Garnering Widespread Involvement in Preparing for Accreditation Under ACPE Standards 2007

On February 17, 2006, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) announced the release of the revised Accreditation Standards and Guidelines for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree that became effective on July 1, 2007. (1) Although there are numerous differences between Standards 2007 and previous versions, the general core areas remain similar but are condensed into 6 groupings of the Standards and Guidelines: Mission, Planning, and Evaluation; Organization and Administration; Curriculum; Students; Faculty and Staff; and Facilities and Resources. (2) Within these core areas, significant changes have occurred, including the reorganization of standards to include institutional accreditation, student complaint policies, and more specific requirements for areas such as experiential education hours. Review procedures are more defined with an emphasis on the evaluation form/ rubric, use of standardized survey instruments, and broad participation by faculty members and other key groups. (3) Implementation of Standards 2007 presents several unknowns to schools and colleges undergoing accreditation for the first time under the new standards. Ramifications for being partially or non-compliant with the standards include a limited (2-year) time period to become compliant, potential probation, public availability of a college/school's status, and potential adverse accreditation action. (4) Clearly, colleges/schools need to have their stakeholders knowledgeable and involved in the self-study to assure success. The self-study process also changed, including the use of a self-study template supplied by ACPE. The template offers a consistent format to self-study reports, additional direction on sources of information to be used, and specific requirements for each standard and guideline. The template includes sections for both a summary of self-study process and a formal rating of the overall organization and clarity of the self-study process. The latter addition adds further evidence of the need for broad and inclusive participation during the self-study process. Within the Overall Organization and Clarity section of the template, colleges and schools of pharmacy are rated on 6 general areas, 3 of which are linked directly to the involvement of stakeholders in the self-study process and their awareness of the subsequent findings. These 3 areas are: * Participation: the self-study report was written and reviewed with broad-based input from students, faculty members, preceptors, staff members, administrators, and a range of other stakeholders, such as patients, practitioners, and employers. * Completeness and transparency: all narratives and supporting documentation are thorough, clear, and concise. The content appears thoughtful and honest. Interviews match the self-study findings. * Knowledge of the self-study: students, faculty members, preceptors, and staff members are conversant in the major themes of the report and how the program intends to address any deficiencies. Little information has been published on how schools and colleges of pharmacy approach the self-study process or the new Standards 2007. Although one program published their experiences using a project management approach, no other information is available. (5) To our knowledge, no literature focuses on garnering widespread stakeholder involvement in the accreditation process. This paper describes several practices that may aid programs in achieving such involvement in the self-study process. PARTICIPATION IN THE SELF-STUDY PROCESS When possible, colleges and schools of pharmacy should consider attending a program such as the AACP Institute that can help focus and plan the self-study process. The 2007 AACP Institute coincided with the start of our self-study, and included a topic related to accreditation. (6) Programs like this allow the faculty to begin planning and discussing their self-study, including the main ideals to promote throughout the process. …