to advance the standards of pharmaceutical education, to provide a basis for inter-institutional and interstate relationships and licensing reciprocity, and to provide a list of accredited colleges of pharmacy for the use of prospective students and licensing agencies. Most state boards of pharmacy, under enabling state statutes, accept graduation from an accredited college as fulfillment of the academic requirement for individual licensing of pharmacists. The accreditation standards include specifications as to faculty training, teaching load, research, extracurricular activities and publications, class size, curriculum, admission requirements, library, finances, and physical plant.
The visits include interviews with faculty, students, and administrators, and a survey of facilities and resources. They must take place at least every six years, and may be in conjunction with the examination of an institution by a regional educational accrediting agency. Prior to July, 1959, various classifications were given to those colleges not fully meeting the required standards. After that date, colleges were accredited only if they met all standards. Institutions may appeal a decision regarding accreditation, but final authority resides with the Council.
In 1962 the Council also assumed the responsibility of evaluating and approving providers of continuing pharmaceutical education. It issues the Directory of Approved Providers of Continuing Pharmaceutical Education and other publications related to this program.
The ACPE headquarters in Chicago has complete files on the accreditation history of each school, the latest accreditation reports, correspondence files, official Council Letters, and all continuing education program records. Records for a particular school or program are available to researchers with the permission of the school's dean.
For further information, see “Pharmaceutical Education” by Sonnedecker and Urdang, Higher Education (1953) and “Pharmacy Looks at Accreditation” by Melvin Green, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (1959).
