HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — The Hampton University School of Pharmacy has filed an appeal after the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education withdrew its accreditation.
While Hampton University appeals the withdrawal, the university has accreditation with probation, the school said, as it has had for several years.
The initial withdrawal stems from issues of noncompliance with Standard No. 17: Progression, which deals with student progression through the PharmD program. The school was also partially compliant with assessment standards.
“Our currently enrolled students will be able to graduate and take the licensure examination with no adverse effect,” Dr. Anand Iyer, dean of the School of Pharmacy, stated in a letter to the campus community that was quoted in a news release. “In fact, the ACPE order states, ‘…students completing the program will be provided the same rights and privileges as students enrolled and graduating from a program holding Accredited status; thus, ACPE accreditation applies through the graduation of the Classes of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.’”
According to the release, the Hampton University School of Pharmacy received its accreditation from ACPE in 2015 for an eight-year term. The customary onsite review cycle is eight years, but the ACPE reserves the right to review programs on a shorter cycle as well.
Accreditation records show Hampton University School of Pharmacy was last fully accredited in the 2015-2016 school year.
It was then changed to “accredited with probation” in the 2016-2017 school year, through the 2019-2020 school year, when accreditation was withdrawn.
“ACPE requires the programs it accredits to meet the expectations of all 25 standards of ACPE’s accreditation standards,” according to the ACPE website. “The program has two years to bring the standard into compliance as per U.S. Department of Education.
The school of pharmacy said it has been actively working to address compliance issues since 2017. In January 2018 and July 2017 , the dean released two statements detailing the school’s action plan to bring the program into compliance.
The dean said they will be “aggressively pursuing” the school’s right to appeal the ACPE Board’s decision.
“Rest assured, we will continue delivering our curriculum, providing the requisite knowledge, guidance and support to all of our students,” the dean wrote in a letter Tuesday.
